Reduced Membership Deals

[Crazyface]

Surely the question is not why so many members are in the discounted categories but why the club can not attract a sufficient number of the full category members?

Does it mean that the full category is not competitive for the area? Or just that there is not enough target demographic around etc?

For the area, I think we are the cheapest. Also, are open in the winter when others are not, due to the set up of the course. I said at the meeting that we really need to get the course back to how it was when I originally joined. It was fantastic! It still is, but very very rarely. Usually when Staffs Juniors have a match at ours. The GK's pull out all the stops and it's amazing for a few days. So it can be done, and needs to be done for every day in the season. Sadly, I don't think this will happen. Meetings and forums take place but nothing happens.

 

[AddisonRoad]

This club sounds like a bleak place to be a member of.

 

[KenL]

We have reduced rates up until 39 , been that was for years it’s a gentle increase until full fees

That boils my pee. Why should someone, possibly earning way more than older people, pay less?

 

[Arthur Wedge]

That boils my pee. Why should someone, possibly earning way more than older people, pay less?

“Possibly”




Always seems to be this perception that younger earn more

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[HomerJSimpson]

This club sounds like a bleak place to be a member of.

Definitely doesn't sound a vibrant place to be a member of

 

[Oddsocks]

“Possibly”

View attachment 55321


Always seems to be this perception that younger earn

Ok AW, so based on that a 30-39 year old earns approx £50 p/w gross less. Round it up to £200 p/m and nett after tax that’s around £150 nett. Over a year he will earn approx £1500-1800 less on an average, yet discounted subs for 30-35’s can be as much as 50% less.

Based on clubs around London, subs are generally around £2k. Is it right that 60-70% of his wage difference is covered by a reduced golf membership rate?

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Ok AW, so based on that a 30-39 year old earns approx £50 p/w gross less. Round it up to £200 p/m and nett after tax that’s around £150 nett. Over a year he will earn approx £1500-1800 less on an average, yet discounted subs for 30-35’s can be as much as 50% less.

Based on clubs around London, subs are generally around £2k. Is it right that 60-70% of his wage difference is covered by a reduced golf membership rate?

Never seen any discounts that high - outs for example is approx £100 a year less at the age of 39 compared to 40

 

[KenL]

Never seen any discounts that high - outs for example is approx £100 a year less at the age of 39 compared to 40

I’m sure a 40 year old burger flipper is delighted than a 39 year old fund manager pays less than them!

 

[Arthur Wedge]

I’m sure a 40 year old burger flipper is delighted than a 39 year old fund manager pays less than them!

Im sure that we could look at multiple singular cases to prove a point

How about the retired millionaire at 70 getting reduced fees

 

[KenL]

Im sure that we could look at multiple singular cases to prove a point

How about the retired millionaire at 70 getting reduced fees

At my club you have to have been a member for 25 continuous years to qualify for senior fees. Slight difference.

 

[Golfloveruk]

That boils my pee. Why should someone, possibly earning way more than older people, pay less?

They are effectively subsidising the subs for the seniors.

If there weren’t discounted rates for some groups there would be far fewer members in those groups and subs for everyone else would need to be higher.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

At my club you have to have been a member for 25 continuous years to qualify for senior fees. Slight difference.

But they still could be earning more money but paying less

 

[The Fader]

For the area, I think we are the cheapest. Also, are open in the winter when others are not, due to the set up of the course. I said at the meeting that we really need to get the course back to how it was when I originally joined. It was fantastic! It still is, but very very rarely. Usually when Staffs Juniors have a match at ours. The GK's pull out all the stops and it's amazing for a few days. So it can be done, and needs to be done for every day in the season. Sadly, I don't think this will happen. Meetings and forums take place but nothing happens.

If you are competitively priced and open in winter there must be something fundamentally wrong!
But what would grind my years more than anything is that more effort is put into the course for a group of non members!
Maybe if this effort was put in as the norm - a lot of your issues may be alleviated.

On the question of the % of members not paying the full 7 day fee - you either have a proliferation of 5 day members (seniors??) or
your sliding scale is doing it's job and attracting lots of the club's preferred demographic. Which is it?

And as Orikuru mentioned earlier - not the first time you have raised this issue. If you don't like the way the club is run - move on!
But don't be a hypocrite and take advantage of a new joiner offer somewhere else

 

[Crazyface]

Definitely doesn't sound a vibrant place to be a member of

It's not.

 

[Crazyface]

If you are competitively priced and open in winter there must be something fundamentally wrong!
But what would grind my years more than anything is that more effort is put into the course for a group of non members!
Maybe if this effort was put in as the norm - a lot of your issues may be alleviated.

On the question of the % of members not paying the full 7 day fee - you either have a proliferation of 5 day members (seniors??) or
your sliding scale is doing it's job and attracting lots of the club's preferred demographic. Which is it?

And as Orikuru mentioned earlier - not the first time you have raised this issue. If you don't like the way the club is run - move on!
But don't be a hypocrite and take advantage of a new joiner offer somewhere else

I brought this up at the meeting, in effect. Saying, that maybe if we got the course looking good during the season word would get round and we would attract members. All I got back was that this costs money. Maybe putting up £30K worth of solar panels instead of improving the course wasn't a great idea.......

 

[GB72]

At a few clubs around me, there are still some age related discounts but aside from that, they have gone to a flat rate full 7 day membership for everyone irrespective of age or gender. Everyone pays the same and has the same full access rights. Seems fair to me especially when you would get 5 day members being signed in as member guests at weekends for a reduced fee when the weather was nice etc.

 

[Robster59]

It's not.

I have to ask the question, why do you stay there as a member? Are there not other, better run, clubs in the area you could join? If there are group of you, just do a mass exodus to another club. Our club works damned hard to keep the membership informed and listen to the members and know the value of full membership. 15% is astonishingly low.
We are now in the downslide of the membership surge caused by Covid. This is where, I believe, we will see more clubs going bust as they had not put in plans for the obvious reduction in members as people leave to do other things.

 

[jim8flog]

We only give discounted fees to age 25.

Is often felt we have too many categories of membership and there has several times been a clamour from some directors to only have two - full membership or age related membership.

There was a time when we only had 4 - gents, ladies, juniors and Navy (long association with the Royal Navy via Fleet Air Arm Yeovilton) but slowly over the years we have added extra categories such as 5 day, corporate, and pay a reduced fee and then pay as you play.

 

[jim8flog]

I would add that one of the things we have done over the past few years is to reduce the difference between full membership and some other categories to make them less attractive in the first place.

 

[ntommo]

Where do you get these people have more spare money from?

If you take a look at the cars they pull up in and the golf gear they walk around with its blatantly obvious they shouldn't be paying £300 less than a full member