Optimum Membership Numbers 18 hole Course? BRS here for good!

[3offTheTee]

Probably been discussed in the past but what is the optimum number for a 18 hole course please? Thought I read somewhere it is related to length.

Like most clubs we were inundated with new members last year from local Clubs. The new members were all active golfers which meant with natural wastage tee times were far more difficult to book and existing members unhappy. Club is now full and realise there is a balance between members needs and income generation. Raising Subscriptions is probably the answer

We operate BRS which has had a degree of criticism but the 2nd question is should BRS continue post COVID for ALL bookings or just Competitions?

How does your Club hope to overcome these problems hopefully later this year?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I think it’s very hard to judge what is the optimum membership number because it will be depending on the break down of the weekend/weekday playing , juniors etc

If a club has 8 min 4 balls and opens the tee from 7 then during the summer it will get 240-300 spots for players

we have 600 members in total - half play at weekends , the tee sheet is full until 12 with the odd gaps then loads in the afternoons - same for the weekdays except Friday which is full most of the day

As for the tee bookings - I think a lot of clubs will continue with them after June , we will have them for comps but I’m just siding with not having them for social golf and going back to how it was before and then seeing if it still works that way for the membership

 

[clubchamp98]

I think it’s very hard to judge what is the optimum membership number because it will be depending on the break down of the weekend/weekday playing , juniors etc

If a club has 8 min 4 balls and opens the tee from 7 then during the summer it will get 240-300 spots for players

we have 600 members in total - half play at weekends , the tee sheet is full until 12 with the odd gaps then loads in the afternoons - same for the weekdays except Friday which is full most of the day

As for the tee bookings - I think a lot of clubs will continue with them after June , we will have them for comps but I’m just siding with not having them for social golf and going back to how it was before and then seeing if it still works that way for the membership

That’s exactly what we used to do pre Covid and it worked well.
Not sure what the future system will be.
We have 500 full men
80 full ladies
20 juniors.
Give or take a few.
Sat comp is the only problem when everyone wants to play.

 

[Deleted member 18588]

We have had to cap the number of 7 day members as, like most clubs, all new members have been active golfers and thus wish to play in Saturday comps.

For individual comps in the summer, played in three balls, there are 168 tee-times and these are usually taken by the morning after the system goes live at 6.00 pm. It's then a case of going on the reserve list which can quickly have a further 10-20 names.

Last year a chunk of Sunday morning times were given over to accommodating some of the overspill but this then inconveniences many who regard Sundays as a social golf day and who also become squeezed by the Mixed group who like to start from 11.30 ish to enable them to drink & dine together after golf.

So in answer to the OP I would say the optimum number has got to be however many you can accommodate taking into account the demands of various groups and individuals.

Good luck with that!

 

[jim8flog]

We have now gone to 9 minutes (I wanted 8) from our previous 7/8 alternate. It has not really made the rounds any faster but what you notice is very often it feels like there is hardly any body on the course. Saturday mornings being a big exception.

One of the things I have said for years is that although we could do with more members financially we really do have not enough slots for those who want to play Saturday mornings.

Many years a go we had a membership which was Monday to Friday 12pm (some of the big factories used to finish at 12 on a Friday with a lot of members working in them) after 2pm Saturday and Sunday and 7 days a week on the 9 hole. It used to work really well and a lot of 7 day members made the switch until it was replaced by 5 day.

 

[Golfnut1957]

We have had a booking system for a few years now, my only reservation was regarding walk up golf as I occasionally play on my own and like to just walk up. Up until covid that was never a problem but since March 2020 every round has had to be booked, I'm expecting a return to the norm in the next few weeks.

We originally had BRS but now use V1, neither caused any problems and I never heard any members complain about having to book to guarantee a tee time, it is now the norm.

Prior to LD1 we had a steady decline in numbers, not good for finances but great for golfers. Last summer the uptake in membership was mental and all of a sudden tee times became a premium. The option of wandering up late on a warm summers night all but disappeared with tee times book up to the point where they didn't remotely have a chance of getting 9 holes in never mind 18.

Prior to the renewals on 1st Jan the club informed us that it was considering closing the club to new members, depending on uptake for 2021 from the existing. I have no idea how this has panned out but will no doubt find out in the next few weeks.

I believe the club would consider barring new members around the 700 mark. Prior to last summer we were probably just under 600.

 

[3offTheTee]

Our course is full all the time following the influx on new members. Tried to limit the number of bookings in any given period with limited success as people cannot get on the course when they want. They have now capped membership numbers.

The Club need to balance visitor income with membership fees/ satisfaction. Visitors will not be allowed from 29th March.

I would increase the subscriptions by around 12% and bring in a small joining fee which should ease the situation but to strike the correct balance is difficult.

 

[davidy233]

Just had a look at our BRS system for the rest of the week and while it is largely full I could get a tee time to play a full 18 on either course each day - except for the Medal course on Saturday when the first available time is around 3.30pm. We've got a fair few new members and I'm pretty sure it will be a while before guests or visitors are allowed.

 

[DanFST]

No visitors have been allowed on since this started.

No guests over winter after lockdown 2. I imagine that should open up by mid April with the increased sunlight.

 

[Imurg]

Our constitution limits numbers to 655 members.
I imagine they haven't just plucked that number out of thin air and they will have studied playing patterns in order to reach it.
We ran at about 575 last year after many didn't renew due to the lockdown.
BRS has worked since then and worked well.
I hope it continues but we'll see when all restrictions are lifted.
We were allowed guests from late Summer after 1pm until LD2 came along. Allowed again from early May assuming restrictions are lifting as per the roadmap
No Green Fees at all since this time last year.
No word yet as to when they will be allowed.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I would have thought restricting membership numbers is the way forward(and maybe an element of joining fees), as this maybe a short term matter or maybe long term if working from home keeps going and we dont go into a big job lose recession.

So many unknowns for golf clubs, think I would have been looking to keep membership at a reasonable level(ie. lower than mid 500s if an active membership base) and maximise green fee income if I had been a GM.

One thing I noticed was how active alot of the new members appear to be.

Once full members numbers appear to get above above 500-550 for one course, then problems tend to start arising with regards to tee times/comps access etc.

If the split between categories(distance mid, distance long, international, full, 5 day etc) is better managed, then you can get to about 600 without to many problems.

 

[Crazyface]

Our constitution limits numbers to 655 members.
I imagine they haven't just plucked that number out of thin air and they will have studied playing patterns in order to reach it.
We ran at about 575 last year after many didn't renew due to the lockdown.
BRS has worked since then and worked well.
I hope it continues but we'll see when all restrictions are lifted.
We were allowed guests from late Summer after 1pm until LD2 came along. Allowed again from early May assuming restrictions are lifting as per the roadmap
No Green Fees at all since this time last year.
No word yet as to when they will be allowed.

How do you run roll ups? This topic came up in my butchers this morning, he's a member of Prestbury just thought I'd throw that in, and they have BRS but do roll ups by selected participants grabbing required slots of a Sunday morning. It's worked ok but occasionally others have broken in. Some are moaning about it, (BRS), but in the main people are happy with it. We've had our own system, but have just gone to BRS and apart from a first day glitch (they told people booking wasn;t available until the 12th, but some tried it out and got times LOL), we've not got roll ups, which I miss. I've been their two years and know nobody!
I think this will be my last year there. I'll be having a chat to the sec to see what he can suggest.