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

[Hobbit]

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?

I've lived in every country in the UK, bar Northern Ireland, and I've lived in Ireland too. Every area has good courses... well, actually it doesn't. The Midlands has very few stunning courses. Beau Dessert and Little Aston stand out, and there's good ones after that but not much in the stunning band. The east coast, once you get below Goswick and Foxton Hall has a dearth of stand out courses. Again, its a few here or there in each area, e.g. Lindrick, Ganton and the Leeds courses. The northwest has the 'Golf Coast' around Southport with a whole host of excellent courses.

And then you're down to east Anglia with the likes of Brancaster, Hunstanton and Cromer... maybe add Aldburgh a bit further south. There's good courses but maybe not stunningly good courses.

Then there's the southeast, and there the list of stunningly good is extensive, but at a huge price. Drive4show will tell you that the Dorset coast has some great courses, but what does he know.

Go to Devon and Cornwall and you'll struggle to get more than a hand full of stunningly good... yes, I know there Saunton, Burnhan and Berrow etc but that doesn't equate to more than a handful.

Wales isn't endowed with a huge number but, again, there's some great courses there in Royal Porthcawl and a few others along that stretch. A bit further north there's Royal Saint David's and Aberdovey - special mention to Llangollen. Hardly known but a stunning day out.

Scotland is the golfing mecca for choice and price. Just wish the weather was better.

 

[Jimaroid]

Obvious answer hasn't been mentioned yet. Golf is cheaper in Scotland because it winds the English up.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Supply and demand. Clubs charge what the market allows locally.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm not sure wages is a good enough answer and would also maintain that most golf courses, for the sake of argument lets take the world class or top 100 ones out of the equation and relate it to ordinary member's clubs, would have similar sort of running costs in terms of equipment and work required.

As I've argued before, location and local market forces dictate this to a large number. A lot of my local clubs (Sand Martins, Camberley Heath, Mill Ride, Bearwood Lakes, The Berkshire - and I've purposely not included Sunningdale or Wentworth) charge as much or more than my own club. Of the local ones, the only one that comes in lower is East Berkshire. I've played it and it's a nice course but never a place I'd consider joining. The point is, we're competitive with our neighbours and have a large intake of new members so can clearly get away with our prices and entice people to come.

It's an interesting question and one I'm sure has been asked before. I don't think there is a single definitive answer but it's a culmination of many factors. I just wish I had the facility to live and work where I do and get to some of these fine Scottish courses in minutes not hours and pay a fraction of my current fees for the privilege

 

[patricks148]

id imagine running costs would make a difference, Tain for instance... 250 members, own the land and were gifted it some time ago i believe. 2 full time green keepers and a club sec, so running costs pretty low. 3 full time staff, bar franchised some time ago. i wouldn't imagine too many down south run those low overheads

 

[mcbroon]

Obvious answer hasn't been mentioned yet. Golf is cheaper in Scotland because it winds the English up.

Ssshhhhhhhh...

Also, Golspie was terrific when I played it as a teenager. Shame to see the damage it suffered in recent years but if I was back up that way, I'd make a point of going back.

 

[FairwayDodger]

Supply and demand. Clubs charge what the market allows locally.

Exactly this. My home club is dearer than Steve's but isn't in the same league. So its not as simple as a Scotland/England thing.

 

[Deleted member 17920]

Obvious answer hasn't been mentioned yet. Golf is cheaper in Scotland because it winds the English up.

Its clearly working eh Jim

 

[IM01]

Not in Scotland but membership for me is £520 to play all year round

Visiting parties allowed at the weekend subsidise the members fees.

Last years accounts show the club took more in green fees than they took from membership

 

[Essex_Stu]

Exactly this. My home club is dearer than Steve's but isn't in the same league. So its not as simple as a Scotland/England thing.

Completely agree with this. Edinburgh memberships are very similar to the price I pay now in Essex. Everything is supply and demand. Some remote parts of Scotland with fantastic courses cannot charge colossal fees if they only have a few thousand houses within 40 miles. The bigger cities on the other hand can almost charge what they want.

 

[KenL]

Clubs in Edinburgh are expensive, some over £1k per year with high joining fees.
East Lothian is cheaper (except Archerfield & Renaissance).
There is a high density of courses in EL and many of them take a lot of money in visitor fees which keeps membership fees in check.
Those that don't get a lot of visitors have to keep a tight reign on costs in order to survive.

 

[Junior]

Supply and demand and also visitor green fee subsidy. It is the same in the NW to an extent, although for a private (read non-muni) you generally pay between £650 - £1100 depending on the demand for that course. This jumps further when you head out to the high end courses on the coast.

