Here’s three golf industry trends from April 2021

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir April 30, 2021 11:55

April 2021 was dominated by the return of golf in most of the UK, and initial reports suggest the surge in demand to play the game has continued.

Anti-social behaviour is hurting golf clubs

Several golf courses have reported incidents of vandalism since the first lockdown last March, and this appears to have, if anything, got worse in recent weeks.

Stories have ranged from annoying for golf clubs – greenkeepers at one found teenagers camping in a bunker – to potentially terrifying, as one club reported that locals had tried to set fire to trees on the course – to actually terrifying, as one club had its clubhouse attacked by arsonists, causing significant damage.

The boom is resulting in clubs investing again

With the demand to play golf so strong at the moment, many clubs are investing in themselves again.

For example, Morpeth Golf Club, in Northumberland, is to invest more £1 million in its course and clubhouse and Glendale Golf has said it will invest an, on average, six figure amount in five of its six golf clubs in 2021. Plus a new golf development in St Andrews is to go ahead, following nearly two decades of limited progress.

We’re experiencing the resurgence of municipal golf

Council-owned golf clubs have struggled for years but the current demand to play golf is so strong that various plans to close courses have been abandoned.

Municipal courses in Merseyside have reported their busiest ever period while Leisure and Culture Dundee has capped the number of members it will allow due to unprecedented demand in recent weeks.

As the CEO of enjoyleisure, which runs council-owned venues Musselburgh Links in East Lothian and Winterfield Golf Course in Dunbar, said: “In all our years of managing the golf course, we have never witnessed such a demand for golf as there has been in the last 12 months.”

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir April 30, 2021 11:55
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