HLSGC Members Survey 2019 Results Summary
Houghton Golf Club
Members Survey 2019 Results Summary
At the end of May 2019, the committee updated and sharedwith members some interim feedback taken from your survey responses undertaken in April 2019. We also highlighted the next steps the committee intended to take. Those steps included reviewing all your comments and sharing those results with you all further. The following update sets out the results in more detail and gives a flavour of some of your responses.
The club would like to thank all those members, once again,who took the time to complete the survey. 177 members took part which was a response rate of 43%. The national average return rate is currently 47%. Of the 177 responses, 164 were from men and 13 from women. This demonstrates we have a committed and engaged membership who care and contribute so much to our golf club!
To those members who left their name and contact details saying you would be happy to be contacted to discuss your points further, members of the committee will be in touch assoon as possible to gather more useful information for us to consider. We will also be contacting those members individually who expressed an interest in becoming a volunteer.
All those who responded gave us a great amount of feedback and data on all areas of the club which we have tried to summarise below for your information, alongside comments from the committee.
Overall Net Promoter Score (NPS) which is scored between -100 (lowest) to +100(highest) is based on the question ‘Would you recommend Houghton GC to friends, family and colleagues?’:
Houghton Golf Club NPS = +45
National average NPS for golf clubs = +39
Membership Satisfaction:
|
Gender |
HGC NPS Score |
National Average |
Total Responses |
|
Male |
+43 |
+40 |
164 |
|
Female |
+69 |
+40 |
13 |
Membership Loyalty:
68% who responded said Yes when asked if they would still be a member in 2 years’ time. 15% responded May-be and 16% said No.
Member retention is obviously of major importance to the club. The Committee prior to the survey had already began identifying the areas of dissatisfaction from members and many of those were re-emphasized in your survey responses and comments. Broadly these have been in areas such as improving course condition and set up, and the on-line tee time booking system. The committee have listened and taken action to improve in these areas e.g. by investing in new machinery to reintroduce annual weed spraying and modifying the on-line tee booking system to be more flexible thus fairer for all.
The Golf Course:
Overall assessment score 67/100 (National Average 73/100).
The above score may-be as a result of bad timing as scoreswere gathered at the end of a Winter Period or they may be a fair reflection on how a large proportion of the membership judged the course conditions and set up over recent years. Some of your survey responses/comments received generally referred to the friendly green staff, the course being generally well maintained, varied and exciting to play. Others referred to the fairways being cut to short, course needing definition,bunkers poorly maintained, uneven or slow greens and our old enemy ‘slow play’.
The Green’s Committee and Green’s Staff, as always, are committed to preparing the best course possible and for the enjoyment of all abilities, age groups and genders. Indeed, much has changed on the course since the survey was returned. In fact, there has been a marked difference in the course condition and set up since the survey. Feedback from members and visitors in the main has been positive and complimentary, although the Green’s Committee do recognise that some members have concerns regarding the rough policy. While no radical change in direction is planned the Greens Committee are committed to listening sensitively to concerns from those members. Members tell us they are happy with level of communication which keeps them well informed with what is happening on the course. This will continue.
Atmosphere:
Overall Assessment Score 78/100 (National Average 78/100)
A strong majority of members indicated that there is a good social environment in the club, with a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. When asked ‘Is Houghton Golf Club a place they like to come to’, respondents scored the club 83/100
Respondents gave a score of 79/100 when asked ‘if the variety of competitions suited their needs’ although some commented they would welcome more competitions during the year. The Captain’s Committee are reviewing these responses in detail and alongside our existing fixture calendar with a view of encouraging more competition participation.
Restaurant, Catering and Bar:
Overall Assessment Score 85/100 (National Average 70/100)
The overwhelming majority of respondents scored all aspects relating to the Restaurant, Catering and Bar very highly and when compared nationally.
Respondents assessed the food and drink quality as excellent, with a enough selection and appropriately priced. All these areas scored 87/100.
Although still assessed highly, some members commented on current opening hours not suiting their needs and weaknesses in the restaurant and bar layout particularly in relation to noise.
All members comments have been forwarded to the committee and service managers for review. We will of course keep you informed of any proposed changes in these areas.
Clubhouse:
Overall Assessment Score 83/100 (National Average 78/100)
Respondents viewed the clubhouse as being clean and tidyscoring it 84/100, the toilet and changing facilities 81/100 and the locker rooms 85/100. All these scores are above the national average for golf clubs.
Practice Facilities:
Overall Assessment Score 71/100 (National Average 69/100)
Respondents, in general, expressed satisfaction with the practice facilities. However, accessibility to the practice area scored low (64/100) in comparison. The committee have already reacted to members concerns in this area. With the assistance of our club professional the club have endeavoured to communicate with members more effectively the times as to when the practice area is available. This being in the form of a weekly availability diary and communicated through the club website, Facebook page and noticeboards. Consideringmembers comments the club and Pro will review its effectiveness and make any necessary changes or improvements to this method to ensure maximum access for members.
The Golf Shop:
Overall Assessment Score 69/100 (National Average 75/100)
Key Areas:
Customer Service and attention 78/100 (National Average 82/100)
Hours of operation 77/100 (National Average 80/100)
Selection of retail goods 66/100 (National Average 69/100)
Price levels 55/100 (National Average 68/100)
Professional Tuition:
Key Areas:
Technically proficient 91/100 (National Average 88/100).
Educational and exciting coach 85/100 (National Average 83/100).
Prices and Products:
Overall Assessment Score 77/100 (National Average 76/100)
To the statement ‘Compared to other clubs, prices at Houghton Golf Club are reasonable’ respondents scored the club 78/100 (National Average 75/100).
When asked if club membership offers great value for money respondents scored the club 75/100 (National Average 74/100).
The club feel that the current membership package offers great value compared to our competitors. However, the committee will continue to strive to add value and other benefits where it can to make Houghton Golf Club the place to play golf at a competitive price.
Club Management:
Overall Assessment Score 70/100 (National Average 73/100)
Key Areas:
Overall effectiveness of Management Committee 70/100 (National Average 69/100)
Effectiveness to inform members about important issues and developments 69/100 (National Average 74/100)
The Management Committee listens to members suggestions and new ideas 61/100 (National Average 63/100)
The committee is committed to improving the levels of communication and transparency throughout the club. We have endeavoured and will continue to try and consult with all our members on all the important decisions or choices that need to be taken. This survey exercise is one of the first steps to making us listen to your views about the club, and to explore new ideas and innovations that you may come up with. We as committee volunteers try to be visible around the club as much as possible and hope you feel comfortable in approaching us at any time to discuss any concerns or views you may have.
Next steps:
Now that the full committee have had the opportunity to review all the survey results it is their intention, with the assistance of local England Golf officers, to begin the process of developing a 5 year strategic business plan which will set out our future short, medium and long term objectives, action plan and timescales to hopefully ensure a strong and sustainable future for the club.
Your contribution from completing this survey will help shape our direction and it is hoped future member surveys will then enable us to measure more accurately the impact we are having.
We will keep you informed of progress, and consult with youmore, as the plan develops.
Finally, on behalf of all the committee I would like to expressour appreciation and gratitude to all those members who took the time to take part in this exercise.
Jack Ellison