Barnehurst up for sale as American Golf concentrates on equipment business

Trump breaks ground on new Sco ish links

Donald Trump ew into Scotland earlier this month to preside over the o cially ‘breaking ground’ ceremony that marks the start of the construction of a second course at Trump International Scotland near Aberdeen.

International Leisure Group, the owner of American Golf, has put four of its golf clubs and leisure sites up for sale as part of a strategic review to focus on its core golf equipment retail business.

The company has instructed HMH Golf & leisure to o er the sites – Barnehurst Golf Club in South London, High Legh Park Golf Club in Cheshire, and Golf Kingdom venues in Essex and Lancashire – for sale.

American Golf only bought Barnehurst in February last year and re-opened the 9-hole course following a two-year period of closure after MyTime Active ended its lease of the Bexleyheath-based venue in 2020.

American Golf invested signi cant sums in the club over the last 12 months, opening a agship Justin Rose Academy, a 15-bay Toptracer driving range, a new 44-seat lounge and restaurant, and a new retail space and custom tting facility.

Tom Marriott, at HMH Golf & Leisure, commented: “We are selling four very attractive family leisure sites in strategic locations. All of the properties have been signi cantly upgraded over the last 24 months and the incoming operator will

Golf clubs suffer membership dip but ‘rounds played’ remains strong despite costof-living crisis

bene t from this capital investment. Trading at each business is strong with signi cant growth enjoyed in recent months.

“These properties represent an ideal opportunity for an existing operator to add to its portfolio or for a new operator to enter the family golf and leisure market. O ers will be considered for the group or the individual properties.”

High Leigh Park Golf Club in Knutsford boasts an 18-hole golf course, a 9-hole academy course, and a 6-hole pitch & putt course, and a 23-bay oodlit driving range with Toptracer,.

Facilities at Golf Kingdom Chadwell Heath in Romford include an 18-hole short course, a 25-bay oodlit driving range, and an 18hole adventure putting course; a oodlit short game practice area, and a clubhouse. Golf Kingdom Rossendale, just north of Manchester, includes a 18-hole adventure putting course, a 22-bay oodlit driving range, and a clubhouse.

Marriott added: “Adventure golf sites and driving ranges almost never come to market and we would expect strong interest for these sites.”

A new survey of golf club managers and data from the UK’s leading online green fee booking company has found that membership resignations have risen following annual April subscription renewals, while the percentage of green fee rounds to member rounds is also pointing towards a dip in membership numbers across the UK.

Contemporary Club Leadership says that it regularly surveys golf club managers and in its most recent ndings, the average resignation rate is six per cent.

“This is back to the level golf was experiencing before the pandemic struck,” said Kevin Fish, who runs the company. While it is not the mass exodus many feared this year, it is still a return to the familiar slippery slope golf has been on over the last 20-odd years.”

He added: “For three years, golf clubs have never been busier, but the easing of lockdown coupled with the severe economic challenges of recent months has sent club boards into a tailspin wondering what increase in subscription fees could be charged this year. We have never seen more volatility in member subscription rates, with the increases ranging from zero right up to 25 per cent.”

Many clubs time their members’ annual subscriptions to run from the beginning of April to the end of March, which may explain why there’s been a recent rise in resignations. Fish believes that the golf industry, which has seen a boom in participation in the last three years, is in a healthier position than it was before the pandemic, but questions about its long-term future need to be asked.

“Our latest survey reveals that almost one third of clubs are concerned about their long-term future, beyond 2028. Our data also shows that the gap between the large and small clubs is getting bigger, as evidenced by resignation rates, subscription revenue and, this year in particular, the levels of salary increases given to secure the best sta .”

BRS Golf, which manages GolfNow, the online tee booking platform, has reported a strong start for both member play and visitor play in the UK for the rst three months of the year, however the company has also reported that membership numbers are starting to drop o . Of the 1,500 clubs on its platform, GolfNow reported a drop of 6,000 members across the UK, with 19 clubs in England reportedly losing more than 100 members since the start of the year, while 30 clubs have lost between 50 and 100.

GolfNow says member rounds are still double what they were before the pandemic and it does not expect the full impact of the cost-of-living crisis to be felt in the UK until July, long after most clubs have completed their membership renewals for 2023.

Trump courted a signi cant amount of controversy when he decided to open the rst course in 2014 due to its site on a previously undeveloped wild stretch of coastline, but the second course, which is being named after Trump’s mother, Mary Anne Macleod, has already received planning permission.

The former US President, who said that the new is set to become ’one of the great golf courses of the world’, has called on the services of Martin Hawtree to design the MacLeod course, which will be built to the south and west of the existing championship course, which is also Hawtree’s work.

Speaking at the site of the new course, Trump said: “We are going to build a great golf course that will be t to host many great championships in the future, along with our championship links. There is no other land like it. We have incredible views by the sea and there are no other dunes like these in the world. It will be a great success.”

He added: “This project is very close to my heart as the course will be dedicated to my late mother and that is a source of great pride to me and my family. My mother was an incredible woman who loved Scotland. She returned here every year and I love Scotland just as much.”

Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, who oversees the management and operations of the Trump Organization’s global portfolio, said: “We’re extremely excited to be breaking ground on another worldclass links course in Aberdeenshire. We own and operate the best courses on earth and this new course at Trump International, Scotland has the potential to top them all and rea rm its place as a top world ranking golf destination.”