Golf boom maintains momentum despite cost-of-living crisis

A survey of 82 golf clubs in the UK has found that 23% of clubs - less than 20 - have seen a drop in membership over the last 12 months, while the remaining 77% have seen numbers either remain stable or have increased during that period, pointing to a mixed picture in relation to the direction that golf club membership is heading in the UK in coming year.

The annual ‘Members and Proprietary Golf Clubs Survey 2022/23’, published by accountants Hillier Hopkins and produced in partnership with the UK Golf Federation, also discovered that 64% of golf club members were aged 50 and over, with 21% of members aged over 70. The gender split remains firmly on the male side, with 76% of clubs populated by adult men, and just 15% by women, with junior boys and girls making up the remaining 9%.

The clubs surveyed reported fewer members joining in 2022, falling from on average 90 new members in 2020 and 2021, to 70 in 2022. Just under a quarter (23%) of the 82 clubs surveyed reported more members leaving than joining last year, while the number of clubs with waiting lists has fallen to 52% in 2022 from 60% in 2021. The average number of people on waiting lists stands at 61.

The cost of golf has, like almost all leisure activities and household outgoings, risen significantly over the last 12 months, with 92% of the clubs putting up their membership fees this year, with 74% charging annual subs fees of more than £1,000 a year, while the number of clubs with memberships exceeding £1,600 a year has increased by 36%.

Matt Bailey, a director at accountants Hillier Hopkins, which commissioned the survey, said: “Golf clubs and their members are not immune to the tightening economic picture, with new memberships falling and some clubs reporting more members leaving than joining. Social