Golfers are vanishing like balls down a hole. Samantha Laurie finds that attracting families could help to keep the sport on course
It is a curious thing that as professional golf becomes ever younger and fitter, and the Asian market is on fire with brilliant new juniors, in its traditional heartland the sport is ageing at a staggering rate. One of the most jaw-dropping stats from research company Sports Marketing Surveys is that, while in 2009 the average age of a once-a-week golfer was 48, by 2013 it had soared to 63. Today it is closer to 68.
Cycling – the ‘new golf’ – has lured away the sport’s core market: time-starved millennials have little appetite for a game that can swallow most of their day (and in which they can be upbraided for wearing the wrong colour socks). With junior participation on a steep slide (down 45% over four years, says Sport England), attracting young players is top of every club’s list. Yet other than for a handful of competitive clubs like Burhill, Cuddington and Windlesham, it’s slim pickings in Surrey, as elsewhere. The answer may lie in a golf market surprisingly untapped: families.
“Families are always looking for things to do together,” says Richard Haygarth, owner of Horton Park Golf Club, near Epsom. “Golf is perfect. It’s sociable, with lots of downtime to chat.”
It is also rare in that, by virtue of the handicap system, a junior can play on an equal footing with experienced players.
Luxury lifestyle clubs like Roehampton Club, David Lloyd Hampton and Foxhills Club and Resort at Ottershaw have long been aware of the potential. Family golf is an essential part of the package at these top end sports resorts. But for the traditional golf world, appealing to women and kids means a fundamental change in image, outlook, attitude and sheer volume of fun.
When Haygarth took over at Horton Park eight years ago, his first task was to take down all the signs telling people what they couldn’t do on the course.
“I want to give them reasons to play, not put them off,” he says.
Out went dress codes and spurious rules; in came Jungle Island, an 18-hole adventure course with animated gorillas and lagoons. There are numerous pathways from fun golf to more serious play – six ‘roll-ups’ a week (£5 group sessions for kids, no booking required), Get into Golf sessions for adults and children (four lessons, £20) and a junior membership that combines coaching with unlimited crazy golf. Moreover, you don’t need a handicap to play the main 18-hole course here – if you’re holding up the people behind, you just pick up and move on – and there are plenty of options for a swifter nine holes.
Public golf facility or private members club, the key ingredient is a genuinely family-friendly clubhouse. So says Strawberry Hill Golf Club, a small nine-hole private members club (300 members) near Richmond that has become a byword for inclusive golf. Here, the work of a dedicated junior organizer, Margaret Bedford – England Golf Volunteer of the Year in 2014 – is in evidence: on a weekend the practice range is full of youngsters attending coaching sessions, many introduced to the sport through the subsidised coaching offered to six local schools.
With a solid base of female members – at 35%, it’s more than twice the national average – the club has embraced family golf through roll-up competitions with fish and chip suppers, free membership for juniors if either parent is a member, and adult Academy memberships enabling newcomers to mix coaching with restricted access to the course.
With such focus on juniors and newcomers, golf has never been cheaper to try. For great family-focused offers: The Oaks Sports Centre, Banstead; Hoebridge Golf Centre (with Pirate Island Adventure Golf), Woking; Silvermere Golf and Leisure, Cobham; Reigate Heath GC, West Byfleet GC, Wokingham Golf Club, Wokingham; Temple Golf Club, Maidenhead; Billingbear Park, Wokingham; Wexham Park Golf Centre, Slough.
Top Golf
Sam Docker Photography
Still wondering if golf and kids really mix? Take a glance at the queues at TopGolf in Addlestone. This interactive driving range has taken all the razzledazzle of the modern bowling alley – microchipped balls, an exciting point-scoring game played in groups, bays with digital screens, music, beer, burgers – and applied it to golf.
It has one quarter of a million visitors a year, 54% of whom are under 34. Many are non-golfers taking their first swing in this sports bar style environment with resident DJ and buzzing bar – a stark contrast to the traditional clubhouse.
The game itself is fast and thrilling: a two-tier, 240-yard driving range has dartboard-like targets in the ground. The closer you get to the bull’s-eye the more points you get, while scoreboards pit you against other players in friendly rivalry. Played in bays for up to five people, games take an average of 12-15 minutes per person. Pros stroll the tee line offering tips on stance, grip and swing.
If cost, skill requirement and time commitment are the most off-putting aspects of the traditional game, this souped-up US-style version – actually invented in Watford by twins, Steve and Dave Jolliffe – has turned all three factors on their head. Here you can buy food, drink and game packages for as little as £10 and the average stay is two hours. It doesn’t take long for those with no golf experience to pick up the basics, and for the keen player, there’s instant feedback on accuracy and distance.
Check out our Kids/Schools Section for more great advice on where to take the kids
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