 

[USER1999]

My club is supposed to be non profit making, as it is s members club, so its not so much charging what you want to charge as charging what it costs to run. Its about 1500 a year.

 

[User62651]

My old club Ballater is £340 with no joining fee. Boat of Garten is a terrific course at £346. Grantown on Spey (another former club) I think is around £350. All nice scenic 18 hole layouts.
Members are coming from Aberdeen to Ballater (1 hour) and Inverness to Grantown on Spey (40 mins) as the value is so good.
Low populations locally and land ownership allows low subs.
Inland golf is curtailed by weather Nov-Mar however unless you're pretty hardy! They will make temp winter greens on the fairways. Coastal golf is available all yr.

 

[davidy233]

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

Bugger - does that mean I won't get out for my round this afternoon? - gorgeous crisp, still and sunny weather here by the way

 

[Hosel Fade]

You can add the lease for the land (depending on club) on top of wages (including paying club staff more) and population

 

[Jimaroid]

I have a more serious theory that the reason golf is more expensive in England is due to land prices around the time most English courses were created. Many Scottish courses existed on public or gifted land stretching back before the end of the 19th century. Whereas many English courses were created as a result of land having to be purchased or leased at great cost after the turn of the 20th Century. Not in all cases, obviously, but certainly the balance appears to lean more in that direction. Costs in England were higher to service land debts and the financial "tradition" has just stuck around like a bad smell.

There are definitely issues prevalent here in Fife where there are too many clubs/courses competing for the same number of members. The only reason many smaller clubs still exist is because they owe little to nothing in land debt and can retain a small membership for little outlay and low fees. It's a guess but that doesn't seem to be the case in many English clubs & courses, many courses built in the 80's golf boom must still be paying off debts and seem to be the type of clubs that are simultaneously struggling for membership and are unable or unwilling to lower fees accordingly.

Fundamentally, Golf in Scotland was always a game for everyone because it originated in public land. When it was taken to England it became a game for the rich because it only existed on private land. Private land is always going to be more expensive because somewhere up the chain, someone wanted or still wants maximum profit. Simply put, elitist greed has dictated the price of golf in England for a hundred years.

 

[GB72]

I will add another, more controversial, point to the argument where some clubs near me are concerned and that is simple snobbery. There is a section within a couple of clubs near me that were mortified at losing joining fees, fee freezes or reductions when the membership numbers dropped. Now that the numbers have steadied or are climbing there are some people who are calling to hike up the fees to make the club a 'premium' or 'exclusive' place to play golf, basically to get rid of the riff raff. I look at my former club's figures every year and they are very good. Most areas come in under budget for spending or over budget for income, debts are low and we too have received a good HMRC refund but there remains a group of people who want to see membership costs rise so as to maintain or revive the 'exclusive' nature of the club.
So, I will add a degree of snobbery to the higher cost simply because some clubs believe that you charge a higher fee you get a wealthier or 'better class' of member and develop a reputation of being the 'exclusive' place to be a member of.

 

[Bobirdie]

Hovis hit the nail on the head.
the golf season is only 5-6 months up here due to rubbish weather lol

so it should be half the price

 

[Hobbit]

I have a more serious theory that the reason golf is more expensive in England is due to land prices around the time most English courses were created. Many Scottish courses existed on public or gifted land stretching back before the end of the 19th century. Whereas many English courses were created as a result of land having to be purchased or leased at great cost after the turn of the 20th Century. Not in all cases, obviously, but certainly the balance appears to lean more in that direction. Costs in England were higher to service land debts and the financial "tradition" has just stuck around like a bad smell.

There are definitely issues prevalent here in Fife where there are too many clubs/courses competing for the same number of members. The only reason many smaller clubs still exist is because they owe little to nothing in land debt and can retain a small membership for little outlay and low fees. It's a guess but that doesn't seem to be the case in many English clubs & courses, many courses built in the 80's golf boom must still be paying off debts and seem to be the type of clubs that are simultaneously struggling for membership and are unable or unwilling to lower fees accordingly.

Fundamentally, Golf in Scotland was always a game for everyone because it originated in public land. When it was taken to England it became a game for the rich because it only existed on private land. Private land is always going to be more expensive because somewhere up the chain, someone wanted or still wants maximum profit. Simply put, elitist greed has dictated the price of golf in England for a hundred years.

Having been Treasurer at a couple of clubs down the years, you're not wrong about inherited debt. I've seen it where clubs finally free themselves of mortgages but recognise the need to then update the buildings/machinery. Its a bit of a vicious circle.

Not sure greed comes into it as most clubs are non-profit making members clubs. If they turned over too much of a profit they'd lose their partial VAT exemption.

And the majority of clubs in the majority of areas are just as working man as they are in Scotland.