1

An Investigation into the Marketing Strategies of West London Golf Clubs:

Understanding the Influences and Approaches

By

Andrew Turner

April 2016

This dissertation is submitted in fulfilment of the degree of Bachelor of Sciences,

Applied Golf Management Studies at the University of Birmingham

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Acknowledgements

The undertaking of this dissertation has been made significantly more enjoyable thanks to the

support of Gary Jackson throughout.

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Abstract

The lack of research on the strategic marketing practices of golf clubs in England is an area that

warrants research, partly due to the popularity of the sport but also due to the difficulties that the sport

has experienced over the past ten years, specifically the reduction in participation and the subsequent

financial impact. This study investigated the approach to marketing that golf clubs in West London

adopted, analysing what influenced their approach and what their marketing approach consisted of.

Six participants, all in sole charge of their clubs marketing strategy, were interviewed using semi-

structured interviews with questions focussing on how the golf club approached marketing and how

their marketing strategy was developed. Thematic analysis on the interview transcripts revealed

influencers that were both internal and external to the golf club as well as facilitative and restrictive.

The key themes that emerged included the acknowledgement that the most restrictive influencers

were the club’s finances and the resistance to change by some members, whereas the most facilitative

was the manager’s background and membership oversight. These findings suggest that golf clubs

need to allow for, and understand, club and external influencing variables when developing marketing

plans. Furthermore clubs need to ensure that their subsequently developed marketing approach is

appropriate for their club, and that the marketing strategy is not simply a reflection of those

influencing variables which may or may not be conducive to marketing, and business, success.

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1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 6

2.0 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 7

2.1 Current English Golf Market Background .................................................................... 7

2.2 Growing Desire for Change in the Industry .................................................................. 8

2.3 The Growth of the Nomadic Golfer and Latent Demand ............................................. 8

2.4 Linking the Opportunity with Marketing ...................................................................... 9

2.5 Strategic Planning for SMEs ......................................................................................... 9

2.6 Strategic Marketing for SMEs .................................................................................... 10

2.7 Financial Implications on Marketing .......................................................................... 11

2.8 Environmental Influence on Marketing Strategy ........................................................ 12

2.9 Management / Owner Influence on Marketing Strategy ............................................. 12

2.10 Customer Proximity in SMEs ................................................................................... 13

3.0 Methods................................................................................................................................... 15

3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 15

3.2 Sample ......................................................................................................................... 15

3.3 Interview Structure ...................................................................................................... 16

3.4 Pilot Study ................................................................................................................... 16

3.5 Data Collection and Transcription .............................................................................. 17

3.6 Data Saturation ............................................................................................................ 17

3.7 Reflexivity ................................................................................................................... 18

3.8 Ethics ........................................................................................................................... 18

4.0 Results & Discussion .............................................................................................................. 20

4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 20

4.2 Marketing Influences .................................................................................................. 20

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4.2.1 Internal Influences ....................................................................................... 21

4.2.1.1 Club Finances ............................................................................................ 21

4.2.1.2 Resistance to Change ................................................................................ 22

4.2.1.3 Membership Oversight .............................................................................. 23

4.2.1.4 Club Facilities ........................................................................................... 24

4.2.1.5 Participant Background ............................................................................. 25

4.2.2 External Influences ...................................................................................... 26

4.2.2.1 Economic Environment ............................................................................ 26

4.2.2.2 Competition............................................................................................... 27

4.3 Marketing Approaches ................................................................................................ 28

4.3.1 Networking .................................................................................................. 28

4.3.2 Cross-Marketing (Partnerships) ................................................................... 29

4.3.3 Word of Mouth ............................................................................................ 30

4.3.4 E-Marketing ................................................................................................. 31

4.3.5 Traditional Media ......................................................................................... 32

4.4 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 33

4.5 Areas for Future Investigation .................................................................................... 34

5.0 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 35

6.0 References ............................................................................................................................... 36

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1.0 Introduction

Golf is one of the most popular sports in England with over 750,000 weekly participants and 1.15m

playing monthly (England Golf, 2014b) across 1,923 golf courses generating in excess of £3bn for

the UK economy each year (KPMG, 2016). Although the popularity of the sport has declined over

the past decade (England Golf, 2014a) participation levels in the sport have recently begun to stabilise

and the outlook for the sport is improving (KPMG, 2016).

Golf has received limited scholarly attention, and there have been calls by academics for further

research to be undertaken on all aspects of the sport (Perkins, Mincyte and Cole, 2010). More

specifically, limited attention has been paid to the strategic marketing practices of golf clubs, a

position which is not uncommon across the sporting landscape (Brooksbank, Garland and Werder,

2012). While there are a plethora of research studies summarising the current state of the game in

England (e.g. Sports Marketing Surveys, 2013; England Golf, 2014a), advocating changes to the way

golf clubs operate (Syngenta, 2013; Syngenta, 2014), and outlining suggested strategic plans

(England Golf, 2014b), only two studies (Garland, Brooksbank and Werder, 2011; Brooksbank,

Garland and Werder, 2012) have been published analysing the contribution of strategic marketing to

golf club performance. Of these two studies only one (Brooksbank, Garland and Werder, 2012)

focused on the British golf market while none has yet concentrated solely on England.

The article by Brooksbank, Garland and Werder (2012) looked at golf clubs that undertook a strategic

approach to marketing, concluding that the adoption of such an approach improved performance.

