Can a golf club have too many members?

You do not need me to tell you that club golf is enjoying a proper boom just now. We have seen the return of waiting lists and the reintroduction of the abomination that is joining fees.

Isn’t it funny how there was little or no need for joining fees pre-Covid but now that there is a demand for membership we have seen them being widely brought back? Will somebody please explain to me how this amounts to anything other than greed and exploitation? 

I am not going to lie - it makes my blood boil.

Do some golf clubs have too many members?

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

With would-be members queueing to get in to various golf clubs it does make me wonder if it is possible for a golf club to have too many members. And of course the answer is yes.

It shows up in many ways. First and foremost, you cannot get the tee-times you want. Ever!

When you manage to get out on the course the pace of play is funereal. It takes five hours as a matter of routine to play 18 holes.

I am all for introducing new people to the game of golf. It is something I have done several times. There is nothing more satisfying than teaching somebody the basics and watching them become hooked from the second they make perfect contact for the very first time.

So there is a perception that many new golfers take too long to play the game because nobody has bothered to teach them basic etiquette or the rules of golf. 

And trust me, if you are playing on a busy course you want to know that your fellow players are not going to be holding you up because they take too long to look for golf balls, don’t understand the rules, don’t know they should let quicker golfers play through.

You will also know that your club probably has too many members if you can never get through to the pro shop via the telephone.

Does your course have a driving range? Are you able to access it whenever you want? 

What can be done to satisfy tee time demand?

We heard a lot in our recent survey about golfers being frustrated when trying to secure tee times. So what can be done to solve this issue, especially at a time when so many clubs are bursting at the seams?

On the face of it, there do not appear to be any easy answers but it is not quite as simple as that.

How many times have you gone on to your club’s online booking system to try to get a time and found that there is nothing available? 

And how many times have you phoned the pro’s shop or simply turned up at your club only to discover that you can walk straight on to the first tee? It is incredibly frustrating and is often caused by booking systems that are not fit for purpose.

Another issue that many of the golfers I play with complain about is individuals making block bookings. They reserve, say, four tee times and then end up only using two of them. Worse still are the individuals who book tee times and then don’t turn up for their allotted slot.

Should penalties be imposed on golfers who don't turn up for tee times?

Perhaps the time has come for golf clubs to impose penalties upon such people. 

I would insist upon all golfers reporting to the pro shop before playing. The pro would then check them in against their tee time. Those who fail to turn up without informing the pro would be told they could not use the booking system for a set period of time.

And here is another radical thought. If your club struggles to get all its members on the course, why not consider a few floodlights to accommodate a few holes of night golf? Or organise night-time competitions on the driving range, with decent prizes up for grabs?