Increasing Nationwide Golf Club Membership & Participation – Understanding purchasing determinants and attitudes towards club memberships for New Zealand golfers

Whitaker, N.

Golf NZ

2008

Golf NZ

www.golf.co.nz

nzgolf@nzgolf.org.nz

Golf club memberships in New Zealand have declined 9% in the past 5 years. The trend appears to be following a global pattern for declining club membership and waning popularity of golf, presenting a major concern for golfing administration and management bodies in New Zealand, at both a local and national level.

In November 2007 New Zealand Golf commissioned this research to provide context to their strategic objectives to combat these trends. New Zealand Golf had already identified that membership growth could be achieved through two channels; 1) increasing the conversion rate to membership within the casual golfer population and 2) increasing retention rates among current members. The research contained herein is the result of a nationwide survey targeting casual golfers and current members to investigate the attitudes and behaviours of these groups, as well as the value proposition of golf and club memberships. Though not a revolutionary finding, it can be confidently concluded that time scarcity is the leading barrier to membership commitment across the casual golfing demographic. This presents an interesting challenge to a sport where the learning process is steep and the game alone requires at least a 2-hour ‘time bite.’

Gender differences are clearly observed in terms of playing preferences and attitudes towards golf and club membership. Women are more concerned with their golfing abilities and more readily seek tuition to improve their skills than men. They also play more 9-hole golf (despite claiming to be less affected by time) and are more likely to commit to a membership than men once they begin playing golf.

Contradictory beliefs within the casual male golfing set were identified, particularly within time availability and the value of 9-hole golf. Casual golfers report an attraction to membership options that provide greater playing and financial flexibility than traditional models. Developing ‘transitional membership packages’ that have a reduced initial financial outlay, may provide reassurance to time-constrained casual golfers that memberships provide value for money.

Anecdotally there is great support for the regional membership concept, however statistics show this is possibly a more relevant membership concession as part of a retention strategy, given that this research found that members play more different courses than casual players. To be most effective in the conversion of casual golfers to members, membership packages need to close the perceived gap created by the common equation cited by casual golfers:

perception of available time for golf x casual green fees = point of membership cost effectiveness

It is also fair to conclude that other than creating greater flexibility in terms of time commitment, payment options and access to course variety – the assessment of membership value primarily comes down to cost effectiveness. As the membership transaction is currently something that requires a player to estimate the anticipated value prior to consumption, it is reasonable to conclude that where memberships can reduce this risk perception – the uptake within the casual golfer population is likely to be favourable.

Keywords:

Golf, Golfers, Casual Golfers, Professional, Gender, Golf club, Membership

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November 9, 2011

July 6, 2012