However, research into what influences the marketing approach of golf clubs has not received any

academic attention. This dissertation aims to move our understanding of marketing in English golf

clubs forward by undertaking a qualitative research study that used semi-structured interviews on six

golf clubs in West London before subsequently undertaking inductive thematic analysis.

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2.0 Literature Review

Golf in England is currently in the midst of a substantial change in operating conditions, influenced

by a shift in economic and social factors that has resulted in golf facilities being forced to evolve and

adapt in order to meet these macroeconomic changes (Brooksbank, Garland and Werder, 2012). This

section initially examines the current operating environment, identifies market trends, and provides

clarity on the backdrop under which golf clubs in England are operating. Subsequently a literature

review focusing on the marketing practices of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) is

presented, with particular emphasis on how SMEs develop their marketing plan, the rationale behind

these efforts, and ultimately what has been shown to be successful and relevant.

2.1 Current English Golf Market Background

Within Europe, England is the largest golfing market with the most golf courses and the greatest

number of registered golfers (defined as golf club members) at 16% and 27% respectively (KPMG,

2016). Golf is the fifth most popular sport in England with over 750,000 people playing weekly and

1.15m playing monthly (England Golf, 2014b); it also contributes in excess of £3bn to the UK

economy each year (KPMG, 2016).

Despite this strong market presence, golf club membership has steadily been decreasing in England;

figures provided by Sports Marketing Surveys (2014) suggests that the number of golf club members

has declined from an average of 507 in 2012 to 499 in 2014, with KPMG (2016) reporting a 2%

decline in English golf club membership over the past year. This trend is the continuation of a decade-

long decline that has seen golf club membership reduce by 180,000, resulting in non-club members

now outnumbering club members by a multiple of three (England Golf 2014b). More recent research

by KPMG (2016) suggests that the number of registered golfers is now beginning to stabilise, with

many English counties recently reporting an increase in golf club membership.

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2.2 Growing Desire for Change in the Industry

In conjunction with the reduction in golf club membership several industry specific factors have also

been highlighted which could be negatively impacting membership, including image, friendliness,

flexibility and lack of appeal to female golfers (England Golf 2014b, Syngenta, 2013; Sports

Marketing Surveys, 2013).

There is an increasing demand for the modification and adaptation of club rules such as dress code

and phone usage, along with more demographic specific membership options, that cater to a wider

range of generations rather than just the traditionalists (Sports Marketing Surveys, 2013; Syngenta,

2013). It is therefore becoming increasingly important for clubs to regularly assess the demographics

of their membership catchment area and develop appropriate membership and product offerings that

cater to these demands (Jackson, Barrows and Ferreira, 2015), while at the same time not simply

segmenting membership categories based on age but rather on a potential members’ needs and wants

(Sports Marketing Surveys, 2013; England Golf, 2014a).

The lack of female participation in golf has been highlighted as a key obstacle to overcome in order

to stimulate membership and participation (England Golf, 2014b; Syngenta, 2013). England has one

of the lowest female to male membership ratios in Europe, just 14% of golf club members are female

(KPMG, 2016). Furthermore, Syngenta (2014) found that barriers to female participation included

the length of time to play, the dominance of men within the sport, and the awkwardness that a beginner

would expect to feel when initially taking up a sport that is viewed as both challenging and burdened

by rules. Clearly golf clubs who can market themselves while addressing the concerns of female

participants should be able to attract additional golf club members.

2.3 The Growth of the Nomadic Golfer and Latent Demand

England Golf (2014b) believe that the level of club membership is a key indicator of the state of the

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game and have a strong desire to increase membership, thereby strengthening long-term participation

in the sport. Contrary to this ambition is a trend in the industry that has seen a significant number of

golfers giving up their golf club membership while remaining active players, the ‘nomadic golfer’,

defined as golfers who play itinerant golf but are not registered with a national golf federation (Sports

Marketing Surveys, 2014). The number of golfers who can be attributed to this category is estimated

to be approximately 2.1mm (England Golf, 2014b), representing approximately 73% of all golfers

(Sports Marketing Surveys, 2014). These nomadic golfers offer an enormous opportunity for golf

facilities throughout England, as do the 830,000 potential latent golfers who have shown an interest

in taking up the game but have not yet acted upon that desire (England Golf, 2014a).

2.4 Linking the Opportunity with Marketing

In the current operating environment, it is imperative that golf clubs offer, “a holistic experience that

encompasses both golfing and social benefits over independent play, whilst recognising the financial

and time restrictions placed on players” (England Golf, 2014a, p. 5). Moving forward it is those clubs

who can embrace and adapt to the changes in society, local demographics, and environment who will

prosper (Brooksbank, Garland and Werder, 2012). To that end marketing initiatives are key

ingredients of a strategic plan that provides the foundations for growth and success (Garland,

Brooksbank and Werder, 2011), especially in times of economic turmoil (Ferreira and Gustafson,

2006) such as golf has experienced of late.

2.5 Strategic Planning for SMEs

Although a definitive relationship between strategic planning and the subsequent performance of an

organisation has not yet to proven beyond doubt (Song et al., 2011), there exists a wide body of

research that eschews the benefit of strategic planning (e.g. Capon, Farley and Hulbert, 1994). A

formalised strategic planning process, one that is methodical and structured (Anderson, 2000), is

argued by Ansoff (1965) to be a critical business process that ensures organisations are not only

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efficient with their time and management resources, but also allows businesses to adequately assess

and exploit market opportunities. In contrast, Mintzberg (1979) suggests that a plan that evolves over

time and is less structured, an emergent strategy, is more appropriate and allows management to be

more, “open, flexible and responsive” (Mintzberg and Waters, 1985, p. 271), an approach that

depends on the type of firm, and the environment in which it operates (Ansoff, 1965).

