Attracting new members.

[360_CS]

Have you been a part of a club that struggled with memberships? I just wanted to know what promotions, advertising/markerting or course improvements were done to try and overcome the problem. What worked what didn't? If there are several courses in your area what would make you choose one over the other? All ideas are welcomed.

 

Thanks.

[kuslamb]

Get a young and active board - Old dinosaurs on the board do nothing to promote the course - They are there to keep the course the way they like it and maintain the status quo...

We do one day member guests where the entry is $150 a guest, and a member can bring up to 3 - They are usually on a Wednesday or Thursday - They are good to invite buddies to play or business associates (or both). They are a good value bc our guest fee is $120 and dinner, drinks and prizes are provided. [size=4]They are also good advertising.[/size]

[360_CS]

[quote name='kuslamb' timestamp='1415830428' post='10437121']
[b]Get a young and active board - Old dinosaurs on the board do nothing to promote the course - They are there to keep the course the way they like it and maintain the status quo...[/b]

We do one day member guests where the entry is $150 a guest, and a member can bring up to 3 - They are usually on a Wednesday or Thursday - They are good to invite buddies to play or business associates (or both). They are a good value bc our guest fee is $120 and dinner, drinks and prizes are provided. They are also good advertising.
[/quote]

That's exactly what I was thinking but going about it is impossible. It seems like the the board members here are so deluded. I have written letters to the club about some ideas and have had no response. I am thinking about going to the AGM and voicing by opinions, I got about 1.5 pages. Only problem is that I am 21 and the average age at the meeting will probably be 60.

[RichieHunt]

The market has changed and I really don't think it has to do with younger people as much as people think. The working middle class doesn't have nearly the paid time off that they had in the 80's or even the 90's. With the switch to the global economy, there is less paid time off and more travel. This creates tougher competition between their free time.

There is a little business venture I am involved with that involves football and it has been very profitable for me. And it essentially revolves around football fans and how much they are willing to pay to watch live football. So while money is always a problem to deal with, when I see people willing to spend easily $5k+ a year on college and pro football which lasts only about 4 months, I don't think the issue is so much money as it is how families are willing to spend their free time. They have less free time and hobbies like being fans of other sports, going to the beach, etc, end up getting squeezed out.

From what I've seen in recent years, the courses that provide something for the entire family besides golf are the ones that get the most memberships. Essentially, the husband can go out and play golf and the kids can do something on or near course grounds and the wife can do her thing.

Duran Golf Club has a pretty smart setup with their golf course. First, they have really built up their junior golf program. They were smart enough to create a very short par-3 course (average hole is only about 100 yards long) and that attracts junior golfers and female golfers to the game. But, their location is superb as well because about a mile down the road is a large shopping mall with plenty of restaurants. The wife can go shopping while the husband plays golf and either of them can bring the kids with them.

It also helps that they have a quality restaurant that is open until 9pm or so every night. Again, it's a place where the entire family can be at once.

What I've seen some other courses do is set up their restaurant more like a sports bar come football season with a variety of TV's to watch different games. And I've seen them offer a special of something like 9 holes of golf and a buffet while they get to watch football. Or they'll offer a special with a bucket of balls and a buffet while they get to watch football. Again...the husband gets to golf and the rest of the family is not left out.

You could possibly do other things like have some sort of special where there is golf and a fashion/jewelry show. That way the husband can go play golf while the wife gets to attend the fashion/jewelry show.

Essentially...you want to get them on the course property and make it worthwhile for the entire family to be on the course property. Get it so they think [i]we're here at the golf course all the time, so we might as well become members[/i]. You just have to figure out new ways that are a bit outside the box in order to appeal to the entire family. It should be thought of as more of a social and recreational center than a golf course.







