Just wondering what the general sentiment is among my fellow OzBargainers about my public golf club introducing "levies" (in other words, increasing prices) for members to play golf, mid-way through our membership period?
They say it's to help cover some of their financial losses due to COVID restrictions but I would have thought that the prices and level of membership you choose, when you pay for one year in advance, would form some sort of contract. Any thoughts?
And disgruntled members to walk I suspect.
Sounds scammy…. and to make it worse I assume you cant even play at the moment? ..
I assume they have some form of membership T&C ?, is there anything in that about charging extra fees?, can you request a refund now they're moving the goal posts?
I'd have had a chance if I'd known Golf had Goal Posts. lol
Frisbee golf?
Don't you simply have the option to pay or not and of course choose another club ?
Not when you've already paid for an annual membership up until 31 March 2022.
Spotted the Golf Club owner!
Not great, but a better scenario than having a membership to a club that's gone bust. I would presume they're just trying to survive, as they say, and not profiteering off Covid. Even when they're closed they still have high overheads to maintain the courses.
It's like drought relief milk, the money goes to the one doing the marketing. They already get jobkeeper, grants, etc.
"Golf Is A Great Way To Ruin A Good Walk" - Winston Churchill
But if you use a buggy loaded with drinks?
I don't think that was Churchill.
Mark Twain - maybe 😀
Maybe your Golf club’s members drives high yields? and therefore thinks this is ok.
Higher inflation in a time of crisis and unprecedented money printing.
CPI +0.8% in Q2, y/y jumps to 3.8% on base effects
Core inflation benign +1.6% y/y, under RBA target band
Extended lockdown in Sydney blows hole in Q3 GDP
SYDNEY, July 28 (Reuters) - Australia's consumer prices rose at the fastest annual pace in almost 13 years last quarter as petrol jumped and government subsidies unwound, but a far tamer reading for core inflation suggested the spike would be fleeting.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australian-cpi-sp…
Are people still surprised that this is happening?
This is just the beginning.
Vote with your wallet and go somewhere else.
Or run for the club executive next AGM
GolfPrices Increasedduring Membership Periodto Cover COVID Losses
There fixed it for you.
Not really a shock is it? So many companies around whos costs didn't disappear during those covid periods, they still had bills, rents etc to pay.
Inflation is about to hit mega hard on EVERYONE.
My gym has constantly offered free months and no sign up fees for new members yet not rewarding the members that came back and supported them during the periodic closures.
Loyalty gets you nowhere.
How many thousand $ we talking here?
It's a really shitty thing to do out of the blue to members without discussion, I'd expect anyone driving up prices like that to open their books and give options. They're likely selling themselves out just to stay afloat another 12 months in the hope people will forget about this little snafu and come back anyway.
Probably depends what the contract says, I'd check to see if there's any terms around increasing midway through but I would have thought it would have a simple line about membership meaning no green fees. What's the arbitration policy in there as well? Could be a quick and easy small claims court session to get the remainder of your membership back.
Depends what the scenario is though. I'd happily pay more to keep some places I support open (I bought quite a few gift cards to restaurants during covid), so long as they made it clear what they were doing, why and how it would work. If this is just the owners deciding they don't like how much they lost this year and want to break even - screw them. If this is the difference between developers coming in and turning the golf course into townhouses, then I'd feel a bit different.
A levy is a charge or impost.
A levee is a bank or retaining wall.
Is your club trying to deal with flooding?
You'd be mad to sign up for any yearly membership at the moment with the constant lock downs.
How has your club made a loss during covid?? Makes no sense to me seeing as golf activity has actually increased in the pandemic due to it being considered exercise and can be played during the current lockdown.
A lot of clubs I know have actually made money and membership has actually increased to capacity in certain categories.
Even Royal Sydney Golf Club was in the news for accepting JobKeeper payments when they turned a big profit last year.
perhaps OP's club mainly relies on the hospitality side of things to stay profitable?
+1 for this comment. For the past 12 & a bit months, trying to book a tee time for golf has involved quite a bit of planning in advance due to the courses reaching capacity for social play. There has been a confirmed increase of 12% in the number of handicapped games played when 2021 was compared to pre-lockdown 2020.
didnt they rort enough from jobkeeper?
It is pretty poor form.
I guess numbers are down and they have to recoup the monies somehow and can't
wait until next year because they have overheads to settle and cover now.
Expect Membership to go up next year as well.