Our father used to be a member of the Manukau Golf Club. We've played the course a number of times, but not for many years. It's a scenic spot, bordering the Manukau Harbour, which makes it prime real estate, as the Herald reports:
Two of Auckland's best-known golf courses could become covered by hundreds of houses in business offers made to financially struggling clubs.
Furthest advanced is an estimated $32 million deal proposed by Fletcher Residential and Ross Reid Contractors for the Manukau Golf Club, under which the club would move to make way for more than 500 houses. Members of the Takanini-based club will vote on the offer before March.
The Grange Club in Papatoetoe, host to five New Zealand Opens, has received a similar offer, which is not as far advanced.
Both courses are zoned residential in an area where such land is now at a premium.
Golf clubs throughout New Zealand are struggling for members, and Manukau is no different. Whilst golf club membership in New Zealand is incredibly cheap by international standards and freely available, a golf club subscription still takes a wad of cash out of the average bloke's wallet. Dwindling membership meansl less cashflow for the club, and the only remedy is to raise fees; it's a vicious circle. Manukau is no exception - read on:
The offers come at a time when club memberships are under pressure, while expenses continue to rise.
The average age of members is more than 60 and there is a limit to what they are prepared to pay.
At weekends, tee times are in demand; for much of the week some very valuable real estate is sparsely populated.
Stewart Halligan, general manager at Manukau, said the club had a large bank debt to service and lost money last year.
The landscape of Auckland has changed enormously since the days when we played at Manukau. The drive from Howick to Otara to get to the motorway was through farmland. When the Pakuranga County Club was developed, it was just that; out in the country. Botany and Dannemora were still just a dream. Population growth has changed all that.
There has to be a sweetener for the Manukau Golf Club to even consider moving, and there is:
The deal, if approved, would see a new international-standard club course developed with a par of 72, sand-based greens and sand-capped playing areas. There would be comprehensive practice facilities, including undercover driving bays and target greens.
The clubhouse would have a lounge and restaurant overlooking the course, a sprig bar overlooking the 18th green and a pro shop.
The course designer would be Brett Thomson of RBT Design, who was responsible for The Hills and Clearwater courses in the South Island. Consultant to the designers would be leading New Zealand professional Phil Tataurangi.
We wish the members of the Manukau Golf Club well as they ponder the way ahead. Do they give up some of their heritage in a bid to save the club from financial ruin, or do they tough it out in the hope that membership will slowly increase, and the debt levels can be reduced. It's a dilemma, but it is a sign of the times.
3 comments:
You highlight a very real problem Iv2 with the ageing membership and the substantial cost structure to actually enjoy membership of a good club but a significant problem is not addressed. Many of those members now find welcoming and encouraging ordinary Joe Blogg members to the club then making them feel as if they actually belong and not treat them as a source of income to ensure the clubs survival. There are far too many stories where superiority, clickiness and downright arrogance contribute to the disillusionment of potential members. How often do clubs who bend over to accommodate a "spoilt brat" with natural ability to die for, while at the same time making hacker grade players feel like they have stood on a steamy pile of dogshit. Players going round day after day in the same four instead of a serious attempt to integrate newer players with true draws and a genuine attempt at inclusivity.
Having moved around the country and been a member of many clubs I have seen too many mens and womens clubs drive away members often with benign neglect, as opposed to a genuine attempt to grow the club spirit that was often forged with working bees when clubs were established.
Spot on, GD. Those "regular fours" are an enemy of membership growth and positive integration of valuable new members.
The replacement offer to Manukau Golf Club sounds pretty reasonable, as long as the intended location is not too far away from the present site. But I would fear that on its new site the Club would soon re-invent the same cycle of poor cashflow and growing debt. Business models of most New Zealand golf clubs just don't work any more, relying on their traditional formats of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. There is simply too much asset value devoted to inadequate revenue streams.
Golf and bowls are both decline as active 40 and 50 year olds carry on playing competitive sports. This trend is merely indicative of a societal move in New Zealand for adults over forty to engage in healthy recreation rather than a semi-sedimentary activity with rules befitting the landed gentry of 18th Century England. Most sports grow and move with the times. Even traditional ones like cricket – where the shortened 20/20 version is now the most popular. But not pretentious golf. Practitioners and their legion of committee members would rather watch courses close than go with the times. I’m in my fifties and view golf as an old gezzers activity. Seeing golf courses close is positive news in my books. Make them all into mountain-bike tracks and encourage healthy activity where you work-up a sweat.
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