Although the link between strategic planning and performance for the SME is still in its nascence

many do engage in a formalised strategic planning process, and it has been shown to contribute to

improved SME business performance (Peel and Bridge, 1998; Kraus, Harms and Schwarz, 2006).

While the process is often formalised through the writing of a business plan, the lack of tools and

sophisticated techniques available to smaller firms limits the practice and reduces the appropriateness

of such methods (Wiesner and Millett, 2012). Despite SMEs undertaking deliberate and formalised

approaches with an overriding short-term focus on results their plans tend to be flexible allowing

them to be regularly adapted according to business circumstances (Stonehouse and Pemberton, 2002);

a strategic planning approach that (Grant, 2003, p. 513) refers to as, “planned emergence.” This

approach to planning by smaller firms allows for enhanced flexibility and ensures that businesses can

respond dynamically to their environment, in effect continually learning and planning (Brinckmann,

Grichnik and Kapsa, 2010).

2.6 Strategic Marketing for SMEs

Marketing has developed into a strategic component for businesses influencing strategic decision-

making that relates to such elements as defining target market, resource allocation, and competitive

positioning (Brooksbank, Garland and Taylor, 2009). Golf facilities which engage in strategic

marketing practices have been shown to perform better (Garland, Brooksbank and Werder, 2011),

suggesting that where strategic marketing helps formulate the long term strategic direction of an

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organisation it can be highly beneficial for business performance (Brooksbank, Garland and Werder,

2012).

The individuality and uniqueness of SMEs is often cited as a primary reason for the inability of

researchers to develop an in-depth understanding of their marketing practices, especially as it is

difficult to group SME’s into research-relevant clusters (Moriarty et al., 2008). Despite this there is a

growing and developing awareness that SMEs are unique entities and cannot be bracketed along with

their larger counterparts (Carson, 1990) for whom much of the formalised marketing approach is

aimed at (McCarton-Quinn and Carson, 2003). Furthermore, SMEs often undertake marketing in an

irregular and arbitrary manner (Gilmore, Carson and Grant, 2001) but it should also be acknowledged

that marketing in SMEs is context specific due to their inherent uniqueness (Reijonen, 2010)

something which influences the marketing planning process (Moriarty et al., 2008).

2.7 Financial Implications on Marketing

Gilmore (2011) concludes that for small business marketing to be effective, and for a business to

endure, then market opportunities need to be exploited as they appear, and that there should be a focus

on the financial return of any approach. With clubs averaging just 499 members and average annual

subscriptions of £827 (England Golf, 2014a) a loss of just a few members can result in a meaningful

budgetary impact hence the need for clubs to engage in customer-focussed strategic marketing efforts

that, “enables organisations to successfully adapt to, and take advantage of, their rapidly changing

business environments” (Brooksbank, Garland and Werder, 2012, p. 459). While such an approach

may seem obvious the importance is highlighted by the limited financial resources available to small

businesses, especially when undertaking marketing practices (Gilmore, Carson, and Grant, 2001).

And although there is a wide belief that the engagement in marketing practices is both costly and

cumbersome in terms of time, in reality it has been demonstrated that effective marketing can be

achieved with both low cost and simplicity (Moriarty et al., 2008).

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2.8 Environmental Influence on Marketing Strategy

An organisation’s performance is not only impacted by internal variables, it is also substantially

impacted by external variables, including the economy, luck, and competition (Falshaw, Glasiter and

Tatoglu, 2006). The evolution of a strategy that not only responds to, but reflects current market

conditions rather than one that is inflexible has been suggested to be appropriate in times of

environmental turbulence (Mintzberg and Waters, 1985), although Ansoff (1965) suggests that

market dynamics can be adequately planned for in a formalised plan. Contrary to this viewpoint, it is

argued that businesses that are operating in a dynamic operating environment, as the golf industry

currently is, a formalised and deliberate planning process can be burdensome to performance

(Fredrickson and Mitchell, 1984) and only when economic conditions are more stable would a

deliberate strategy be more appropriate (Fredrickson, 1984). As the golfing environment continues to

evolve, embrace new technologies, develop improved and enhanced business models and responds

to a more informed consumer base it could well be necessary to discard traditional operating

assumptions and adapt according to market and consumer demands (Piercy, 2002).

2.9 Management / Owner Influence on Marketing Strategy

The ownership structure and the authority of the owner or manager is cited as imparting considerable

influence on the marketing strategy and planning of SMEs (Carson and Cromie, 1989; Dobbs and

Hamilton, 2007), as well as playing a key role in deciding whether to expand or grow (Hutchison,

Quinn and Alexander, 2006). Decisions made by those at the top of an organisation impart

significance influence on both businesses direction and focus, a phenomenon that is further enhanced

by the high level of interaction of the business principal with almost all employees, imparting

influence directly rather than indirectly (Walsh and Lipinski, 2009).

