“It pays to invest in the long term”

Bentham Golf Course in North Yorkshire was saved in 2009 when a family bought it and invested in its facilities. It then built holiday homes, which opened shortly before the pandemic struck. Here, John Marshall, operations director, discusses how the club has grown almost beyond recognition from five years ago when the future seemed anything but secure.

In 2019, once my decision to return to the family business was confirmed after nearly four years working in an accountancy firm, I was ready to get back into the swing.

The timing was unfortunate, however. Firstly, two long term greenkeepers coincidentally handed in their notice before I had even arrived back (evidently nothing personal), a challenge which was quickly followed by the start of the Covid pandemic.

One of my first jobs was to tell everyone to leave the clubhouse immediately – including an elderly member who didn’t watch the news and was determined to head for the first tee regardless!
From tough farming stock, as a family we have a ‘can do’ spirit that helped us to weather what was to come. Diversifying from farming in the 1970s, my parents had established nearby Riverside Caravan Park which has become a nationally acclaimed holiday park with a brilliant reputation. Along with my sister Isabel, in 2009 they took over Bentham Golf Club – just as it was about to go under. We invested in establishing a new layout, a driving range and clubhouse that gave the course a new lease of life. Then in 2018 we built our own glamping pods for holiday hire and commissioned a group of luxury holiday lodges for sale amid the rolling fairways. And so Wenningdale Escapes was born.

Arriving back in at the deep end, my first few weeks of the lockdown were spent not staring at those empty new holiday homes in despair, but in getting teed up to hit the ground running on the other side. It meant watching the news closely, completing cash flows (something I thought I had left behind) and hiring a talented new head greenkeeper, the first in a series of appointments that helped take the course and the new business model to the next level.

We had a plan for re-opening. Keeping the fairways cut rough low, getting the greens hollow-tined, producing Covid signage and getting safety systems in place meant that we were ahead of the game. We were able to open quicker and more efficiently than our competitors when restrictions were lifted two weeks earlier than initially predicted. We opened our doors and had golfers flocking from more than two hours’ drive away just to play here as we were one of the few places that could safely take visitors.

The following weeks could only be described as chaos as I balanced very early mornings outside with the greenkeeper and helping in the golf shop during the remaining hours. It seemed that whilst the rest of the world was learning to work from home or on furlough, I was suddenly busier than I’d ever been.

The summer that followed produced our highest grossing year in green fees as we welcomed more new golfers than ever before. The brilliant condition of the course was leading to a growing reputation. We were further helped by the visit of Youtuber Liam, from ‘Golf Mates’. Liam’s first visit to play ‘The Top Secret Golf Course’, as he named us, provided us with a massive boost in our reach and name. The phones didn’t stop ringing in the week that followed as we took bookings in record numbers for societies, visiting parties and ‘stay & play’ in the lodges and pods.

As winter brought another lockdown and more restrictions, we looked at the funding available and made use of England Golf’s well-designed grant to improve our efficiency. It was aimed at making golfing businesses more robust and creating a long-term strategy rather than providing short-term solutions. We used it to fund moving and furnishing our golf shop infrastructure from the car park into the spare lounge in the clubhouse to enhance footfall to each, and to launch a new swing room. Straight away we saw increased shop and cafe sales and were able to use our staff more efficiently which helped boost morale on the long winter days.

Reluctantly I had to take a long hard look at our clubhouse function. Having reflected on the numbers, it transpired that we needed to stop our catering service in its current form, which led to the difficult decision to make our chef redundant. He was a brilliant chef and the food was always of high quality, but ultimately the demand wasn’t sufficient to make it financially viable. We took the difficult decision even though we didn’t yet have an alternative solution.

Lockdown number three coupled with gruesome weather hindered the entire business, but again gave us time to reflect and rebuild. The glimmer of hope that heralded the end of the lockdown was thoroughly dampened by rampant rain the day before restrictions were lifted. This time, even though we could legally open, we were forced to stay closed due to water-logging for a couple more days.

