Sport In Profile UK Issue 18 | Page 43

Gourock Community “There’s an incredible amount of work being carried out at the club by both the staff and volunteers to try and move us forward on a whole host of fronts. We are very much a community orientated club that support and host a lot of events. We also donated over £30,000 to charities last year and introduced a ‘new to golf’ offer last year with a significant discount. That saw us gain fifteen members which went well. We’ve done a lot of work with local schools and youth organisations as well and offered each of the five local schools a free bursary each for one nominated pupil.” Quality Golf “Our food and beverage turnover last year went up by 25% and that was due to the bar and catering services that we provide and increasing the number of people using our facilities for various events. That generates more money which we can then re-invest in the course. We always want our course to be the best that it can be and that is our number one priority. We want to give people a wide offering with quality golf at the centre of it.” Get Involved “If people are interested in getting involved in the club I would always encourage them to come and speak with us. It can be difficult to understand what we have to offer without doing that. Once you see what we have and hear about the additional benefits available I’m confident you’ll enjoy what we have to offer. Come and have a trial on our course and the indoor facility as, without exception, everyone who has tried the indoor course is blown away by what it offers.” Challenges “I think one of the biggest challenges for the club is membership retention. We had a bad summer last year weather wise and that limited how much golf people were able to play. We’re working hard to make sure that our course is as resilient as it can be to combat climate change and we need to continue to be innovative so that we can offer our members the best experience possible.” Ambitions “Five years from now I would like to see the course at an even higher standard for a longer period of each twelve month period. I would also like to see the club generating more income each year so we can continue to improve the quality of what we offer. With a permanent improvement to the course, an increased membership, better utilisation of the course and clubhouse and sustained junior membership we will be well set up for a successful future.” www sportip biz 43