‘We are in a better place than we were before the lockdown’

The captain of a Lincolnshire golf club has said his venue is set to be financially healthier than it was before the two month lockdown started.

Mike Tompkinson said a mixture of a surge of new members following the resumption of golf, plus the fact that the club used the two months to review how it operates, means it is in a stronger position.

His comments come after a period in which many venues feared for the worst and four were so badly hit they didn’t reopen, but most, even though their clubhouses remain predominantly closed, have reported huge demand to play golf in recent days and are now looking forward to a more secure future.

Louth Golf Club. Image from Facebook

“We will be in a better position than we were before lockdown because we have got new members joining and we are promoting golf around the town [the club has organised mailshots to local housing estates promoting the course],” Tompkinson told Louth Leader.

“The interest has been really really good, we have had lots of new visitor and membership inquiries.

“It is a positive story at the moment. We have secured our membership support and focused on them to thank them for their loyalty.

“In terms of new members, we opened our doors to visitors and green fee payers in the second week of our reopening.

“We have done a huge amount on social media, which is a fairly new strategy for us, but one that has improved our profile.

“We are encouraging members to bring guests and recommend us.”

In addition, he said the club has used the lockdown period to review how it operates.

“Lockdown has given us a chance to look at how we run things and to try and find ways to be more effective going forwards.” he said.

And on reopening the clubhouse, he is clear that the image of golf during a global crisis remains positive ahead of short-term financial gain.

“It would be lovely to have the clubhouse open again. but we have got a responsibility as a sport to do the right thing and set a good example to other sports on social distancing,” he said.