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Golf clubs choking on the downturn
20 February 2009
By Larry Ryan
Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy might be giving Ireland unprecedented dominance on the world stage but our once-buoyant golf industry is spluttering to a halt like a choked uphill putt.
Leisure spending invariably tumbles down the list of priorities during a recession and golf clubs are suffering from the demotion. The catalogue of bad news from the sector is startling; clubs are struggling to entice high fees from members and the golf tourism industry has been hit by the global downturn.
Last week, Blarney Golf Resort in Cork became the latest club to have a receiver appointed. The club had already lost the Ramada brand last year and owes €20 million to AIB.
Tulfarris House & Golf Resort in Blessington followed last Friday – with Anglo Irish calling time on its €25 million loan.
This follows a host of negative announcements in 2008. The Capella Hotel at Castlemartyr Golf Resort closed, the Carrigglass Manor development in Longford stalled, while the five-star Luttrellstown Castle club – which leases its 500-acre site – announced in December that it will close at the end of this year. Luttrellstown was unable to build membership numbers to a level that could sustain the business.
“The whole business of membership has dried up and the problem we have at Luttrellstown is we don’t have a critical mass of members. The amount people are prepared to pay for golf is very different from what it was before,” chief executive Colm Hannon said at the time of the announcement.
It’s a sentiment being felt up and down fairways all over the country as clubs drop entry levies and reduce membership and green fees.
Donabate Golf Club dropped its €10,000 joining fee, Druids Glen Golf Club also abandoned its entrance fee, while the Moyvalley club near Enfield – initially pitched as an exclusive private club – cut membership fees from €25,000 to €10,000.
More recently, Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links, which previously only accepted green fees, opened for membership as parent firm Capel Developments attempts to generate some extra revenue.
Other clubs are being forced to innovate with attractive group offers and special deals for green fees and meals or accommodation.
Seamus Leahy, director of marketing at Fota Island Golf Club in Cork, believes that the market for golf is still strong once the product is good and priced fairly.
“People still want to golf but you have to be conscious of the economic climate. As long as you are offering a good-value package, people will avail of it. Thankfully, we are seeing huge take-up on some of the special deals we’ve launched in recent months.”
In general, it’s the newer clubs that emerged during the golf boom of the past 15 years that are in most difficulty. Older clubs are cushioned by an established membership base and regular income streams.
However, with many annual club subscriptions expiring at this time of year, many club treasurers will be anxiously monitoring renewal rates. With annual fees in excess of €1,000 – often €2,000 in Dublin – more and more people may view golf as an expensive pastime in difficult economic times.
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