Almost 180 golf clubs have signed up with one of England Golf’s Preferred Partners in the last year and made total savings of over £400,000. With the support of the purchasing alliance, Golf Management Group (GMG), clubs have made significant economies, particularly in the costs of electricity, food, gas and waste disposal.
The partnership between England Golf and GMG began 12 months ago, offering clubs free membership for a year. By joining, clubs could get significant discounts as a result of using collective purchasing power.
Membership of GMG also provides access to teams of experts who look at a club’s expenditure and report back on potential savings in key areas such as energy, insurance and food and beverage. In addition, they can use Contracts-Manager, an online tool designed to manage all service and utilities contracts.
Iain Lancaster, England Golf Club Support Manager, commented: “We’ve been delighted by the way clubs have embraced this opportunity to make considerable savings and benefit their businesses.
“This partnership is just one way in which we can give real support to our 1900 affiliated clubs and we look forward to many more of them taking advantage of this offer.”
Among the clubs to benefit are:
The Royal St George’s Golf Club, Kent. The Open venue has made significant savings on its insurance as well as other economies on waste disposal and energy supply. Club Secretary Tim Checketts commented: “I took some convincing of the potential benefits, but it’s been very good and all done very efficiently. It saves us time and effort shopping around and they have some useful management tools which alert us to contract renewal times.”
Bedford and County Golf Club. The club has cut the cost of its hygiene services by 25% and also made savings on waste disposal. It’s currently discussing brewery options. General Manager Steve Vinnicombe said: “We have made savings and it has been of benefit to the club. They have made it all very easy for us, it’s been a simple and smooth process.”
GMG director Scott Partington believes the key to the success of the partnership is collaboration, both on the part of GMG and England Golf and on the part of the clubs.
He said: “Our two organisations are working hard to ensure clubs are aware of the benefits, and the clubs are seeing that utilising this service to pool their resources ensures savings are sustained year on year, not just as a one-off exercise to leverage a better deal from the incumbent.”
Since becoming an England Golf Preferred Partner, GMG has gone on to partner Wales Golf and Scottish Golf to extend their support for their clubs. Clubs wishing to be part of the England Golf buying group please visit www.golfmanagementgroup.co.uk/england-golf
England Golf’s affiliated clubs can access the network of Preferred Partners. A full list of partners can be found at www.englandgolf.org/PP
England Golf www.englandgolf.org