More than just a club

Two readers’ letters in the summer edition of Today’s Golfer caught the eye of PGA chief executive Sandy Jones for highlighting the benefits of golf club membership – a timely reminder in an age of the nomadic golfer.

Both letters, in their own way, extolled some of the merits of joining a golf club – a notion that doesn’t always figure on the radar for many modern day golfers, particularly those who like to pay and play without being tied to one course.

The first letter was from a younger golfer who through playing with senior golfers had come to realise that golf clubs were a ‘lifeline, a friend and a connection with the world’.

He discovered that the senior golfers at his club were actually good fun, the opposite of what he had expected and a source of numerous banter and laughs. He was also aware of the club as a constant in their lives – through periods of ups and downs, loss and illness.

“Don’t forget the huge significance a club has in the lives of some of the seniors,” writes the reader.

The second letter was penned by a former pay and play golfer who had shunned joining a club due to preconceptions over joining fees, snobbery and clubhouse cliques.

However, a month spent playing as a guest of a friend, shifted his attitude and his stereotypical assumptions went out of the window.

Now a signed up member, he reveals membership was ‘surprisingly affordable’ while the competition has revived his passion for the game and the warm welcome has confirmed the benefits of a permanent membership.

Acknowledging pay and play has its perks, he concludes ‘I have opened my eyes to the benefits and camaraderie of golf membership and I won’t be turning back’.

The PGA, along with England Golf and other leading golf bodies, is working hard to grow the game and particularly to stimulate golf club membership to bring more people into the sport and boost the golf economy generally.

One of the key targets in achieving this is to try and reverse the decline in golf club membership which is why The PGA’s chief executive was pleased to see the two letters highlighted in one of the UK’s leading golf magazines.

“It was refreshing to read the sentiments in these letters because too often there seems to be negativity around golf club membership when in fact there a huge amount of benefits to joining a club,” said Jones.

“These two letters capture perfectly just what it means to be a member of a golf club and while pay and play is definitely an option I would always encourage golfers to explore golf club membership because it offers so much more than just playing golf.

“It’s about friendship, camaraderie, competition and a shared passion for what I think is one of the greatest sports you can play.”

Check out the latest issue of Today’s Golfer to read the letters in their entirety.