Junior Organisers Handbook: Membership & Cost - England Golf

Membership & Cost 66 Membership & Cost 67Entrance and transitional fees:The EGU and ELGA encourage golf clubs to adopt a more progressive approach ifsetting entrance fees or transitional fees into intermediate or adult membership.Ideally golf clubs should consider abolishing this financial barrier to juniormembership, however if the golf club does charges an entrance fee they may wishto implement a sliding scale based on the age of the junior upon joining.The sliding scale could operate along the following lines:Age of junior % of current entrance feeUnder 14 years 0%15 years 5%16 years 10%17 years 15%18 years 20%Entry into intermediate and/or adult membership should be automatic andno transitional fees should be charged as the increase in membership subscription islikely to be high enough already for youngsters without adding additional cost.Again if the club chooses to implement transitional fees, then loyalty should berewarded. For example a 20% discount could be implemented for every yeara junior has been in membership, therefore no fee for five years of membership.Be creative with the payment procedure:There are a variety of fee structures that golf clubs can adopt to make the joiningprocess more attractive and to help retain junior members:• Monthly payments - direct debit or standing orders are a recognisedway of spreading payments over the year. This will certainly be beneficialfor intermediate members as they start to progress into adult life.• Buy 12 months and get 1 month free - a good incentive to enhance theproduct of golf club membership as it provides a sense of value for money to thejunior member and their parents. It may be worth having a trial period to assessthe effectiveness of this.• Units of membership - some golf clubs allow potential members to buyquantities of membership units that equate to rounds of golf, coaching and useof facilities. What the units buy can be dependant upon factors such as weekdayor weekend use. For example, 10 units for 18 holes at the weekend, 4 units for9 holes in the week. Rates might be £100 for 60 units and £500 for 350 units.This creates an affordable range of membership opportunities, with no need forentrance or annual fees plus units can be topped up and used for guests.• Retained package - as many junior members go into further education eitherat college or university, this often prevents them from regularly playing at theirgolf club. A retainer package (for the duration of their studies) with a reducedgreen fee for each time they play would enable them to retain their membershipin this transitional period. The golf club would not be financially losing out as anew member could take their place. Upon completion of their studies the studentmember would have the opportunity of full membership.• Deferred payment - if a golf club chooses to charge an entrance fee ortransitional fee to a junior when they become an adult member, then perhapsthey could provide the opportunity to spread the fee over several years.An EGU/ELGA RDO is available to provide guidance on membership andcost and the most effective way for a golf club to access this support is byregistering for the GolfMark award (see Section 12 – GolfMark).FACT: “The number of golf clubs that charge a junior entrancefee has reduced” (Based on questionnaire returns since 2000)

Membership & Cost 68SummaryThere are different types of membership schemesthat golf clubs can offer to help encourage and retainjunior golfers.Membership & Cost 69Example 1 –A junior membership introductory offer:Often it is best to offer an introductory type ofmembership - academy membership is a very popularway of doing this.The golf club should aim to introduce affordablejunior membership packages - there are many factorsto examine.Golf clubs should undertake a review of entrance fees,transitional fees and membership charges for juniorsand intermediates.Student and intermediate categories should bemade available to players beyond the age of juniormembership.Golf clubs should try to be creative with how juniorscan pay for membership subscriptions, rememberingthat they are the customers and it is important tomake it easy for them.EXAMPLEGOLF CLUBSPECIAL OFFERJUNIOR MEMBERSHIP(From 1st January 2007)Example Golf Club would like to encourage morejuniors to take up golf this year.For this reason junior membership at the club costs:Year One - £32.50Year Two - £63.00For subsequent years, the junior membership subscription is£90.00. Junior members are those players under 18 years of age.For more information and to apply contactMr Junior Organiser via telephone or email,alternatively log on to our website atwww…

Membership & Cost 70Example 2 - Creation of intermediatecategories:Proactive golf clubs gradually increase the fees paid in this category dependantupon age and this helps to significantly increase the number of youngsters thatretain membership beyond 18 years. Example categories and discount on fullmembership fees could include:Age of junior% of full adult fees payable18 to 21 years 25%22 to 24 years 50%25 to 28 years 75%29 years and above 100%The