Never been a better time to join a club

CLUB MEMBERSHIP:With entrance fees in most cases being a thing of the past, there has never been a better time to look for a golf club membership, writes Paul Gallagher

THERE WAS a time when availing of golf club membership in Ireland was akin to searching for hen’s teeth. The tides have turned in these straitened times as the guardians of the sport felt compelled to compile a document outlining ways of ensuring greater membership retention while over half the 430 affiliated clubs now have their doors firmly wedged open in the hope of attracting new members.

Not so long ago when our “little sod” was awash with cash and a newfound swagger, anyone wishing to become part of the “Pringle Brigade” (perhaps that should be updated to the Lindeberg Parade) needed a wallet like a pan loaf – and that was only to get through the door by way of “hello money” (otherwise known as an entrance fee) not to mention annual subscriptions.

In a very short time such indulgences already appear a distant memory as the golf industry in Ireland readjusts during recessionary times with the majority of clubs welcoming all newcomers.

Golf has become more accessible than ever before and that can only be a good thing.

The sport will always battle against the naysayer viewpoint that this particular bat and ball pastime is nothing short of elitist but the numbers don’t stack up for this argument. In the last 20 years the total number of affiliated golf clubs for the island of Ireland has increased from 263 in 1989 to 430 in 2009, while total membership rose by 160 per cent from just short of 100,000 to 260,000 in the same period. The current brief is to find ways of sustaining this growth.

The Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI), Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU) and the PGA Irish Region, along with several well-placed figureheads from the industry, recently formed a steering committee to address the challenges during economic hardship. Their findings are “by no means a blueprint – rather a tool to stimulate new thinking and debate at committee level and within the membership”.

“There is little doubt that the rapid deterioration in the economy has filtered through to golf clubs and will have an adverse effect on golf club membership at least in the short term. The challenge facing golf clubs is to minimise this effect,” said the report.

Surely the most striking illustration of this sea-change has been the exponential increase in golf club membership availability across the country. Where once it was virtually a closed shop, there are now 232 from the 430 golf clubs open for new membership as of last Monday (December 14th), according to a live list hosted on the GUI website (www.gui.ie).

In 2009 six clubs were newly affiliated to the GUI; Portmarnock Links (Dublin), Macreddin Village (Wicklow), Ballymoney (Wexford), Scarke (Wexford), Townley Hall (Louth) and Killeen Castle (Meath), host for the 2011 Solheim Cup. Two clubs lost their affiliation, Harbour Point (Cork) and Ringdufferin (Down).

In addition Luttrellstown Castle Golf Club recently announced they will remain open for business for another year after they were due to close at the end of 2009. In anticipation of the closure many of Luttrellstown’s members migrated to places like Killeen Castle, who have 297 members – approximately half came from Luttrellstown – and are on course to reach their target of 400 by the end of 2010.

Bunclody Golf Club officially opened in March this year and already they have over 300 members, so like Killeen Castle, they appear to be bucking the trend as numbers continue to grow at the Wexford club. Lough Erne in Enniskillen and Concra Wood in Castleblayney are other clubs to have come onto the Irish golfing radar in recent times.

Figures can be stretched and pulled to suit but breaking clubs down into provinces offers greater clarity on the membership situation.

It comes as no surprise Leinster is the most densely populated in terms of golf clubs with 175. From that 105 were registered as being open for membership. Ulster is next with 122 clubs, 52 of which are open for new membership. Munster has 91 clubs and 48 open, while 27 of Connacht’s 42 clubs have their doors open for new blood.

Historically entrance fees were a barrier to entry for the majority.

Drilling a little further in the stats reveals a considerable number of clubs have now done away with entrance fees – or put another way, over half of the clubs are open for membership across each of the provinces.

In Leinster 56 of the 105 clubs charge no entry fee, 31 out of 52 in Ulster, 25 out of 48 in Munster and 19 out of 27 in Connacht. Such percentages would have been unheard of during the Celtic Tiger era.

That said it’s worth noting “the make-up of golf clubs in Ireland is very diverse with a large spread of private member and proprietary clubs in urban, suburban and rural areas”, according to the report. For this reason it’s difficult to compare like-for-like as a private members’ club will operate from a different business model compared to say a resort complex or a public pay-and-pay facility. But the overriding message is clear; the majority are openly touting for new business.

It will come as no surprise to find clubs in less populated parts of the country generally have no entrance fees, whereas clubs in commuter hubs in and around the greater Dublin area can still command such fees. For example; Knightsbrook and Bray (€15,000), Greystones (€16,000), Malahide (€17,000) and The Island (€20,000).

It appears a simple a case of supply and demand.

In many cases entrance fees have also been made much more flexible where shared options, debenture or preference schemes are in place to assist golfers when budgeting for membership.

As pressure on disposable income is more apparent the issue of dual membership has become more vulnerable. City golfers with a second membership at a club near their holiday home in the country, for example, may reassess that need for a second annual fee.

Last year the GUI carried out a club survey and found the average age of a male member was 49 compared to female members affiliated to ILGU clubs was closer to 55. This in turn revealed another membership problem – a “lost generation” in 25-44 year-olds who were termed “nomadic or casual golfers . . . where clubs have failed to create any added value” for this category of potential members who instead tend to go down the green fee route.

“A related problem has been the practice of charging high entrance fees either for new members or those transitioning from junior to full membership, which is unaffordable to this lost generation,” the report added.

The report went on to identify lady and junior membership as potential growth areas. At present there are just short of 50,000 ladies who are members of affiliated golf clubs, accounting for just over 20 per cent of the overall number.

The GUI, ILGU and Irish PGA, through their Junior Golf Ireland programme actively encourage junior participation in the sport with external support coming from the Irish Sports Council.

The report also identified further ways to help attract and retain members with the condition of the course, pace of play and increased availability on the timesheet as key areas of address.

All told there has surely never been a better time to look for golf club membership in Ireland.

Note: This article focused on the current availability of full memberships around Ireland but there are a number of other variations such as country, family, overseas or 5/6-day membership options also available. For latest listings and a copy of the steering committee report visit the GUI website: www.gui.ie

GUI Affiliated Golf Clubs 2009

Provincial breakdown

Leinster 175
Ulster 122
Munster 91
Connacht 42
Total clubs: 430

Number of clubs currently open for membership

Leinster 105 out of 175
Ulster 52/122
Munster 48/91
Connacht 27/42
Total: 232/430

Number of clubs currently not charging entrance fees

Leinster 56 out of 105
Ulster 31/52
Munster 25/48
Connacht 19/27
Total: 131/232

Full membership annual subs

Leinster (price range) €315–€4,000
Ulster €230–€1,014
Munster €250–€1,310
Connacht €100–€982

Source: Golfing Union of Ireland