Golf club membership may fall slightly in England next year – but the Covid boom hasn’t turned to bust.
That’s the view of England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson, who told The NCG Golf Podcast the sport was “still in a great place”.
With clubs under pressure from rising costs, the announcement of some golf club closures, and the re-emergence of deals offering membership incentives, there has been speculation the huge participation boom that boosted the sport following the Covid pandemic may have peaked.
R&A research, however, indicated there was still a healthy increase of players worldwide – with growth of 3.1 million between 2022 and 2023 – and Tomlinson said the golf boom is “very much there”.
But he did suggest membership in the country, which stood at 722,000 last year, could “drop by about a percentage point”.
“I always talk about the golfer journey being broken into three specific segments,” Tomlinson told the podcast. “One of those is leisure and recreational golfers. That might be driving range, short course, pitch and putt, adventure golfers. We want to call them golfers. We want them to be known as golfers.
“We then move on to independent golfers and those who, for whatever reason, are not a member of a golf club.
“Then we move onto membership. Overall, for the three segments, golf is still in a boom. Yes, the pandemic is a couple of years gone, but you cannot get away from the health and well-being benefits of playing golf.”
Golf participation boom: ‘Golf is in a good place’
He added: “Those parts are still being promoted really well. We make every effort to do that as do many organisations, so that puts golf in a great place.
“The reality of life kicks in when you start looking at membership or, say, green fees because every one of us only has a certain amount of discretionary income.
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“You have the choices in life with regards to what you can spend that money on. There must be priorities in life – taking care of ourselves, family – and making sure we can live is a priority over any pastime.”
Tomlinson added: “With regards to membership, we’re having different stories up and down the country. I think it might well drop by about a percentage point from last year but it still is in a really good place.
“I still do see more golf clubs trying to do more than I ever saw pre-pandemic.
“With regards to looking to retain their membership, looking to recruit members, and also looking to recruit younger members, green fee deals, and so forth, it is just part and parcel of the competitive world that we live in.
“We have seen some tough factors. We’ve seen the weather, inflation, a change of government and different pressures come from that.
“But golf is in a good place. Membership might drop a little going into next year but I think it is predominantly weather and inflationary based – certainly from all the feedback I hear.”
Listen to The NCG Golf Podcast
On this episode, Steve Carroll is joined by England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson. As well as the Respect in Golf movement, they also discuss the World Handicap System, whether the golf boom has peaked, and if the sport needs to focus on shorter formats. Make sure you listen in.
Now have your say
What do you think of these thoughts on golf participation and club membership? Do you think the golf boom is still going? Let us know your thoughts with a comment on X.
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