Here’s the top three things I learnt about the golf industry in October

From £75 million golf clubs going up for sale to several golf clubs closing on the same day, The Golf Business editor Alistair Dunsmuir tries to make sense of a lot of stories during October.

Golf clubs aren’t worth as much as the public might think they are

There were several stories in the press about golf clubs in October – Stoke Park is up for sale with some saying it could fetch more than £75 million, Wimbledon Park’s members look set to agree to selling their club for £65 million and the owner of a Berkshire golf club is being questioned by police over her £10.5 million purchase of the venue several years ago.

This might give a false impression of the game. Of the last 15 UK golf clubs that have come onto the market, 10 had a guide price of less than £2 million and six were up for less than £1 million.

Things are looking up but some clubs are still going down

We recently reported that the average English golf club’s membership has risen – from 460 in 2016 to 484 today – but this good news hasn’t helped a number of venues suffering from long-term problems.

In October Mack Golf stopped trading, which led to nine golf clubs – at least temporarily – closing down, Canwick Park GC in Lincolnshire says it is ‘staring closure in the face’ and American Golf collapsed, albeit only to be immediately rescued, but with 20 of its stores closing.

Does another industry of golf’s size do more for good causes?

This month alone we’ve covered Garry Kerr, who saved the life of a former Olympic boxer who suffered a cardiac arrest during a round of golf, a charity event that took place at a Surrey golf club that raised more than £60,000 and involved more than 400 golfers, and a golf pro from Essex, who is raising money for research into a rare disease that’s been contracted by the Under 18 boys and girls England Golf East regional manager.

Golf has its critics but there cant be many industries of its size that do more for good causes than this one.