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Golf Club Membership during Phased opening

  • 05-05-2020 1:33pm
    #1
    logie101
    Registered Users Posts: 449 ✭✭


    Would golf courses be open to accepting new members during the phased opening from lockdown?

    I am a long time golfer but have not held membership in recent years due to kids and work travel commitments.
    Most of my golf has been society or corporate golf in the last 2 years.

    I’ve lots off local courses with 5km but don’t want to appear a d**k by attempting to rock up and join now. Or do you reckon courses would be happy for the revenue?


Comments

  • #2
    FixdePitchmark
    Registered Users Posts: 20,741 ✭✭✭✭FixdePitchmark


    It will be hard enough to get out for existing members -

    I don't know the answer to your question - but it is very early days in the phases of opening.

    From 8th of June Phase 2 - things will be a bit different.

    I'd be surprised if clubs will have anything else on their mind , except getting existing club members - who have paid fees for years, to get them out on the course, note these members have had a pause on playing and paid for that duration.

    If people are struggling to get out as is , there are no competitions and no casual / walk on golf - its a difficult sell for new members and even less popular , if certain existing playing members can't play.

    I'd say it will be a while yet before this is considered.


  • #3
    blue note
    Registered Users Posts: 4,503 ✭✭✭blue note


    I'd say they'd be delighted to get a new member. Sure ring them and ask. But they'll lose heaps of revenue dur to this. I don't think they can afford to say no to new members.


  • #4
    mike12
    Registered Users Posts: 2,331 ✭✭✭mike12


    100% they will all take new members, will be east to get out with the 5k limit for the first couple of weeks


  • #5
    Dayor Knight
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭Dayor Knight


    No harm in asking anyway.


  • #6
    HighLine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,378 ✭✭✭HighLine


    logie101 wrote: »
    Would golf courses be open to accepting new members during the phased opening from lockdown?

    I am a long time golfer but have not held membership in recent years due to kids and work travel commitments.
    Most of my golf has been society or corporate golf in the last 2 years.

    I’ve lots off local courses with 5km but don’t want to appear a d**k by attempting to rock up and join now. Or do you reckon courses would be happy for the revenue?

    You will absolutely not be appearing a d""k. The majority of clubs would be delighted to hear from you.

    I am currently thinking about starting a campaign for new members at my own club. There will be a lot of people right now who would consider golf the perfect tonic after the last few months.

    Give them a call tomorrow and get the ball rolling!


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  • #7
    searay
    Registered Users Posts: 436 ✭✭searay


    I’m based in the Midlands and many of the clubs have been very actively looking for members for the past few years, and I think all of them would welcome more members now. There will also be a number of members who’ll opt out of renewing due to loss of interest, age or financial cost.


  • #8
    prawnsambo
    Registered Users Posts: 13,008 ✭✭✭✭prawnsambo


    I was saying something similar on the other thread. Clubs would love to get new members in. When you think about the lost time since March, the likelihood that they won't be able to get any additional income over the next month or so from societies and visitors, the only other source of additional income would be new members. The way I see it, new memberships would be the silver lining in this awful cloud. A lot of clubs would have their application forms online on their websites, so fill it in and post it to them so that they can deal with it as soon as they open.


  • #9
    davegilly
    Registered Users Posts: 677 ✭✭✭davegilly


    I got an email from New Forest GC and they are offering Monthly membership this summer from June to end of August for €100 a month.

    I think it’s a great idea. Brings in some badly needed money. I don’t think the courses will be anywhere near as busy as people seem to think when they open.

    The whole landscape has changed completely. There is the travelling restrictions, loads of people are now unemployed, over 70’s in fear of their life if they go outside the door, society’s and green fees are gone plus loads haven’t paid their subs either because they can’t afford it or didn’t bother because the course was closed. Even the big guns like Ballybunion, Lahunch etc need money. The Yankee dollar is gone for this year at the very least.

    Courses need money so I would imagine be delighted to hear from anyone interested in any kind of membership. Ring and ask.


  • #10
    mike12
    Registered Users Posts: 2,331 ✭✭✭mike12


    There are a lot of people who haven't lost jobs and they will be looking to spend the money they are not using on gym membership or the sun holiday.

    Reckon there will be a spike in membership for this summer at least.
    Green fees will go thru the roof when that is lifted the working from home makes it easier for people to get out in the afternoon or evening


  • #11
    prawnsambo
    Registered Users Posts: 13,008 ✭✭✭✭prawnsambo


    davegilly wrote: »
    I got an email from New Forest GC and they are offering Monthly membership this summer from June to end of August for €100 a month.

    I think it’s a great idea. Brings in some badly needed money. I don’t think the courses will be anywhere near as busy as people seem to think when they open.

