Manly Golf Club - Membership Category Review | Page 16

SUMMARY CONCLUSION
AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Category Numbers Review

Ladies Bridge

The data shows a decline in the male 7 Day category
throughout the years. Membership as whole reduced by
almost 200 across the categories from 2000 to 2013. There
was heavy attrition during the reconstruction of the course
however numbers have steadily increased, post construction,
and at the end of 2016 membership levels reached 1562
members in total, only 16 members behind the peak of 2000.

In a review of clubhouse facility utilisation, across the 7
days of the week, it was identified that the MGC Bridge
Club was increasing in popularity with an average of
60 - 70 players per event. Further investigation and then
consultation with Maureen Collins revealed an opportunity
to expand the MGC Bridge club via a mixed competition,
with Thursday being the suggested day. This also fits well
with facility availability, in the preferred upstairs Trophy
and Dining rooms, as this area was previously retained for
Corporate Days.

With membership enquiry remaining strong it is envisaged
the 5 Day male category will reach capacity in 2017 with
the same occurring in the 7 Day male category by 2020. It
should be noted that during the next 10 years it is expected
attrition will remain between 4% to 5% due to the age of
members as noted in a “Risk of attrition table” created for
this review.
The long term view is that the Introductory Membership
category drive will taper as demand strengthens, however, in
the short term the challenges of driving members growth to
“full house” still exists.
In the next 10 years some 149 members will retire, based on
the expected threshold of playing being 80-85 years.

Ladies Golf

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Junior membership
In 2000, when the Club was last at its peak of membership,
the junior categories had a total of 24 players. Over the
last 3 to 4 years an excellent junior program, assisted by
Club volunteers, has seen the junior categories grow to 52
juniors and 29 cadets. The goal is to have a strong enough
junior membership to field the various junior teams and
recommend the Match Committee reviews the junior’s
events calendar with a view of running events to foster
camaraderie amongst this category to aid in retention
during their late teens and early twenties

Once the male membership categories reach capacity the
only possible area for growth will be with the female 5 Day
and Social categories. At time of writing this report the Ladies
5 Day category has 80 available places. This is a significant
number and if achieved would provide greater balance to our
membership and financial security to the Club.

The introduction of booking rules for Juniors ensures the
increasing numbers within the category will not negatively
affect the full paying members whilst still fostering these
players within competition golf.

The Ladies Committee, with the assistance of Allison Mueller,
MGC Member, has created a structured program for the
Introductory ladies which is attracting a greater number of
new ladies to this category and we anticipate improved takeup of full playing membership on completion of the program.

To address the trend of new members moving away from a
7 Day category to a 5 Day category the Board may wish to
consider placing economies of scale around subscription
fee pricing to provide some benefit to those members
within the premium 7 Day category.

www.manlygolf.com.au

Subscription fee review