Hanover Country Club in Ashland, Va., is rebranding as Hanover Golf Club and welcoming daily-fee rounds in addition to memberships, in an effort to increase rounds by 2,000-3,000 annually. The Glasgow (Ky.) Golf and Country Club voted earlier this week to make the golf course semi-private to increase rounds.
After quietly testing the waters of semi-private status, Hanover Country Club in Ashland, Va., is rebranding as Hanover Golf Club and more publicly welcoming daily fee rounds from non-members, while still offering memberships, the Richmond (Va.) BizSense reported.
The changes at the 55-year-old club are being steered by Mike Hatch of Acumen Golf, who took over management in 2014 as HCC was looking to regrow its membership base and get back in the black, BizSense reported.
“We took over the club three years ago when it was private and it just wasn’t in the condition to stay a successful private club,” said Hatch, who also owns and manages Brandermill Country Club and Birkdale Golf Club in Chesterfield County. “With the current golfing market like it is, we believe the club is better positioned to be semi-private that’s opened to outside play.”
Hatch informed the members of the change on February 19. The club has about 200 golf members and 100 social members, mostly from surrounding neighborhoods, BizSense reported.
The new format isn’t aimed at huge growth, but rather to build on the club’s recent profitability and show off improvements around the grounds, Hatch said. The club hosted 13,000 rounds last year and the target is to increase that by 2,000 to 3,000 rounds annually, BizSense reported.
“We’re not looking for exponential growth, but on this side of the river we believe there’s an opportunity,” Hatch said. “If for years and years you’ve been private, no one knows what it’s like.”
The club has returned to profitability after being in the red when Acumen took over management three years ago, Hatch said. Acumen reinvested $350,000 of profits into renovations on the pool, bunkers and clubhouse furniture. New signage and logos are being rolled out with the Hanover Golf Club brand, including a logo that plays on the year 1953, when the course’s first three holes opened. The club itself was founded in 1959, BizSense reported.
The new identity also will come with a new pricing structure for daily play and memberships, Hatch said. Full membership is $225 a month and $300 with unlimited cart use. Other tiers are aimed at various age groups. Golfers under age 35 and over 70 pay $175 a month and $250 per month with unlimited cart use. Those under 45 pay $200 a month and $275 with unlimited cart use. Off-peak time membership is $150 a month and $225 with unlimited carts. There are no initiation fees, BizSense reported.
Fees for daily play will range from $40 to $55 during the week with a cart and $45 to $65 on weekends. Hatch is also is offering reciprocal play and cart use for members at Hanover, Brandermill and Birkdale, BizSense reported.
While its days as a private club are numbered for now, Hatch said, Hanover’s semi-private model may not last forever. “Ideally we’d love to go back to being private. It all depends on how Hanover Golf Club is received,” he said. “If we pick up 5,000 rounds (more per year), that may mean 100 potential new members. We just need to get people out here to see the value of membership.”
The Glasgow (Ky.) Golf and Country Club’s board of directors voted earlier this week to make the golf course semi-private, allowing the public to play golf for a fee without being a member, the Glasgow Daily Times reported.
“We’re just trying to get it to where it’s more affordable and available to the community so they can enjoy the facility like we have over the years,” said Spencer Botts, a member of the club’s board of directors.
Patrick Gaunce, a member of the club and of the Glasgow City Council, supports the idea for the golf course going semi-private. “The golf course business is a tough business and I don’t think Glasgow, at this point, has enough people to keep the club private,” he said.
Glasgow High School’s golf teams practice at the club and host tournaments there against other area schools. Michael Burgan, who coaches the boys golf team for GHS, said he doesn’t see the changes made by the club’s board of directors having any affect on his team, the Daily Times reported.
“Our membership with the club is for golf season and golf season only,” he said, adding that if any of the team’s members wants to practice at the club during golf season then they can do so, but that would be the only time that they could use the golf course at the club. “That’s the membership that we have.”
The cost to play a round of golf at the club for non-members is now $30 Monday through Friday and $40 during the weekend. The club is currently doing a membership drive. There is a one-time activation fee of $300, which grants a member use of the all of the club’s facilities, plus a membership fee of $130 per month, the Daily Times reported.
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