Trend Three: The Ladies of the Club

Recommending that your club increase membership and participation by women might be as simple as saying, “It’s the right thing to do.” These modern times demand nothing less; but, in case more ammunition is needed, here are a few compelling stats for your consideration:

• • According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), in response to a question on the likelihood to remain a member of their club over the next five-year period, member households where both husband and wife play golf had a commitment level to membership that was four times greater than that of member households with a single golfer. That is powerful stuff!
  • The Millennial generation is the largest in US history. They are about to enter their peak spending years (ages 25 to 45) and their peak club joining years (ages 35 to 45). They have come of age in a different time and they place much higher value on gender and racial equality than prior generations of Americans. They are known to reject organizations that discriminate out-of-hand and support those that don’t.
  • Fully, 75% of Millennials live in dual-income households and in some 38% of these households, the women are the primary breadwinners. In a world where club membership is a personal choice, not something funded by a corporation for business purposes, do you think these households are more likely to spend money on something that benefits only one or both?
  • According to CNBC, female golfers account for 40% of the over 8 million Millennial visitors to off-course facilities such as Topgolf. In addition, women make up over one-third of the 3 million junior golfers in the US.

We might just say it’s the right thing to do.