Golf club membership fees hit ‘worrying’ new heights

Everywhere you look, golf is booming. 

Never before have so many people across the world been playing or watching our game. More and more of us are getting the golf bug and that can only be a good thing for the sport.

It is no surprise, then, that the authorities are now making it their mission to capitalise on new interest as golf continues to surge in popularity in a post-Covid world.

R&A CEO Martin Slumbers has been responsible for overseeing such huge growth and has committed to making the game as inclusive and accessible for everyone.

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“We’re in a really good place,” Slumbers recently told bunkered in a wide-ranging interview.

“There’s over 100 million people around the world right now who consume golf. Of those, 61 million are outside of the United States. That’s never happened before. The fastest growing regions are outside of the developed golfing world, and 25% to 30% of those 61 million are women. That is tremendous balance.”

The possibilities are seemingly endless, particularly with alternative versions of the game like Top Golf taking off, which particularly excites Slumbers.

However, one problem that isn’t going away is the increased cost of playing the game.

A concerning trend found in a comprehensive survey of more than 1,600 golfers conducted by Golfshake shows club fees have risen quite significantly over the past five years – particularly memberships.

Nearly half (43.5%) of golfers said in the survey that they now pay more than £1,000 for their annual membership.

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That has increased from the 19.6% of respondents who revealed they were paying more than four figures back in 2018.

Many club golfers on social media have expressed that spending that sum for (weather-permitting) unlimited golf represents good value, especially when it is broken down to around £20-per-week.

But other figures show that some club players might be starting to get priced out of their memberships.

When asked whether they planned to renew their membership in 2024, 78% of Golfshake’s respondents confirmed they would.

However, 17% stated that they were undecided, which points towards a worrying trend when 89% said they would definitely renew in 2021.

Of course, the cost-of-living crisis is likely to have had a big impact, with the prices of practising and equipment also on the rise with increased inflation in an economic struggle.

But it cannot be ignored that some golfers might now start slipping through the net. Those understandably perturbed by the prices may consider putting the clubs away for longer periods as the cost of playing continues to rise.