What Does 2025 Look Like for Your Golf Club?
- Custodian Golf
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
With the first major of the year wrapped up and fairways across the country filling fast, the 2025 golf season is now well and truly underway. But as players return in force, so too do the pressures facing clubs behind the scenes. This year presents pivotal challenges and powerful opportunities that will shape the future of golf clubs across the UK. For club directors, managers, and members, understanding these trends and positioning your club strategically will be critical for long-term success.
The Changing Landscape of Golf Clubs
It is no secret that the golf industry is under pressure. Rising operational costs, fluctuating membership numbers, and evolving consumer expectations are forcing clubs to rethink their strategies. Some clubs are thriving, leveraging innovative practices to attract diverse members and secure financial stability. Others, however, are struggling to keep pace, often finding themselves stuck in outdated ways of operating.
In this context, it is useful to categorise clubs into three groups: Lions, Meerkats, and Ostriches.
The Lions: Leaders of the Pack
Lion clubs are the gold standard of the industry. These clubs are forward-thinking, data-driven, and customer-focused. They understand that sustainability, both ecological and financial, requires a balanced, business-oriented approach. They continuously adapt to market demands while delivering exceptional member experiences.
Key Traits of Lion Clubs:
Data-Driven Decisions: Lion clubs use robust data systems to monitor rounds played, member engagement, secondary spend, and other key metrics. This enables them to plan effectively and make informed decisions.
Customer Focus: For private member clubs, this means prioritising member satisfaction. For proprietary clubs, it means understanding the needs of visitors and other stakeholders.
Innovation and Entertainment: These clubs embrace new technologies, such as digital technology on driving ranges, to create entertainment hubs. They are inspired by trends in other sports, making golf more engaging for younger generations.
Inclusivity: Lion clubs actively attract families, women, and juniors. They create welcoming environments, challenge outdated traditions, and offer flexible options like shorter forms of golf.
Communication: Lion clubs innovate and embrace modern member communication tools, combining social media, in-house communication platforms, and push notifications to educate members, promote activities, and enhance the overall club experience.
The Meerkats: Aware but Hesitant
Meerkat clubs make up the majority of golf venues. They are aware of the need to modernise but often lack the resources, expertise, or conviction to implement change effectively. These clubs may have plans, but execution often falls short.
Challenges for Meerkat clubs:
Incomplete Data Usage: While many Meerkat clubs have booking systems and other technologies, they rarely use them to their full potential. Data sits idle, and key insights are missed.
Reactive Decision-Making: These clubs often make decisions based on anecdotes or vocal minority opinions rather than comprehensive member feedback.
Resistance to Change: Boards may recognise the need for investment in infrastructure, training, and facilities but struggle to prioritise or act decisively.
For these clubs, the first step towards progress is acknowledging their current limitations and committing to a structured plan for growth.
The Ostriches: Heads in the Sand
At the bottom of the spectrum are the Ostrich clubs. These venues are often in denial about their challenges, focused solely on breaking even year-to-year. They resist change, prioritise outdated traditions, and fail to attract new members, particularly younger generations, women and most importantly families.
Key issues for Ostrich clubs:
Aging Membership: With 19 percent of members over the age of 75, these clubs face a demographic crisis. Younger players are not joining, leaving the future of the club in jeopardy.
Neglect of Facilities and People: Infrastructure and staff development are often overlooked, leading to declining standards and member dissatisfaction.
Perception Over Data: Decision-making is driven by outdated perceptions and personal preferences rather than objective insights.
Without intervention, Ostrich clubs risk closure as the gap between them and the Lion clubs becomes insurmountable.
What the 2024 White Paper Tells Us
Custodian Golf's 2024 white paper highlighted just how urgent the need for action has become. We identified over 430 clubs across Great Britain at risk of closure. That number is growing. Among the most concerning findings:
Only 1 percent of members are women aged 20 to 50.
The median age of male members is 58; for female members, it is 65.
117 English golf courses have more than half their surface area in high flood risk zones.
Many clubs lack the funds or will to invest in smart irrigation, digital platforms, or member insight tools.
Clubs that failed to invest post-Covid are now facing severe depreciation in their offering.
These are not hypothetical risks. Since the white paper was compiled, clubs identified as vulnerable have already begun closing their doors.
Opportunities for Growth
Despite these challenges, the future is not bleak. Golf as a sport remains incredibly popular, with millions of people engaging in various forms, from traditional rounds to driving ranges with tech-based entertainment. The key for clubs is to align with changing customer expectations and market demands. To be clear, golf participation is growing. It is golf club membership that is stagnating.
Marketing to New Audiences
Data reveals a significant gender disparity in golf club membership. Only 1 percent of members are women aged 20 to 50. This age group is critical as they represent future generations of players and most critically, influence family participation. Clubs must:
Address and Remove Barriers: Create family-friendly environments where women and children feel welcome without being constrained by outdated rules or attitudes.
Promote Health Benefits: Golf as a form of fitness and well-being is under-marketed, particularly to women who prioritise health and time efficiency.
Shorter Golf Formats: Offer driving ranges or nine-hole options that cater to busy schedules and provide quicker, enjoyable experiences.
Leveraging Technology
From booking systems to performance analysis tools, technology provides clubs with powerful ways to understand member behaviour, optimise operations, and deliver personalised experiences. Clubs must move beyond simply adopting digital tools. They need to use them effectively.
Creating a Vision for Sustainability
True sustainability goes beyond environmental concerns. It encompasses financial planning, modernised facilities, and a forward-thinking approach to membership development. Clubs that embrace this holistic vision will thrive, while those that do not will struggle to survive.
A Warning from the Past
As identified by Alasdair Rae in the white paper, we now better understand how and why golf clubs fail. The common thread is speed. Decline happens gradually, then suddenly. The lesson is clear: act before it is too late.
Custodian Golf works with clubs to explore the 3Rs: reposition, repurpose or relocate. Each option offers a route away from stagnation and towards renewed relevance. Those who wait may not get the chance to choose.
Where Does Your Club Stand?
At Custodian Golf, we work with clubs to identify their position in the market and create tailored strategies for improvement. Whether you are a Lion looking to maintain your edge, a Meerkat ready to take the next step, or an Ostrich seeking a wake-up call, we are here to help.
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How to Take Action
If any of this resonates with you, or if your club is experiencing any of the issues raised here and you wish to discuss them in confidence, let us know. Together, we can shape a brighter future for your golf club.
Contact Phil Grice on 01223 776101 or phil.grice@custodiangolf.co.uk.
