West Lancs

[Titleist3]

Good evening all,

Just wondering if anyone has had any dealings with West Lancs Golf Club.

I’m currently interested in becoming a member there.

I’m under 30, does anyone know any membership fees?

Cheers

 

[Deleted member 1740]

Good evening all,

Just wondering if anyone has had any dealings with West Lancs Golf Club.

I’m currently interested in becoming a member there.

I’m under 30, does anyone know any membership fees?

Cheers

I've not dealt with them though i believe its £3k joining fee and £1600 subs with £100 bar levy too.

Being under 30 you may qualify for cheaper subs but i think you'd still have to pay the joining fee and bar levy.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I would suggest contacting the club and explain your position, age, handicap etc, to find out if they have any memberships available, along with costs and any other questions you have.

This would give you the information and they will also tell you if you need a proposer/seconder or if they will accept a letter of introduction/playing game with a committee member and an interview. Whether joining fee are lower at your age and if they offer age related subs.

I've been quite surprised recently myself at how approachable private member clubs are to emails/contact and the information that they 'freely' provided and how helpful they were to answering detailed questions on the phone and in a casual meetings.

Thankfully, days appeared to have changed alot to a decade or so again in that regard which is great and a good thing for the 'consumer/potential member who does not know other members or does'.

 

[Liverbirdie]

Good evening all,

Just wondering if anyone has had any dealings with West Lancs Golf Club.

I’m currently interested in becoming a member there.

I’m under 30, does anyone know any membership fees?

Cheers

I think its around what Stuey says, but as also mentioned may depend on your age.

When I wrote off to WL, Hillside, S and A and Wallasey a few years ago WL was the most expensive joining fee and yearly subs/bar tab/building levy.

 

[Tashyboy]

3K joining fee. Bloody hell no wonder the game is struggling.

 

[richart]

3K joining fee. Bloody hell no wonder the game is struggling.

Hankley Common where we played last years GM Help For Heroes day has a joining fee of over £5000. Waiting list to join, so no struggle there.

 

[Beezerk]

Hankley Common where we played last years GM Help For Heroes day has a joining fee of over £5000. Waiting list to join, so no struggle there.

That's a minority is it not though? The run of the mill average club is where the struggles are. Top notch courses will always have people with cash to blow for kudos value alone, it's not really a true reflection of golf in general IMO.

 

[Deleted member 1740]

That's a minority is it not though? The run of the mill average club is where the struggles are. Top notch courses will always have people with cash to blow for kudos value alone, it's not really a true reflection of golf in general IMO.

Whilst there is enough people who do join just for kudos, being able to play 12months a year (snow permitting) at the likes of West Lancs is apealing to many more so i could justify paying a £3k joining fee.

i reckon i lost at least 4 weeks over the last 12 months due to rain and it cost me £1100 in subs last year.

 

[Beezerk]

Whilst there is enough people who do join just for kudos, being able to play 12months a year (snow permitting) at the likes of West Lancs is apealing to many more so i could justify paying a £3k joining fee.

i reckon i lost at least 4 weeks over the last 12 months due to rain and it cost me £1100 in subs last year.

Obviously there's also the idiots who pay though the nose to play a decent course 12 months a year

 

[Deleted member 1740]

Obviously there's also the idiots who pay though the nose to play a decent course 12 months a year

Touchè

 

[Deleted member 15344]

3K joining fee. Bloody hell no wonder the game is struggling.

If they were struggling they wouldn’t be able to charge the amount they do

And golf isn’t struggling right now - it’s plateued to a level that was around before the boom and multiple poor standard pay and plays were built

Right now if the course is at a good standard then it will be doing well , club membership will be healthy

There is also a lot more nomads around at the moment as well

Golf itself for me it’s doing as well as you would expect for a minority sport

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Whilst there is enough people who do join just for kudos, being able to play 12months a year (snow permitting) at the likes of West Lancs is apealing to many more so i could justify paying a £3k joining fee.

i reckon i lost at least 4 weeks over the last 12 months due to rain and it cost me £1100 in subs last year.

Blimey that seems a lot. I reckon we lost no more than 7-10 days tops fully closed (including snow and waterlogging) and perhaps another 7-10 days when one or other nine was closed when it was wet. Mind you we use to pay close to £1,000 on the old course and lost 30+ days a year to racing before any days lost to the weather. That in hindsight seemed a poor return on the investment although at the time I didn't see it and was enjoying my time there

 

[Tashyboy]

If they were struggling they wouldn’t be able to charge the amount they do

And golf isn’t struggling right now - it’s plateued to a level that was around before the boom and multiple poor standard pay and plays were built

Right now if the course is at a good standard then it will be doing well , club membership will be healthy

There is also a lot more nomads around at the moment as well

Golf itself for me it’s doing as well as you would expect for a minority sport

If golf isn't struggling, then when I was interviewed by Sky sports on Saturday, I would love to know why they asked me my thoughts on " why golf is struggling ".

