How many of you gave up?

[drewster]

I picked cricket over golf in my teens and then fell away from that around the age of 20. I didn't get into golf for years after that and looking back I wish I'd just picked golf from the start.

Me too, I played decent cricket from 12 through to 32 and then decided to give golf a go because my dad played and it was a chance for a bit of quality time together. Really wish, with the benefit of hindsight, that i took up golf instead of cricket. Where were the forceful parents when you needed them !!!!!!!! I'd have much better knees now that's for sure too.

 

[Curls]

Yip, this is me, played until wine and women age and only picked up again 5 years ago aged ~30. No incentive under the age of 30 at ours. There are few enough in my age bracket down there, I don't mind, its a nice sociable club and I team up with 40 to 60 somethings regularly and all get on.

The juniors think we're all ancient.

Good post Bob you're dead right, only those of a certain age in their working/family life can afford the game and more so these days.

 

[BoadieBroadus]

i played as a boy and came back to the game at 30. from my youth i was familiar with being a member of a club and so when i first took the game back up, i joined the club nearest to me.

when i joined, in the 25 - 35 age group there was me and two others. for a ten year age span. to address this the club introduced a reduced membership fee and now we have a decent number of members in this bracket, but not hoaching with them.

there is a vicious circle obstructing membership in these age brackets - at that stage in life people will have house moves, weddings etc to pay for, little kids to look after, and may move around more for their jobs. as a result they see that few of their peers are members to join and play with, so most opt for an occasional round with mates at a pay and play venue.

also, golf clubs being golf clubs, when you introduce a special membership rate, everyone else whines and complains about how they should get it too, and hate "subsidising" the younger members. i remember listening to one chap who was clearly well to do, whining about how being over 40 was actually much more expensive as the kids now wanted expensive toys and school fees and trips etc.

as for me, i'm still just under 40 so entitled to a slightly reduced rate, but since my second child was born in October I've played once. as it is i have an arrangement as an "absent member" which i took out on the assumption that i would rejoin as a full member later in the year, but as it stands, i think it is more likely that i will just bin membership altogether.

its very hard for fathers of young kids to justify paying for a membership, i can't see how any committee can address that.

 

[Khamelion]

That's pretty much me, My dad used to take me with him and once out of sight of the club house I'd use the cut down 1 wood he'd made for me, I was about 7 or 8, played as a junior up until 16, then I found beer and women and golf became boring.

It's the one and only regret I have, in that I wish I'd stuck at the golf when I was a teenager, I wasn't brilliant, but I was pretty good. It was 25yrs later that I started playing again and have played regularly now for the last 5yrs, as it's only now that I an afford a membership.

 

[pendodave]

Absolutely agree. 35 plus is the sweet spot the clubs should be aiming at, and if offering discounts from 35 to 40 gets them in then so be it.

Like so many others, I came to golf at 40 after a lifetime of playing much more exciting sports that my failing faculties would no longer tolerate. I know many others who did the same.

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, maybe the biggest benefit of trying to get juniors into a club is that their parents turn up and realise that it is a good way to spend some time. I wonder if clubs should reserve a quiet evening in the summer for super-discounted junior/parent golf for non-members ?

 

[jamielaing]

I played golf from about 8, joined as a junior aged 12 and left at 19. A mix of the increased cost, wine and women and going to uni/ working weekends made it not worthwhile. After uni I got my proper job and it was either golf or rugby. Decided that I had my whole life to play golf so went back to rugby. I really regret it with hindsight as I have got straight back into the swing of it a year ago at 29. Wish I hadn't left at all.

It is difficult when you look at it as, at our club, juniors pay £100 a year. They introduced youth memberships up to 30 year olds which is great however at 31 the cost nearly doubles and I would imagine there will be a few that fall by the weigh-side again.

Unfortunately golf does have the older stigma still attached and unless you are really pulled in early then it's easy to let it go. I played every day during school holidays as a kid and I still let it go.

