Will you rejoin your club for next year

GreeBo wrote: »

Same boat, nearly 3 yeas and nearly 4 DAYS old, I'll have the back garden ruined if I don't get on a course soon!:o

I was playing an open in seapoint when my child was two days old

Full disclosure. We had an emergency c section and my wife was in hospital by herself for 5 days. No visits due to COVID

My 2 year old is a great caddy. Or real truth is he will go off with anyone

DeanAustin wrote: »

Yep, I gave it up for a few years around when the kids were born because work was getting busier and there was a lot of stuff going on.

Massive mistake. Lost golf and it was very hard to get back into it. Like playing every week becomes a habit, not playing also becomes a habit.

Yea found the same, life gets in the way. And so does routine.
Playing every week is routine, when the little ones come along its a necessity to break the routine, then that becomes the new routine. My little lad is 4, but routine at the weekend doesnt include me dissapearing for up to 6 hours. Summer is easier, as i can still be on the course when he is in bed.

GreeBo wrote: »

Same boat, nearly 3 yeas and nearly 4 DAYS old, I'll have the back garden ruined if I don't get on a course soon!:o

Congrats that might limit you to only getting to the course twice a day when it reopens :P

I'll be in my place for the next few years. We plan to move house in a few years so depending on where we land will determine whether I stay with the club or not. I would like to. I think the value for money is great and the people I have met with so far have been really fun to play golf with. My only concern is that its difficult to get a consistent time on the timesheet, the point a poster made before is that playing becomes a habit and if its at the same time each week (early sunday morning) then the OH will have no problem with that. Its when its 8am one week and midday or later the next that it becomes an issue

I reckon we will be hopping between level 2 and 3 for at least the next 12 months.

Golf will be one of the few sports allowed and the demand will remain high plus people will enjoy it and continue to play after.

Next year we will see no concerts, social events or sporting events. I expect travel to be restricted or people not confident to travel aboard. People that travel away for golf hols will stay at home increasing demand.

Most decent clubs or clubs in good locations already have full time sheets and will or have closed for membership. I know a lot of clubs like ours are planning not to have societies next year at weekends and we had already stopped green fees at the weekend. We already have a big waiting list to join so people leaving will have very little impact and in the long run we will be better of with members that value the club.

So in summary, the only way you will get to play regularly is if your a member. This is more a issue for people living in the Dublin area.

Green fees and society fees are going up at least 30% at most clubs.

Entrance fees will be back if this continues into 2022. Under offers will be gone soon because of demand.

Most people played a lot more golf this year but experience congestion On timesheets and this affected weekend golfers most Who feel they don’t get value for subs. I reckon most clubs will resolve this issue in 2021.

So if you leave your club now, I reckon you will regret it if your a golfer. I understand why Some people measure golf membership v cost per round. but over 40 years you will always get the value of membership, but the club your with needs to be your home and not just a golf course. If this is your experience then your at the wrong club.

Tommo 76 wrote: »

Now that it’s the time of year that members subs are being rolled out for next year, do any of your clubs have any incentives or doing anything for their members to rejoin?

Does "Rejoin this year or we won't be here next year" count as an incentive?

Elmgreen are offering 13months for 12 in 2021 for anyone who keeps their sub through all of this.

Only for current members.

They've also stopped taking new members, will be one out -one in and no societies and reduced visitors thru winter

Loyalty works both ways so I would hope that clubs do offer something a bit extra to members that continue to pay the membership fees throughout the pandemic. No way would I give it up and its important to have something to look forward to.

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

Bit like car insurance it pays to shop around, best deals are usually only for newcomers.

Oh man you are the type of member a proper club doesn’t want. This is why all clubs should have some sort of joining fee as it weans out the deal hunters and the course hoppers.

No matter how you try and sugar coat it, there is no way in the world anyone can compare shopping around for car insurance to being part of a club.

Seve OB wrote: »

Oh man you are the type of member a proper club doesn’t want. This is why all clubs should have some sort of joining fee as it weans out the deal hunters and the course hoppers.

No matter how you try and sugar coat it, there is no way in the world anyone can compare shopping around for car insurance to being part of a club.

