The top trends of 2013

15. Struggling clubs are beginning to merge with each other

As golf clubs continue to struggle, some have found that merging with a local club in difficulty may be the only way to prevent both from closing.

In 2013 the members of Newbury & Crookham Golf Club in Berkshire approved plans to operate the golfing facilities at nearby Newbury Racecourse Golf Club, while Stressholme Golf Course in Darlington was sold to Blackwell Grange Golf Club.

One of the biggest mergers in golf history also took place in 2013 in Australia. Kingswood Golf Club, a 105-year-old private members’ venue, merged with Peninsula Country Golf Club in Melbourne, one of Australia’s premier golf facilities.

14. Clubs are still being targeted for their trophies

In 2012 there was a spate of attacks on golf clubs within a few days of each other. All the clubs were in Surrey or Sussex, and in each attack the club’s trophy cabinet, predominantly made up of silver trophies, was targeted, as the price of silver has rocketed in the last ten years.

In 2013 several thefts continued to take place at clubs all over the UK. Bramley Golf Club had its trophies stolen at the start of the year, Belford Golf Club had 15 trophies taken in a late-night raid and Silverdale Golf Club also had nine trophies taken.

Clubs with silver trophies have been advised to think about changing how they are stored.

13. Adventure golf is attracting new golfers

Golf clubs that have converted any spare land they might have into a small ‘adventure golf’ course, aimed mainly at children, are finding they are making more money than they used to.

Celtic Manor, for instance, spent £250,000 in 2011 on installing two nine-hole courses, one with obstacles such as rafts across water and a dragon’s lair, and the other a miniature version of some of the best holes in golf. The same year, Abbey Hill Golf Centre built a pirate island golf course at its venue.

As Colin Jenkins, chair of the Organisation of Golf & Range Operators, said: “The returns on adventure golf are astronomical.”

Within two years at Celtic Manor the courses had paid for themselves – with 85,000 rounds played and a sharp increase in bar and restaurant expenditure. Abbey Hill has also seen a large increase in food and beverage spend, plus increase in usage of its nine-hole course and more women – normally mothers of the children playing – joining the club. Its manager, Gordon Forster, was named a GCMA Manager of the Year finalist as a result.

12. Some major golf clubs have come onto the market

If golf clubs coming onto the market, perhaps due to increased buyer confidence, is a sign of a recovery, then Britain is in recovery.

In 2013 the likes of Weston Turville Golf Club, the Grange and Links Hotel and Waldringfield Golf Course were all put up for sale with guide prices of more than £1 million each. The biggest potential deal was for Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Course, in County Kildare, for an asking price of nearly £4 million.

Some sales have taken place too. For example, The Wiltshire Hotel, Golf & Country Club was sold in 2013 for an undisclosed fee. It had an asking price of £3.5 million.

11. Golf clubs were given the greatest PR gift imaginable in 2013

Perhaps the best PR for golf to have ever been written occurred in 2013, when a national heart charity urged everyone to take up the game as it could extend their lives.

Heart Research UK called for all Britons to book a tee time at their local golf club because the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, which studied more than 300,000 golfers, concluded that the death rate for regular golfers is 40 percent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status. This equates to a five-year increase in life expectancy.

“Get the golfing bug and work on that handicap to enjoy the many benefits a healthy golfer’s lifestyle can bring. Suss out your local pay and play courses and driving ranges and tee-off to a healthy heart. With the average round of golf involving walking anything between three and seven miles, golfing is an excellent work out. Depending on the size of the course, the terrain, and your pace, golfers can burn as many calories as a 45 minute intense workout, especially if carrying their own clubs or pulling a trolley. Golf is a low-injury risk sport to be enjoyed with friends, and playing outdoors throughout the year will give your body plenty of opportunity to top up on vitamin D. Regular golfing may also help to reduce stress, so focus on taking the perfect shot and blow your worries and those cobwebs away,” said the charity.