But lets be honest, 'I'm a rugby player' always worked better up town than 'I'm a golfer'!

 

[chrisd]

I've argued at my place for some time now that 50+ year olds should be the target for recruitment. Their mortgages are easier, kids are older and have more money to indulge their hobbies.

Clubs do need to spend time and effort integrating these people though. It isn't good enough taking their money and pointing them to the first tee! They may need lessons, introductions for games and some confidence boosting but at least they will pay full wack, probably frequent the bar and attend club functions.... and no, I'm not suggesting we ignore the youngsters

 

[Bobirdie]

I stopped golfing at 16 and started back again when i was 23.

Im 29 and have 2 young kids and i benefit from cheaper subs. £100 less than full fees.

It would be nice for them to do the same deal in a 30+ category however it already causes a stink with fellow members who pay full fees.

 

[Green Bay Hacker]

Your dad played golf and took you down to the range/club when you were a kid for a bash. You quite liked it and played junior golf for a few years.

Then you discovered wine, (wo)men and work and gave it up.

25 years later, your kids are leaving home and you're too damaged to play football anymore so you take up golf again.
Does that sound familiar?

If so, the future of golf is not the youth of today (unless you can keep them away from the bar and the opposite thingy), it's with the 30-40 age bracket. They are our future seniors.
So does your club do enough to attract them.

If you dont know, try this..............
Go onto your club's website and see how many photos there are showing the under 40's using your clubhouse/course. And are there any incentives/cheap memberships etc to attract this age group back to golf or does all the effort and money go to the juniors.

While I totally agree on encouraging juniors to take up golf, clubs must accept they also need to encourage the upwardly mobile 30-40s back to golf.

Almost true but I rebelled a bit as most teenagers do. My dad wanted me to play but the lure of the terraces in the seventies and eighties held much more appeal for me.

A venture into marriage, having children, running a pool league and then divorce saw me with a bit more time on my hands so I decided to give golf a bash just over 10 years ago. Luckily I still managed to get a few years of golf in with the old fella before he had to pack in through ill health.

The question I ask myself now is why the hell didn't I give it a real go when I was younger?

 

[GB72]

I agree that 30-40 is the age group that clubs are missing. . Group of people that can bring life to the clubhouse without totally changing the club atmosphere and sidelining the older members, a group that can bring up to date views and experience to committees, a group that still remember what it is like to be young yet can respect the sensibilities of those older, a group that can offer long term commitment to a club and a group that every club I have been a member of has been almost totally devoid of.

 

[mat100p]

Yep, very familiar to me too. I didn't touch a club between the ages of 18 to 35 and I'm just about to turn 39. The reasons why are numerous but all simply varying issues to do with work, time, money, girls and booze.

I've joked about this before but if a club really wanted to attract 20 - 30 year old men they'd make a good start by attracting 20 - 30 year old women.[/QU
Could not agree more.
OTE]

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Quit just after my 19th birthday. Not sure I would ever have got where I wanted and once I quit I got into football (did ok). Several injuries and a big non-sporting one didn't help. Got into it again around 28-30 and the brain still thought I was sixteen and a single figure player. The body disagreed.

 

[williamalex1]

totally agree with you bob

Me too, sad but true I'm afraid.

 

[mat100p]

Good thread with many good/ funny points.
I started early teens and was a full member till early thirties.
Then 3 kids come a long and spare time to play has been hard to come buy. So joined a pay and play club.
Which has dramatically reduces cost and allows me to play enough to keep a handicap
Now early forties trying to get my son's to play.
May be in year or two and my boys play a lot it may become more financial viable to convert back to regular membership.
Personally I feel it's not about price of membership but more about getting value for the price you pay. I.e. playing enough to justify full membership.
With more pressure on 30 - 50 year olds from work,family and finance golf clubs have a real dilemma as how to move forward in the future. As I am sure the costs of running a club will not decrease thus membership cost cannot decrease.
I fear it will eventually lead to clubs closing and the clubs who remain sharing the limited number of golfers around.

