What Would Entice You to Spend More Time/Money in the Clubhouse

A radical change in the catering - abysmal at present. Not another penny will be handed over for food at the club - which also excludes me participating in a few events because the gig involves food after. Events where a few more of my sheckles would have gone across the bar too.
 
We are lucky in that our club has a Dormy House so that during most of the season catering staff are on duty to serve dinner and cooked breakfasts. The club advertises breakfasts for members and we also have a coffee machine and Sky Sports in the lounge.
 
I wish the club or kitchen franchise could get their act together and offer a breakfast menu (even just sausage/bacon baps) at the weekend. If this was advertised and rolled out properly it could be a big winner. Our Saturday roll up goes out about 7.30-7.45 and players arrive anytime after 7.15. There is an even bigger roll up on a Sunday which incorporates most of the club mainstay members (the ones always up there and to be honest the biggest spenders) and so the potential is there.
 
I hate to say it, but if the dress code was relaxed just a bit so that the wife and kids could join me for a drink and a platter of food then I would probably use it a bit more. The issue has been raised with the committee, but was outvoted so that was that. Not going to moan about it as more people wanted to keep it as it is than wanted to change it, and that's democracy for you..:thup:
 
Deleted member 18121 said:
Nothing, I go to the course to play golf....not to socialise.
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I totally agree. I don't really count many of the people with whom I play golf as "friends". Our club is hopelessly overcrowded. One has to be in a group to access tee times. I don't dislike any of the guys. I can just take them or leave them. Most of my true friends have died or left the club. If I didn't live less than a mile from the club and have senior dues I would probably drop out. However, there are not any better options if I want to play two or three times a week.
 
Hoganman1 said:
I totally agree. I don't really count many of the people with whom I play golf as "friends". Our club is hopelessly overcrowded. One has to be in a group to access tee times. I don't dislike any of the guys. I can just take them or leave them. Most of my true friends have died or left the club. If I didn't live less than a mile from the club and have senior dues I would probably drop out. However, there are not any better options if I want to play two or three times a week.
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That is sad for me.......I go to the course mostly to socialize, yes I am a very competitive player but just love having a drink and a laugh with my playing partners.
 
Realise this is a very old topic... But similar to the first point made on the OP, my club serves breakfasts supposedly, but it only opens from 11am, which makes it pointless. I sometimes eat a lunch in the clubhouse after my round, but I'd certainly be tempted to have a breakfast beforehand if it were possible. As it stands I have to go to the Wenzels bakery down the road to grab a sausage/bacon bap instead.

I think they have tried opening the bar for food earlier in the past, but there must not have been enough takers unfortunately.

I usually have a drink or two with my playing partners after the round though. These days it's Diet Cokes rather than shandies.
 
AussieKB said:
That is sad for me.......I go to the course mostly to socialize, yes I am a very competitive player but just love having a drink and a laugh with my playing partners.
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Likewise. I couldn’t care less about the clubhouse, as long as it provides shelter, coffee and beer. My golf friends are actual friends; I miss them when I don’t see them and we socialise away from golf, even though we didn’t know each before meeting at the golf club.
Golf for me is mostly a social exercise. If nobody is available I no longer play solo.
 
Our club is just having a brand new kitchen installed - it'll be costing tens of thousands so some decent investment from the owners. I occasionally eat up there, and almost always pop in for a drink after a round and will spend at least an hour in there having a natter with other members. One of the reasons I enjoy my membership, we have a friendly and diverse group that all mix together that use the clubhouse.
 
AussieKB said:
That is sad for me.......I go to the course mostly to socialize, yes I am a very competitive player but just love having a drink and a laugh with my playing partners.
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I think your valid point is the situation that Hoganman1 was in a few years back. He had golfing buddies, but as he says, “ most of his true friends have died or moved”.
Me I am like you, the social side, the mental health side is very important to me. Talking rubbish in the clubhouse afterwards, I have lost count of the laughs we have had in there. However our fuddle has some elderly guys in there with health problems. In fact one of the lads is having bladder surgery today re bladder cancer.
Our fuddle must spend the most money in the clubhouse twice a week. We kinda bounce off one another.
Am not to sure the club could do anything else to entice is to spend more apart from the “reduce prices” topic which has been done to death.
 
