There has been a lot of discussions lately about how the high street is being hit by the internet and the recession. However, high street enterprises are not the only businesses to feel the effect of the recession.
Golf clubs have been seriously affected by the recession, and, in some smaller way, the internet.
When people have to tighten their belts their leisure activities are the first thing they decide to cut back on, and golf is quite an expensive past time, both in money and time.
When times are hard and family’s income is severely restricted, it would be hard for the breadwinner to justify an annual membership fee of around £1,500 or £30 to £50 for a round that will probably take up at least half a day.
Of course, there are some people who believe golf clubs are getting their just desserts for the way they treated people in the past.
For many years golf was the past time of an elite section of society consisting mainly of businessmen, solicitors and other people usually referred to as the ’professional classes’. And these people were very protective of their status as members of their private golf club and often resented and seemed to look down on players from corporate and society days, despite the fact that these fees from these corporate and society days helped maintain the club and helped keep the member’s fees down.
Clubs often insisted that non-members had to prove they were members of a golf club and insisted they produce a current handicap card.
The internet
Another bastion of the old golf establishment suffering from the winds of change are the golf shops.
In the past, these shops had the monopoly in selling equipment to the members, often at very hefty mark-ups.
However, the arrival of the internet and large sports outlets have made it possible for golfers to obtain golf clubs and trolley at very competitive prices, and this has priced many club shops out of the market.
Oversupply
The 1980s saw a big increase in the popularity of golf among the larger population and this and the result of this was a huge increase in the number of golf courses and golf clubs.
Many farmers converted their field to golf courses and for years the sport and the clubs boomed.
But with the advent of the recession, this means there are more golf courses than people wanting to play: and many parts of the country are seeing golf clubs closing, and those staying open are struggling to get people to play.
However, some of them are fighting back.
Easing up on the rules
More and more clubs are encouraging pay and play golfers. They rarely ask to see handicap cards and have dropped the rather archaic dress codes that often alienated young people.
If you drive past some of these golf courses you will see large banners telling the passing traffic of these revolutionary changes.
But are banners hanging outside the club enough?
Spread the word
There is an old saying, and I am paraphrasing, “if a man invents a perfect mousetrap the world will beat a path to his door” It’s a great saying, but the problem is the world will not beat a path to any one’s door unless they are told what is on offer. And the best way to tell people what is on offer is by carrying out a door drop campaign.
A well planned and expertly executed leaflet distribution campaign telling prospective golfer what the clubs are offering is guaranteed to bring in the players.
To get a well-planned and expertly executed door drop campaign you need to speak to us.
We will give you all the advice you need, from design, printing and plan your distribution area: and of course, distributing the leaflets. It is what we have been doing for years.
Contact us today to get the ball rolling.
