Number of Golfers in UK could be doubled....

[CMAC]

A new survey has revealed that the number of people playing golf in the UK could be doubled if clubs and courses were friendlier, encouraged families and offered greater flexibility and better playing conditions. Eric Brown, Global Turf Business Manager of Syngenta, which commissioned the research and presented the report, ‘Growing Golf in the UK’ at the Golf Business Forum in St Andrews, offers some insights and analysis on the significant latent demand for golf. (taken from the article) link here https://www.golfbusinesscommunity.c...rown_global_turf_business_manager_of_syngenta

makes very interesting reading

 

[Vice]

Flexible memberships would certainly help. You always see 5 day memberships Mon-Fri, but most of us mere mortals have jobs that require us to work during the week. This means that we only have the opportunity to play on the weekend for most of the year. You end up paying for a 7 day membership that you can only use 2 days a week unless the club has floodlit practise facilities this is a huge waste of money.

 

[fundy]

Flexible memberships would certainly help. You always see 5 day memberships Mon-Fri, but most of us mere mortals have jobs that require us to work during the week. This means that we only have the opportunity to play on the weekend for most of the year. You end up paying for a 7 day membership that you can only use 2 days a week unless the club has floodlit practise facilities this is a huge waste of money.

simple supply and demand - high demand at weekends, lower demand midweek, offering 2 day memberships just for weekends at a reduced rate would be commercial suicide

 

[patricks148]

simple supply and demand - high demand at weekends, lower demand midweek, offering 2 day memberships just for weekends at a reduced rate would be commercial suicide

Very true , you would not expect to pay less for weekend membership would you????

You are getting weekend membership and getting weekdays for free.

 

[Mattyboy]

simple supply and demand - high demand at weekends, lower demand midweek, offering 2 day memberships just for weekends at a reduced rate would be commercial suicide

......But charging people for days of the week when they cannot play is ethical??????......

 

[Vice]

I do understand basic economics, I'm just stating for this reason I don't have a membership. I simply cannot justify the cost. I'd rather play a different course every weekend. It just blows that for this reason I am not allowed an official handicap...

simple supply and demand - high demand at weekends, lower demand midweek, offering 2 day memberships just for weekends at a reduced rate would be commercial suicide

 

[fundy]

I do understand basic economics, I'm just stating for this reason I don't have a membership. I simply cannot justify the cost. I'd rather play a different course every weekend. It just blows that for this reason I am not allowed an official handicap...

Do none of the municipals in your area offer a very basic membership that allows you to gain a handicap (worth having an ask around as quite a few are doing this these days then you pay a green fee when you play)

 

[fundy]

......But charging people for days of the week when they cannot play is ethical??????......

Ethical? Really? Its a business offering membership bands as they see fit for their business, you either join on one of these or don't, not sure where ethics come into it, if you dont liek it you dont join

 

[Hacker Khan]

Good article, I especially liked the quote Rules and regulations regarding clothing was an issue for both non-golfers and golfers, supporting the view that golf may not be attuned to customer expectations around leisure and sports activities. More than half (54%) of the non-golfers we interviewed said they would be encouraged to take up golf if there was a relaxed dress code , which will hopefully put to bed the argument I see on here quite a lot about dress codes not being that important a factor on why people are not playing. But knowing this board it probably won't

I also found 'Of the golfers we interviewed, 65% said they would consider leaving their club or regular course. That’s a significant proportion of golf’s customers who are questioning their commitment to the sport. One statistic that stands out for me is that 25% of golfers recall no experience of being treated like a valued customer. Also, up to 50% of golfers feel intimidated by club rules, regulations and members of staff' a pretty shocking and damning indictment of the people that run the game and clubs. You surely can not sustain a long term future for the game with that kind of feedback.

