Municipal golf courses are ‘losing money’
26th October, 2011 by Jenny Yu
The secretary of the National Association of Public Golf Courses (NAPGC), Eddie Mitchell, has said that municipal golf courses are, in general, losing money and memberships of them are in decline.
“Overall membership of the municipal courses is falling. I think generally they are losing money, like other council leisure facilities, although golf used to make money.
“Fifteen years ago golf was a golden goose for the councils. Now not only is there the decline but in some cases it is substantial. I do not think that councils realise what a mess they are getting into. One council with seven municipals has seen the number of customers fall by one-third in ten years from 300,000 to 200,000.”
His comments come as Knowsley Council has revealed it will invest £1 million in the oldest municipal golf course in England, Bowring Golf Club.
The council has given a 20-year lease to Mack Golf, which works with, or runs, 11 other golf clubs, most of which were losing money but all are now recording profits.
Director Colm McCabe said: “We will improve the quality of the course greatly and make significant changes to the clubhouse, give it a more customer service feel rather than a railway station feel.”
Bowring, which was built in 1913, has seen its membership drop in recent years to less than 70.
Elsewhere, Robert Edwards, secretary of Glynhir Golf Club, has criticised Carmarthenshire Council, for giving a 20-year lease of the loss-making Parc Garnant golf course to Clay’s Golf.
“Every tax payer, including me, is subsidising the golf club in Garnant, which is now our direct competition,” Mr Edwards said.
“This has meant they are able to adopt quite an aggressive pricing policy.
“The only way they will survive is to attract members from other clubs like us in Carmarthenshire, and from others across the border.
“The county council was quoted as saying all leisure clubs make a loss — but that’s rubbish. If we ran at a loss we would have to shut down.”