Moray Golf Club, situated in the north-east of Scotland, has revealed that a successful membership drive has seen it add over 100 new members.
Since golf has resumed following lockdown, the club has seized the initiative to get back on the front foot by devising a plan that will appeal to nomadic golfers in the area.
"We quickly established there were a large number of golfers out there who were not members of a golf club and, with only member's golf being available initially, it was key to get these players on board with us at Moray Golf Club so they could be guaranteed a game," club secretary Stevie Grant told UK Club Golfer.
"We are a club that has always worked on a pro-rata basis for new members and by making the prices more attractive coming out of lockdown, we hoped this would provide the encouragement many needed to join.
"All of our other membership categories are also working on the same basis. We've extended our youth categories deliberately for this so we can try and pick up a few more youngsters. Our youth categories now run right the way through from Youth 18 to Youth 29. That gave us the flexibility to offer those categories a little cheaper to the youths."
With many predicting that golf would fall upon hard times post COVID-19, the Lossiemouth-based club is already blowing that theory out of the water with the enormous uptake in new members, which has delighted Grant.
"The amount of new people wanting to come to this golf club has been crazy. I physically can't keep up with the demand at the minute because there are so many people so keen to play golf. It's a great problem to have."
The upsurge hasn't just been felt at Moray GC. Brora Golf Club has attracted over 80 new members.
President of the Highlands club Andy Stewart said: "It's almost like the world now understands what we have here at Brora and people realised we have a club worth saving. We offer our thanks to all who have supported us and look forward to seeing members and visitors enjoying Brora again in the weeks and months ahead."
Elsewhere in the UK, Mendip Spring Golf Club, situated just outside of Bristol, has managed to attract over 140 new members, while the North and South Cliff Golf Clubs in Scarborough have also reported an upturn.
England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson believes the rapid rise in golf club memberships post-lockdown proves that the appetite for golf is still there. He said: "It may have been largely accidental but the spike in recruitment over the last few months has proved two key things – golf club membership remains relevant and affordable. The reboot gives everyone a chance to carry this momentum on."
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