Golf Club Members vs Other Golfers

In our most recent survey we wanted to find out a little bit more about the golfers visiting Golfshake and to discover how they interact with the golf clubs they are members of or visit - in addition to learning about the other ways they interact with the game in their lives.

How Many Golf Courses Have Halfway Houses?

Firstly, our survey data highlighted that 34% of golf clubs have a halfway hut. Is this figure surprisingly high or surprisingly low? This is a subject we have recently covered and it's an interesting topic - do you expect to see a halfway hut, do you visit, and are they even a viable option at some golf clubs? This recent Golfshake article suggest they may be overrated, but do you agree?

Whilst it may not be viable from a commercial perspective to have a halfway hut at every golf club, do we expect the clubhouse to be open during a visit? The survey stats certainly highlighted differences when it came to club and non-club members.

Do Golfers Regularly Visit The Clubhouse?

40% of golf club members stated that they visited the clubhouse before a round, with 31% never visiting and 30% visiting sometimes. The number of non-members less likely to visit stood at 26%, with 36% visting sometimes and 38% stating they always visited before a round.

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More interestingly there were big differences between the two cohorts when it came to visiting after a round. 76% of golf club members stated they visited compared to just 59% of non-members. Only 4% of members compared to 10% of non-members stated they never visited after a round. With 20% and 31% of member and non-members respectively stating they visited sometimes.

Socially if you are a member of a golf club you are more likely to visit the clubhouse for other activities and events. 40% of members did, 27% do sometimes and 34% never do. Compared to 12% of non-members visiting the clubhouse for social events, 16% sometimes and 72% never.

The data certainly highlights big differences with club members and non-members around golf consumption but how do these two groups differ with golf in general?

Whilst the age demographic differed slightly - 75% of club members responding were over 55 compared to 62% of non-members - it was interesting to see the differences in how people got around the course.

The Overwhelming Majority of Golfers Don't Carry Their Clubs

9% of club members stated that they walked and carried their golf clubs, 19% used some form of push/pull trolley and a surprisingly high 72% stated they used an electric trolley or buggy. For non-members these figures were 12% for carry, 36% for push/pull and 52% for electric/buggy. The feedback also highlighted a high number of golfers that are forced to carry in the winter due to the weather and course conditions.

Do Golfers Take Good Care of Their Equipment?

There might not be anything we can do about the conditions of courses when impacted by the weather, but how do we look after our own golf clubs? 32% of club members cleaned their own clubs after every round with 40% of non-members choosing to take greater care of their clubs. 33% of members stated they cleaned their golf clubs sometimes compared to 31% of non-members and 36% of club members stated they never cleaned their clubs compared to just 30% of non-members. 

Again, reading through some additional feedback, the conditions play a role with some golfers saying that it depended on the condition of the course and some golfers cleaned their clubs after every shot just like a professional tour player!

How Often Do Golfers Visit The Range?

Finally, we all want to improve and often this will take more than just heading out onto the golf course and whacking the ball around for 18 holes. So, who visits the driving range to hone their skills and work on the things that aren't quite working on the golf course?

Just 3% of non-members stated that they never visited the driving range, this figure was 9% for golf club members. Again, non-members were more likely to visit on a regular basis with 20% stating they visited at least once per week compared to 17% of members and 47% overall of non-members stated they visited at least once per month compared to 40% of the club members completing the survey. Obviously, this will be down to multiple factors and reviewing the age demographic, 59% of under 55s stated they visited at least once per month compared to 42% of the club members.

Key Differences Between Golf Club Members & Other Golfers

We have brought together some of the key findings from the survey below in bullet-point form.

• Golf Club Members Are FAR More Likely to Visit Clubhouses After a Round
• Significantly More Golf Club Members Spend Social Time in Clubhouses
• More Non-Member Golfers Carry Their Golf Clubs
• 72% of Golf Club Members Use Electric Trolleys / Buggies When Playing
• Non Golf Club Members Take Better Care of Their Equipment
• Non Golf Club Members Are More Likely to Regularly Visit Driving Ranges

Additionally, it was pleasing to see how many golfers care about their game with comments related to setting up practice facilities in their back gardens, visiting the driving range more when course accessibility was impacted, and how ranges were used to work towards playing better golf.

However, it was food for thought in relation to the rising cost with some commenting on how the prices are increasing not just from the introduction of shot tracking technology but driving range prices in general.

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