Cost of living demands rethink of memberships

London Golf Club, England

Cost of rethink living demands of memberships

Golf clubs around the world are busy putting campaigns and initiatives in place to mitigate against the rising cost of living. Ian Knox, Head of European Tour Destinations, reports.

Membership across the network of European Tour Destinations ’ s 28 golf venues has increased by an impressive average of 10% over the last 12 months as golf continued to enjoy post-pandemic demand.

However, with many members ’ household expenditure spiralling this year, these destinations are well aware of the danger of becoming an expendable luxury.

Ian Knox says: “A recent survey found that just over half of 13,000 respondents viewed golf as a necessity rather than a luxury, so despite the positive figures we are seeing in the annual audit of our venues, it is not a time to be complacent. ”

The company has explored the strategies of four of its leading clubs – England’ s London Golf Club, China ’ s Hidden Grace Golf Club, Austria ’ s Diamond Country Club and Finland’ s Linna Golf Club - on how to retain new and existing members while also accessing new demographics.

London Golf Club

London Golf Club has never had as many members as in 2022.

Astrategywhichstartedbeforethepandemichas increased member play from 35% to 65%, while the number of corporate rounds per year has halved to about 4,000.

The key to retaining these members, says Ben Stimson, the club’ s Director of Golf, is adding value – including offering options such as family membership which extends beyond a player ’ s household to relatives such as grandparents, uncles/aunts and cousins.

“Family membership has been really successful, ” he explains. “It has only been existing members adding it, so they can play with their sibling or grandparent for example. We haven ’t marketed it externally.

“At most clubs, family membership is just for the core nucleus or same household, but we wanted to

Ben Stimson

bemoreflexible.Ithasallthesamebenefitswithfull playing privileges on both courses. It works out a lot cheaper than individual membership. ”

The Kent venue, which hosted the 2021 Cazoo Classic on the DP World Tour, has also appointed a dedicated executive to take care of its 615 members.

“The business has evolved significantly over the past three years, ” continues Stimson.

we ’ re not looking for more members as we ’ ve been inundated. We ’ re just focusing on looking after the existing ones, so when it comes to renewals in March, people think ‘I need to be a member ’ .

“We ’ re doing lots of things that makes them feel valued, such as having dedicated tee time slots for members, enhancing the competitions calendar and offering better prizes.

“We also do regular reciprocal visits to other clubs, and our membership executive plays golf once a week with different members to get their feedback and find out what people want. ”

Hidden Grace Golf Club

Hidden Grace Golf Club (formerly Genzon Golf Club)inShenzhen,China,hashadtoreacttothedifferent requirements of an increasingly younger membership.

The venue, an exclusive private club known for its exceptional level of service, achieved an impressive 96.5% level of satisfaction in its latest member survey (November 2021).

However, with 15% of new joiners aged under 30 and a third in the 30-40 age bracket, there has been a subtle shift in expectations.

“These younger members are very discerning consumers and have even higher expectations of the club, ” explains Ali Kong, General Manager of Hidden Grace Golf Club, which has hosted the Volvo China Open and the Shenzhen International on the DP World Tour.

“Shenzhen is a young, vibrant city where people

Diamond Country Club, Austria Hidden Grace Golf Club, China

head to fulfil their ambitions. They can very quickly accumulate wealth. Success is no longer something that’ s only reached in later years.

“Although we offer an exquisite level of service and give members unique experiences through themed activities and exhibitions, it is imperative we stay relevant to our new audience, ” continues Ali.

“Our club culture is greatly valued. We aim to provide an aspirational lifestyle that brings members a strong sense of belonging.

“Forexample,everynewmemberhasanelaborate welcoming ceremony, which is a celebratory occasion tailored to the individual’ s preferences, and they can invite friends and family to witness it. ”

Hidden Grace Golf Club’ s membership is built on a member only and pure referral structure, whereby existing members recommend individuals whose nomination must be seconded – a system which not only upholds the integrity and exclusivity of the club and presents a point of differentiation among neighbouring venues, but also makes a Hidden Grace Golf Club membership extremely sought after, bordering on indispensable.

Diamond Country Club

At Diamond Country Club in Austria, an influx of young families to the area has prompted a new approach to attracting beginner and casual golfers.

In 2021, the venue – host of Austria ’ s national Open since 2010 – launched a ‘€1 a day ’ offer, where non-members can play its 9-hole Park Course and use the driving range on a flexible, relatively inexpensive basis.

So far 150 people have signed up to the deal, which is paid either monthly (€30) or annually

Linna Golf, Finland

(€365). In the last 12 months 40 of those have upgraded to become full members of Diamond Country Club.

“It broadens the spectrum of people who visit the club and gets more people into the game, ” explains Christian Guzy Jnr. “Thanks to improved public transport links to Vienna, which is now just 20 minutes away, there are many young families moving here. It’ s a sector we really want to target in the coming years.