    The whole landscape has changed completely. There is the travelling restrictions, loads of people are now unemployed, over 70’s in fear of their life if they go outside the door, society’s and green fees are gone plus loads haven’t paid their subs either because they can’t afford it or didn’t bother because the course was closed. Even the big guns like Ballybunion, Lahunch etc need money. The Yankee dollar is gone for this year at the very least.

    Courses need money so I would imagine be delighted to hear from anyone interested in any kind of membership. Ring and ask.
    That's a brilliant idea and would help those who can't get to their own clubs due to the restrictions. More of this please.


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  • #12
    billy3sheets
    Registered Users Posts: 1,078 ✭✭✭billy3sheets


    While this might even be of advantage to me, I think it is a fudge of the restrictions.

    What is the real difference between:
    1. Regular Members only, even if outside 5km range
    2. Regular Members plus new Temporary Members, all inside 5km range


  • #13
    prawnsambo
    Registered Users Posts: 13,008 ✭✭✭✭prawnsambo


    billy3sheets wrote: »
    While this might even be of advantage to me, I think it is a fudge of the restrictions.

    What is the real difference between:
    1. Regular Members only, even if outside 5km range
    2. Regular Members plus new Temporary Members, all inside 5km range
    Quite a lot actually. The whole purpose of the lockdown was to keep as many people in their own areas as possible (with the exception of essential workers). That in itself is a risk; as I well know, since my youngest son is one of those and what he tells me about the stupidity and selfishness of some people would make your toenails curl.

    But by and large that process has worked. I note people saying on this thread that the only people still being infected are people in the health service and other frontline staff. Well those people live in 'local' areas. And they interact with their families and they in turn interact with other essential workers in their localities. So there's going to be some 'leakage' in those communities. But it's not an uncontrollable problem if the boundaries of those communities are kept largely intact. It's far easier to trace infection vectors and lock them down.

    So if you start introducing new vectors in an uncontrolled fashion, you get outbreaks that can't be locked down. The built-in delay in symptoms developing and people getting test results mean that we can be as much (and sometimes more than) a week behind the curve. My eldest son only developed symptoms a week after he knew he'd been infected.


  • #14
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,030 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    Will there not be carnage when the restrictions are lifted (even to 20KM) and long standing members cant get out because of a flood of temporary members?


  • #15
    big_drive
    Registered Users Posts: 3,110 ✭✭✭big_drive


    Hard to know will things be as busy as some think. Plenty people still have lots going on in their lives at moment, golf may not be top of list for many


  • #16
    prawnsambo
    Registered Users Posts: 13,008 ✭✭✭✭prawnsambo


    GreeBo wrote: »
    Will there not be carnage when the restrictions are lifted (even to 20KM) and long standing members cant get out because of a flood of temporary members?
    Well I wouldn't envisage all clubs doing it. I would imagine (for example) that your club would not need the extra income, so it would only be doing it as a service to the local community. Maybe for the duration of the first phase only, but it isn't a 'one size fits all' solution. A lot of rural clubs would probably be in a better position to do it. I gave the example of Druid's Glen in the other thread where many of the surrounding towns and villages would be out of range. And from where the club would draw many of its members. So there would be scope for people living in say Kilcoole or Newtownmountkennedy to go and play there for a month or two.


  • #17
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,030 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    prawnsambo wrote: »
    Well I wouldn't envisage all clubs doing it. I would imagine (for example) that your club would not need the extra income, so it would only be doing it as a service to the local community. Maybe for the duration of the first phase only, but it isn't a 'one size fits all' solution. A lot of rural clubs would probably be in a better position to do it. I gave the example of Druid's Glen in the other thread where many of the surrounding towns and villages would be out of range. And from where the club would draw many of its members. So there would be scope for people living in say Kilcoole or Newtownmountkennedy to go and play there for a month or two.

    Yeah I get that alright, I just think that if it became popular then it could be an issue.
    Also, add into the mix a potentially large group of beginners golfers out on their own while rakes and divot bags are out of the mix, could be a sad time to be a greenskeeper.


  • #18
    prawnsambo
    Registered Users Posts: 13,008 ✭✭✭✭prawnsambo


    GreeBo wrote: »
    Yeah I get that alright, I just think that if it became popular then it could be an issue.
    Also, add into the mix a potentially large group of beginners golfers out on their own while rakes and divot bags are out of the mix, could be a sad time to be a greenskeeper.
    It's not perfect and I don't think monthly memberships would become a 'thing' in itself. But I would imagine that anyone taking up that option would likely be members of other clubs who just can't get to them. People starting off would be more likely to take up the reduced/bonus membership deals.


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