Scottish golf clubs urged to do more for members amid fresh fears of course closures

Scottish golf clubs have been urged to try and deliver a product that appeals to prospective new members at a time when some are believed to be facing an ongoing battle to stay open.

Earlier this year, The Hirsel in Coldstream closed its doors overnight before Torrance Park in Motherwell also went out of business. The double whammy came after Hollandbush earned a reprieve after it had been earmarked for possible closure by South Lanarkshire Council and Dalmuir in Clydebank was also spared a similar fate by West Dunbartonshire Council.

The two courses at Caird Park are under threat, with Dundee City Council set to vote on their future on Monday | Contributed

The two courses at Caird Park in Dundee are now under threat again, with a vote by Dundee City Council about their future set to take place on Monday. A recommendation for them to be closed has been labelled as “disgraceful” by one councillor.

In an exclusive interview with The Scotsman, Martin Slumbers, The R&A’s CEO, was asked how he felt about clubs closing in Scotland, where he has lived for the past ten years.

“Of course, I am worried,” he replied. “As I said at my AIG Women’s Open press conference earlier this year, I am worried about public courses closing as councils are under huge pressure and having to make changes.

“I will just say one thing that I don’t think has been debated enough. Golf was in decline in terms of golf club club membership every year from 2006 through to 2018. In the early part of my tenure here, I spent quite a lot of time trying to understand why.

“The way I sort of summed it up in my own head was that the clubs that are declining are selling a product that the consumer doesn’t want to buy. Otherwise they wouldn’t be short of members.

“If they want to grow, then they need to focus on identifying the product the consumer wants to buy and not saying to the consumer ‘come and be a member here and this is how it is done!’ The world doesn’t work like that any more. Whether that’s wi-fi, whether it’s the ability to use your phone, whether it’s dress code. All of that depends on what audience you want.

“We have gone through this incredible growth in the game, but maybe the clubs who are struggling - not all of them - are because they haven’t really embraced that point about selling a product that the consumer wants to buy.

The Hirsel in Coldstream closed overnight earlier this year | Contributed

“It’s the only way I can rationalise why there are other clubs that are shutting their waiting lists and it’s not just the great clubs. It’s selling a product and they have moved with the times. Yes, I am concerned about it, but I think there is more to it than at first blush why.”

Earlier this year, The R&A offered guidance to clubs about making the best use of course space in the ongoing battle by some to stay open. It came in the form of a guide outlining the best ways to use restricted areas of land for golf course development.

Produced with the support and assistance of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, the Golf for Smaller Spaces guide looks at how smaller space courses operate and sets out practical requirements and commercial considerations for establishing such courses.