A new survey of amateur golfers has found that almost three-quarters of players who have joined golf clubs over the last six months plan to re-join when their annual membership subscription comes up for renewal next year.
With an estimated 20,000 golfers having joined golf clubs in England alone for the first time, or re-joined following a lapse, since golf’s re-opening following the pandemic lockdown in May, the boom in golf club memberships continues to be one of the few upsides to the Covid-19 crisis.
The survey, carried out by website Golfshake.com, and involving 2,500 of its readers, revealed that 72% of new members are planning on renewing their membership next year, while a further 26% said they were undecided. Only 2% said that they would not be renewing their memberships in 2021.
The research also found that more than 6% of people who had given golf up for good have returned to play it this summer. Of those, just over one in three said they have joined a golf club, and of those that haven’t, more than half said they are considering joining one.
Overall, just over 13% of golfers said they joined a club this year. Of those, an overwhelming majority (96%) said they have felt welcome at their new club.
When it comes to non-members, the poll found that 17% are actively considering joining a club, while a further 31% said they may join a club. One-in-two said they would not.
More than a third (36%) of respondents said they played more golf this summer than normal, with only 25% saying they had played less. Of those, 40% said the increase in rounds played was due to changing circumstances surrounding their working lives which had given them more time to play golf, such as working from home, being furloughed or now being out of work.
Just 2.6% of respondents said they are normally regular golfers but have not played during the post-lockdown period due to factors such as shielding or self-isolating.