Membership

[Toad]

Was reading this month’s mag and in particular Jeremy’s piece re club memberships declining.
I believe that clubs are not doing enough to attract new members, and that others are not making the most of what they have.

Gleneagles for example has 3x Championship courses and an excellent par 3 course, all for the princely sum of £4000 in the first year and £1800 fees a year after this.
They have just announced that they made a loss this year for the first time, and still they don’t open any of the courses to the paying public or reduce membership fee’s to attract new members, instead they prefer to keep the working man out by charging exorbitant green fee’s.

I remember 2-3 years ago when they needed to raise some extra income they opened all their courses up from November to March at £35 a round, It was booked solid almost every day raising tens of thousands.

I would suggest all of our so called exclusive courses allow 1-2 days a week for visitors on a reduced greenfee, they could easily make an extra £3000 a week every week, instead they rely on the odd visiting party of rich yanks or people who can only afford to play on the odd special occasion due to the high prices.

Most clubs in my area have increased the joining and green fees, does no one in charge of these clubs know about the recession and loss of income people are suffering at present.
If they did you would think that they would try not only to attract new members but to keep existing ones they would reduce or at worst freeze prices.
As usual the majority of golf clubs are being greedy and stupidly believe that we will still continue to pay over inflated prices.

There is one course in our area that has tried very hard to attract new people to golf, they have introduced a weekday membership of £100 for a year and will supply you with clubs when you wish to play and it includes some tuition, this allows them a kind of try before you buy deal.A truly excellent idea.
Are any clubs near you doing anything similar to attract new members?

 

[Matty]

Sad to say that this is typical of British mentality in economics.

Usage declines so we push the price up - that means further usage decline and further price hikes - look at things like railways, buses, magazines, newspapers etc.

Now it seems that golf courses are falling into the same old trap - perhaps if someone had the confidence to cut fees and saw a return immediately then others would be quick to follow!

 

[freddielong]

Micheal Portillo made reference to J graphs during one of the politics shows (This Week Perhaps) which work on a similar premise, you lower taxes and increase tax income as more people pay them.

Sound economic principle IMO ower the cost to increase demand

 

[huttonline]

There is one course in our area that has tried very hard to attract new people to golf, they have introduced a weekday membership of £100 for a year and will supply you with clubs when you wish to play and it includes some tuition, this allows them a kind of try before you buy deal.A truly excellent idea.

Is that just for the first year? Sounds a great deal.

A local club to me offer points based membership starting at only £145 a year. That gives you 100 points which equates to 14 rounds on the 18hole course, rather than paying £20 a round.

 

[madandra]

I was offered a discounted round of golf at Gleneagles during a customers trade show there. The reduced rate was still £100. Aye right !!!!

 

[HRC99]

The problem for them is that if they make it too cheap, people won't pay the full whack, they'll just come on the cheap days. Then they'll need a hell of a lot of people to come to make up for it.

It is a tricky balance to strike for them to get it right.

I would imagine that they will be offering some good deals that involve a stay at the hotel. That way they get your money in the bar and restaurant too.

 

[Marko77]

I thought exactly the same thing about Gleneagles when I heard that last week.

Even if the offer was just to members of other courses. Nothing against PAYP punters but cheaper golf at some of the 'finer' venues could be an incentive to become a member at a club.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My club is holding regular open days whereby the captain and committee meet and green prospective members, give them the guided tour and then take them out for nine holes. They are also deferring the joining fee over two years so the initial fiscal hit is reduced. The course itself is in great condition especially the greens and we are actually getting people through the doors.

Another club have posted flyers door to door which seems a more scattergun way of attracting membership but at least shows a pro-active mentality.

I don't think after the initial hit that £1800 to play Gleneagles (£600 per course) is that bad and I probably wouldn't want to have to suddenly pre-book a time becaue a coachload of johnny visitors were turning up

 

[Toad]

Homer,

It does sound like great value at £600 a course but you can only play one at a time.

Maybe if they offered membership based on rounds played or perhaps a special membership to each of the seperate courses with a reduced fee when you wish to play on the others.