Within SMEs there is an inherent requirement for managers to undertake a multitude of roles rather

than specialise in one specific area of the business (Carson, 1990) due to both the financial and human

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resource constraints (Gilmore, Carson and Grant, 2001). This can in part explain why individuals in

charge of SMEs tend to prefer informal and simplistic approaches to marketing rather than a formal

and complex approach as it is often “related to the owner/manager’s attitude to, experience of, and

expertise in marketing” (McCarton-Quinn and Carson, 2003, p. 206). This informal approach to

marketing within SMEs can be attributed to financial and human resource constraints which forces

smaller businesses to innovate and adapt according to the experience and personality of the

management, something which can be both facilitative and restrictive (Reijonen, 2008). In effect the

organisation becomes a reflection of the principal, with the principal seeking solutions and developing

strategies that are directly related to their prior experience (Resnick et al. 2016). Furthermore, while

there is arguably a need for golf club managers to have both strategic management and marketing

skills as core competencies (Koenigsfeld et al., 2012), the more innovative and creative the manager

the more likely the organisation will experience revenue growth (Blackburn, Hart and Wainwright,

2013).

2.10 Customer Proximity in SMEs

Some of the advantages that SMEs have over larger firms include their level of interaction with

customers, their ability to react quickly without the imposition of excessive bureaucracy, and their

capacity to develop products and service offerings quicker and more innovatively (Moriarty et al.,

2008). The high levels of interaction with customers allows SMEs to elicit direct feedback on

marketing ideas, engage in word of mouth promotional activities, and develop approaches that are, in

effect tried and tested, before being launched (Stokes and Lomax, 2002).

SMEs are less likely to engage in formalised marketing campaigns and instead adopt more informal

approaches that include word of mouth and networking, allowing the business to acquire new

customers through recommendations from existing suppliers and customers (Stokes and Lomax,

2002). In a study undertaken by Stokes, Syed and Lomax (2002) newly acquired customers and those

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with strong ties to the business were more likely to recommend and entice new customers than long-

standing clients of the business who were less engaged. Finally, word of mouth marketing is

especially relevant when the customer offering is a service rather than a product, such as a golf club

where there is a strong experiential component (Herr, Kardes and Kim, 1991).

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3.0 Methods

3.1 Introduction

This section details the methodology employed for obtaining and analysing the data necessary to

undertake this dissertation. Participants were chosen via a convenience and purposeful sampling

process and were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. The transcribed data was

subsequently analysed inductively, identifying themes that were relevant.

3.2 Sample

This research study sought to develop an understanding of how golf clubs in the competitive, and

populous, London county of Middlesex approached their marketing strategy, and why such an

approach was taken. The intention was to interview the individual responsible for the club’s

marketing (general manager, club secretary, marketing manager, or club professional) from a subset

of the county’s thirty-five affiliated golf clubs. Three clubs were excluded: one for being a member

of a larger group of golf clubs rather than a standalone entity; a second as it was owned and managed

by a school; and a third due to it having no contact email address; resulting in a final sample size of

thirty-two golf clubs. A convenience and purposeful sampling strategy was used to obtain participants

thereby ensuring that all participants were conveniently located within a competitive and similar

operating environment allowing for “similarities and differences in the phenomenon of interest to

emerge” (Palinkas et al., 2015, p. 534). Emails were sent to the thirty-two golf clubs and where

possible it was personalised (n=17), but where no specific contact details were available an email to

a general enquiry email address was sent (n=15). Responses were received from eight golf clubs, and

six agreed to participate in the study, representing a response and participation rate of 25.00% and

18.75% respectively. All six participants were in charge of the day to day running of the golf club,

either as general manager (n=1), secretary (n=1), or both (n=4), as well as the club’s marketing.

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3.3 Interview Structure

Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. While interviews are excellent mediums to

generate qualitative research and understand phenomena (Fontana and Frey, 1994), there are also

many difficulties, including: environmental artificiality, mutual trust, interview duration, and

seniority of the interviewee (Myers and Newman, 2007). While accepting these potential

shortcomings, efforts were made to ensure they were overcome where possible by conducting the

interviews in a relaxed and comfortable environment in order to help foster a constructive dialogue

(Myers and Newman, 2007) while remembering that, “to learn about people we must remember to

treat them as people, and they will uncover their lives to us” (Fontana and Frey, 1994, p. 374).

During the interviews participants were encouraged, through a series of targeted questions and further

exploration, to discuss their backgrounds, their current approach to marketing, the club’s marketing

policy, current business challenges, marketing strategies they employed, and specific unique selling

points (“USPs”) that they used within their marketing. Interviews lasted approximately 35 minutes

on average, were digitally recorded, and later transcribed verbatim.

3.4 Pilot Study

A pilot study was undertaken in order to test the interview questions and the equipment; it is viewed

as an integral part of qualitative study design (Gratton and Jones, 2010). While undertaking a pilot

study does not ensure success it does increase the probability of the principal study being successful

by familiarising the researcher with the interview questions and procedures as well as unearthing any

problems with the method which may negatively impact data collection (van Teijlingen and Hundley,

2002).

The pilot study interview took place two weeks prior to the first interview with a fellow researcher,

familiar with golf club operations, acting as the interviewee. The study highlighted two areas for

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improvement: the order of the questions to facilitate better dialogue and the positioning of the

recording device to promote a clearer recording; both resulted in improvements to the study’s method

being made.

3.5 Data Collection and Transcription

An application on the researcher’s pin-protected iPhone called Rev.com was used to record all six

interviews allowing the researcher to listen to the recording on multiple occasions and enhance

engagement with the data (Tessier, 2012). Subsequently each interview was transcribed by the

researcher into a word document, that was stored on a password protected computer. This process of

transcription further enhances familiarisation with the data ensuring all relevant themes are uncovered

from the data (Rapley, 2007).

