Worrying times ahead for golf clubs

[D-S]

Just saw this report on the BBC website.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-62808811
Broome Manor has a biggish clubhouse but not unnaturally so. A £144,000 increase means £360 per head for a 400 member club or a £240 increase for a 600 member club.
At this sort of level some clubs might struggle to get through the winter before April renewals without a levy or closing the clubhouse for periods.
When you couple this with all the other inflationary pressures golf clubs face (huge increases in machinery and chemicals plus necessary staff wage increases) there will need to be significant fee increases for 2023 which will come after a tough winter for many members. If membership decrease from their current high levels due to these increases then more of the burden will be on the remaining members.
I’m glad I do’t have to set the budgets and fees for next year as it’s going to be a very difficult balancing act.

 

[SteveJay]

Agree with the sentiment, all businesses face a significant increase obviously, but Broome is not your typical golf club.

It has other sports facilities in the building, a gym etc, plus , from memory, an American Golf outlet, and is a municipal course where membership fees are reduced and green fees are payable by members. I think their business model may need to be revised to be brought into line with more conventional clubs who charge an higher annual membership fee giving a more stable and predictable income up front.

 

[Slab]

I've even noticed the pro shop at the local course keeping half the shop lights out during the main daylight hours during the week. I assume this is to reduce consumption rather than blown bulbs since they are on at weekends etc


I don't know the club in the article but on their website they do seem to have lots of unsold/unused tee times every day so while the cost increase in electric etc everywhere is reaching silly proportions, they do at least have the capacity to increase their income
If they could shift half of the ones available (no easy task) it'll give them another 150k (very rough figure) excluding F&B

 

[BiMGuy]

It’s going to be everything.

There was a chef on the radio saying the electricity bill in one of his restaurants was currently £5k per month. In December when his current contract runs out he’s been quoted £35k per month.

The increase in prices we’ll have to pay to cover that are crazy. £35 a pint anyone?

 

[evemccc]

At what point does an interesting question-tread about golf became political and risk getting shut down?

Here goes…

If the situation wasn’t so worrying it would be farcical…and I think govt action should be on a similar level to the billions spent on furlough —- that said, hundreds of millions of furlough money was lost to fraudulent behaviour/claims, and the risk is a similar thing could happen again

As golfers how does this affect us and our hobby/passion/obsession? I’m guessing many/most of us are at members-courses, should clubs value their members more as a stable source of income rather than more transitory sources of income in the future? There’s a club near me who I’ve heard are annoying a bulk of members by regularly slotting in society bookings on a Saturday for all of the day — alienating members seems to be foolish IMO

The golf boom won’t last forever and is heading for a sharp drop off..

 

[IanM]

Broome is a muni that is managed by the company mentioned. Theyve had grand plans including closing 3 holes of the 9 hole, and putting 5 a side pitches on it. The council would actually like to concrete the lot for housing.

Edit: Just shown this to my missus who plays there with a old mate from time to time. They've been shutting half the clubhouse and running it down for several years. There was even a petition about it.

So, given the motives of all those involved, I wonder what the reality is, and will be after intervention.

That said, costs are rising, its going to be bumpy.

 

[Blue in Munich]

...

As golfers how does this affect us and our hobby/passion/obsession? I’m guessing many/most of us are at members-courses, should clubs value their members more as a stable source of income rather than more transitory sources of income in the future? There’s a club near me who I’ve heard are annoying a bulk of members by regularly slotting in society bookings on a Saturday for all of the day — alienating members seems to be foolish IMO

The golf boom won’t last forever and is heading for a sharp drop off..

Some already do that by the use of joining fees, which discourage nomads from seeking this year's cheap deal & encourage long term loyalty. Yet those that do are regularly panned as being out of touch & living in the dark ages.

 

[clubchamp98]

I think most golfers know things are going to get expensive . ( and other hobbies ) so will have to choose.
A lot depends on personal circumstances and how much cash you have left after paying your bills.
Hobbies will be first to go in some households.
For me it’s my only ( expensive ) hobby I cycle a lot but have paid for my bike.
I think what we need to know is , how much more expensive is it going to be and are we prepared to pay for it.
I pay £1200+ and I would pay extra to keep on playing.
But some can’t they don’t have a choice, that’s the bad bit.

 

[jim8flog]

The question comes

Would members be willing to put up with a £10 or so a week increase in their subs to continue playing a game they love?

I know I would.

We are very lucky in that we put in loads of solar panels (all across the roof of the driving range and clubhouse) and biomass boiler several years ago.

 

[IanM]

I know our club has a decent level of reserves built up for emergencies and capital projects. So maybe some slack could be taken up there.

The extra £10 a week is fine Jim, if you've got it spare. Some won't.

