How Do Golf Clubs Balance The Needs of Members And Visitors

You are a golf club member, you have just received your annual subscription demand but you cannot get your preferred tee-time because it has been given to a visitor.

It is not the first time it has happened. You are not happy so you march in to see the club manager to demand an explanation. 

Why Visitors Are Essential to Golf Clubs

This is a genuine conundrum for golf clubs who want to balance the books without asking their members to pay through the nose. They want to keep their members happy but they are also desperate for the revenue from visiting golfers - these are individuals who are also more likely to spend money in the clubhouse after their rounds than the average member. They will almost always have a drink or two and they are likely to have a bacon sandwich before they start and a snack when they finish. This is crucial revenue.

Club managers also know that if visitors enjoy their experience and feel that they have been treated well there is a fair chance that those individuals may think about joining the club at a later date. They are often offered special introductory deals, and that is something else that grates with existing members. But once again, this is about what happens in the longer term.

Does it really matter if somebody gets a special 12-month deal if it means they are going to commit to a long-term future at your golf club? Is it not better to have that income stream than nothing at all.

There is a perception that visitors play at a funereal pace, have no respect for the course, fail to replace divots and repair pitchmarks on the greens. In my experience, they are no worse culprits than club members.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Costs Falling Onto Golf Club Members

A good friend of mine has recently seen his annual subscription increase from £1,200 to £1,500. His club has a new owner and members were also asked to hand over a further £50 per head to be loaded on a card that could only be spent behind the bar - having seen their subs increase by so much, it should come as no surprise that the membership refused. My friend and his regular playing partner are now considering whether they want to remain at this club. It is not just the size of the increase that has annoyed them but the fact that it came without any explanation. Many members have already left to join other clubs.

My guess is that the new owner has plans to spend money on the course and its facilities but if enough existing members decide to walk away then the club will be back to square one - and will struggle like crazy to attract new members.

It also has to be said that although £1,500 sounds like a lot of money, it equates to around £30 a week. If you play twice a week, or even just every Saturday or Sunday and perhaps the occasional nine holes on a summer’s evening, this still represents pretty good value for money. But with so many people struggling to make ends meet right now, the problem here is that a £300 increase without explanation is no way to treat a loyal membership.

Who Should Get Tee Time Priority?

Going back to the whole issue of booking tee times, for the life of me I cannot understand why so many clubs allow members to block book their preferred tee times many weeks in advance. I understand that most of us have a tee time that suits us best. But at every golf club in the land there are groups of golfers who regularly play together and head to the booking system to claim their prized times.

I recently joined a golf club and one of the first questions I asked was: "How difficult is it to book the times that I want to play?"

"No problem at all," I was told.

The reality has turned out to be somewhat different. Back in the day, I was happy to play early in the morning. I am from Glasgow and we used to turn up at the club at first light and queue up to claim our time or spend ages on the phone waiting to get through to the club pro.

I appreciate that things have moved on - and thank goodness they have. My preferred time now is between 9am and 10am. No chance. Without fail, on each and every occasion I have attempted to book a time, the earliest I have been able to get is 11am.

How to Appeal to More Visitors

Remember that I am a club member. So this means that visitors to our club face exactly the same problem. There will be those who disagree but I believe that clubs who genuinely want to attract visitors should specifically block out a number of tee times for those individuals. 

And rather than simply taking their money, how many club professionals spend time actually talking visitors through the course before they tee off? When I visit a course I expect the professional to ask if it is my first time and to tell me what I can expect to find on the course. I expect him to talk me through the challenges and offer some advice on how best to play the course. I expect it. But it never happens. 

There are other issues. Like many clubs, mine gives its members discount cards to be shown when making purchases from the bar. Why on earth should members pay less for their food and drink than visitors who have already had to pay a green fee? 

And please, please, please do not ever provide separate parking areas for members and visitors. Why would any golf club ever do that? But there are those that do.

In conclusion, if you are a golf club that actively encourages people to bowl up and pay a green fee, please give them a fair crack of the whip.

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