What level of fees increase would make you look to move clubs

[Lord Tyrion]

During another thread this question came up. Not wanting to derail the original thread it was suggested to start a new one, quite right too.

In my case, fees are £575 plus EGU fees, and an increase of £40 would get me to look. An increase of £60 would get me to move without even needing to look elsewhere.

What level of increase would trigger the possible beginning of the end at your current club?

 

[Imurg]

Broadly similar but a lot would depend on what's available in the area that's equal to what I have...and there ain't much without jumping a price bracket..

 

[patricks148]

My membership has doubled since i joined in 2010, admittedly it was too cheap at the time £400 for a course that was 20 ish in the GM top 100 UK courses, its now £800 and will no doubt increase again this AGM. at this rate it will be £1000 in the not too distant future. I love the course and could afford it, but TBH the way the club is being run is a joke, they reg lose 80 K plus on the catering and since we got rid of the old pro the wage bill alone is £90k for the shop, it cost the club 60 before when he did everything. so for me £1000 would be it, esp as i can join 4 or 5 courses nearby for half that.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Wow you guys really have it good. There are 3 top 100 courses in my area that I would consider, my club is the cheapest at £1600. The others are £1700 and £2000 I believe so it would have to exceed those clubs before I would consider moving (plus all 3 have joining fees so have to factor that in as well).

Seriously, you would consider changing clubs for £1 a week???

 

[duncan mackie]

It's not about the fees at my club alone.

If they moved significantly out of line with those in the surrounding area I would reconsider my options; despite having a preference for that course and club.

As for £40 on an annual subscription for something that gives me 365 day use...sorry but that's not significant. Whilst you can argue % all you like, that's less than a meal for 2, half a tank of fuel in the car or a society golf day. For some it's probably just a bad week on the course and a box of ProVs!

 

[Orikoru]

Mine's only £100.. so maybe if they quadrupled it I'd starting shopping around. All the proper clubs nearby are like £1300 minimum though.

 

[Garush34]

Currently pay £200 for the under 30 category and will rise to £270 when I hit 30. So would say somewhere about £50 would make me consider it too much. But then as my club is 5 mins away at the edge of town then I'd have to factor in the cost of travelling to other clubs, which over a year would probably be more than £50.

 

[shortgame]

Depends on the reasons for the increase. If it to fund continued improvement to the course and facilities and/or projects that are genuinely needed I'd accept a fair increase. Would question anything over 10% though

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Seriously, you would consider changing clubs for £1 a week???

It depends on what you are getting for that increase, what options are around you. If the increase, beyond what is acceptable for increased wages, costs etc, is not explained or you can not see where it is going then resentment kicks in. Increases need to be justifiable (in my case we are an owner owned course so it is not a case of increases always being ploughed back into the club)

 

[Crazyface]

It's not just £1 a week though!!!!!! It's the increase to the TOTAL that's the problem.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

It's not just £1 a week though!!!!!! It's the increase to the TOTAL that's the problem.

Fair enough if you want to look at it that way but in golf you generally get what you pay for. If you want cheap subs then you'll get a lower standard golf course. As they say, you pay your money and you take your choice......

 

[Parsaregood]

There are certain factors you have to look at.
What is the increase for.
Is the increase going to improve the value of the membership by way of better facilities etc
Is the increase just to cover the costs of rising overheads.
Perhaps the club has been running at a loss.
What do other clubs in your area offer.

I can join cheaper clubs in my area but they don't IMO offer as good value when you look st practice facilities, pro shop, par 3 course.
If the increase is going to be spent on improving the club then I have no problem, if they suddenly say it's an extra 150 a year but you get nothing in return for it then I'd probably start looking at other options. £40 Or £50 a year is not significant, how many years has it been since the last increase, perhaps they tried to keep costs down for as long as possible?

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Fair enough if you want to look at it that way but in golf you generally get what you pay for. If you want cheap subs then you'll get a lower standard golf course. As they say, you pay your money and you take your choice......

I agree with the overall sentiment Gordon, however it’s not as simple as lower subs equal lower standard of course, sometimes it’s location or supply and demand.
Your example of the 3 courses in your area, would they be that price if they were in another part of the Country or each one didn’t have 2 others of equal standing close by.
Sometimes as others and yourself have said, members need to see how any price increase is going to be used rather than an increase for the sake of it.

 

[Crazyface]

Fair enough if you want to look at it that way but in golf you generally get what you pay for. If you want cheap subs then you'll get a lower standard golf course. As they say, you pay your money and you take your choice......

Disagree. Throwing money at something does not guarrentee success.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I agree with the overall sentiment Gordon, however it’s not as simple as lower subs equal lower standard of course, sometimes it’s location or supply and demand.
Your example of the 3 courses in your area, would they be that price if they were in another part of the Country or each one didn’t have 2 others of equal standing close by.
Sometimes as others and yourself have said, members need to see how any price increase is going to be used rather than an increase for the sake of it.

If these clubs were in Surrey the fees would be higher. They are all on a par with the likes of the 3 W's which are probably £2k or more a year. But if they were in Scotland I reckon they would be £1k a year.
It costs 'x' amount per year to run a golf club, that amount varies depending on the standard so I stick by my comment that you get what you pay for. If a club is very good and has a high level of visitor income then the member subs will be lower but the overall budget will still be the same irrespective of the split between members and visitors.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Don't really know would really be my answer. I pay some silly amounts for the amount I use the membership.

Probably an increase of £100, but absolute total is also important.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

If these clubs were in Surrey the fees would be higher. They are all on a par with the likes of the 3 W's which are probably £2k or more a year. But if they were in Scotland I reckon they would be £1k a year.
It costs 'x' amount per year to run a golf club, that amount varies depending on the standard so I stick by my comment that you get what you pay for. If a club is very good and has a high level of visitor income then the member subs will be lower but the overall budget will still be the same irrespective of the split between members and visitors.

A few ifs and buts though mate.
A well run, well established course will have no issues justifying any increase whether that be £5.00 or £50.00.
Surely there is a figure at your Club you would question?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

A few ifs and buts though mate.
A well run, well established course will have no issues justifying any increase whether that be £5.00 or £50.00.
Surely there is a figure at your Club you would question?

Haha yeah....here is another if or but.....

If the other 2 clubs didn't have a joining fee then I would consider moving if our subs were equal or more than either of them. However, personally I think mine is the best course out of the 3 so it would have to increase significantly. I believe the joining fees at the other two clubs are £2k and £2.5k so our subs would have to increase a LOT to make me consider changing (my joining fee was £1k when I joined 10 years ago)

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Mine is £1100 inclusive. I would need a projected increase of 20% for me to consider walking away.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I believe the last Club in our area has suspended its joining fee to attract new members, it intended to only accept 50 new members from 01 Jsn 19, it was that succesful they got the 50 members in 4 days and they increased it to 75.