Are you considering launching a new flexible golf membership category at your club in 2020? To help you understand this category type a bit further, we have put together 15 reasons why you should launch PlayMoreGolf at your club.
Our average partner club will generate over £90,000 in additional membership revenue in just 3 years of partnership. Many of our new partner clubs in 2019 have already generated over £20,000. Be honest, what could your golf club do with that sort of additional revenue next year? Additional course budget? A clubhouse refurbishment? New green keeping machinery? Course changes and improvements? A new fleet of buggies? The list goes on…
The membership revenue generated by new members is fantastic, but what about the increase in on-spend revenue too (in the bar, restaurant, golf shop and driving range!). We’ve found that our average flexible member spends around £10 per round whilst at the golf club. Based on 100 flexible members playing 10 rounds per year, that £10,000 in additional on spend, simply by increasing the number of members joining the club. Plus, the club atmosphere is always better with more members in the clubhouse!
Even at some of our busiest partner clubs, course utilisation after 1pm drops significantly. In fact, many of the clubs we currently support only fill 10% of their available tee times after 1pm. What if you could start generating additional revenue for golf that is usually played after 1pm? Interestingly, over 70% of golf played by flexible members is after 1pm. It really is win-win!
As we all know, the UK weather is unreliable at the best of times. Do you find yourself relying on green fee revenue over the wet winter months to make the accounts balance? By launching a flexible membership category, you are guaranteeing up front revenue throughout the year. That’s right, flexible members pay up-front and as a partner golf club, you receive the revenue up-front too!
How many 20-50 year olds join your club each year? Compare that to the number of 20-50 year olds who leave your club each year? Is there a significant difference? The average age of a traditional member in the UK is 65; a number which is rising 2 years every 12 months (i.e. next year the average age will be 67). Remember, not everyone plays enough golf to justify a traditional membership… especially those who have children and are busy with work! A flexible membership category will definitely help to attract the younger generation of golfer… our average member is aged just 48.
Yes that’s right; a flexible membership category acts as a fantastic way to retain existing members that otherwise would have left the golf club. How many members have left in the last 2 years? What was the main reasons? From our experience, we’ve found it’s often down to not being able to justify a full membership due to not playing enough golf.
Data is the life blood of any business, and your golf club is no different. Do you constantly advertise to your unconverted membership enquiries via email and SMS? Are you marketing to local golfers in your area through a paid Facebook campaign? As part of the PlayMoreGolf partnership, we carry out lead generation on behalf of our partner clubs. In partnership with the club, and utilising some of the data you already have, many of our clubs are receiving upwards of 30 enquiries each month into their flexible membership category. Plus, using Facebook, we target golfers in your area who we know are likely to join your club as a flexible member!
Many clubs we speak to, don’t realise that launching a flexible membership category will in turn increase the number of full members at the club. Over the last 4 years 8% of flexible members have actually upgraded to full membership at our partner clubs. That’s right, we know there’s a tipping point where a flexible membership category doesn’t allow the golfer to play as much golf as they want… Many clubs use PlayMoreGolf as a way to grow their full membership base. If 8% of 100 flexible members upgraded through 2020, that could be an extra £8,000 to the club; on top of the revenue generate by the flexible members too!
A PlayMoreGolf member is likely to be the most valuable customer on your golf course. The reason why? On average a flexible member with PlayMoreGolf only plays 8 rounds of golf per year; usually after 1pm. That means the price per round of golf is actually very high; often between £35 and £55 to the golf club. Compare this to a traditional member who plays 3-4 times per week where the club maybe only receives £5-£8 per round…
Do you already offer a flexible membership category at the club but find it impossible to control? Our industry leading PlayMoreGolf platform makes managing a flexible membership category seamless. We have spent over 5 years developing our current platform; a golfer now joins online, pays online, books their golf online (through a tee sheet integration if you have one) and even renews their membership online. There’s no admin for the golf club, meaning you can spend your time on the important things! Plus, whenever a golfer books in, their points are deducted automatically, meaning no need to pen/paper, excel spreadsheets or voucher books (yes, we’ve seen it all…).
Be honest, do you generate as much revenue as you’d like during the winter months? Naturally with the good old British winter, many courses we speak to see a huge drop in takings between November and February. What if you could have 12 new members join your club in say, November? That’s what one of our newest partner clubs in Cheshire saw just last month! And with the flexible members paying up front, the golf club received that revenue at a time when cash-flow would usually be problematic!
That’s right, we have an online solution that allows golfers to join your club online. New members pay through the system, book their golf online (through our industry leading platform and tee sheet integration) and even renew online too. Interestingly, we see many golfers join our partner clubs in the evening (when the golf office at your club is likely closed!). Having this e-commerce system makes it easier for local golfers to join at times that are convenient to them. Plus, there’s no more worrying about having to send renewal letters and chasing payments… the system takes care of everything for you, saving you time to focus on the important things!
We now have over 220 golf clubs available to play on the PlayMoreGolf network. One of the biggest benefits to a golfer joining through PlayMoreGolf is the ability to use 20% of their membership across our network of fantastic partner clubs. Remember, the target golfer for this type of product is used to playing different courses in their county… Our solution means a golfer nominates a home club, whilst having the ability to play the odd game at another local club too.
We’ve launched over 200 clubs across the UK now, and through experience, understand what works (and what doesn’t!!!). Our dedicated team are on hand to guide your club through our strategic launch process. Looking for those quick wins from day 1? Our team know exactly what needs to be done… and we’ll even support you to get there. Plus, we’re on hand each day to help support you with absolutely anything and everything to do with your new flexible membership category.
“How did Torquay Golf Club join 115 new members in just 10 months?” – a question we regularly get asked… Throughout 2020, our team are conducting a series of roadshows which will include lots of case studies where we share best practice from our existing partner clubs. All events are free to attend for our partner clubs and will be part of the ongoing training our support team carry out.
So, there you have it. 15 reasons why you should launch PlayMoreGolf flexible golf membership category at your club! Why not take it that one step further, use our calculator below, fill out the facilities at your club and discover the potential profits you could make in both a year and 2-year period with PlayMoreGolf.