Club Golf Vs Public Golf

Club Golf vs Public Golf

In today's world of the club golf industry the main challenge clubs face are member retention. Obviously the main objective is to keep the members happy by all means necessary but the club must offer something affordable and worth it to members that can stand up and compete against a what a public golf course could offer. Boardroom Magazine states " The three big forces lining up against clubs include the economy, the changing golf course marketplace and population demographics."

The big question is why would someone pay initiation fees plus continuous dues to a private club when they might be able to find something more affordable and convenient these days at a pubic golf course where they could also play with someone who might not be a member at a specific private club. Looking back around the 1920's golf was very different in many aspects. The most important aspect being who actually played golf. Golf wasn't so publicly played as it is today and was only offered by private clubs to private members. "in the 1920's, about 80 percent of the golf courses were private. Public golf was almost unheard of, and up until the 1990's, most of the existing public courses were not comparable to private courses. Today, about 75 percent of the 17,000 or so golf courses in the U.S. are public. The mix, Vain figures, will probably level off at about 80 percent public and 20 percent private around 2010," proclaims Boardroom Magazine. Today there is a very wide range of people who call themselves golfers. This is made possible by the development of new public courses. These days your average public course seems to be a higher than usual preference because you can now pay just a daily fee to play a course that not only could match up to a private course but in all honesty be better than your average private course because of the fact that the public courses are now designed by some of the best in the industry.

Many of the club managers see this problem and must think what can we do to compete? So the private club in attempt to save, keep the same, or boost profit in the industry try things like lowering their average member age. For an example of why this is done is to recruit families. Why families? Well because a family fee could be more income for the club yet more affordable and worth it for the family if they can utilize their membership in a way that is affordable and worth it to them. Families have proven that a private club may not fit there casual, athletically influenced, and or child-like lifestyle. If a family were to join a club it may be cutting a better deal for the family in a comparative ratio against just a single person membership. But then again families may not want the stress of paying a monthly dues fee. Striking a conflicting point, this is something clubs must address with great concern because the under 45 range seems to be the biggest loss from club to public courses. Private clubs seem to be generating a waiting list of prospective members. This means they have young people who play golf, enjoy it, and will probably continue to play the game but are not going to pay what a clubs initiation fees and dues demand. This could be due to the fact that they are young and cannot support such demanding fees and prefer a one time fee course. A club must retain that persons interests for the future and always be planning and recruiting.

The economy has taken a big hit in past years and is something private clubs must pay close attention to as well as come up with solutions for the "wanna be but can't" prospects. Demographics can play a big part in the competition of private club golf and public golf centers. If you are a high end club in a dense wealthy area with no competition than you are probably in the most ideal situation as a private club. A club must look to cope with members or prospects in such ways as full refunds on a membership deposit assuring members and not scaring them away. They should also look to offer things that your public course might not, like tournaments for all types of experience to satisfy members, a good 19th hole experience for all, in depth lessons, an athletics center, beverages and restrooms when and where needed. All these things include not only what a member wants but might need! The club must