Racquet Sports Are Making the Difference in Private Club Success
From the past when tennis and swimming pools were added to country clubs, this was the way to make country clubs more family-friendly. Then we added fitness as members demanded it. Then, not that many years ago the racquet part of country clubs was reawakened with other racquet sports like paddle tennis, and then pickleball exploded the country club scene with the tennis/pickleball competition.
You might say that pickleball changed everything in the racquet world. Why did pickleball become so popular? Well, it was more fun for members, more social, easier to play and you could build three pickleball courts on every tennis court, if land was scarce. And then tennis, in its evolution, became a game of 95 MPH serves, super players and very rigorous play (i.e., not much fun for the average member). And thus, all racquet sports have had a rebirth in country clubs.
But the real rebirth in racquet sports is to come for to the non-golf, social, recreation clubs across North America. If we look to Canada, we in the U.S. can learn something from our northern neighbor on how their non-golf club world has evolved.
LEARNING FROM CANADA
The Canadian private club marketplace has always had a different private club composition. In Canada, there are golf clubs primarily for adults and specialty recreation clubs for families and non-golfers. Just in Toronto alone they have many large specialty clubs focused on non-golf activities like The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, The Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, the Granite Club, The Badminton and Racquet Club, etc. that have focused on strong racquet offerings of squash, tennis, badminton, paddle tennis, racquetball, etc. in lieu of golf offerings.
United States non-golf clubs are achieving/expanding success with racquet programs. Like Canada, the family recreation, multi-sports club is growing in the United States following the lead from for-profit clubs like Lifetime Fitness which is adding racquet sports to their primary wellness/fitness programs to attract a greater swath of new members.
Country Club of Detroit
In St. Louis alone, Lifetime Fitness has a two-year waitlist for new members joining as it has acquired the largest indoor/outdoor racquet club in the city. Throughout the United States, every major city has its family urban recreation club like the two St. Louis clubs (The Racquet Club and the West Missouri Athletic Club), Country Club of Detroit the Carriage Club in Kansas City, The Denver Athletic Club, the three such clubs in Chicago of Saddle & Cycle Club, East Bank Club and the University Club, the Johnathan Club in Los Angeles, The Briar Club in Houston, etc.
Many sports-focused, urban clubs of yesteryear have been transformed into broad appeal clubs with strong racquet programs serving thousands of members who join for the social and recreational camaraderie which only private clubs provide, and they do it for 75 percent less cost than golf-focused country clubs in their marketplaces. And in almost all instances, it is the diversity offered with racquet facilities and dining/social programs that provide a plethora of fun introduced.
EXPANDING AND IMPROVING RACQUET SPORTS IS A PATH FOR CLUB SUCCESS
Racquet sports growth in private clubs is the new opportunity to attract more members and usage for all age groups with the best value for cost offering leading the way. There is a racquet sport for all members as there is now even wheelchair tennis for the physically handicapped. The downtown city club of yesteryear is expanding to serve the residential growth in downtown areas. The same clubs are opening suburban branches and the Lifetime Fitness clubs have joined the expansion too. And thanks to the growing popularity of racquet sports available on a year-round basis, all clubs can experience a rebirth primarily based on expanding racquet sports enjoyment.
-As seen in BoardRoom Magazine July/August 2025
About Bill McMahon, Sr. AIA, OAA
Bill is a strategic, financial and architectural planning consultant to clubs throughout North America. He established McMahon Group in 1983 as an affiliate of the family architectural firm his grandfather founded in 1906. Over the ensuing years, the firm has expanded its club consulting services beyond clubhouse improvement planning to a full range of services for all aspects of private club challenges. To date, the firm has assisted more than 2,000 private clubs across the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. McMahon Group provides a unique approach to developing club facility projects first establishing design and financial feasibility so membership approval is achieved. Thereafter final design and construction firms are selected to build the member approved project.
Mr. McMahon is unique among club consultants in providing an integrated strategic, financial and architectural approach to solving club problems. His personal involvement with his own clubs in St. Louis (serving in the roles of president, board member and committee member) has allowed him to bring unparalleled experience to each client. Mr. McMahon’s club memberships have included Bellerive Country Club (St. Louis), Racquet Club Ladue (St. Louis), University Club of St. Louis, Spring Lake Yacht Club (Michigan) and the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.
Mr. McMahon is a graduate of Washington University School of Architecture in St. Louis and holds architecture licenses in 44 U.S. states and in Ontario, Canada. He is a featured author in industry publications and a featured speaker at the annual conferences of the Club Managers Association of America, the Canadian Society of Club Managers, the National Club Association and the Hospitality, Financial and Technology Professionals. He serves as a visiting lecturer at continuing education sessions offered by regional CMAA chapters and at Michigan State University. Bill is a co-author of McMahon Club Trends®, the comprehensive research reports on strategic issues facing private clubs published with the National Club Association. He is also founder of the Excellence in Club Management Award.
Mr. McMahon is a member of the American Institute of Architects, and the National Club Association. He is a former president of the Missouri Council of Architects, AIA and has served on various charitable boards in the St. Louis area.