This golf club saw 150 new members in 2016

Wycombe Heights Golf Centre in Buckinghamshire has said the flexible membership policy it introduced last year has led to 150 people joining the club.

Flexible memberships, in which golfers pay a relatively small amount of money to join the golf club, and then pay no or inexpensive amounts every time they play rounds of golf, have become a popular alternative to traditional memberships, in which golfers pay one lump sump for unlimited golf, in the last five years.

According to England Golf, 36 per cent of golf clubs now offer this policy, a rise from almost none in less than 10 years.

Wycombe Heights introduced the policy at the start of 2016 and it signed up its 150^th member in December. Most of them are aged between 25 and 45.

The category provides customers with all the benefits of a traditional membership, but with a low cost-base enabling the golfer to use the facility as much or as little as they desire.

General manager, Howard Craft, puts this down to the attractions of being able to balance the demands of a fast-paced modern life.

“Young professionals have so much going on with family and work, that they can’t always justify a traditional club membership,” he said.

“As a modern, forward-thinking golf club, we needed to show them that golf is still accessible for them at Wycombe Heights. We therefore decided to offer bespoke packages to cater for a person’s individual golfing needs.”

The 150^th ‘flexible member’, Michael Woodford, explained why the package works so well for him.

“I have a busy job and an active social life. Therefore, at this juncture, I wouldn’t get full value for money out of a traditional membership,” he said.

“The Flexible Membership category at Wycombe Heights allowed me to structure a package that suited my needs perfectly. I can now stay competitive, and enjoy my golf at a very reasonable price.”