3.6 Data Saturation

It is ultimately a decision for the researcher to ascertain whether the sample size is sufficient and

appropriate for the research undertaken (Sandelowski, 1995). Achieving validity through qualitative

data collection requires the researcher to conduct multiple interviews, until a saturation point is

reached (Gratton and Jones, 2010). When no new themes or concepts emerge, estimated between six

and twelve interviews (Guest, Bunce and Johnson, 2006), then the undertaking of additional

interviews would be redundant and data saturation has been achieved (Bernard, 2011).

Three of the interviews were undertaken on the same date, and the remaining three took place over

the following month. This allowed for data to be analysed and thematic analysis to be undertaken in

a logical and sequential manner. The themes that emerged from the first three interviews were, for

the most part, repeated with only minor variations in the three latter interviews suggesting data

saturation had been reached (Guest, Bunce and Johnson, 2006).

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Although every attempt was made to ensure data saturation the limited universe of potential

participants, thirty-two, and the response rate suggested that no further participants would be

forthcoming and that the study would be limited to six.

3.7 Reflexivity

The background, beliefs and biases of the researcher, can have a wide-reaching impact on both data

collection and data analysis (Mauthner and Doucet, 2003). The researcher was a male undergraduate

student with some business and marketing experience, albeit in a different industry sector. While this

background allowed for pertinent exploratory questions to be asked during the interviews it could

have resulted in prejudices and assumptions that the researcher was unaware of.

While accepting that the “interpretation of data is a reflexive exercise through which meanings are

made rather than found” (Mauthner and Doucet, 2003, p. 414), the researcher read and listened to the

interviews on multiple occasions thereby maximising engagement (Tessier, 2012). By doing so an

attempt to engage and review the data through the eyes of both the interviewer and interviewee was

made as an attempt to minimise researcher interference while ensuring that all relevant themes were

uncovered (Rapley, 2007)

3.8 Ethics

Ethical approval was sought and received from the University ethics committee in December 2015.

The requirement to protect participants, their anonymity, and their data is not only an integral part of

research (McKane and Tolson, 2000; Gratton and Jones, 2010) but is a requirement under the United

Kingdom’s Data Protection Act (1998).

Informed consent was a prerequisite of the study. To protect the participants a ‘Participation

Information Sheet’ was emailed to all thirty-two participants when initially seeking participants. Once

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a participant had agreed to an interview a ‘Participant Consent Form’ was also emailed to the

participant for review prior to the interview. The completion of the ‘Participant Consent Form’ was

undertaken immediately before the interview took place, allowing the researcher to answer any final

questions, in person. Furthermore, an option for participants to opt out of the study at any stage until

1st April 2016 was made clear. Each participant was required to agree to nine unique statements on

the ‘Participant Consent Form’ by initialling next to each one to confirm their agreement as well as

signing the form. The statements included, but were not limited to, the following: confirmation that

the information sheet had been read and understood; participation was voluntary; the participant could

refrain from answering any question; data provided could be used for research; the interview would

be recorded; data would be kept confidential; and data would not be used for any commercial purpose.

In order to ensure anonymity each golf club was assigned a letter, “A” through “F” allowing reference

to an individual club, for example, as “Club A”.

Finally all participant data was stored on password protected devices.

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4.0 Results & Discussion

4.1 Introduction

This section presents and discusses the findings of the research by highlighting the two main thematic

categories which emerged: marketing influences (both internal and external) and marketing

approaches. A discussion of both thematic categories with specific reference to each underlying

theme is contained within this section. The below figure summarises the themes and categories.

Figure 1.0: Thematic Classification

Marketing Influences

- Internal

o Club Finances

o Resistance to Change

o Membership Oversight

o Club Facilities

o Participant Background

- External

o Economic Environment

o Competition

Marketing Approach

- Networking

- Cross-Marketing (Partnerships)

- Word of Mouth

- E-Marketing

- Traditional Media

4.2 Marketing Influences

All six participants made regular reference to how they derive their marketing approach, specifically

mentioning what influenced the club’s ultimate marketing decisions. These influences were both

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internal and external to their respective golf clubs and can be seen as both facilitative and restrictive

in their influence.

4.2.1 Internal Influences

Factors that were unique to a specific club were classified as internal influences and included club

finances, resistance to change, membership oversight, club facilities and participant background.

4.2.1.1 Club Finances

The availability of finance, especially when it is scarce, can cause difficulties when developing a

marketing strategy (Gilmore, Carson, and Grant, 2001) and against the backdrop of declining golf

membership (Sports Marketing Surveys, 2014) was a concern for all participants. All six golf clubs

made reference to their financial position, specifically mentioning how it impacted their marketing

ability. Where finance was limited it induced creativity, an approach that has been shown to allow for

effective marketing even in the absence of requisite funding (Gilmore, 2011; Moriarty et al., 2008).

Club A (24/2/16): “I do not spend any money on marketing unless I absolutely

have to. You've got to be creative in your marketing.”

Club E (9/3/16): “We haven't got a huge big pot of money that we can delve

into, but we make the most of what money we have. I think that's part of

bringing me in, to tighten up the purse strings.”

Underlying all management decisions was an implicit understanding of the need to be financially

focussed, to limit spending, and maximise revenue. By ensuring that their respective club provided

value for money to existing and potential members, an indicator of customer loyalty (Ramanathan

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and Ramanathan, 2011), there is the potential opportunity to attract some of the nomadic and latent

golfers and increase, or at least maintain, membership levels.