 

[Bigfoot]

I did not start until the age of 19 and played off and on until I started shift work in my mid 30s.

I don't see how those with young children can easily be members of clubs without a divorce being the result. I was able to take mine to school and play afterwards and still be back to collect them. Free cash is always a problem and following the financial troubles recently, jobs don't pay so well. Consequently, the age to join a club will be higher than in the past.

Late 40s should be targeted as they are more likely to have time and money.

 

[stevench]

Totally agree I just wish our club did, they now offer incentives up to the age of 30.
I'm sure most 20-30 years olds have much more disposable cash than the 30-50 age bracket.

 

[Hobbit]

I started at 9, but only had a couple of years out for beer and skirt chasing. Still drink beer and back playing golf for donkey's years. I've argued many times in committee that we focus too much on a particular group at the expense of those that would pay more in subs, albeit reduced, and more in the bar.

Let the kids do what they've always done. Play golf, drift away then come back - you ain't going to change that. But encourage them to come back sooner - the 30 somethings are the future of golf.

 

[Lambchops]

I never played as a kid, was always football for me and I played to a decent enough level but I got to 35 and it was taking longer and longer to recover from knocks so I knocked it on the head and tried golf as a way of filling the void not playing football left. First year my I really enjoyed it and my handicap got to 20 and my second season is just starting - the wife has got into golf as well so she's now a member of the club and likes a round most sundays when we can get a babysitter for a few hours

TBH there are an awful lot of young'uns at our club although golf is still an emerging game over here - for the 40+ year olds its still seen as an elite sport for the likes of company directors etc - you can guarantee that in a comp by the time you have tee'd off on the 2nd hole you've been asked what you do for a living, where you live and what you drive

 

[Snelly]

Played from the age of 8 to 19 and became a decent player by then. I left the area for Uni and didn't rejoin a golf club (aside from corporate schemes) until I was 27. Got back into it seriously at that point and played a lot, including for the club scratch team, until my wife fell pregnant with our son. At this point I resigned from the club.

I haven't rejoined anywhere since as I have always felt that disappearing for six hours on a Saturday wasn't being a good Dad to my two children, especially given that I travel a lot with work and am away during the week regularly. They are only young once and I didn't have a Dad who was around when I was a kid so I have a very strong urge to ensure I am there for them at the weekends.

Now though, my son is 11 and reasonably keen on golf so I am considering joining a club again with him as a junior member and I would love to think my daughter will follow suit. This will coincide with a major move that we are currently trying to make - relocation to Yorkshire. I think it is highly likely that I will join a club there.

All that said, I already know which club I want to join and I don't give a toss how they are marketing to me as a 43 year old bloke. I want to join the club because it is the best course in the area, is a relatively old-school place and I have friends there.

Incentives are irrelevant to me and I feel that courses in this category should focus on offering the best golf experience that they can in terms of quality, a convivial clubhouse with decent food and not worry about how they market themselves or attract a specific market sector.

In general terms, this is exactly what courses like this do and is the reason that they still have waiting lists.. E.g. Hankley, West Hill and North Hants in the South and Alwoodley, Ganton and Hallamshire in the area we are moving to. All six are clubs I would love to be a member of.

If the course is good and in excellent condition, the clubhouse welcoming and offering high quality services, then people will want to be members there. Simple as that. And the costs for the courses mentioned above are not too steep and I would say, represent very good value for money.

I appreciate though that places with more run-of-the-mill courses and pretty average clubhouse services do have to do all they can to attract punters through lower cost of entry and a decent marketing strategy.

Golf is for golfers though - it isn't like you can attract passing trade. There is a finite market for your local club to access and most clubs get the membership levels that they deserve based on the quality of what they offer, rather than the price point they offer it at.

At least that is my view on this....