I’ve Been A Golf Club Member For Nearly 40 Years – These Are The 5 Biggest Changes I’ve Seen
Fergus Bisset reflects on four decades as a Banchory Golf Club member and considers how things have changed in that time
I joined my local club, Banchory, when I was eight years old and it has been a central part of my life since then.
I was junior champion and junior captain. I joined the committee in my 30s and was club captain in 2018 and 2019. I have played for teams at both junior and adult level and, as Mrs Bisset would confirm, I have spent a large part of my waking life there.
I love the place, the course, the beautiful setting beside the majestic River Dee, the camaraderie and “most” of the people. I will, hopefully, remain a member until death do us part.
I was asked recently by a colleague about how the club has changed over the last four decades and I couldn’t really give a satisfactory answer on the spot.
I decided to think about it and, to your question Nick, this is a more considered response than the “Quite a Bit” I initially blurted out.
These are the five biggest changes I’ve seen at my club. How has your club changed? Let us know in the comment box below.
The Cost
The cost of annual subs is going up, and up!
This is the obvious one. Golf club membership has become far more expensive in the last 40 years. And I’m not simply talking about inflation.
My father found an old receipt that shows, in 1991, annual subs at Banchory for ordinary membership were just £120. For this year, it’s £910.
The Bank of England’s inflation calculator shows that goods and services costing £120 in 1991 would cost £283.40 today.
Our subs have gone up by more than £600 above inflation in the last 35 years. That seems insane.
What are the reasons for it? There are a few and those will be covered by the other changes I’m about to go through.
A Changing Membership
When I first joined as a nipper, Banchory had a waiting list – not only for adults but also for juniors. In fact, the junior waiting list was as long as the one for adults at one point. Parents would put their kids’ names down as soon as they were born.
For ordinary membership, the waiting list was at least three years (up to five or six) in the late 80s and early 90s. The members were also all local.
The club had a policy that you could only become an ordinary member if you lived within a certain radius of the clubhouse – It was something like eight miles. There was a joining fee that, at that time, was double the annual sub.
It was truly a town club though and a large % of the town were members. It was quite a closed shop, and a bit old fashioned in that regard I guess – A local club for local people!
Today, we are nearly 200 ordinary members down on the maximum allowed by the constitution.
We are always trying to attract members from further afield. That’s largely through necessity but perhaps also because of a more open-minded attitude that players are willing to travel further to be members of courses and clubs they would like to be a part of.
Members now are more likely to switch clubs more readily. In the 1980s (when there were joining fees at all the local clubs), people would pick a club and stick with it.
Now there’s a greater turnover and more competition to attract and retain members. 40 years ago, the members at Banchory would have known nearly all the other members. That is no longer the case.
So, this is a key reason subs have gone up above inflation. We no longer have a waiting list, and we don’t have a full complement of ordinary members. The shortfall must be covered by the members we do have. Also – we no longer have joining fees, so that income is removed.
Raised Expectations On Course
It costs money to get Augusta looking as good as it does!
As players have become more itinerant in the last 40 years, they have seen what’s available elsewhere. They have seen immaculate golf courses on TV. They have played top-quality courses elsewhere in the country.
They expect a certain standard at their home course. And that standard is higher than it was in 1990. To get a course to their expected standard is expensive.
Members demand quality playing surfaces, winter course improvements, constant forward progress. When I first joined, members were happy that the grass was cut nicely and the place looked tidy.
There’s another reason we are paying way above inflation for membership – We need more manpower, more resources, better machinery, better facilities to deliver an on-course product that members will be satisfied with.
Changes in the clubhouse
The clubhouse at Banchory
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the clubhouse was a huge money spinner. It was constantly packed – People eating, drinking, smoking (we used to sell cigarettes,) socialising every single day.
The fruit machines were whirring, making something like £12k per year. Pints would flow; people would play darts and snooker. There were social events most weekends. The clubhouse was like a bustling pub, and it generated income.
Now the clubhouse is a drain on resources rather than a profit maker. That is no fault of the club, it’s simply a reflection of changes in the way people socialise.
People tend to play golf and leave in 2026. People don’t go in for a pint or two, or a glass of wine like they used to.
They also don’t go “out” for a pint or two or a glass of wine like they used to. They now have big screen TVs at home, and they tend to stay in and chat over WhatsApp rather than going to the club to meet friends or watch a football match for instance.
Golf clubs are suffering the same fate as pubs up and down the country. People are not going to them! We no longer make big money in the clubhouse, so our subs must go up. Simple.
A More Relaxed Attitude
We've moved on a bit...
This is a positive one to finish – The club is now a much more tolerant place!
Banchory has never been a stuffy club, but things have definitely relaxed considerably over the last decades. When I first joined, juniors weren’t allowed in the lounge unless accompanied by an adult. There was a dress code at the front door.
I can imagine that non-members were made to feel a bit like intruders rather than welcomed guests.
Now, there’s no dress code, visitors are welcomed with open arms, juniors are encouraged at every step. There’s just a more chilled out vibe. All are welcome and everyone is equal at Banchory golf club… We just need more people to come and use it!
