Not so long time ago, I have reported that Troon Privé selected to manage Powder Horn Golf Club. From tomorrow, they will become a private golf club. The change to private achieves a long-time goal of the club and is nearly 19 years in the making.
Powder Horn Golf Club memberships are still available at several levels and residency in The Powder Horn community is not required for club membership.
The Premium Golf level, priced at $450 per month, includes exclusive and unlimited access to all of the club’s amenities, including: the 27-hole championship golf course, swimming pool, fitness center, tennis courts, fly fishing, scenic hiking trails, and clubhouse – featuring the Powder Horn Grill restaurant and Cowboy Bar – as well as fun social activities. In addition, the Premium Golf membership also includes the global benefits of the Troon Privé Privilege program.
Does it worth to become a private golf club?
I would say it depends on. If there are enough people who can afford a private golf club membership then such golf clubs will exist. But because of the structure, it is very easy to fail. In 2014, the National Golf Federation found that the number of private club members has fallen to about 1.9 million. Another National Golf Federation survey says that more private golf clubs are now open to the public.
This is exactly the opposite direction than what the Powder Horn Golf Club has decided to follow.
I cannot stress enough to pay more attention to the new generation called the Millennials to succeed in the future. Today there are more Millennials than Baby Boomers according to U.S. Census: 83.1 million vs. 75.4 million. Unfortunately, for Millennials golf is considered as a pricey spare time activity. Even the perception of golf is unfavorable because they consider it elitist.
This should worry golf clubs because the Millennials are moving closer (from 2020) toward higher spending and earning ages, and it would be great if they would spend more money in golf clubs like the Powder Horn Golf Club. In addition to this, I see a steady decline in U.S. population over the past 20 years. Due to the lower supply, it will be difficult to recruit more private golf club members.
We can mitigate the dire situation by:
- providing more family-friendly (women, kids + more flexible with members’ friends) membership policy and social programs in the golf club.
- bestowing more customized services by utilizing for instance social technologies.