I would happily pay £1800 a year if I could find the time to play all three corses each week.

 

[HRC99]

Like all these things, its how much you use them. Playing 50 times a year, it's pricey. 100 times a year, pretty good value.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I tend to average at least 100 rounds per year so if I lived close enough to get there in the summer evenings after work and at weekends I'd bang my application in. Sadly being way down south its only a pipe dream.

 

[Losttheplot]

When I went to the club I joined back in March I had a chat to the club manager. He said that he had noticed that unless you were a student you would be paying full membership price and this was across all the decent courses in the area.
So to make the club more competitive and to encourage new members he has made a new offer.
If your between 23-30yrs old it's £39.99 per month for a full 7 day membership and you don't pay anything in feb or march next year.

I was willing to pay the full membership price but just creeped into this new bracket.
I thought it was a great way of getting new members and there was an open day promoting this for the younger golfers to attend and have a go.

Something proactive and realistic for the age group targeted and with a realistic price compared to salary etc etc.

 

[beggsy]

we offer a life membership at our club for £5000 no matter who you are or how old you are

 

[Redwood]

I quite like the idea of the point system. You pay so much for which you get playing points.

It costs you a certain amount of points to play, and depending on which days you play and at what times, the points taken from your accouny vary, so if you play peak times you loose more points.

Sounds good in principle, but I bet it would be a buggar to manage.

 

[DCB]

Some interesting ideas and concepts on this post. The biggest problem is that numbers of players are falling and so the pool of customers is reducing. All clubs are having to be innovative in their thinking to try and attract new members, but this has led to some interesting dilemas for the clubs concerned.

There is a club near me who had a reduced play membership last year, 20 rounds for £200. So those not playing a lot of golf could get their 20 rounds (inc comps)for £200, ideal you might say. This obviously caused problems to their business model and cashflow, as this year, they have altered their pricing structure and the same membership is £270. Thier normal 7 day membership has also gone up, probably to help balance the books.

The idea of bringing customers in when the course is quiet is great, but, if you increase demand at "quiet" times, you creat a new "peak" time.

I don't know what the answer is, are clubs being too greedy with greenfees ? Are they too regimented as to when visitors can play ? I don't know the answers. All I know is that we are getting less and less players to play nowadays and its going to cost us all more to play in the long run.

 

[Dodger]

I tend to think in my area clubs are charging too much for run of the mill courses with regards green fees.If as track is charging £30 I think that £20 should be the price but it would take a brave man to go ahead and do this.....are you going to get the increased traffic to justify it or will you end up with the same traffic at the lower price so end up in the turd?

Also I see big problem in the lower age brackets of membership,we need to be making it more affordable for the under 30's who are the future of the game....alot of clubs have you paying a full fee at 22 and £400-£700 is a big ask especially after you have been paying maybe £100-£200.

 

[AndrewG]

Our club had a big VAT debt last year, so it waived the joining fee of £200, and introduced a 4 for 3 scheme on new members, dropping the £550 subs (which were frozen this year for the rest of us) to just over £400. 67 new members later, we've cleared the debt, and are looking forward to a good year...

 

[iGolf]

If your between 23-30yrs old it's £39.99 per month for a full 7 day membership and you don't pay anything in feb or march next year.

if clubs near me did offers like this I'd join tomorrow. But unfortunately most clubs charge around £1000pa which even paid monthy is too much a month. I currently pay £40 per month to be member of a very nice gym, I'd happily quit this to join a golf club.

Also, I think golf clubs need to look at changing their image if they want to gain new younger members. Get rid of the stuck up middle class blazer wearing sterotype and they might start getting somewhere.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Get rid of the stuck up middle class blazer wearing sterotype and they might start getting somewhere.

Amen brother.

 

[Losttheplot]

Get rid of the stuck up middle class blazer wearing sterotype and they might start getting somewhere.

Amen brother.

couldn't of put it better myself

I think that's what my club was aiming at plus the lack of members in the young adult region. Didn't know at 27 I was a young adult!!