Well I've no loyalty to any club, they charge enough so I'll always look to get the best deal on the best course. I'm lucky in that I've probably 8 courses within 20 minutes. I'm a member of a course that I live beside, it's a good club but the course is mediocre so I'd have no problem moving to a better course if the deal is right.

swededmonkey wrote: »

I'm not particularly happy with how my club have managed the new members situation. They had taken around 40-50 from a nearby club that closed at the beginning of the year and speaking with the handicap secretary, had another 50 join due to Covid. The timesheet has always been busy and I've accepted and managed that in the years I've been a member. The issue is that they are dictating that we cannot play twice on a weekend in order to allow all members a chance to play. My issue is that pre-Covid and a busy timesheet, this was never a problem. I work long hours and do not have much opportunity, if any, to play mid week golf, especially in winter months. With talk that subs are due to increase next year and they intend to continue imposing a limit of one game per weekend, I'm looking for a club elsewhere as are a large cohort of long standing members, many of which form the core of our interclub teams.

This is the post I thought was a kinsale member?

eoghan104 wrote: »

The talk about loyalty and "real clubs" is so frustrating. It is 2020 now and not all people think this way anymore. It is not fair to look down on someone who wants to get the best value for money and doesn't care about being part of a "real club". There is also still many that do and that's cool too.

I have to say I am surprised how well Carr golf have handled things in Castleknock with the free extra month and stoping weekend societies for the foreseeable. They get a lot of criticism but have done well here.

credit where it is due, I am happy enough with this (im in corballis). my only concern now is it being so far away - should we enter any further no travel restricitions in the future I cannot golf. It has thought me there is added value in being a member in a club nearest me. So while it may be more expensive i will get more use out of it should i be locked down to even 20kms or 5kms from the house. The nearest club to me is Carton House. a) cant afford it at the moment (which is fine as i am a member elsewhere) b) dont know how difficult it is to get into and c) the missus would kill me handing over large money but I see the value.........think that will work or is more investigation required? hahaha

GreeBo wrote: »

But you cant treat it like a service and then also complain that they are not loyal to you.
If you treat them like a business then you have to expect them to treat you like a commodity in return. They are going to pack the course to extract as much cash as possible for as little expense as possible, they only care about you in so far as it impacts their bottom line.
A members club doesnt care about the bottom line, they dont exist to make money as there is no one who actually gets any money, the club makes money for itself.

From reading multiple threads on here over the last few years it seems that many people want the membership feel but also the best deal around. It just doesnt work that way I'm afraid.

Yeah I agree it works both ways and I assumed that to be understood.

In my example I left Bray GC which is the perfect example of a "real club" due to moving away. I miss the club aspect and all that goes with it. I have now joined Castleknock because the flexible membership is great value. They owe me nothing though, if they decided to double the fees I would just walk away and say good luck to them and can't complain.

I don't think too many are complaining about clubs not being loyal to members and that's why they might leave, they are simply weighing up the cost of the fees compared to how much they will pay and that's all that matters. I think that is a fine attitude to have and is more common these days.

Seve OB wrote: »

Have to disagree with you. As some here might not be aware the sub in Castleknock (and I think most other Carr associated clubs) is not on a calendar basis, but is a year from your joining date, so a lot of subs come due for renewal every month in the year. I know questions were asked by many members, including myself during the first lockdown. I asked at least 3 times and never received an answer and I know others were the same. Whispers went around that they were making no concessions (which they weren't at the time) but they wouldn't answer the questions and made no announcement to the members.

Yes they have finally addressed the issue (6 months to late if you ask me) and an email has been sent and it is good they are offering the extra month, but that is only for subs renewed next year. It is the current year which has been discommoded with the lockdowns and it is the current subscription which should be extended. So if your renewal falls due between now and the end of 2020, you will just get 12 months and it is only when you renew in December 2021 that you will get your extra month applied. I renewed just before we were locked out and I don't believe I will qualify for an extension.

The no societies and more member times at weekend is something which needed to be addressed years ago, long before the influx of all the new members this year so again a welcome but late resolution. And locked out of golf over the 2 periods equates to about 12 weeks or 3 months if I'm not mistaken, so a month is nothing more than a pitiful gesture.

Rant over

Only rejoined a couple of months ago myself

So it's no societies until March, I can't imagine there would be many societies up to March anyway, the fun and games will begin then, having a thousand members and Saturday comps that end at 11:30am is some joke

When a club offers a 'free month' to existing members, what does that even mean?

They take the amount of one month off the total amount (eg €80) or they give you 13 months worth?

If the latter, would you just end up paying full fee the next year anyway, so an extra month etc isn't really an incentive.