General Manager
Keep the members you have, and help new ones settle in.
From your seatRenewals arrive all at once, and by then the decisions are made. You need to know who’s drifting while there’s still time to talk.
Built around your part of the club.
Every club chooses the features that suit it when M-U-M is set up, and updates arrive weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Membership Health
The shape of your membership at a glance: who is settled, who joined recently and who may not renew, for each membership type, alongside this year’s joiners and leavers.
Partner the nine into regular groups before March.
The first two years matter most: settle new members into groups early.
Membership grew by 26 this year, but 29 members show two or more warning signs: more than this year’s growth.
Contact the five suggested members in Renewal Risks, and keep the waiting list warm.
Renewal Risks
The early warning signs, months before renewal: fewer rounds, little or no spend in the clubhouse and pro shop, no more competitions. The earlier you see them, the earlier someone can be in touch.
1Peter Walsh7-Day Full · 12 years · renews March3 signs
Why nowPlays most of his golf with Steve Hall and Ken Price. If Peter goes, they may be next.
Ask after Peter, not his membership. Steve and Ken, his usual partners, still play most Wednesday mornings.
Best placed: The Club Captain · You decide what to say
2Neil Burton7-Day Full · 4 years · renews February3 signs
Why nowRenews soonest of the five.
Neil’s handicap is up 2.4 since his last lesson. Offer a check-up lesson.
Best placed: The Head Pro · You decide what to say
3Diane HughesSenior · 21 years · renews March3 signs
Why nowOne of the club’s longest-serving members. The change came in August.
Diane’s usual Sunday roast stopped in August. Ask if anything has changed, and invite Diane to lunch.
Best placed: The General Manager · You decide what to say
4Gill Morton5-Day · 8 years · renews April2 signs
Why nowStill playing, but no longer entering competitions or staying after golf.
Invite Gill to partner a newer member in the next pairs competition, her favourite.
Best placed: The Lady Captain · You decide what to say
5Tom Brennan7-Day Full · Joined last April · renews April3 signs
Why nowFirst renewal coming up, with warning signs.
Invite Tom to the new members’ evening, and introduce him to the Saturdays 8am group.
Best placed: The Membership Secretary · You decide what to say
Start with the eleven renewing soonest. The five to contact are the first of them.
18 of the 29 are playing less, staying less after golf and have stopped entering competitions, all at the same time. 11 renew within six months.
Contact the five suggested members this week, each by the person best placed to call.
Waiting List
See how many places are likely to open, who is next in line for each membership, and who on the list hasn’t heard from the club lately.
Offer places to those who already know the club, and update the rest.
Already part of club life as a guest, but hasn’t heard from us in months. Offer first when a place opens.
Next in line for one of the 8 likely 5-Day places.
Hasn’t played the course yet. Invite her to the open day before offering a place.
A season update now, before renewals, with a date for the open day.
Invite him to the open day.
Let her know places are likely in the spring.
29 places are likely to open at renewal, on current renewal chances. 18 people on the waiting list have already played here as guests this year.
Invite those 18 to the spring open day, before renewals go out.
New Members
See who hasn’t found a group or played a competition yet, and introduce them to the right people.
Introduce them to a regular group, and invite them to the next roll-up.
The pattern to catch early in this year’s 81.
New members who play with the same partner three times in their first two months spend twice as much in the clubhouse by summer. 29 of this season’s 81 haven’t yet.
Introduce the 29 to a regular group this month.
Member Communities
The playing groups that hold the club together, who sits outside them, and whose regular partners are drifting.
A strong group. Ask them to welcome one new member each.
Keep the group together: the Club Captain’s call to Peter matters.
Introduce the eleven newest to a group first.
Steve is still settled. Ask him to help bring Peter back out on Wednesdays.
Two reasons to be in touch: his partner is drifting and his game is struggling.
Mo is starting to follow Liz. A call to both, from the same person.
14 members play more than half their rounds with someone who is drifting. If their partner goes, they may be next.
Speak to the group, not just the member.
Budget Forecast
Next year’s subscriptions as a likely figure and a range, with what-ifs for the committee. Try it: move the slider to see what keeping more members is worth.
Each one kept protects about £2,300 a year in all.
Each member who stays protects about £1,520 of subscriptions, plus around £780 a year across the clubhouse, pro shop and lessons.
Keeping ten of the 29 likely leavers is worth about £15k in subscriptions alone.
Total Member Value
The value of a member goes beyond their subscription: clubhouse, pro shop, lessons and the green fees their guests pay. See it for each membership, and where spend is missing.
Thank them, and ask each to bring a guest this season.
Help 7-Day members into groups: it lifts more than golf.
A midweek lunch offer suits 5-Day members.
Seniors are clubhouse regulars: keep the morning coffee trade strong.
Lesson packs and weekend group play keep them through to full membership.
A 7-Day Full member is worth half as much again as their subscription. Many of the 112 members spending under £100 a year in the clubhouse finish their round after the kitchen closes.
Try a later food offer on weekday evenings.
Personal Touches
Birthdays, holes in one, competition wins, handicap drops and membership anniversaries, gathered in one place so no moment goes unmarked.
A note from the Club Captain at Saturday’s tee time, and his usual on the club.
A mention in the newsletter, with a well done from the Pro.
A card at the desk, and his coffee on the club.
A well done from the Pro, and an invitation to her first competition.
3 milestones and 4 competition wins this month. Two of the winners also dropped two shots off their handicap.
One note from the Captain can mark both.
Invented example of a club with 630 playing members, the UK average. All names and figures are made up.
What lands on your desk
The Captain to call this week.
Invented names and figures.
The rest of your team
See what your club already knows.
We’re inviting a small number of founding clubs to join this season. A short conversation is the best way to see whether M-U-M fits yours.