By Joel McKay
The recent global financial squeeze has forced some of B.C.’s most prestigious golf and country clubs to rethink their business plans.
QGolf Club in Richmond, formerly known as Quilchena Golf and Country Club, has just emerged from a major brand revitalization campaign aimed at retaining and attracting new members.
In the last three years, the course, which costs $30,000 to join, has seen its membership numbers drop 26% to approximately 700.
General manager Brian Taylor said the drop is largely due to existing members who have resigned or downgraded their memberships.
But more importantly, the recession has caused businesspeople and well-off retirees to rethink their spending habits.
“I think the economy was absolutely huge,” Taylor said, “and the spinoff from that is people, certainly the ones that are retired even if they have money, it just puts the fear in them.”
The course, which is located on 120 acres of flatlands on the western edge of Richmond, not only re-branded itself but also invested $6.5 million to improve fairways, bunkers and greens.
But unlike other clubs, QGolf hasn’t lowered its membership fees to attract new players.
Taylor said that’s a strategy that quickly turns into a “death spiral” for private clubs, angering existing members who paid more for their memberships and cheapening the brand.
Instead, QGolf focused on revamping its reputation to attract new and younger players.
“We wanted to think outside the box; private clubs are known for staying within the box,” Taylor said.
The club hired Brandroom Creative, a local agency that specializes in branding campaigns, to come up with a new logo, tagline, website and marketing strategy to get the word out about QGolf.
“It was staggering for us to find out how many Richmond residents had no idea we were here,” Taylor said.
Michael Cunningham, who worked with both Brandroom and QGolf on the strategy, said the biggest problem private courses face right now is the number of players who are embracing cheaper public courses instead of members-only clubs.
QGolf recognized that trend early on and wanted to do something about it, said Cunningham.
“They realized, as a lot of courses in the U.S. found out a couple years ago, if they can’t build their membership base then the chances of surviving are very difficult,” Cunningham said.
It turns out QGolf Club isn’t alone.
Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen has made some changes to its rules and membership in recent years.
General manager Gord Sarkissian relaxed the rules on denim last year, allowing members to wear jeans in the clubhouse for the first time.
“The response has been tremendous,” Sarkissian said.
The club has also introduced trial memberships that allow players to experience the course and club for a few months before making a full commitment.
Sarkissian said 75% of trial members became full members in the first year of the program.
Beach Grove also offers a pairs membership special that allows two people to get full memberships for $26,000 compared with a price tag of $18,500 for one full membership.
“Two years ago, the club went out and really went after people and they did that through price and marketing and just attracted a ton of members,” Sarkissian said.
On the north shore, Seymour Golf & Country Club has also updated its membership structure.
The club, which was originally built in 1953, has five different membership options that allow Seymour to attract different types of members.
A full membership runs $39,000, but for $1,000 you can join the club as a social member with limited golf privileges.
The social membership provides access to the clubhouse, allowing members to drop in for something to eat or drink whenever they want.
General manager Dave McNeilly said it gets more people into the clubhouse because there aren’t that many restaurants in the area.
But apart from all the incentives to join, the most difficult hurdle private clubs face is convincing would-be members that it’s worth it to fork out the cash to join.
Taylor said that sales pitch would never change: it’s all about community and high-end service.
“People are joining private clubs because of like-minded members,” said Taylor. “So whether you joined to make business contacts or that your social circle are members … you still can’t compare what you’re offered at a private club versus what you’re offered at a public club.”