Good question, all these years later as well.

I'm probably not someone who would go crazy at any club but I could certainly be tempted to spend more than I currently do. Our bar area is okay but not great. The coffee machine is poor, I have to drive so never drink alcohol there. The food is barely promoted and is nothing special from what I've seen. There is no sport on a tv to hold my attention beyond the usual chat after a round. Some of those are fixable but I don't see them happening, the will is not there.

I don't think my club will ever be one of those types of places, wrong location, not enough members. I do visit other clubs and wish mine could be more like them at times in the bar but it is one of the compromises I'm okay with taking for the other benefits of being there.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
Good question, all these years later as well.

I'm probably not someone who would go crazy at any club but I could certainly be tempted to spend more than I currently do. Our bar area is okay but not great. The coffee machine is poor, I have to drive so never drink alcohol there. The food is barely promoted and is nothing special from what I've seen. There is no sport on a tv to hold my attention beyond the usual chat after a round. Some of those are fixable but I don't see them happening, the will is not there.

I don't think my club will ever be one of those types of places, wrong location, not enough members. I do visit other clubs and wish mine could be more like them at times in the bar but it is one of the compromises I'm okay with taking for the other benefits of being there.
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I’ve dipped in a few times today to answer this as I’ve bitten the bullet and picked my next club, just sorting some bits via email To join when I get back.

Your response pretty much nails my outlook on this as well. My chosen new home of golf Has a small, but functional and welcoming clubhouse. Lovely little fireplace and decent coffee machine, but it’s a small bar area.

I’ve already worked out I will basically be having just a quick coffee and maybe sandwich after the roll ups they put on the disappearing off home. I’ll attend the odd function they put on when the big comps are on but other than that nothing will really get me spending more in the clubhouse. Like you due to its location I have to drive so I’ll only ever be a quick coffee or a soft drink . I think this is just the way of smaller clubs these days and we maybe just need to accept that and find ways to ensure they keep going as they’re little gems.

Even if I’d chosen the other club I’d likely
Spend less time there as it’s further from
Home and I’d want to cut away after a round to get back to family. Maybe I am just antisocial, there’s no maybe about 🤣
 
We put a dartboard in our clubhouse. There's always a bunch of people using it, and the pool table which sits alongside it.

We just have the one television which will have the chosen sport on at the time.

Decent beers, sensible food - bar snacks seem to be popular.

Come the summer you'll find yourself queuing at the bar quite often as the 2 smaller courses attract lots of young casual golfers who like to stop behind for a drink with their mates.

You don't need to spend a load of money to get people to come in to use the bar after a round.
 
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Read this back and in 2013 it was a coffee machine that takes change that some people wanted. Now I want a coffee machine that takes contactless payment.

Ours is annoying - only takes £1s, and it's 2026 now - lots of people don'r carry change, including me usually. Sure I can buy £1s from the bar using a card but that's a faff, and I don't want to hassle them if they're busy; those little friction points seem insignficant but can prevent sales.

So yeah, modern contactless-payment coffee machine. Nice bean to cup job with all the usual options. Would pay for itself pretty quick I reckon; especially as your price isn't stuck at £2 for all time until you reckon you can get away with £3, so you can increase prices sensibly.
 
Where I was went card payment for everything.
A lot of members complained about that.
Had to try and remember to bring change for the roll ups or game between our group
 
When I was at my previous club, depending who I was playing with I’d either have a drink in the bar, or some weeks nothing at all. There were maybe 10 people at most whenever I went in, and bearing in mind the course was fully booked for first thing until 2pm… Nobody really ate there, the food service was inconsistent, they struggled to keep kitchen staff, we’d get an email regularly telling us the kitchen would be closed the next day etc etc.

At my current club I always have a couple of drinks afterwards and the bar is always busy. The food is really good, lots of people eat there, I do fairly often. They get visitors coming to eat as well. It’s a really great atmosphere.

But does that show that you can’t have one without the other? Was the first club so quiet because there was no point in the members stopping afterwards, but perhaps if more did stop afterwards then the kitchen would be better supported and they could offer more consistent food service? Catch 22!

Build it and they will come (but you need to be able to ride the initial quietness/transition period)!
 
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