With the great news that golf is due to return on 29th March, there is no doubt the next 4 weeks will be absolutely crucial in setting the club up for a successful year.
Following the first national lockdown in early 2020 whilst on furlough I took the opportunity to assist my home club in the office once golf reopened in May 2020. Having been a club manager for 5 years I jumped at the opportunity to get back in the office environment and help the club through which was sure to be a tricky time.
What followed was one of the most rewarding few months, helping the club to achieve some incredible results including over 180 new members and delivering the clubs 12-month green fee target over the summer months.
The experience taught me an awful lot as to the current situation golf clubs face and has allowed me to tailor the packages I offer through Sam Poole Golf Management using this first-hand experience. We are uniquely placed to deliver exactly what golf clubs require in order to fully capitalise on the opportunities that the reopening of golf presents and that is why we have developed our innovative membership marketing bundles.
Here were my key takeaways from my time spent in the golf club office last summer…
Pressure on the Club Manager
During my days as a Club Manager, I remember all too well the pressure of having to juggle many different areas of the club business and the expectation that you would be able to master them all. Throw in a global pandemic, the constant requirement to keep your staff and members safe whilst dealing with ever-changing rules and regulations, the job has never been more difficult. Add in the pressure of the multiple anecdotes of clubs filling up on membership, adding a joining fee etc only heightens the pressure and expectation for the club's committee. For club managers, it is important to focus on the key elements that keep the club moving forward and have trusted people and partners around to take care of other areas of the business and relieve some of the pressure and free up valuable time.
Heightened Demand
For many golf clubs, there was a significant increase in demand across the board when golf first reopened and well into the summer. To cope with this heightened demand whilst still delivering a positive customer experience it is vital the club has systems in place to be able to process things like membership applications in an effective and timely manner. With budgets for many clubs already stretched, more staff is not necessarily an option to deal with this heightened demand which is where having those effective systems and processes in place can ensure you make the most of the opportunities afforded to the club during this time.
First Mover Advantage
Similar to the impending release from the latest lockdown golf was one of the first things to reopen which gave clubs a great advantage. Often when clubs consider their competition they think about the other golf clubs in their area but there is a huge amount of other activities competing for the time and disposable income of our potential customers. With bars and restaurants opening for outdoor service on the 12th April and further leisure facilities opening in May, it is vital clubs act quickly and decisively starting right now to press home the advantage of opening first.
Social Media Campaigns
A great way of pressing home that advantage is using paid advertising on social media platforms to specifically target golfers in your local area. At Didsbury, we developed a membership campaign using Facebook ads which went live 2 weeks before the club reopened. The campaign generated 101 membership enquiries in 4 weeks with 36 new members joining the club in the first 2 weeks of reopening. Earlier I mentioned that the heightened demand meant that we required a better system for processing a large number of membership enquiries and applications in a short period of time.
The system we used at Didsbury was as follows;
Develop a professional membership brochure to deliver key information about the club and sell the clubs qualities
Create a Facebook Membership Campaign to target highly engaged local golfers and generate enquiries
Automated email to those who expressed an interest with the membership brochure and application details attached
Follow up call to talk through membership options and confirm the application
Send an online application form that mirrors the information required for the club admin systems
Send membership subscription details with bank details for online payment or link for DD submission
Send membership welcome pack and give access to the member-only Facebook group to aid integration

Having this clearly designed system allowed Didsbury Golf Club to continue to generate enquiries throughout the summer. With over 300 enquiries coming directly from social media campaigns they played an integral role in the club attracting over 180 new members. This system now forms the basis of our “membership marketing bundle” implemented through Sam Poole Golf Management.
New Member Integration
With the usual member integration options such as tours of the facilities, new member competitions or evenings in the clubhouse not available due to Covid, it is important to find other ways to aid new member integration.
Membership retention is always a hot topic and what most clubs fail to realise is that retention starts from the minute that a new member expresses an interest in joining. At Didsbury, we utilised a solid system for ensuring their enquiry was handled quickly and professionally ensuring the club starts on the right track. We then developed a new member welcome pack that included all the details of how they can make the most of club life and hit the ground running. We also utilised the clubs member-only Facebook group inviting all new members to join and converse with their fellow members almost recreating the clubhouse environment at a time when it was closed due to Covid. When surveyed after 3 months of membership the club received a 4.7 out of 5 ratings for the joining process and member integration, a huge step towards retaining those new members for the long term.

Here to Help Your Club
Through Sam Poole Golf Management it is our ambition to recreate these results for clubs across the country which is why we have developed our innovative membership marketing bundle.
The Membership Marketing Bundle can include any of the following;
Membership brochure design
Membership enquiry campaigns through Facebook Ads
Email marketing
Membership based social media content design
Online application form design
New member welcome pack design
Member-only Facebook group set up
Full support from the dedicated and passionate team at Sam Poole Golf Management
Every club can build its own bundle to suit their individual needs and budget to ensure they deliver the very best results and cash in on the potential of the current situation. At SPGM we realise that no two golf clubs are the same which is why we have built-in flexibility with our packages to ensure you make the absolute most of your marketing budget.
Staying true to our mission we are passionate about helping golf clubs get away from the constant firefighting to deliver a clearer vision for a more prosperous future for your club.
That is why we aim for a stress-free approach to your club's marketing strategy, delivering effective campaigns at affordable prices so you can focus on other areas of your club safely in the knowledge that you have found a marketing partner you can rely on.
Prices start from just £500...
Contact us today to get started.
Sam Poole
07922847977
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