We can’t let the price of membership get out of hand for young people

Golf for all. It’s now a sport that doesn’t judge whether you play competitively or just want to hit some balls on a driving range. It’s a game that wants to build pathways for players aged from 5 to 95.

But while golf still basks in the boom brought about by the Covid pandemic, with recent R&A figures showing huge numbers playing across the world, there is a warning not to price out the next generation.

Speaking during GBQ Live at The PGA Partners’ Day at Slaley Hall, Phil Craghill, co-CEO of marketing agency GMS, said he was worried about the costs of bringing children and young adults into golf club membership.

“We all know young adults or kids that go to a Toptracer facility really enjoy the sport,” he said.

“My concern is the next step of them coming into a golf course and being a member of a golf club and just some of the cost elements of that for young kids and young adults.

“Golf holidays are getting more expensive. Green fees are getting more expensive. The trophy courses in the UK, because of the American market, are really, really getting expensive.”

At the end of 2023, the average price of a full seven-day membership at a golf club in England was £900 but rising costs – particularly inflation – have continued to bite.

The average green fee at a UK top 100 course in 2025 is £237 – up 10.7% on the previous year, according to UK Golf Guy who tracks the prices.

Meanwhile, The R&A’s 2024 Global Participation report showed there are 108 million adults and juniors playing golf across all formats of the sport in the governing body’s affiliated markets.

Of the 43.9 million in total junior participation, some 80% of those engaged with the sport through formats that were not 9 or 18-hole on-course golf, and Craghill told the live audience that the industry had to “look after this next batch” and ensure the “price can’t get out of hand”.

He added: “We just need to make sure that we do allow these young adults to become members of clubs. They know the price of a Tesco meal deal down to five pence, right?

“They know food and beverage and everything and it still needs to be accessible for them. I just worry [about] the golf industry. People of my age, a bit older maybe, have seen it go high in the past and then come crashing down.

“We’ve got a fantastic opportunity now to make sure we look after this next batch. But the price can’t get out of hand.”