Club F (21/3/16): “In terms of hitting the budget, yeah, it is financially driven.

We've got to hit budget because it's a members' golf course.”

Club C (24/2/16): “You've just got to be the best value for the money in your

target area.”

4.2.1.2 Resistance to Change

Golf continues to be viewed as a traditional sport, with its dress codes and customs adding to its

uniqueness, however there is a need to change (Sports Marketing Surveys, 2013) which could

potentially allow clubs to exploit their evolving operating environment (Brooksbank, Garland and

Werder, 2012). Despite this, there is a noted reluctance, of some long-term members, to resist change

or the modernisation, of their golf club.

Club C (24/2/16): “We're pretty open. I like the traditions of golf. I like the

etiquette of golf but I do think golf needs to change. It cannot be this stuffy

ladies room, men only bar. You have to be a bit more relaxed. We're more

relaxed in this golf club. If you're going to use your phone, use your phone.

It's no problem, but don't annoy people.”

Club B: (24/2/16) “We're trying to be progressive, but there is a hindrance

because, as tends to be with most golf clubs, those on the committee have been

members for a long time, they love the club as it is.”

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Despite this the participants acknowledged the need to develop a more progressive club atmosphere

while balancing the needs and requirements of all members, sentiments that have been validated in

multiple surveys (e.g. England Golf 2014b, Syngenta, 2013; Sports Marketing Surveys, 2013).

Club B (24/2/16): “Changing a culture to a more modern culture is one of

the challenges in order to take the club forward into the modern market.”

Club E (9/3/16): “You have to try to keep everybody happy but you've got to

keep the serious golfers and the social golfers just as happy because this is

all of their club.”

Acknowledging that there are cultural and demographic differences in their existing membership and

target segments will allow clubs to develop membership options that are tailored and attractive. It is

a move that has been promoted by industry voices (Sports Marketing Surveys, 2013; England Golf,

2014b) and could potentially allow clubs to better meet the needs and wants of potential nomadic and

latent golfers (Jackson, Barrows and Ferreira, 2015).

4.2.1.3 Membership Oversight

All six participants emphasised the involvement of their members, and two participants made specific

reference to the difficulties they experienced when dealing with membership marketing committees

and their oversight.

Club B (24/2/16): “They will set the strategy of what we do and then I'll go

to them with ideas and proposals. Some I win and some I don't. Sometimes it

takes six months to a year for them to come round to my thinking.”

24

Club F (21/3/16): “I'm there to advise and action what they want to do, but I

can't always change their minds. If they say they want to do it a certain way,

then sometimes I've got to do that, even if I don't want to.”

Membership committees, de facto owner representatives, can impact a club’s personality based on

their experiences and skillset (Resnick et al., 2016), and have the ability to exert substantial influence

over a club’s direction, which (Carson and Cromie, 1989, p.48) describe as, “perhaps the most

significant factor contributing to small firm’s marketing style.” Despite occasional differences in

strategic direction there was support for the benefits that membership committees can bring to the

club due to the often strong marketing and business backgrounds of members.

Club E (9/3/16): “We do have a committee for marketing and advertising,

and we are very fortunate that we do have some people in our membership

who have some very strong marketing backgrounds and have come from some

very large important jobs doing marketing. They come up with some very,

very good ideas and help to run it.”

Club D (2/3/16): “We do also have a marketing committee which is from

amongst the members who are into that, and who have a bit of a marketing

background.”

4.2.1.4 Club Facilities

When a golf club’s service and product does not meet client expectations then there is an inevitably

disappointment with the consumer, however in contrast, “information satisfaction is an antecedent to

attribute satisfaction” (Petrick and Backman, 2002, p. 257). Amongst the participants there was an

25

awareness that the club’s marketing strategy had to be underpinned by the club’s product and service

offering.

Club D (2/3/16): “Competition is mainly on price but I think we're trying to

improve the quality of the product as well. We're trying to improve the course,

the facilities around the clubhouse as well. It's not just all done on price.”

Club B (24/2/16): “Out of all the marketing, course conditioning is probably

the best marketing that you can have. If you go and play a golf club, you

notice the greens. If the first thing you say is, ‘The greens are shit. They're

slow. They're bobbly’, and the ball was bouncing all over the place. You don't

want to go and play there again, do you?“

4.2.1.5 Participant Background

Koenigsfeld et al. (2012) highlight the importance of managers having both strategic management

and marketing competencies, while Resnick et al. (2016) suggest that managers use prior experience

when developing strategies and plans. The backgrounds of the participants were varied, with some

having worked overseas and in alternative business environments whereas two participants had

worked exclusively in golf, inevitably influencing the club’s marketing approach (McCarton-Quinn

and Carson, 2003).

Club A (24/2/16): “I have a sports marketing background.”

Club C (24/2/16):”I used to work for European tour courses. I got involved

in a golf group from there and got promoted up through to become senior

26

operations manager. I went down my own route, got more involved in golf

course construction and eventually came back to managing golf clubs.”

Resnick et al. (2016) suggest that an organisation reflects the experiences of the management,

suggesting therefore that the backgrounds of those in charge of the marketing strategy are highly

relevant when it comes to understanding what influences strategy.

Club E (9/3/16): “They wanted somebody with a business background to be

able to move the club forward. Hence me starting here. I fell into golf quite

by accident. I couldn't really get out of it. I think once it gets into your blood

you're in it.”