RH

[kuslamb]

[quote name='360_CS' timestamp='1415857223' post='10439315']
[quote name='kuslamb' timestamp='1415830428' post='10437121']
[b]Get a young and active board - Old dinosaurs on the board do nothing to promote the course - They are there to keep the course the way they like it and maintain the status quo...[/b]

We do one day member guests where the entry is $150 a guest, and a member can bring up to 3 - They are usually on a Wednesday or Thursday - They are good to invite buddies to play or business associates (or both). They are a good value bc our guest fee is $120 and dinner, drinks and prizes are provided. They are also good advertising.
[/quote]

That's exactly what I was thinking but going about it is impossible. It seems like the the board members here are so deluded. I have written letters to the club about some ideas and have had no response. I am thinking about going to the AGM and voicing by opinions, I got about 1.5 pages. Only problem is that I am 21 and the average age at the meeting will probably be 60.
[/quote]

Its a process, not a quick one - Get your name out there, mix it up with different groups, get on some committees. @ 21, you aren't a full member (I assume). This will limit you until you become full.

[moose557]

One of the private clubs in my hometown was struggling for members and decided to drop their incredibly high initiation fee for year to attract new younger members. It seems to have worked.

[360_CS]

[color="#282828"]Initiation fee? Wow that is unfair. That seems like a no brainer to drop it. We are lucky that we don't have one. [/color]

[360_CS]

On another note, has anyone on here been to an AGM for a golf club. I know what an AGM is, I would just like to get a better overview of it. I know Captains are selected, financial issues are discussed etc. Anything else? What's the process.

[Bonneville85308]

A former club of mine tried just about everything you can imagine. No initiation, trial memberships with reduced dues, open houses/free rounds of golf, new membership categories, advertising with local professional organizations, fixed up the course, etc. etc. etc.

They picked up a few folks here and there, many of whom only stayed a year or two. My theory is that the pool of potential applicants locally who have $5,000-$10,000 per year to spare, plus the time to play golf at a frequency to justify the membership, and aren't already a member of a club, has almost completely dried up. Especially on the younger end, even with the junior/under 30 membership you were still at $4,000-$5,000/yr. all in.

[Mikolar]

You are probably correct in that your youth and experience with work against you in the eyes of the older members. Try to work from the inside of the club to change things. Join every committee that deals with strategic golf issues -- greens committee, planning, financial, membership and even social. Build a foundation of peer support and like minded members. You'd be surprised how quickly you can find supportive new friends.
Of course, economic issues will drive most of the solutions but one tactical effort we tried, worked wonders. I was a member of a mid tier private club that wasn't well known in a growing metropolitan area. We did not want to start discounting for it would hurt existing members and drive down the perceived value of the club.
Also, as a non-profit equity club, we avoided open promotional efforts thru traditional marketing avenues because of cost and possible tax issues. To grow membership, we tapped into the potential marketing support of area non-profits. We went to them and asked them to help us promote our new recruitment plan -- for a limited time, any major donation to their non-profit would count towards the initiation fee at our club. Soon, almost all the major non-profits in town were marketing our club to their membership and the results were great. It proved to be a win/win for the city, the non-profits and our club.

[forecast6236]

Joined a men's club for this first time this summer and won't be re-upping next Summer. Now granted this is a men's club at a public course but I think many of the same issues exist, specifically with youth.

I'm 29 and play off a 2 and couldn't have felt more out of place. The club had been reduced from a full membership in years past to only 150ish members- only 18 of which played in the scratch to 6 handicap flight. Average age of the championship flight? Probably 55ish- much younger than the average age at the club which had to be about 60.

I was friendly and talkative but still found it about impossible to be accepted by the other members. Pace of play was terrible- during one tournament round after finishing the first hole there were 4 groups standing on the 2nd tee. Give me a break.

They also wanted a commitment for playing in a tournament 2 full weeks out and would not allow late-entry (late being only 10 days out). Complete inflexible. I understand that all the retired guys have less to do those with families such as me but come on...

The price was next to nothing for being part of the men's club but I still won't join next summer. I didn't find myself having a great time- whether it be socially or in terms of competition.

It's a real bummer because I don't have more than one or two golf buddies and was hoping to find more at the club. People are set in their ways however and don't want to change their foursomes. Experiment failed.

To OP- not sure how to answer your question. The economy in recent years has had more of an effect on disposable incomes than many want to admit, especially with the non-retired folks who haven't had 30+ years of working life to build wealth. Also the unwavering competition formats for many tournaments are a turn off and the folks on these boards tend to be very inflexible in their opinions. I know it's a tougher go for private clubs than ever and I understand they have to cater to their older, established clientele- but that's also the group that turns away the 35 and under crowd.