Here’s three trends that reveal an insight into the UK golf club industry in September 2024

As we review the last month in the UK golf industry, we conclude that there is much to be optimistic about even though we did lose three UK golf clubs.

The golf industry has a sense of community

There probably aren’t that many other industries that are like this.

For example, Little Hay Golf Complex in Hertfordshire recently experienced a fire that destroyed greenkeeping equipment. This could have proved to be devastating, but two local golf clubs immediately lent the club their machinery, meaning it could maintain the course while the aftermath of the fire was sorted out, and the club only closed for a short period of time.

Similarly, Hirsel Golf Club announced an immediate and permanent closure, and at least four local clubs quickly intervened to provide support to its members, including one that offered free membership for six months.

The industry had its worst week in years

Three golf clubs, Hirsel, Caddington and Torrance Park, all announced their closure within six days of each other.

This was the first time since well-before participation boomed during the pandemic in 2020 that we’ve seen golf club closures on anything like this scale, but there were warning signs.

When we last saw significant numbers of closures, most clubs cited a fall in membership numbers as the main reason. This has all changed this decade. In July, for example, we reported that 433 UK golf clubs faced the threat of closure due to rising costs.

Despite the above, there is still much to be optimistic about

Inflationary pressures aside, this is still a bumper time for the golf industry.