Lovers of this royal and ancient game sometimes keep schtum about their addiction to the world’s best stick-and-ball game, especially in the company of non-golfers. As for admitting to belonging to a golf club: Wow, don’t open that door.
Mention belonging to a golf club to many non-golfers and the returned look of contempt is all too familiar. Those who haven’t experienced a well-struck drive, holing a downhill, 30-foot, left-to-right putt for birdie, getting up and down for par from a tricky lie, or just communing with nature for a few hours in green and pleasant spaces chasing a wee white orb have no idea why millions of people continue to play this game despite its enduring challenges and the frustrations of the seemingly simple, yet elusive, task of getting a 1.68-inch ball into a 4.25-inch hole.
Even new golfers, content to be free agents as visitors to many clubs without belonging to a club of their own, often sneer at those who pay a subscription fee to belong to one club, or even a few clubs.
Unfortunately, the image still persists of elderly men in tweed jackets, smoking pipes, and the required tie to enter various parts of the clubhouse. Non-golfers often view golf clubs as traditionally über-conservative refuges for the elite, anachronisms from an age when men played Saturdays and Sundays while women tended to the domestic scene in the comfort of the family home.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Yes, there still are old, traditional clubs desperately hanging on by their fingernails to the days when clubs were male only and to hell with the suffragettes. However, they’re in the minority. Indeed, many of those perceived traditional golf clubs have not only jettisoned those old mores, but have gone completely 180 degrees and are embracing the future with relaxed dress codes and more laissez-faire attitudes.
Golf clubs no longer can afford to institute draconian dress rules. They are businesses chasing clientele who’ll go elsewhere to find leisure pursuits.
A recent visit to a club once noted for being of a stereotypical bent revealed members in short ankle socks, golf shirts untucked and members sitting on the terrace in flip-flops. Another club on England’s South Coast steadfastly resisted the opportunity to allow short socks until a party of 20 travelling Swedes opted to take their business elsewhere because they didn’t want to play golf in the July heat with just a 2-inch gap between the required long socks and the hem of their shorts. Guess what? When faced with the loss of business because of a ludicrously out-of-date dress code not fit for the 21st century, the club soon relaxed its sartorial outlook.
The days of knee-length socks are long gone at the majority of British golf clubs. Quite right, too. Many stick-and-ball adherents would just as soon stick a pair of shin pads in long socks and go for a game of football instead of taking to the fairways looking like somebody out of the early 20th century. Yes, there still are dress codes, but they’re so lax hardly anyone is going to complain.
Elite refuges for the privileged? Again, there are some, but it’s an image that needs to be driven out of bounds if the game is to open its doors to newcomers to enjoy the benefits that come with regular games of golf. And while it’s possible to get those benefits as a nomadic golfer, it is far easier through golf membership.
National golf unions are doing their utmost to promote the advantages of golf club membership. England Golf launched a scheme last year to entice regular golfers, newcomers to the game and those who consider themselves nomadic, to take up club membership. Called “Give it a Shot,†the campaign highlighted the social benefits of club membership – the “opportunity to meet in a safe environment, share stories, and build lifelong friendships through the game; that golf club membership was more beneficial to families; that golf club membership is a lot more affordable than people perceive with many membership options to suit age, lifestyle and budget.â€
England Golf has renewed its commitment to the “Give it Shot†campaign this year by focusing as much on retention of members as persuading people to join golf clubs. In its recent announcement of the campaign’s continuance, England Golf proclaimed: “Our national ‘Give it a Shot’ campaign aims to spread a positive message about the benefits of belonging to a club, through breaking down the often-misconceived barriers, promoting the joy that membership can add to people’s lifestyles and inspiring a more diverse range of golfers to make a long-term commitment to the game.â€
The message seems to be getting through. As Global Golf Post colleague Colin Callander noted in a recent interview with England Golf chief executive officer Jeremey Tomlinson, golf clubs are seeing membership increases. Anecdotal evidence also suggests the average age of new members is coming down. A silver lining from the COVID-19 pandemic is that many who formerly wouldn’t have considered golf have recognised its advantages in a world where social distancing is now the norm.
Who knows, there may come a time when golf club members will proudly announce to non-golfers they belong to a golf club.
Top: The clubhouse and 18th green at Royal Lytham & St Annes
E-Mail Alistair
