New green fee deal for the north-west

Fifteen golf clubs in north-west England and in Wales have joined a scheme that aims to increase the number of visiting golfers they all receive.

The Open Golf Club, set up by the club professional at Woolton Golf Club, has been created to attract non-members, or ‘nomads’, to participating private members’ golf clubs.

It is an online club that allows its members to play in week-long competitions at The North West National, Shrigley Hall Hotel, Woolton, Vale of Llangollen, Holywell, Flint, Hawarden, Pryors Hayes, Prenton, Eastham Lodge, Hazel Grove, Turton, Didsbury, Wigan and Prestwich golf clubs for the cost of arranged green fees plus three pounds.

The brainchild of David Thompson, the professional at Woolton, the club attracts visitors to the participating clubs to take advantage of unused tee times. Members of the clubs and their guests can also participate in the competition, and, at the end of the week, all the scorecards are sent to David.

He explained: “With Open Golf Club, you register on the site and pay a reduced green fee to play a competition.

“This is just starting and it is free registration, so it is not making me any money. It can only start making money when I start charging a registration fee for members, but I won’t do that until it gets moving as it builds and I get more people in the competitions.”

He said he is introducing an order of merit, awarding points each time a golfer plays, to provide more of an incentive for players, building up to an area final.

“From the golf clubs’ point of view I am bringing customers to them and extra revenue,” he said.

Membership of English golf clubs has dropped by more than ten per cent in the last six years as many golfers have found it to be more cost-effective to be ‘pay-and-play’ golfers who pay green fees at clubs as visiting players, rather than pay an annual subscription at one club. However, nomadic golfers are usually deprived of the benefits of having an official handicap and of playing in club competitions, which are normally only open to members.

The Open Golf Club also provides non-CONGU approved handicaps to its members.

“If someone is a society player, such as in a pub golf society, I ask them for proof of that handicap or I ask them to send me two cards they have done around a course,” said David.