Twentytwo13

Golf clubs must evolve to lure new members

Survival of the fittest or in this case, the savviest.

There is no point in having the best golf courses and facilities if you are unable to attract new members to your golf clubs.

That is a problem many golf clubs are facing as the new generation of executives and managers is turning away from golf.

Only those who are savvy enough to change with the times will have a chance of surviving.

One such club is Glenmarie Golf & Country Club, which on Aug 1, introduced a ‘Golf Pass’ for only RM11,500 a year for a family of six – parents and four children under-18.

“We have two membership categories – individual and corporate and they each cost RM100,000,” said club manager Nor Afendi Mohd Razlan.

“However, we recently introduced the ‘Golf Pass’ where you only pay RM11,500 a year for a family of six.

“This ‘Golf Pass’ entitles you to play at both our courses – Garden Course and Valley Course – free of charge.

“You can also enjoy the other facilities at discounted rates. For instance, to use the swimming pool, you only have to pay RM8 a day on weekends as a member guest rate instead of RM15 as a visitor.”

He explained Glenmarie decided on the ‘Golf Pass’ as a means to entice younger executives to join as members.

“Most young executives and managers are now very family-oriented or rather buy property than pay upwards of RM100,000 to become members in golf clubs,” said Afendi.

“But the ‘Golf Pass’ allows them and their family members to play golf all year round. They get to enjoy the facilities and who knows, maybe their children may enjoy the game too.

“This could eventually convince them to become members.”

He added the club is also upgrading its facilities to make it more family-friendly.

Several other golf clubs have also introduced ‘Golf Pass’ or ‘One-year Term membership’.

Palm Garden Golf Club, has a ‘360 Golf Access Card’ which enables you to play at the course for 360 days a year.

For RM11,888, golfers enjoy unlimited rounds of golf and access to the club’s recreational facilities such as the gym, tennis, swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi. Cardholders also enjoy 15 per cent savings on F&B at R5ve Cafe.

The club is offering an early bird price of RM8,888 for its ‘360 Golf Access Card’ until Sept 14.

But why aren’t more golf clubs offering these deals?

An industry insider said commercially-driven clubs have one-year term memberships but many others chose not to as “committees are the problem to innovation”.

“There are many selfish committee members who don’t want to change.”

“The other factors are the owners/developers who refuse to allocate budgets for development and junior golfing privileges, even when the course is empty on weekdays,” the insider added.

Afendi said the introduction of the ‘Golf Pass’ was not due to the Covid-19 pandemic as business has been booming since clubs were allowed to resume operations on May 4.

“Selangor probably has the highest ratio of golfers in the country.

“Due to Covid-19, many of them are not travelling to play golf. They are opting to play within the state,” he said.

“We, and the other clubs, have been fully booked.”

There are 29 registered golf courses in Selangor, the most of any state in the country.