4.2.2 External Influences

Golf clubs do not operate in a vacuum and therefore need to react and respond to their operating

environment while accepting and understanding its influence (Falshaw, Glaister and Tatoglu, 2006).

All participants openly discussed the influence of both the economic environment and competition

and how they impacted their marketing strategy.

4.2.2.1 Economic Environment

The impact of the recessionary environment that has been prevalent in England over the past 7-8

years continues to be a strong influencer of marketing strategy. One participant specifically

referenced a marketing strategy that they felt came about because of the economy but which

contributed to a deterioration in financial performance.

Club C (24/2/16): “Yes I understand clubs are under pressure. Desperate

times from 2007 to 2010, really bad times. This is when these two for one

27

vouchers come out. All the clubs jump on the bandwagon so they want more

people through the door and all they've done is lower their yield per person.

They're devaluing the value of their facility by doing that.”

However, there was an acknowledgement, as highlighted by KPMG (2016) that operating conditions

are finally improving, reflected by several of the participants.

Club D (2/3/16): “It's been tough, we’ve been through a recession, all clubs

in England are generally down on membership numbers. We've managed to

keep ours fairly constant and in fact in the last year or so it started to pick up

again.”

4.2.2.2 Competition

Those clubs that engage in strategic marketing practices typically perform better than their peers

(Garland, Brooksbank and Werder, 2011) however in order to develop strategic plans businesses need

to understand their competitive environment (Brooksbank, Garland and Taylor, 2009). While

participants recognised the competitive nature of their business there was an informal approach to

competitive positioning and various approaches to developing their marketing strategies.

Club C (24/2/16): “You use other golf clubs as your marketing. All these golf

clubs in this area, I want to see all their membership packages and then you

tail it off from there.”

Club D (2/3/16): “I think we just keep a close eye on what the other clubs are

doing by looking at their websites. What they're charging: green fees,

membership, and see what deals they're doing on their websites. Usually you

28

see most of them are doing some sort of deal on membership or deal on green

fees. You can track what other clubs are doing. Trying to stay competitive

with them.”

The uniqueness of SMEs suggests that their marketing approach should also be unique (McCarton-

Quinn and Carson, 2003) while also accepting that their competitive positioning is context specific

(Reijonen, 2010). Although clubs were cognizant of their peers’ product and service offerings there

was a tacit belief that their own marketing strategy was unique to their circumstances and was

superior.

Club A (24/2/16): “I don't factor them in when I do marketing. I just know

that they're less marketing savvy than us”

Club F (21/3/16): “We do kind of compare, but part of me doesn't care what

other golf clubs are doing because our strategy is working for us, we are

successful in terms of our own plan. You've got to keep an eye on it though.”

4.3 Marketing Approaches

How the facilitative and restrictive influences previously discussed impact the clubs’ strategic

marketing approach is covered in this section. Five primary marketing approaches emerged from the

data: networking, cross-marketing or partnerships, word of mouth, e-marketing, and traditional

media; each is now discussed.

4.3.1 Networking

The use of business networks and contacts is a normal, and effective, method for small business

managers to source information and test marketing ideas before actually implementing them as well

29

as a medium through which they promote their own business (Gilmore, 2011). The financial

restrictions on marketing discussed by the participants can be seen to influence the prevalence of

networking, although the participants did acknowledge that it was a typical marketing approach that

they engaged with.

Club A (24/2/16): “…because clubs now don't have that spend to do what

they want with marketing, we have to look at other areas, so I engage with

local sports groups as well”

Club A (24/2/16): “I will target lots of women's networking groups, women's

business associations, I'll be emailing them, telling them about it.”

Club E (9/3/16): “Whereas, a lot of other golf clubs do a lot of advertising

going in golf magazines and golf publications, we tend to do a lot of

networking with local businesses … We will go and meet people in the local

environment because it is a very community-based golf club.”

4.3.2 Cross-Marketing (Partnerships)

Further influenced by the need to be creative and to undertake cost-efficient marketing measures

several participants made reference to the development of partnerships with local businesses and other

sports clubs to cross-promote, a strategy that would be unique to each club and context specific

(Brooksbank, Kirby and Taylor, 2004).

Club A (24/2/16): “You can't stick an ad in the paper, which I don't think

really works anyway. You've got to join partnerships with other groups and

associations and cross promote.”

30

Club A (24/2/16): “Yeah. Local businesses. We cross promote”

Club B (24/2/16): “We've got partnership memberships with them. Our

brochure is over there on their desk, and we advertise in their bays for

membership and membership offers and that sort of thing.”

4.3.3 Word of Mouth

While networking focuses on relationships, word of mouth marketing allows for the natural passage

of information from one individual to others and is argued to be one of the most effective marketing

methodologies when the product is highly experiential (Herr, Kardes and Kim, 1991). The

participants understood the importance of this marketing approach and actively embraced it, probably

in part due to its proven effectiveness (Stokes and Lomas, 2002) but also due to its perceived low

cost.

Club B (24/2/16): “If people go away and they've had a good service or

they've played the course in good condition, then it's word of mouth. Out of

all the marketing, that's probably the best marketing that you can have.”

Club A (24/2/16): “I always offer potential new members a free round of golf

and I tend to do it on a Saturday morning in our swindle, because then they

can play with a member, the member can talk to them about the course and

sell it to them a bit.”

31

Club E (9/3/16): “So many clubs spend so much money on encouraging new

people to come in. These are my best adverts I've got. If they are comfortable

here and they love it here, they will tell everybody, absolutely everybody.”