 

[Jacko_G]

If golf isn't struggling, then when I was interviewed by Sky sports on Saturday, I would love to know why they asked me my thoughts on " why golf is struggling ".

Golf is struggling. That is a proven fact by falling memberships throughout the land.

As has already been stated, your West Lancs, Royal Toons etc etc will always have a demand for membership as they attract the rich and the status golfer who will pay that sort of money to become a member. If I had the money I'd have no hesitation paying £3k+ a year for top golf but I can't.

Golf clubs are not dropping joining fees, offering 15 months golf for the price of 12, opening up to more reciprocal deals, offering discounts to certain age groups for nothing. They are doing it to survive. They are doing it to attract more members. Likewise they are now operating 9 hole medals etc to try and attract these people who see golf as a whole day, 5+ hour day etc and don't feel they can fit that into their lifestyle.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Golf is struggling at lots of courses including some of the top courses, 100%. Maybe still not so much in the south east/London area but if you look around and research it from the information available on the internet/accounts/their own websites, it is quite clear golf is struggling. I was quite shocked when I spent time about 2 months ago researching it.

I would have bet that the 2 private member courses I approached over membership in this area, 10-15 years ago would have had a waiting list, I would have struggled to have got on the waiting list(as I did not know any members).

Certainly this is true of a couple of private member courses I did when I lived in Essex. They were joining fee, know a member and a waiting list(approx 15 years ago but now completely different).

 

[Junior]

If golf isn't struggling, then when I was interviewed by Sky sports on Saturday, I would love to know why they asked me my thoughts on " why golf is struggling ".

Its a good point. I always wonder why people constantly ask this question. All the clubs in my local area now have junior sections, non are really struggling for membership, and a few of the more 'prestigious' ones now have joining fees (to stop club hopping) and waiting lists. In the 12 years i've been playing i've never known it healthier.

All Sky needed to do was look at the open attendances and the attendances at the British Masters (which they help host) to see that golf isn't struggling as much as people think. We're involved in "Golf Girl Rocks" too to try and get more girlst into golf too, and that is proving successful also.

Edited to add to the OP - sorry I do not know the fee's, but i'll tell you a story...... I heard it's a tough process to get into West Lancs with slow correspondence etc etc. however, I played a Finch Tour event there last year with a member, and he simply knocked on the door to the secretary's office one day and said the process went smoothly and he got in in good time, no problems.

 

[Crazyface]

If golf isn't struggling, then when I was interviewed by Sky sports on Saturday, I would love to know why they asked me my thoughts on " why golf is struggling ".

It's struggling alright. The cost is bonkers for membership, and I'm not paying the crazy prices some on here are, against return. The weather is a massive factor in this. My old place has been shut for virtually half the year for the last three years. This cannot continue. It seems like there's a course closing every month. I remember when I first joined a club I was playing twice a week from Feb all the way though to November. Not anymore! I played my first 18 holes last Saturday. THE END OF APRIL! Courses must put in better drainage to ensure their course is playable all year round (except for snow), and also must find a way to reduce the costs of membership. Once players stop joining as full members it will be very very difficult to get them back.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

If golf isn't struggling, then when I was interviewed by Sky sports on Saturday, I would love to know why they asked me my thoughts on " why golf is struggling ".

I’m not sure that’s definitive proof - did you ask them why they think it’s steuggling ? It’s a bit of a wide open question without quantifying it

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/amp.ti...-golf-participation-numbers-139856?source=dam

The amount of people playing golf is a steady number since the recession which was a big reason for a big drop a good numbers of years ago

There is prob more nomad members than before and some clubs will be struggling and some will be booming - the ones struggling will be clubs that don’t have a course/club which can attract members

So golf as a sport isn’t struggling - people are still playing the sport and the numbers playing are at a level that you would expect for a minority sport - some clubs will be struggling but that’s because the brutal truth is they aren’t good enough and it’s a result of a boom years back that created hundreds of pop up pay and play courses which are now closing

 

[Junior]

Just because golf clubs are struggling to retain members, does it mean golf is struggling?? Or, are many golfers now chopping and changing clubs because they are bored of the same course? I know a lot now who hold their handicap at munis and 9 holers so that they can just play opens.

So, is golf club membership struggling,? Or, is golf struggling?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Just because golf clubs are struggling to retain members, does it mean golf is struggling?? Or, are many golfers now chopping and changing clubs because they are bored of the same course? I know a lot now who hold their handicap at munis and 9 holers so that they can just play opens.

So, is golf club membership struggling,? Or, is golf struggling?

That is it in a nutshell - people do swap and change , people move areas and move clubs , some leave membership to go nomad and some just play In societies

I’m a member of three societies - all three have had big boost in numbers over the past two years , local pay and play courses are full with nomad golfers - my bro in law plays every Saturday and one day during the week with his 7 mates , they aren’t members of clubs and just go around paying green fees and I suspect there are loads like that