There's also a really good article in GM this month about growing the women's game by providing more family friendly facilities. A lot of it is not really rocket science and a vast majority of other sports and leisure pass times have cottoned onto these issues and made changes. I just fear the the people running golf, plus a large majority (although clearly not all) of people that run clubs, are not really fit for purpose in the 21st century to grow the game for the good of all in the long run. And mostly just serve the interest of an ever dwindling and increasingly elderly group of mostly male members.

As the article says, there are opportunities to grow the game. Let's hope the people that matter take note and do so.

 

[GB72]

Ethical? Really? Its a business offering membership bands as they see fit for their business, you either join on one of these or don't, not sure where ethics come into it, if you dont liek it you dont join

True but the argument can easily be reversed and say that instead they should do away with the 5 day membership as well and just have one level of membership for all. In that way there can be no complaints about what is fair and what is not.

It may make business sense at the moment as around me all clubs pretty much charge the same and unless you go down the De Vere route then it requires a 7 day membership to play at the weekend. I reckon that if any club offered a reduced rate (and the reduction does not need to be massive) and restrict those members to playing on Saturday and Sunday they would be swamped with applications.

The business model works in my area at present because nobody offers anything different. I am a bid fed up with the 'if you do not like it do not join argument' that appears in so many areas of golf. Simple fact is that this argument holds water because few clubs offer an alternative (be it membership, dress code or any number of areas) in my area so if you want to play golf then you have to sign up to the status quo. If there were a club offering a reasonable alternative, I reckon they would have members queuing out the door to sign up.

 

[Vice]

Might be an option worth investigating, thanks for the heads up.

Do none of the municipals in your area offer a very basic membership that allows you to gain a handicap (worth having an ask around as quite a few are doing this these days then you pay a green fee when you play)

 

[Hacker Khan]

Ethical? Really? Its a business offering membership bands as they see fit for their business, you either join on one of these or don't, not sure where ethics come into it, if you dont liek it you dont join

I think one of the main points is that people are not joining. And this is a problem for the long term future of the game. And saying 'like it or lump it' is not really the way to address this.

 

[fundy]

True but the argument can easily be reversed and say that instead they should do away with the 5 day membership as well and just have one level of membership for all. In that way there can be no complaints about what is fair and what is not.

It may make business sense at the moment as around me all clubs pretty much charge the same and unless you go down the De Vere route then it requires a 7 day membership to play at the weekend. I reckon that if any club offered a reduced rate (and the reduction does not need to be massive) and restrict those members to playing on Saturday and Sunday they would be swamped with applications.

The business model works in my area at present because nobody offers anything different. I am a bid fed up with the 'if you do not like it do not join argument' that appears in so many areas of golf. Simple fact is that this argument holds water because few clubs offer an alternative (be it membership, dress code or any number of areas) in my area so if you want to play golf then you have to sign up to the status quo. If there were a club offering a reasonable alternative, I reckon they would have members queuing out the door to sign up.

Why do people think golf is so different to many other areas, where prices are tailored based on supply and demand. Many many businesses offer cheaper rates at off peak times. Cinemas, bowling alleys, gyms and plenty more offer "off peak" discounts, thats all 5 day membership is doing.

The alternative as you speak would be swamped at busy times and empty on the "off peak" times, hardly a sensible business model and certainly not one that would be sustainable for very long

 

[Vice]

Exactly, with so many clubs "needing" members and not having enough golfers... surely it's an option?

True but the argument can easily be reversed and say that instead they should do away with the 5 day membership as well and just have one level of membership for all. In that way there can be no complaints about what is fair and what is not.

It may make business sense at the moment as around me all clubs pretty much charge the same and unless you go down the De Vere route then it requires a 7 day membership to play at the weekend. I reckon that if any club offered a reduced rate (and the reduction does not need to be massive) and restrict those members to playing on Saturday and Sunday they would be swamped with applications.

