Magazine - Golf club Initiative finds the Rough

By Editor in Golf on 3rd Nov 2008 6:00

New Zealand Golf is going back to the drawing board with its Golf Nation initiative because members of the more prestigious clubs do not want to play at lesser courses.

The ambitious project, NZ Golf's response to falling memberships, was aimed at boosting the number of club members across the country. However, it has been put on hold because not enough of the bigger clubs were keen on joining the initiative which would have meant each one setting aside 10 tee times per week for members from other clubs.

Christchurch and Russley golf clubs, two of the city's most prestigious and oldest courses, were blunt about the reasons they rejected joining the nationwide promotion. Christchurch general manager Struan Cain said there was little incentive for members at the Shirley course which costs $1500 per year. "There were different categories and we were at the top of the tree so it gave us very few clubs we could comparably play at," he said. "We have a very good course here and for the members who play here the other clubs wouldn't have a lot of appeal."

Clubs would have been put into five tiers with members able to play for free at clubs that were on the same or on lower tiers, while going up each tier would have cost an extra $10. However, Russley general manager Rod Gordon said it was felt the scheme would be of more benefit to members of the cheaper clubs. "We were a little concerned that people were being encouraged to join clubs with cheap subscriptions to play at courses like Russley at a reduced rate," he said. "It's just encouraging people into smaller clubs rather than into ours. So we decided not to join it." Russley costs $985 annually for a full men's membership.

Avondale was one of 10 Christchurch clubs that wanted to join the scheme. Club captain Gary Forster said the initiative was just what was needed to boost membership as it let golfers play other courses more cheaply. However, he believed part of the reason for the rejection was the snobbery of some of the members of the more prestigious clubs who neither wanted members of other clubs on their course or wanted to play anywhere else. "The whole idea is to get new members, that's what it's all about. "Realistically not too many clubs are making a profit at the end of the year."

Canterbury Golf Association general manager Doug McSweeney said he had initially supported the initiative but the bigger, better clubs simply did not get enough out of it. "I think the benefits on offer from Golf Nation were weighted towards the smaller clubs with cheap membership rates rather than the larger more expensive clubs," he said. "They indicated the pick-up was mainly from the smaller rural clubs who represented 28% of golfers. "We were all behind the concept but on review it didn't hit the mark."

Eighty-three of this country's 392 clubs have indicated they would join Golf Nation but they represented only 28% of club members in New Zealand, leading to the project being put on hold. NZ Golf estimates that at least 60 per cent of New Zealand golf clubs are in financial difficulty, at a time when membership numbers are dropping and labour and course maintenance costs are rising.

Club membership had fallen at an average of 2% a year in recent years, with overall figures slipping from 129,902 in 2004 to 123,924

Source & More: www.stuff.co.nz

Read more articles in Golf, by Editor or from November 2008.