 

[Albo]

It has to be a fine balancing act, put up prices too far when people are already struggling and you risk losing members at a rapid rate, don’t rise them enough and cuts have to be made somewhere.
It will be a very interesting 2023 and 2024. I do wonder what the golfing landscape will look like come 2025

 

[Voyager EMH]

The way our clubhouse is configured, it will be fairly easy to keep locker rooms and toilets open, but close the rest to save on heating bills through the winter.
Pro shop will have to be maintained at a suitable temperature as it is a workplace. He does hot drinks - so that is a bonus.
Leisure industry had better not bleat too much (I hope) - one of the first considerations must be care homes.

 

[clubchamp98]

The question comes

Would members be willing to put up with a £10 or so a week increase in their subs to continue playing a game they love?

I know I would.

We are very lucky in that we put in loads of solar panels (all across the roof of the driving range and clubhouse) and biomass boiler several years ago.

Yes I would as I can afford to.
But some won’t be able to and they will be a sad loss to the game.
Maybe never coming back.
Clubs will need to be careful how much they raise the fees so as not to lose to many members.
The loss of members is loss of income the remaining ones will need to cover for.
Very worrying times for some clubs.

 

[Maninblack4612]

The question comes

Would members be willing to put up with a £10 or so a week increase in their subs to continue playing a game they love?

I don't think that's the question, to which the answer is "yes". The question is how many members will no longer be able to find the money to pay their annual subscription. Divide that lost revenue, together with an amount to meet increased costs among the members & it will be a lot more than £10

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Announcement today by all accounts. We can probably wait to tear hair out, or not, until after then. The supposed freeze will be for 18 months, if leaks are to be believed, so golf clubs, all businesses etc can look at cost implications then.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It’s going to be everything.

There was a chef on the radio saying the electricity bill in one of his restaurants was currently £5k per month. In December when his current contract runs out he’s been quoted £35k per month.

The increase in prices we’ll have to pay to cover that are crazy. £35 a pint anyone?

That was Tom Kerridge. I heard the interview, he spoke very well, he often does. Plain, stark facts, putting the increases into context.

 

[Orikoru]

The increase in prices we’ll have to pay to cover that are crazy. £35 a pint anyone?

There's a surely a glass ceiling with things like this though. I did hear from someone talking about £15-20 a pint. Surely in that scenario there will just be next to zero people in pubs and they'll have to shut down? You can't put the price up to insane level that nobody will pay. If it was £10 a pint I could believe it.

Regarding golf club membership, I could have a serious problem. I certainly don't want to leave my golf club, but we have our first little one on the way next year, so my playing time will be reduced. If the membership is going up by several hundred pounds a year I'll have to have a serious think about whether it's viable.

 

[Tashyboy]

Golf clubs unfortunately will be the tip of the iceberg, and the ramifications of the borrowing required to get us through this energy crisis will be felt for years.
I can imagine many conversations Along the lines of “Golf membership has gone up 25% love”. She replies “were sat here in the bloody dark with five layers on eating leftovers and your talking about golf”.
Tough times ahead.
Just think if folk were grown up we could properly discus this and other import issues, but for the few planks we cannot.

 

[GB72]

There's a surely a glass ceiling with things like this though. I did hear from someone talking about £15-20 a pint. Surely in that scenario there will just be next to zero people in pubs and they'll have to shut down? You can't put the price up to insane level that nobody will pay. If it was £10 a pint I could believe it.

Regarding golf club membership, I could have a serious problem. I certainly don't want to leave my golf club, but we have our first little one on the way next year, so my playing time will be reduced. If the membership is going up by several hundred pounds a year I'll have to have a serious think about whether it's viable.

I think a pint in a pub is pushing too much already. Luckily we converted the double garage into a bar and gym over lockdown (ironically with the money we would have spent in the pub and on social activities when those were not available). Have a perfect draft machine in there so put a keg on and have the mates round that I woudl have seen in the pub.

The way that clubs are funded also will have a big impact. For those who set their fees back in March/April without taking this into account (not sure when this all started to become news), they have a fixed income for quite a while yet but with rising costs. How does that get funded, are members going to agree to an emergency payment, will it be absorbed as debt that will need repaying come next year. What about the fixed prices agreed for feeding societies, are those events now going to run at a loss.

Some big hurdles to clear.

 

[Blue in Munich]

There's a surely a glass ceiling with things like this though. I did hear from someone talking about £15-20 a pint. Surely in that scenario there will just be next to zero people in pubs and they'll have to shut down? You can't put the price up to insane level that nobody will pay. If it was £10 a pint I could believe it.

Regarding golf club membership, I could have a serious problem. I certainly don't want to leave my golf club, but we have our first little one on the way next year, so my playing time will be reduced. If the membership is going up by several hundred pounds a year I'll have to have a serious think about whether it's viable.

I can justify to myself paying the increased subs & am in the fortunate position of being able to pay it; I appreciate that others aren't. But if anyone seriously thinks I'll pay £15-20 for a pint they have taken leave of their senses.