“Golf can be a tough sport when you first start playing. With the option of an affordable, public course, it gives them a chance to reach a point where they want to play regularly and then hopefully become a full member.

“We want to tempt people here, then keep them around and ensure they are not scared when the first option they see to play regularly is around €2,000. ”

The Park Course has seen around 3,000 rounds from non-members since it opened two years ago, andaveraged450-500roundspermonthinthesummer of 2022 – an increase of around 25% compared to the two previous summers.

It is also a younger demographic taking advantage ofthe ‘€1aday ’ offer,with40%aged30-40compared to 9% of existing members in that age range.

“We ’ ve had a very positive response, ” adds the venue ’ s General Manager, Stephan Vogl. “People are surprised that it’ s possible to play golf at this rate.

“We also recently held an open day where we had 50 to 60 families – around 300 people – come along. Of course, it depends on whether a person or family is motivated to play, but there are plenty of things we can control to give the best chance of that happening.

Linna Golf

“It has gone better than we could have ever hoped for. ”

That’ s how Linna Golf’ s CEO Esa Honkalehto described the club’ s strategy to attract more young people.

In 2018, the Finnish venue devised a plan to increase the number of members under 30, offering two new “ season ticket” options at reduced rates. Anyone under 20 can join for a third of the price of fullmembershipandthoseaged21-29paytwothirds

Both options give full access, including unlimited free balls at the driving range, and the take-up has been so successful the under-30s category now comprises 25% of the club’ s membership.

“We didn ’t realise how fast and strong the snowball effect would be, ” continues Honkalehto.

“We knew that if we could attract young people with a flexible option, the strength of our product –the playing experience and the level of service –would keep them here.

“There were many players out there who belonged to other clubs or who hadn ’t found their home club. In effect we stole those floating players, then they told all their friends who came too. ”

Thestrategyhasnotjustcreatedavibrantsenseof community but could also have long-term benefits for Linna Golf, which recently bought out its rental lease in order to invest in real estate on site.

“Many young players who have been on the reduced rate buy a share in the club when they turn 30, ” says Honkalehto. “They are so dedicated to us that they want to be a permanent shareholder and member.

“They come to Linna for the best course in Finland and the highest level of service.

“We pay close attention to what our members –especially the younger members – want, whether it’ s competitions or social events. Listening and having discussions is crucial. ”

Finally – a proactive network in unsettling times

There is no escaping the fact that the global economic landscape looks unsettled heading into 2023, and although there has been on average a 10% increase in membership subscriptions across the European Tour Destinations network in the last 12 months, our venues are not being complacent despite the ongoing high demand for golf.

“Minimising attrition is always important, ” Knox said.

“But with the global economic landscape looking increasingly unsettled heading into 2023, it’ s vital that venues have strategies in place to maintain strong numbers and ride out the storm. ”

MORE INFORMATION

European Tour Destinations is a global network of world-class golf venues across 19 countries on three continents, closely aligned to The European Tour Group.

• www.europeantourdestinations.com

Swedish Sweetspot is part of a global e ort to change golf

Swedish tech company Sweetspot has been chosen by The R&A, golf’s governing body, to provide business systems at Golf It!, its new community-focused golf and entertainment venue. The first facility will open in Glasgow in the summer of 2023 and will, among other things, include a nine-hole course, adventure golf and golf simulators. With the concept Golf It!, The R&A – which has160 a liated organisations, including national federations – aims to change the sport fundamentally. The concept’s first facility will be located on the banks of Hogganfield Loch in the North East of Glasgow with the purpose of making golf more accessible and inclusive. To achieve their goal, The R&A has carefully selected partners they consider the best in each area.

Golf It! is a significant investment that will make golf a more inclusive and accessible sport – for everyone. The venue has been specifically designed to attract a new audience to the game. Therefore working with a system that provides a clear understanding of behavior and how people interact with their activities is of paramount importance. This is where the Swedish company, Sweetspot, comes into the picture. The deal between the two parties extends over five years, where Sweetspot will develop and establish business systems on behalf of Golf It!. After a thorough and robust scoping process, the Sweetspot platform was the only system we found to have the capability to achieve our business goals. Our aim is to provide customers with the right product, at the right time and at the right price, which will ultimately make the game more accessible and a ordable. With Sweetspot we believe we can achieve this goal, says Russell Smith, General Manager of Golf It!

Sweetspot will create an overall solution for the whole concept that includes a checkout system where The R&A can follow di erent types of consumer behavior. The focus will be on revenue management and increasing the accessibility for more golfers by applying dynamic pricing.

– We are delighted to get the opportunity to work with the largest golf organization in the world. It’ s a great recognition of our company and product. They share our vision to modernize golf to get more people to experience the sport we love, says Henrik Ahlin, CEO at Sweetspot.

The R&A is investing £200 million over ten years in developing golf and supports the growth of the sport internationally.