Why is The Cost Of Golf Membership so much lower in Scotland?

[PhilTheFragger]

Simple question leading off the other membership fees thread

why ?

With Annual fees for a quality course lower than £750 , compared to £1300/ 1500 plus in the South of England. what accounts for the difference?

Apologies typo
Corrected, My Bad

 

[Essex_Stu]

Wages are probably the biggest factor.

 

[patricks148]

Simple question leading off the other membership fees thread

why ?

With Annual fees for a quality course lower than £250 , compared to £1300/ 1500 plus in the South of England. what accounts for the difference?

i doubt there are many clubs that are charging £250, maybe 9 holers in remote places.

 

[ger147]

Simple question leading off the other membership fees thread

why ?

With Annual fees for a quality course lower than £250 , compared to £1300/ 1500 plus in the South of England. what accounts for the difference?

Apologies if I missed something in the other thread but what quality course in Scotland charges less than £250 for membership?

And if there is one that is deffo the exception. I live in the central belt near Glasgow and pay more than 3 times that amount for membership of a good but deffo not top quality course.

There are some nicer courses within a short distance which would see me paying 4 figures a year.

It would seem that golf in the South is generally more expensive than it is where I live but by no means is £250 a typical fee for golf membership, nowhere near it.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Mainly more than likely down to running costs - wages being a big one

 

[HowlingGale]

Mainly more than likely down to running costs - wages being a big one

Doubt theres much difference in wages between Scotland and the rest of the UK (with the exception of London and surrounding area). Or at least there didn't used to be.

Some of the most affluent areas in the UK are in Scotland, especially Edinburgh and in yesteryear Aberdeenshire (again excepting London).

 

[patricks148]

the cheapest quality course i know is Royal Dornoch, purely because of the visitor green fees they get, in the region of £1.5 M +, mainly down to Americans wanting to play Donald Ross's home track.

 

[stevek1969]

I think its a historical thing as golf was always a working mans game up here clubs were never that expensive to play at, maybe against your newer club 30-40 years old. St Andrews has the best deal for residents i think they can play all 7 courses for roughly £350

 

[hovis]

because they're only open for 6 months a year.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Apologies typo in first post, should read £750 not £250

StevieK's course at Scotscraig is a prime example Full membership is £615 for 2017,

Move that course 350 miles south, what would change? apart from the price doubling.

Is it supply & demand, is it a different grass that grows slower so doesnt need as much attention?

Genuinely interested

 

[Imurg]

Is Golspie any good..?
Apparently the 54th best in Scotland and only a quid a day for membership....😵

 

[stevek1969]

Apologies typo in first post, should read £750 not £250

StevieK's course at Scotscraig is a prime example Full membership is £615 for 2017,

Move that course 350 miles south, what would change? apart from the price doubling.

Is it supply & demand, is it a different grass that grows slower so doesnt need as much attention?

Genuinely interested

For some reason golf on the East Coast of Scotland is cheaper than on the West Coast , i don't know why Phil, if you look at the areas Edinburgh,Fife,Angus and up to Aberdeen and the highlands there are clusters of clubs all very close together, most are small places and the club is the pinnacle of the place so its all locals basically ,its a community .

Hovis in general we play full course all year, yesterday it was temp greens for a reason only known to the green staff but today was full course with some winter tees which are in general at the back of the medal tees apart from 2 holes which play slightly shorter .

Not sure about the grass growing Phil but its a sand based course and drains very well ,i think you'd pay £1400-1500 down your way for a course with the history my place has.

 

[Dasit]

Are all these courses in Scotland really as good as they are rated?

See so many ranked in top 100 of GB.

If you took them and plopped them in a lesser golf county would they be ranked in top 100?

 

[stevek1969]

Is Golspie any good..?
Apparently the 54th best in Scotland and only a quid a day for membership....

I watched a flyover of it Iain and it looks stunning, we met some members earlier in the year when we played the Tain 36 hole open and they said it was in superb condition considering the damage the storms did a couple of years ago.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Are all these courses in Scotland really as good as they are rated?

See so many ranked in top 100 of GB.

If you took them and plopped them in a lesser golf county would they be ranked in top 100?

Simple answer - yes they are

 

[DCB]

There are places where you could have membership of a reasonable club for less than £500. If a 9 hole course will sifice, there are many to be had in outlying towns and villages the length and breadth of the country. Since many clubs have owned their land or have long term lease arrangements with the estate that owns the land, we don't seem to face the same hidden costs that cause clubs down south so much of an issue.

We also still have quite a number of "muni" courses with clubs attached. South Ayrshire Council has several good courses, Edinburgh has them as do most major cities up here. It gives an affordable way to play golf for many.

 

[351DRIVER]

Working on simple maths

Scotland has approx 1 golf course per 10,000 people
England has approx 1 golf course per 17,500 people

All things being equal the course with 75% more potential customers will be able to charge more.

England probably (I am guessing) has a London effect that gets less and less as you move away from the centre of all things expensive.

How expensive for example are golf courses in Durham and Newcastle v Courses in Cambridgeshire.

Also without a bunch of research i know that there are so many courses where i have lived (Edinburgh and East Lothian) that clubs could not raise prices quickly or their customers would simply play at a different club, this proximity of equally appealing venues i imagine has a lot to do with prices being kept in check.

My short answer if this qualifies is that the actual answer would be a long long document with a load of factors built in.

 

[Imurg]

I watched a flyover of it Iain and it looks stunning, we met some members earlier in the year when we played the Tain 36 hole open and they said it was in superb condition considering the damage the storms did a couple of years ago.

According to the first "top 100 in England" site I found, number 54 is Lindrick - a price for membership isn't quoted on the Club's website......
I'd fancy joining Lindrick for 365 notes.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

It is basically supply and demand plus many golfers are members of more than one club so wear and tear is also a factor.

 

[stevek1969]

According to the first "top 100 in England" site I found, number 54 is Lindrick - a price for membership isn't quoted on the Club's website......
I'd fancy joining Lindrick for 365 notes.

Found Aldeburgh at 56 do you think i could join there for £615 a year, it looks superb by the way