Here’s three developments from June 2023 that could be three new trends in the UK golf industry

From holiday huts proving to be more lucrative than hotels to new data showing significant increases to green fee income in the winter months, we look at some trends from the last month.

Municipal golf courses are being encouraged to find partners

Several golf courses owned by local authorities have closed down in recent years but there is now hope for some remaining venues that feared for their futures.

For example, there was talk of closing five of the eight golf courses owned by South Ayrshire Council in early 2020, but a participation surge during the pandemic saved them.

Now a council report has recommended that it finds partners for all eight venues, which would secure their futures.

Holiday huts may be more lucrative than a hotel

One golf club that seems to think so is Farthingstone Hotel and Golf Course in Northamptonshire, which was bought by a hospitality company last year.

Its new owner has said it now wants to knock down its 16-bedroom hotel and build a new hub, a leisure building and 61 holiday huts.

“The cabins proposed will be contemporary, compact and highly insulated, while also connecting to their landscape setting,” states the venue.

“We are aiming to construct the cabins using a timber structure with timber cladding and insulated with wool and wood fibre. They will likely be manufactured using modular construction.”

Golf is now a 12 month leisure activity

There is encouraging news from a survey of 75 golf clubs in Northern Ireland, which looks at green fee income every year between 2019 and 2022.

In total, £18 million was generated in green fees at the Northern Ireland clubs in 2022. This is compared to £5.5 million in 2021, £3.4 million in 2020 and £7.2 million in 2019.

Within the data, there is some surprising news. While every month saw a sharp increase in income when comparing 2019 and 2022, far and away the biggest rise came in December 2022 when £1.42 million was generated, compared to £112,000 in December 2019.

This represents a percentage increase of 1,167, while the green fee income generated in December 2022 was higher than every month in 2019, even July (£1.28 million) when a club in Northern Ireland hosted the Open Championship.