Golf: The real deal!

Jan 21 2009 by David Lockwood, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

BRADLEY PARK Golf Club have come up with a fantastic scheme aimed at attracting new members, while at the same time beating the belt-tightening recession.

For an incredible £99 – and no entrance fee – golfers can obtain a year-long membership, which includes entry into all home internal competitions, guarantees gaining an official handicap and, although having to pay green fees, still brings with it all the benefits associated with being a member of a recognised golf club.

The package put together by Bradley Park captain Keith Waddington, past president Richard Kaye and treasurer David Mitcheson in conjunction with Kirklees Council (who own the club) is aimed specifically at golfers, who play on a more occasional basis, rather than those who play two or three times a week, and who perhaps do not have an official handicap, and are therefore not entitled to enter competitions.

“We are targeting what we consider is a definite niche in the market,” explained Waddington, who is conscious of the fact that normal membership can be an expensive process for those golfers who are unable to play on a regular basis.

“Not everyone can afford £700 or £800 or even more a year for annual membership, and I’m sure some members at golf clubs may find it might be costing them nearly as much as £100 a round, if they only play occasionally, and then only in the better weather.

“Under the scheme which we are launching at Bradley Park with an Open Night, on Tuesday, January 27, with the exception of the initial £99 joining fee, a member will then only pay when he plays, which we think has to be an attractive proposition.”

Indeed the proposition looks a very good one, particularly when taken into consideration that Kirklees are also throwing in the first round FREE, and everyone signing up next Tuesday will get virtually 15 months, as it will be free membership up to April when the club’s membership year begins.

And, on top of that, all newcomers will get the chance to meet and speak to the club’s professional team, spearheaded by head pro Parnell Reilly, as well as Bradley Park’s leading officials. They will also receive a free bucket of balls for the floodlit driving range.

“A lot of golf clubs are feeling the pinch with membership numbers dropping, and we are no different at Bradley Park, although we did halt the trend last year, and actually increased it slightly thanks to another initiative which we ran,” added the captain.

“Now we are targeting previous members that we may have lost over the last two or three years, as well as new members, and we feel we have the capacity at this club to be able to cope with what we hope will be a surge in membership.

“We have considerably more usage than most clubs, because we are a ‘pay and play club’, but there are six full-time greenkeeping staff at Bradley Park, under head greenkeeper David Brearley, who is justifiably very proud of his course and keeps it in top nick.”

Bradley Park is a full member of the Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs, but is also recognised as one of the leading municipal golf courses in the north of England, and its reputation was further enhanced last year when the club received the Junior GolfMark accreditation from the English Golf Union, the first one in Kirklees to receive that recognition.

Bradley Park’s Open evening, is being held in their Bradley Road clubhouse on Tuesday (7.00).