I’d used the long downtime to make efficiency savings by combining administratively all our businesses (Bentham Golf Course, Riverside Caravan Park, and Wenningdale Escapes) into one, which helps us to run more smoothly and cohesively. Many jobs, which previously had to be done twice, were halved.
After much deliberation about which direction to take our food offering, we welcomed an independent caterer aboard as a brilliant solution. The outside catering business having their HQ in our kitchen means they can supply hot food for our customers over the summer months when the demand is highest and have access to the kitchen at other times for their private catering contracts. For us, it removed the responsibility and risk of managing the catering and with Simply Delicious having a strong local reputation for brilliant food, the collaboration helped to promote the clubhouse 1922 Bar & Kitchen as a venue open to visitors and non-golfers in the community.

We entered our centenary year, 2022, in a stronger position than ever before. We recruited a new bar manager with a fresh set of eyes on the clubhouse. He made everyone consider it from a fresh perspective which translated into a healthy increase in revenue with just simple improvements such as excellent coffee and consistent opening times.  

Investment in the course continued and we completed all the work ourselves, using our own heavy machinery which is warranted by all three sites in our portfolio. Rather than having to outsource to contractors according to their timetable, we were able to complete important drainage work during the summer so it created less mess and disruption.

To improve our customer experience for golfers, we created a halfway house and installed a vending machine providing refreshments, seating and toilets without the need for staffing.
So far it has always turned up for work, never been on holiday and only told one customer where to go!

We have had overwhelmingly positive feedback and it almost entirely paid for itself within a year.

The year 2023 saw a rise in the use of the driving range compared to pre Covid numbers. This reflects part of a wider shift in golf trends, as more people engaged in off-course golf. We added a contactless machine at the driving range, allowing easier access for our customers which in turn has translated into more people coming into the shop and clubhouse, and trying out golf for the first time.

The end of 2023 heralded the arrival of a dynamic new golf professional, Sophie Daws, and an upgrade of the swing room to offer golf 365 days of the year – if anyone fancies opening up on Christmas day!

Some of the highlight figures from the last five years show the impact Covid has had on the golf course, but also how operational changes have made an impact:

● Green fees are up by 150 percent
● Driving range income has tripled
● Food sales are up 20 percent despite reducing serving times and menu
● Bar sales have more than doubled
● Open competitions have increased by 425 percent.

I believe golf can only continue to increase in popularity. Covid restrictions helped give the sport a boost but also helped to highlight some areas in which it was flagging. For golf to continue this upward trajectory, across the country, golf clubs need to adapt.

Golf will never be an all-action game but it is a brilliant way to spend time with friends, get to know new people, get some exercise and enjoy the countryside. I suggest the dress code for twilight and mid-week golf needs to be relaxed, with sharing of clubs at those times. Not everyone has a budget to have a special set of clothes for one sport and expecting everyone to invest at least £250 on a full set of clubs isn’t realistic – especially at the junior level.

Membership is not essential. The way to get more members is not to force everyone who touches a golf club to become a member, but simply to encourage new golfers to play, some of whom will eventually choose to opt for the additional benefits of membership.

Commercially, the demand exists for embracing the off-course golf offering. Statistics have shown the growing gender equality in off-course golf with an almost 50/50 split, but this does not translate into on-course golf, where it remains a 80/20 split. Based on the numbers, embracing the likes of Topgolf, crazy golf and driving ranges could open up an avenue to more golfers.

Clubhouses can either be an asset or a drain on resources depending on how they are run. I’ve learnt that you need to make sure you’re running your business for 12 months of the year rather than focussing on the four months you’re busy. Managers need to consider facilities that can be used all year round to bring in an income.

I’ve also realised that it pays to invest in the long term. Often owners are nervous of undertaking change that may be disruptive in the short term, but any improvements are likely to generate a return quite quickly for those brave enough to take the initiative.