Will Golf Clubs go to the wall?

[DCB]

In response to the orininal post, I dont think the traditional members clubs will be in real danger, at least not here in Scotland.

I think anyone who started a purely comercial concern will have to be very carefull as to how the pitch their prices from now on. There have been numerous farmers who have used EU funding for setaside land and turned them into golf courses. They are probably going to be first to hit trouble IMO.

There were also many comercial concerns which jumped on the back of the '80s golf bonanza, building extravagent pay and play courses, again if their business model requires a certain amount of footfall then they are likely to have a hard time.

As for the muni, pay and play, I see them returning to their heyday of the mid 70s when you couldn't get a tee time for love nor money at the wekend. They will be the only affordable golf for many a golfer.

 

[Dodger]

Another big poblem re divots at our place is that despite the kippers getting put back crows then flick them back up looking for worms etc and undo golfers work of replacing them,my mate who is now a head greenkeeper and started offworking at our place reckons it is just about a waste of time replacing them on our links turf course!

 

[USER1999]

Unless you use biodegradable pegs to hold divots down (I had some til they ran out), putting them back is a waste of time. When the crows aren't occupied stealing balls, they are turning over divots.

When I played in south africa each player had to carry a bag of seeded sand to put into their divots. You never put the sod back in. This obviously works when you have 12 month growing seasons, but is there any evidence that replaced divots actually take? I can't see it, as most of the time, you have cut the roots off, pretty close to the surface. What is going to grow? Better off to reseed, in a soil mix.

 

[DCB]

I've played some courses where you took a handfull of these biodegradable T shaped pegs as you went onto the 1st tee. Great idea I thought, they did seem to work as well. Just wonder what the cost was for them ? and if it was a suitable long term solution.

 

[TonyN]

Vicars cross GC in Chester makes all players take a large beaker of divot mix out to replace divots. There are various Divot mix bins every few holes to replenish what you have used, you just hand the beaker back in at the end (well your supposed to, i forgot and it rolled around my boot for a few months)

 

[Smiffy]

Some of these newer clubs have got to sort their attitudes out if they are to survive.
Mate of mine booked four of us a game at a fairly new course which was receiving great reviews. They were apparantly doing a special offer on green fees. He made a telephone reservation and when we arrived the guy in the pro shop said that a mistake had been made on the green fee price and the actual green fee was twice what had been quoted!
So our £40.00 round became an £80.00 round. We refused to pay, but the guy wouldn't budge. We left, and as we walked out of the club noticed that nobody was playing down the first fairway, and the tee itself was empty.
So if a golf club would rather look out on an empty tee than accept £160.00 (albeit a mistake) then to be honest, with that kind of "marketing" they deserve to go down the pan.

 

[SammmeBee]

Where was that Smiffy?

 

[Smiffy]

Where was that Smiffy?

Charthills

 

[Cernunnos]

If certain good quality clubs stop charging a joining fee then some people may use this as an opertunity tomove to the localclub they always wanted & needed to play on a regular basis.

For some of us though we may take a year out of being a member anywhere & instead will simply play a little less & pay & play at a few of the local ones to be able to treat our selves to rounds on national courses when away on holiday or visiting friends & reletives.

 

[Cernunnos]

Some very expensive or baddly run clubs that cannot change their attitudes will certainly go to the wall.

 

[Imurg]

I've been looking locally at clubs with a view to changing to a better track in April. Almost all the clubs around here are charging a joining fee, sometimes up to 1200 quid!

Ok the courses are nice but on top of that you've got at least £800, sometimes £1200 a year. I can't justify £12-1500 a year for 3-4 years to join a club.

I've found Aylesbury Vale GC nearby at £695 no joining fee. I've "spoken" to a couple of forumers who've played it and it seems a decent place. I've played it but not for years. Looking on Howdidido, the Medals are won generally with a nett par score. At mine they are normally 4 or 5 under! Its a par 72 6600 yarder with a SSS of 73. Might be having a round or 2 there when the weather improves.

 

[Smiffy]

I've been looking locally at clubs with a view to changing to a better track in April. Almost all the clubs around here are charging a joining fee, sometimes up to 1200 quid!

Ok the courses are nice but on top of that you've got at least £800, sometimes £1200 a year. I can't justify £12-1500 a year for 3-4 years to join a club.

I've found Aylesbury Vale GC nearby at £695 no joining fee. I've "spoken" to a couple of forumers who've played it and it seems a decent place. I've played it but not for years. Looking on Howdidido, the Medals are won generally with a nett par score. At mine they are normally 4 or 5 under! Its a par 72 6600 yarder with a SSS of 73. Might be having a round or 2 there when the weather improves.

At that price it's got to be worth a bash?

 

[viscount17]

off topic, I know but one partial solution to the divot problem is to shoot the crows around your course.
the bb's lift what divots have been put back (though I think the geese are equally guilty!). The crows have also done such massive damage to the banking around some greens that they have to be re-turfed.

 

[USER1999]

They were doing that on Monday at my track apparrently. More to get the ones who steal the balls than the divot flippers.

 

[Cernunnos]

The crows'd be a long time trying to hatch those eggs

 

[USER1999]

They must know by now, but our swindle lost about 10 balls last week, from the first, 13th, 14th and 17th. There must be about 10 of them doing it, and they have been doing it for months. Every now and then you find a ball in the woods with peck marks out of it. But I think most of the time it is a game.

On 17 last week, a friend of mine had his drive stolen, dropped another ball down, hit into the green, and they stole that too. How we laughed...

 

[HomerJSimpson]

We haven't got many crows around as I think the sqauking from the wild green parrots on the 3rd and 10th holes is putting them off

 

[toonarmy]

I was a bit miffed that rather than dropping the subs,as had been rumoured, my club put them up a little. Consequently, I thought I'd have a look around and was amazed to see that all bar one of the clubs I contacted still had joining fees the size of annual subs.

Why can't clubs see that rather than trying to get/buy your loyalty/freedom with a fee that binds you into not wanting to pay again elsewhere, they should concentrate on making their proposition the most attractive, in terms of finance, facilities and management, thereby securing the members?

Golf clubs have been holding us to ransom for too long and I hoped that economic situation would force them to reconsider, but apparently not.

 

[CarpeDiem]

My club has its joining fee the same as the annual sub, if not a little bit more.

 

[USER1999]

My club membership is full, and we still have a joining fee, so I guess some clubs can still get a way with charging them.

Apparently we are going to be well down on societies this year, may be as much as one third, and this is more of a problem (not in the short term, as it means more access to the course for me), but as a form of revenue, this is not good. Apparently societies which used to consist of 30 plus people, are booking for 20 odd. Signs of the credit crunch biting I guess.