Recent reports from the governing bodies and home unions paint a rosy picture of golf’s current position and its future.
Participation is up, more juniors are playing, the game is growing globally, golf’s popularity has never been higher. The jolly announcements keep on coming.
The overall outlook seems highly positive if one is to believe those in charge of the game at a global, national and regional level.
So why is it that at average, second-tier golf clubs around this country the mood is far from upbeat? Our membership fees are going up; we can’t get new members and are struggling to retain members, costs are skyrocketing and the only way to cover them appears to be to ask both members and visiting golfers to dig deeper into their already empty pockets.
We’re having a challenging time but apparently that doesn’t warrant a mention in dispatches.
The top-level clubs who can command triple-figure green fees are raking it in. The rising costs (they also face them of course) can be covered by their increased income from what are now, frankly, obscene round and day rates. They are just fine, thank you very much!
But those clubs that don’t have the reputation of a championship venue are not. They may attempt to bump up their green fee rates to keep pace, but they risk pricing themselves out of their own (domestic) markets if they go too far.
As it is, our local clubs (the beating heart of golf in this country) are walking a tightrope to try and find a fee level for both members and visitors that keeps them relevant and keeps them solvent.
On top of this financial predicament, we have also been saddled with the hugely unpopular World Handicap System (WHS,) which is putting long-term golfers off competitive golf, making club membership a less appealing prospect than it once was.
Golfers and clubs are expressing their dissatisfaction with WHS, but nobody seems to be listening… “It’s all going terribly well, isn’t it?” Is all that seems to come back.
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
Average member-owned and run golf clubs, which means most golf clubs in this country, are being overlooked.
It may be the case that total…
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