Golf Vacations – Golf Vacation Packages

If you do NOT have a short waiting list, or at least a strong list of 50 plus people that are currently interested in golf membership then you already have a problem with declining golf membership, whether anyone wants to admit it or not! Private club membership sales take time to cultivate and close. Yet every year, you know a few more people are going to drop off your roster (Most clubs close between one in fifteen and one in twenty enquiries).

Private clubs are facing three huge challenges:

A) Continued Increase in Competition
Not only do private clubs compete with other private clubs but, increasingly, private clubs must also compete with high-end municipal or daily fee clubs. Add to that the fact that despite the slowdown in building golf courses more than 200 new clubs being built across the county. In addition to greater supply than demand, is the fact that more and more people are looking at how often they play and doing the economic math instead of the social and emotional math.

B) Declining Number of Total Players in the Golf Market
We have all seen the stats on this and it’s not particularly encouraging. Golf participation has dropped five or six percent since 2000, depending on whose numbers you believe. On the plus side, more and more people are retiring younger and will therefore have more time and money to play.

C) Ageing of the Current Private Club Membership
This is something the typical private club could do something about, but because of the very nature of ‘clubs’, rarely do. Older members do not want younger members and since it is the older members that are in charge of all the committees and boards, they typically do nothing until it’s too late!!!

I had a club last year that called me after their membership had shrunk from 410 to 87 in five years and had an average member age of 75. “The Board”, the caller said, has decided, “We have a problem!” I wonder what clued them in. Despite the obvious problems, there are many things you can do to ensure a healthy membership for years to come. There are still millions of people playing golf, and if you follow some simple advice, they might just choose your club!

Ten Steps to Ensure a Healthy Membership:

1. Always be prospecting for new members, have a good marketing system in place and start it before you THINK you need it!

2. Add new junior memberships (under 40) and corporate memberships to attract a younger crowd of members.

3. At the same time consider a lifetime or super-senior membership at a reduced rate to make it easier for older members, now playing less, to stay involved.

4. Expand your efforts in promoting social memberships, make them very attractive. Once the social members have been interacting with people at the club and making friends, some will want to upgrade to a full membership.

5. Institute an active ambassador program; get your best members active in promoting your golf club.

6. Encourage members to bring guests with frequent, one day, member-guest events in season. (You can never bring the same guest twice in the same year.)

7. Send your monthly newsletter to people of influence in your community including local media, property developers and leading businessmen. Keeping your golf club in front of 50 people of influence will do more good than 5,000 others.

8. Add membership information to each Monday outing gift bag.

9. Market only what you are, not what you wish to be! Focus heavily on the social, networking and emotional benefits of club membership, not just the quality of your golf.

10. Last and by no means least, keep your current members happy. Use you website to survey them, ask for feedback and communicate, at least weekly, what is going on at your club. Poor member communications is the number one complaint at almost all private clubs. Get your current members to participate in more events at your club so they are socializing with the other members at your golf club and they will have many more reasons to keep their membership at your club.

Exercise for a golfer is widely used. Despite the success many professionals have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy in their game, mainly because of golf-specific exercises, many amateur golfers still shun any golf specific exercises.

Even when it is rather obvious that leading names in the game like the legendary Tiger Woods heavily rely on staying in good shape for the game by having personal trainers and by being involved in golf specific exercises.

By far the golfers belief that they will develop muscles, it’s the main reason why most still fear and avoid exercise. Actually lifting weights are a very effective way of toning the golf-specific muscles for the game, by strengthening them. Strength training uses weights will never increase the size of your muscles.

Nobody would loathe building big muscles more than most lady golfers. By increasing their strength through golf-specific weight training, yet many of them have dramatically improved their games.

Actually you need to be in the gym several hours a day lifting very heavy weights to develop a weight-lifters’ muscles. The weight-lifting exercise regime for golf involves lifting lighter weights many more times over a very short period of time compared to a weightlifter looking for muscles with heavier weights lifted fewer times at a time but for longer hours daily.

The fact that many lady golfers have been able to dramatically improve their game by getting involved in exercises for a golfers, but have not build heavy stiff muscles, should be encouragement enough for many amateurs to seriously consider exercise for a golfer programs.

Apart from weights, most of the exercises for a golfer involve stretch exercises designed to improve a golf swing. Some of these stretch exercises for a golfer can easily be done form the comfort of an offices or home when you have a moment to spare.

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There are many criteria to selecting the school that is worthy of the investment, and this is not an exhaustive list.

1) Golfing style 

As with any topic or subject matter to learn, golf can be played in many styles. Some play aggressively, others, like me, more conservatively. But ultimately you have to choose a school or instructor that match you.

Your style, your personality, your skills.

2) Problem areas  

I have trouble with slicing. Consistently I found that my shot slice to the right. You, to be sure, have minimum one issue with your game or specific shots.You may want to find a school to address also help correct that shortcoming. If you come back from a long weekend and your slice has vanished, you would have had time (and money) well spent.

3) Instructor to class-size ratio 

This is a personal preference item. Some people learnt in a group setting (even craze the interaction). It might also depend on what you’re trying to gain from the school which one you actually choose.

4) Price 

If you improve your game, and thus your enjoyment,  golf is your life and no amount of money is too much. For others, big obstacle. If you’re considering a golf school then you know that most start over 00. This is some “big name” instructors offering half day lesson for ,000.

If you are price sensitive then, by all means, do not forget to add in travel, lodging, and food costs. Many times this “incidental” can double the overall cost.

5)  Proximity 

What is your traveling distance? Is the schedule tight so slipping off within 100 miles for a half day lesson are all you can squeeze. When these offer last-minute specials you can jump on those quickly, One plus of keeping tabs on those schools “in your own backyard” is.

6) Length of training 

It depends, like any good consultant would answer. It depend on whether you are looking for a long weekend, a day seminar, or wrapping vacation around the training. This is important factor in choosing a school so compare wisely.