Club News
Good News!
We're not closing after all!
We have reverted to the "old" 9 holes, and for the time being have dispensed with bar and catering facilities, but at least we have managed to save the club meantime.
Golf's dilemma
The downturn in the economy, a lack of new members, and the natural retirement of older members has resulted in very many clubs struggling to keep going.
Golf itself has many problems in generating new ways to keep interest in the particpatory side of the game, but when you have so many attractions and so little time to do them, then people will naturally prioritise the way they spend their spare leisure time and cash. People just don't play as much golf as they might have in the past.
This has a knock on effect everywhere but members clubs of all types are feeling the pinch. It's a tricky situation, because without members, you can't have a club, nor a course, but without courses to play, golfers will drift off elsewhere. This means that the golf courses that do survive this downturn will be over subscribed, and probably expensive, so the members of clubs like ours will probably be lost to the game.
Things do change with time and Beith Golf Club is no different to anywhere else. If people don't want to play golf, or at least be a member of a golf club, then they won't.
In Autumn 2017, it was decided that we could not afford to keep going the way we were, as there was not enough income to keep the club running for the forthcoming year. The club did not have any debt so it was an easy enough decision to close down, because redundancies etc could be paid with what assets and cash were available to avoid having the members being pursued for any liabilities.
However, it was put forward that 9 holes may be a way to save the club as long as enough members committed to pay for one more season at least.
As of January 2018, a faithful band of members did promise to carry on for the upcoming year and hopefully all the trials and tribulations of the coming year will give us an indication whether it is a feasible long term project.
Here's hoping.
