Clubs benefit from flexible approach to membership

The UK’s first online points-based flexible membership programme, PlayMoreGolf, has been successfully integrated at Wokefield Park Golf Club and Houghwood Golf Club, with the flexible approach to club membership delivering a significant increase in revenue and membership numbers at the two venues.

Wokefield Park Golf Club, part of the De Vere Venues network, generated an additional £8,000 in revenue within a 24 hour period after adopting PlayMoreGolf’s flexible membership programme, while Houghwood Golf Club added 30 new members in the first six weeks of integrating the innovative online points programme alongside its existing membership packages.

Houghwood Golf Club in Merseyside was one of the first clubs to adopt PlayMoreGolf’s flexible memberships and Peter Turner, the venue’s Managing Director, said: “We wanted to offer golfers a flexible membership option and with 30 people joining the club in the first six weeks of us becoming a PlayMoreGolf partner venue, it is testament to the effectiveness of the programme.

“Golf memberships are still very important, as people want to feel they belong to a club, but it is clear that golfers are moving away from ‘traditional’ memberships and instead looking for flexible options that are a better fit for their lifestyles, which is why we made the decision to be one of the first to integrate PlayMoreGolf’s points-based system.”

The PlayMoreGolf points system is based on an initial membership fee of £325 per year, which gives the member a minimum of 100 points – 80 to be utilised at their designated ‘home’ club and 20 reserved for rounds at other participating clubs throughout the PlayMoreGolf network. Points are only used when a golfer plays.

PlayMoreGolf director, Jamie Carroll, said: “The key USP for PlayMoreGolf is that it aims to help unify the way flexible golf memberships are undertaken, appealing not only to the transient golfer, but also to avid club members who enjoy the social side of club life as much as playing. The positive results from Wokefield Park Golf Club and Houghwood Golf Club would suggest that there is a need for golf clubs to offer flexible memberships.”

The PlayMoreGolf network consists of 23 golf clubs, with the company’s points programme sitting alongside clubs’ existing membership packages to provides golfers with more choice and flexibility. The company provides bespoke support packages. www.playmore.golf