4.3.4 E-Marketing

E-marketing, the use of social and digital electronic media platforms, is now widely accepted as

providing SME’s with the opportunity to broaden their marketing activities and reach a large audience

without incurring substantial costs (Gilmore, 2011). While all six golf clubs had their own website,

the level of e-marketing via social media varied between clubs and the sophistication levels of usage

varied substantially.

Club D (2/3/16): “Aside from the website or from the direct emails we do

through MailChimp, we have not had so much feedback from Twitter or

Facebook or any people who said, ‘Oh, we saw it on Facebook or Twitter.’

That hasn't really taken off for us just yet but other things seem to be working

better.”

Club C (24/2/16): “We only started working on Twitter in the last six weeks,

it's building it all up and it's the same kind of things. It's a long hard battle.”

Those clubs which had embraced social media reported some benefits, especially the ability to update

members and potential customers as to what was going on at their respective clubs. The lack of

engagement could potentially be attributed to the difficulty in ensuring content is relevant while

finding the necessary time (Gilmore, 2011), although the ease and speed of ‘tweeting’ or ‘posting’

would suggest that time is not the limiting factor.

32

Club F (21/3/16): “We use Twitter or Facebook. When I arrived here, we

only had about 100 followers. Now we've got over 2,000 followers, just by

getting out there, just keeping members updated. I'm a big believer in social

media.”

Club E (9/3/16): “We do have a twitter account and we've actually got one of

our members who is actually a fan of tweeting. If you follow us, you'll see that

there is a regular thing going on, which has really, really helped. I've been

amazed at how it has increased our inquiries, which is great.”

4.3.5 Traditional Media

There was consistency from all participants regarding the cost and effectiveness of print media for

marketing purposes, once again highlighting the financial constraints under which clubs operate.

Furthermore, with the demographics of potential members changing (England Golf, 2014a) it is

necessary for marketing to be positioned appropriately (Jackson, Barrows and Ferreira, 2015).

Club D (2/3/16): “We did find that we were spending most of our advertising

budget on local newspapers but not getting any response from it so we got rid

of that last year.”

Club C (24/2/16): “I won't do golf magazines because you open up Golf

Weekly and you've got 20, 30 different golf courses, they're so jumbled up and

everything. I discredit that straight away.”

33

Club B (24/2/16): “Marketing in a club environment is very difficult in that

paper advertising can be quite expensive, and are you actually hitting your

target market?”

4.4 Limitations

This study focussed on West London golf clubs, specifically clubs located in the county of Middlesex.

The area is categorised by high population density as well as a competitive operating environment,

with thirty-five golf clubs in close proximity. The themes and discussion points raised by this study

should be understood in context, and whether the findings translate to less population dense areas or

less competitive environments needs to be considered.

As highlighted in the discussion, golf clubs are unique entities with their own set of attributes,

membership dynamics, revenue streams and overheads. A better grasp of these unique attributes

would potentially have led to a better understanding of the influencers and would have allowed for a

deeper comprehension of the pressures that are placed upon the participants.

The private members golf club is run for the benefit of the members, rather than for profit. While

there is a need for clubs to be financially viable the marketing literature that is relevant to SMEs may

not be entirely relevant for the unique operating structure of golf clubs.

The solitary researcher brings into question the impartiality and the interpretation of the thematic

analysis. While efforts were made to ensure the data was analysed in a reflexive and unbiased manner,

whether other researchers would explore similar lines of exploratory questioning during the semi-

structured interviews or interpret the data similarly are debateable.

34

4.5 Areas for Future Investigation

Three are three primary areas that warrant future investigation and would help develop further our

understanding of marketing practices in golf clubs.

Firstly, future studies need to develop our understanding of how deeply each individual marketing

influences identified in this study are linked to each specific marketing approach and how those

approaches impact performance. While this study developed further understanding of the first part of

this linkage, namely the influences, and a previous study (Brooksbank, Garland, and Werder, 2012)

analysed the second part (performance impact) a study that developed our understanding from the

influences right through to performance would enhance our understanding further.

Secondly, developing an understanding of whether the marketing approaches identified are valid for

today’s golfing public, and whether focusing on a specific marketing types is more profitable or

beneficial to a club than an alternative approach would also be worthwhile.

Finally, although the backgrounds of the participants were discussed and the influence they imparted

on the clubs marketing strategies was highlighted, it was only at a superficial level and could be

explored further with a more detailed focus on their education and employment background in order

to ascertain the extent of the influence. Similarly, the backgrounds of members who are on the

marketing committee and how they impact strategy would also be worthy of further study.

35

5.0 Conclusion

This study aimed to investigate the marketing strategies of West London golf clubs. Specifically, it

attempted to understand what influences a golf club’s marketing strategy and to develop an

understanding of how a club’s subsequent approach to marketing was impacted. Seven key

influencers were found, five of which were internal to the golf club, and two were external. The

internal factors included, club finances, resistance to change, membership oversight, club facilities

and participant background. The two external factors were the economic environment and

competition.

The most commonly mentioned restrictive influencers were the club’s finances along with the

resistance to change by some long-standing members, whereas there was strong support for

membership marketing oversight due to the backgrounds of some members.

These findings suggest that golf clubs need to understand the variables that influence their marketing

strategy, embracing the facilitative variables, and make allowances or work through the restrictive

variables in order to develop a sound strategic marketing approach that is relevant for their club’s

unique circumstances.

36

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