The business model works in my area at present because nobody offers anything different. I am a bid fed up with the 'if you do not like it do not join argument' that appears in so many areas of golf. Simple fact is that this argument holds water because few clubs offer an alternative (be it membership, dress code or any number of areas) in my area so if you want to play golf then you have to sign up to the status quo. If there were a club offering a reasonable alternative, I reckon they would have members queuing out the door to sign up.

 

[Vice]

Yes but every place you mentioned below can be accessed when the sun goes down during the week.

I suppose you could try hack your way around a course at night...

Why do people think golf is so different to many other areas, where prices are tailored based on supply and demand. Many many businesses offer cheaper rates at off peak times. Cinemas, bowling alleys, gyms and plenty more offer "off peak" discounts, thats all 5 day membership is doing.

The alternative as you speak would be swamped at busy times and empty on the "off peak" times, hardly a sensible business model and certainly not one that would be sustainable for very long

 

[fundy]

I think one of the main points is that people are not joining. And this is a problem for the long term future of the game. And saying 'like it or lump it' is not really the way to address this.

Maybe im just fortunate that I play at an open and forward thinking club, no lack of demand where we are. Club is very friendly, not obsessed with dress codes (albeit there are some minimal standards), spend as much time and money as they can afford on the golf course whilst offering a satisfactory clubhouse (certainly no frills), all at a pretty reasonable price (either as a member or as a green fee). Its not the greatest golf course in the world but does better than most because of how it is run (and who its run by).

 

[fundy]

Yes but every place you mentioned below can be accessed when the sun goes down during the week.

I suppose you could try hack your way around a course at night...

Why does that change anything? the reasons for supply/demand that causes 2 tier pricing are different for different business, doesnt make them less applicable. Ultimately all golf clubs are run as businesses, or as members clubs so need at worst to break even, and most are run on the basis most likely to achieve this in the long run, this won't suit many potential customers

 

[duncan mackie]

I'm just stating for this reason I don't have a membership. I simply cannot justify the cost. I'd rather play a different course every weekend.

whilst there are 2 different issues in this the crux of it is cost - and the article skirts that competely.

there are a huge huge number of activities that have a massive latent 'customer base' - that simply can't afford the cost (whatever that is).

I also struggle to understand how such a large number of people who have never played have anything but a perception of rules and regulations, let alone customer satisfaction. Of those considered to have 'lapsed' there has to be at least a natural conclusion that they couldn't afford the cost or time rather than simply feeling 'unloved' through a poor customer experience.

 

[GB72]

Why do people think golf is so different to many other areas, where prices are tailored based on supply and demand. Many many businesses offer cheaper rates at off peak times. Cinemas, bowling alleys, gyms and plenty more offer "off peak" discounts, thats all 5 day membership is doing.

The alternative as you speak would be swamped at busy times and empty on the "off peak" times, hardly a sensible business model and certainly not one that would be sustainable for very long

But it has to be looked at through the eyes of the person who is not currently a member or who is finding the cost hard to justify. On that basis, people do look at it as paying to play on 5 days of the week that they can never use and so paying for just 1 or 2 rounds a week. On that basis, the deal does not seem so good for many people and they leave the game. Couple this with discounts for younger and older members and you have a person in their 40s with a mortgage and kids to pay for feeling (whether justified or not) that he is subsidising the club. That person will, in time, give serious consideration to his membership.

Sometimes it is the perception that is as important as the facts. if you turned round to this member and said we will give you £100 off and you can only play at weekends (or pay a green fee for a midweek comp) then he would feel that he was getting a deal and consider staying as a member.

I am not sure if it is the same elsewhere, but when I have changed clubs I have not once been asked why I was leaving. Surely this is the information that the club needs to increase or retain members.

 

[CheltenhamHacker]

I suppose you could try hack your way around a course at night...

Interestingly, I got an email yesterday from Crown Golf, about a nighttime 9 holes on halloween. I'm not going, but I'm very interested to know how this will work! I imagine lots of lights and/or flourescent balls...