At just 32, Nathan Gilpin has already built one of the most varied CVs in golf club management. A fourth-generation golfer from Torquay, he has worked across the sport’s ecosystem: as a professional player, championship organiser for England Golf, university events director, club secretary and now General Manager of Perranporth Golf Club in North Cornwall.
Alongside that role he also referees on the Ladies European Tour, with upcoming appointments including the AIG Women’s Open and the Solheim Cup.
Since taking over at Perranporth in late 2023, Gilpin has overseen significant commercial and operational change. In just over two years the club has recorded around £600,000 in revenue growth, doubled green-fee income, achieved a full membership with a waiting list for the first time in its history and delivered a profitable in-house food operation.
Gilpin’s approach combines commercial discipline with a clear strategic narrative about the club’s future. Central to that thinking is positioning Perranporth as an authentic links experience while strengthening the operational foundations needed to sustain long-term growth.
Your career path has taken you through governing bodies, golf clubs, and professional tours. Which experiences most shaped your leadership approach?
Two things stand out. The first is learning from people I worked for earlier in my career. At London Golf Club I worked for Austen Gravestock, who had an incredible ability to motivate a team. I remember one day when the weather was awful, everyone was soaked and exhausted, and he came in and completely changed the mood of the room. Suddenly people were laughing again and ready to go back out and do the job. I still think about that moment now when we’re under pressure at Perranporth.
The second is simply the variety of environments I’ve worked in. Clubs like West Sussex operate very differently to a corporate venue like London Golf Club. Being exposed to those different cultures teaches you how to “read the room” and understand what different stakeholders expect from their club.
Since arriving at Perranporth you’ve delivered strong financial growth. What have been the drivers?
The starting point was visibility. Perranporth had often been described as a ‘hidden gem’, but to me that simply means it hasn’t been marketed properly. So one of the first things we did was improve how the course was presented to the outside world, starting with the website and visual content.
That visibility has translated directly into visitor growth. Green fee revenue has grown from just over £200,000 to around £400,000 and the numbers continue to look healthy. That income then allows us to reinvest back into the golf course, for example with a £200,000 irrigation investment.
Membership demand has also grown significantly. How did that come about?
A lot of it is word of mouth and the overall experience people have when they come here. Visitors arrive, enjoy the golf course and the atmosphere, and then decide they want to join.
We’ve also been fortunate in one respect: we can stay open throughout the winter when other courses may close. Golfers want value from their membership, and being able to play consistently through the year is important. As a result, for the first time in the club’s history we’re now full and operating a waiting list across most categories.
The club has also made its food and beverage operation profitable. How was that achieved?
We brought the kitchen operation in-house and focused on doing simple things well rather than over-complicating the offer.
We also looked carefully at operating hours and demand. There’s no point opening the kitchen early if no one orders breakfast. It’s about understanding when members actually want the service and delivering it well. That approach has allowed us to deliver a profit, which is not always easy in a golf club environment.
You often talk about authenticity. How important is that to Perranporth’s positioning?
It’s absolutely central. There is a growing appetite among golfers for traditional, natural golf experiences. Perranporth is essentially the same course people were playing decades ago.
We are proud of that and we want to protect it. When we make changes they’re about improving sustainability or managing wear and tear, not altering the character of the golf course. If we started reshaping dunes or removing blind shots we would lose what makes the place special.
What do golf club members most misunderstand about the running of a club?
Probably the economics. Members sometimes think improvements can simply happen without understanding the financial balance required to deliver them.
At Perranporth our visitor tee times account for about 10 per cent of total tee time availability, yet they generate roughly the same income as the entire membership subscription base. That external revenue is essential because it allows us to keep membership affordable while still investing in the course and facilities.
Finally, where would you like to see Perranporth in the future?
It deserves to be recognised among the best courses in the country. My ambition is to see it established in the UK’s top 100 while maintaining the same strong membership culture we have today.
Above all, the goal is long-term sustainability. If we can deliver a better experience for members and visitors while protecting the authenticity of the links, then we’ve done our job properly.