Half of golf clubs require locals to work over 60 hours to afford membership

The team at GolfSupport.com have calculated how long residents in 18 different towns and cities outside of London would have to work in order to buy a golf club membership, based on the weekly wage for that area.

GolfSupport.com investigated the average cost of a golf club membership in each of the selected towns/cities (Newcastle upon Tyne, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Swansea, York, Liverpool, Nottingham, Leeds, Oxford, Norwich, Coventry, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Leicester and Southampton) and then looked at the corresponding weekly wages for residents in the area, using data from the Office of National Statistics.

Golf clubs in Newcastle upon Tyne are the most affordable for local residents, as it would take them just 41 hours and 36 minutes to work for a membership. Just above Newcastle upon Tyne, were golf clubs in Aberdeen, where residents would have to work slightly more, at an average of 43 hours and 13 minutes to attain membership. Local residents in Edinburgh, who have the highest weekly wage at £696.30, would have to work the third lowest at 44 hours and 47 minutes to afford membership at their respective golf clubs.

On the other end of the spectrum, was Southampton which has the least affordable golf clubs for residents, as they’d have to work an astonishing 79 hours and 42 minutes to pay for membership – the equivalent of 10 working days. Leicester, whose residents have the lowest weekly wage at £521.50, would have to work marginally less at 79 hours and 24 minutes to gain membership – the second highest after Southampton.

Overall, golf clubs in 50 per cent (9 out the 18) of the reviewed towns and cities would require local residents to work more than 60 hours in order to afford membership.

Additionally, GolfSupport.com found in a survey of 560 residents in the reviewed towns and cities, that 72% personally believe the current membership prices of their local golf club do not offer value for money.

Gary Swift, Managing Director of GolfSupport.com commented: “This research is certainly fascinating as golf clubs have repeatedly been criticised for their membership prices. With many all too often stating they are either too high or realistically only attainable for certain groups in society. If golf clubs considered taking into account the general earnings of the local population in the area they are located, they would be in a better position to adjust their prices to provide greater value.”