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MEMBERS DECLINE
SLOWS TO TRICKLE
Touchline asked Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt to comment on the state of play of golf
in Australia and what plans Golf Australia had to increase participation in future. Here is
Stephen’s response.
BY
STEPHEN PITT
CEO, GOLF AUSTRALIA
T
he medium-term trend of membership decline in
Australian golf clubs appears to have slowed to
negligible levels.
This is the main positive to arise from Golf Australia’s
2014 National Golf Participation Report released recently,
along with a big increase in rounds of golf played.
The main points are:
• National club membership for the year ending 2014 is at
396,880, a reduction of 0.8 percent on the previous year.
In actual numbers, this represents a decline of about 3200
members.
• Rounds of golf increased by 7.2 percent in 2014 to 14.3
million rounds.
• There has been a cumulative loss of 7.3 percent of club
members since 2010. While the 2014 report continues the
downward trend, it is a lower reduction than in 2011, 2012
and 2013.
• Western Australia was the strongest performing state in
2014 with an increase of 2.2 percent, while Victoria and
South Australia recorded small increases. New South
Wales dropped 2.4 percent while Queensland, Northern
Territory and Tasmania also experienced declines.
• The attrition rate of club members is around 12 percent.
Participation is an ongoing focus area for us, and the numbers
indicate the struggle to hold our ground.
The challenge is to turn that graph around to the positive,
GOLF:
THE AUSTRALIAN STORY
28
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TOUCHLINE
ISSUE 21 | AUGUST 2015