The date is set for golf’s return in England and golfers and golf clubs alike are looking forward to March 29 when play will resume. But what has the true impact of Covid-19 been on club operations and golfer behaviour? The results of a comprehensive survey of golf clubs in the UK and Ireland by technology provider BRS Golf by GolfNow highlights the effects of Covid-19 on revenue, membership and attitudes to technology among golf club managers.
Despite a challenging and volatile year, golf club operators are optimistic about what lies ahead. Membership was by far the biggest growth area in 2020, with 80 per cent of respondents reporting their membership revenues were up, and 35 per cent reporting it has increased dramatically. In fact, 11 per cent said they had surpassed their membership capacity and had to introduce a waiting list.
The adult male category made up 66 per cent of all new members last year, while adult women were the third largest segment (13 per cent). Clubs also reported increases among junior, juvenile, student and flexible/lifestyle members, together making up 21 per cent of new memberships. Clubs say the renewed interest in golf and club membership from new and returning golfers in 2020 following the spring lockdown is a huge opportunity for the game to diversify and appeal to young people and women.
When asked about critical elements in 2021 to ensure sustainability, the majority of clubs cited new membership retention as the number one priority. Many comments referenced the importance of member engagement in 2021, especially as life returns to normal and pre-Covid team sports participants decide where to spend their time and money. A member-owned club in Midlothian, Scotland, said their key priority for 2021 was: “Maintaining membership of new members in 2020 who started golfing at the expense of football, rugby and other team games.”
A summer surge in membership revenue and member and visitor rounds followed a spring golf season that will go down in history as the worst ever experienced in the UK & Ireland. Among respondents, 60 per cent of clubs reported being closed to members for three months or more; 84 per cent were closed to visitors three months or more and 86 per cent were closed to members’ guests three months or more. Most clubs in Wales and Scotland reported courses only being closed one-two months, while in Ireland and Northern Ireland, 83 per cent of facilities were closed for more than three months.
Despite these closures, 40 per cent of clubs reported an increase in visitor green fee revenue last year, and 55 per cent of all respondents saw double digit growth in rounds across all golfer types, with 33 per cent reporting that rounds were up significantly in 2020. Countries benefitting the most with double-digit growth in rounds are those in England (+57 per cent), Scotland (+72 per cent) and Northern Ireland (+50 per cent). Wales (+37 per cent) and Ireland (+45 per cent) saw some recovery after the first four months, but at a lower rate. This is doubtless due to additional lockdown closures in Wales and Ireland.
A by-product of the pandemic, was the move to digital booking requiring generations of golfers to embrace online technologies and with it the benefit of knowing their next round was booked in a safe and convenient way. It was the bottom 25 per cent of courses who previously had the lowest usage of online bookings that made the biggest leaps into technology adoption. The lowest quartile of clubs saw just six per cent of their 2019 rounds booked online – this leapt to 60 per cent of rounds by autumn 2020. The technologically proficient, or highest quartile clubs who were already fully committed to online booking pre-Covid, only saw slight changes in booking behaviours.
The vast majority — 76 per cent of respondents — are anticipating pre-round contactless transactions are here to stay after COVID-19 has passed. The necessity of online booking has created a massive change in culture, moving mainly from walk-in bookings and cash/card payments to primarily online. This was a sea-change not only for the golfers, but for the staff as well. The number of clubs placing a ‘very high priority’ or ‘high priority’ on technology almost doubled from just 37 per cent in 2019 to 67 per cent in 2020.
Unsurprisingly the wedding and events business, society and competitions and food & beverage segments were deemed hardest hit by respondents. 81 per cent said clubhouse F&B was down dramatically, while 70 per cent reported a dramatic decline in weddings and events and 64 per cent said society and open competitions were down significantly over last year. Clubs with a higher reliance on corporate and society business reported total revenues were down from June through to September, and 16 per cent of respondents had more than 100 bookings cancelled. 69 per cent of clubs that reported total revenues up in peak summer (June-September) had less than 50 bookings cancelled.
With the impact of COVID-19 far less within the golf sector compared to other sports and hospitality industries, the comments from one operator at a privately-owned facility in England echo many within the industry. “Golf in England has been handed a get-out-of-jail-free card, and it is up to all of us to use it wisely and ensure that the benefits of golf — exercise, activity, camaraderie and competitiveness — are promoted heavily by the Governing bodies, courses and members.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for golf to shed its stuffy image and embrace change to maximise the interest in younger members and women in general. The stale, male and pale image could be a thing of the past within five years if we get it right.”
