How much?

[Deleted member 16999]

I don't know the breakdown of full/country/dual membership at any of the clubs but according to our handicap list we have 550 people listed. I believe Parkstone has nearer 700 and not sure about Ferndown. I've heard Parkstone members complain about difficulty getting on the course though.

From your course mate and understanding you work, what % would you guess are active.
ie. we only have 350 members but I’d genuinely say 15% probably play less than 10 times a year.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

From your course mate and understanding you work, what % would you guess are active.
ie. we only have 350 members but I’d genuinely say 15% probably play less than 10 times a year.

I would say we have a fairly active membership. I've been there 10 years and seems I know fewer people now than 5 years ago as we have so many new(ish) members. When I look at the weekend start sheets they are generally fairly busy but you see different names each day. Not a problem getting a time but the course is well utilised. However, we do have a lot of good juniors coming through and that is down to the excellent junior coaching schemes run by the pro staff.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I would say we have a fairly active membership. I've been there 10 years and seems I know fewer people now than 5 years ago as we have so many new(ish) members. When I look at the weekend start sheets they are generally fairly busy but you see different names each day. Not a problem getting a time but the course is well utilised. However, we do have a lot of good juniors coming through and that is down to the excellent junior coaching schemes run by the pro staff.

The reason I asked is, I was talking to a good friend up here, who it turns out is a full member of a very prestigious course near Southport
Knowing he’s a member of a course up here I asked him if it was a Country membership with living so far away and he said him and his 2 brothers joined as Juniors as their dad had a membership and moved on to full membership, all 3 sons have moved away from the NW but all 3 have kept membership as they may move back to the area one day and with the waiting list and size of joining fee they doubt they’d get back in.
They no longer offer Country membership as they don’t need to and some years he gets to play there 15-20 times normally it’s 6 or 7.
He was of the opinion the Clubs don’t really care as they are getting the money and there’s a little less pressure on the tee times.
He also reckons it can help in the business market as one of brothers uses his membership to “entertain” clients.

 

[SteveJay]

As someone who is also looking at relocating soon, this is something I have investigated too (and thanks to Junior and NW Jocko for their advice to date).

We plan to move to the Fylde area and all the better courses (Fairhaven, SAOL, North Shore) I have looked into have joining fees similar to a year's membership and some have waiting lists. Whilst the population locally is not massive, and the area is well served by numerous courses, I guess the reputation of some draw in members from further afield.

I am sure if one can charge it, others will follow suit. Unfortunately those others who don't charge are far less attractive to me, so I guess I will have to bite the bullet and pay!