Here’s my top three developments in the golf industry from the last month

From baby boomers saving the US golf industry to cancer tests at golf clubs proving to be excellent PR for the venues, The Golf Business editor Alistair Dunsmuir looks at trends in June 2019.

Partnering with charities can deliver fantastic PR

Partnering with any other organisation or running a charity golf day can bring benefits for golf clubs, but 3 Hammers in Wolverhampton has combined the two in quite a spectacular way.

It worked with a charitable trust to offer free prostate cancer tests to any man for a few hours in June, following a golf day to raise money for that trust.

Incredibly, more than 1,000 people attended the test – and presumably many of them had never even heard of the golf club before.

http://www.thegolfbusiness.co.uk/2019/06/free-prostate-cancer-test-at-golf-club-stopped-traffic/

If the age profile of your membership is growing, maybe it’s time to redesign your clubhouse

This is an issue that Wigan Golf Club has been grappling with as especially older members who no longer play golf found their mobility issues were denying them access to parts of the listed clubhouse.

The club has therefore applied for and now been granted planning permission to renovate the building, to improve access with a new stairlift, disabled toilets and a flattened interior corridor.

http://www.thegolfbusiness.co.uk/2019/06/listed-clubhouse-to-be-renovated-to-provide-better-access-for-elderly-golfers/

There may be tranquillity ahead

It’s been a very tough few years for the UK golf industry but news from the USA suggests the future will be far less turbulent than the recent past has been.

Golf participation in that country saw a rise in 2018, following 14 years of falls and the analysis why is simple: an ageing population means more people are retiring and as those people typically have more savings than they did a decade ago, many are investing in golf.

http://www.thegolfbusiness.co.uk/2019/06/golf-participation-in-the-usa-sees-first-rise-in-14-years/

The number of people retiring is expected to shoot up over the course of the next decade – and the US growth rate is almost identical to the UK’s.

In the UK, 15.9 per cent of the population were retired in 2007. It was 18.2 per cent in 2017 and it is predicted to be 20.7 per cent by 2027.

By Alistair Dunsmuir June 25, 2019 07:28

Peter June 27, 11:16

There is little doubt, a club that shows and has purpose will attract more Millennials. The question is, what next ? There are many ways to attract them, it is keeping them and getting them to join that eludes most clubs. They’re still not joining their fathers’ clubs ! I’m not so optimistic for the future, especially here in the states ! Rising education debt will make it harder and harder for young people including baby boomers to spend leisure dollars. Caring for aging parents or paying them back for past recession debt will also hamper spending. While more are picking up clubs, thanks to the TopGolfs’ of the world, club memberships require, innovation, creativity and change. Adopting a cause is just a start !

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