Golf continues to signal a subtly-improving economy. Traffic has increased, especially in tourist areas, for more sustained periods. Slow times have become more sporadic.
Linwood Country Club offers its own version of the philosophy. It reported a membership spike of about 25 percent in the past year, according to club professional Jeff LeFevre. This is the largest membership increase he has seen during his 30-year tenure at the establishment.
Some of that can be attributed to expanded banquet facilities and enhancing members’ involvement with the club. A non-golfing house membership also provides access to these amenities, as does a social event. The public can contract with the club for events such as weddings, baby showers and corporate parties.
A sizeable amount of the increase can also be credited to Linwood’s customer service consistency. LeFevre has long championed the “Cheers” philosophy of everyone knowing members’ names.
The club does not release membership price details, but it targets several budgets and age tiers. A young professional able to play about once a week can carve out a per-round rate similar to public courses. Teens enjoy a special rate and not only have some joined, but many have also later enlisted their parents, LeFevre indicates.
“It is scaled for everyone from a 16-year-old to 76-year-old,” LeFevre laughs.
