C+RB‘s 15th Annual Ideas Issue highlights creative new events and approaches, born out of pandemic necessity, that have earned permanent popularity. In this article, we look at how Woodstone Country Club in Danielsville, Pa. implemented a “Millennial Membership” program to quickly grow from 175 to 325 members.
When General Manager Tim O’Neill arrived at Woodstone Country Club in Danielsville, Pa., five years ago, the secluded destination had 175 members. Today, Woodstone, which includes lodging, an 18-hole golf course, and food-and-beverage services, has 325 members.
The increase in numbers is due in no small part to a “Millennial Membership” program that the property, which is located in a remote part of the Lehigh Valley 30 miles north of Allentown and 30 miles south of the Pocono Mountains, launched three years ago.
To test the market, Woodstone initially limited Millennial memberships to the first 30 applicants to the program. The membership spots were filled within a couple of months, so the next year 30 more memberships in the category were offered. Then COVID hit and more people wanted to to play golf, and Woodstone added still more millennials.
Millennial members must be under age 30, and their average age is 25. The membership is available to singles only, and they have full privileges including unlimited greens fees, access to all property facilities, a half locker, bag-room storage, USGA handicap, and special lodging rates.
Tyler Smith, a 25-year-old millennial member, joined at age 22 as soon as he graduated from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa., where he played on the school’s golf team. “As someone coming out of college, monetarily, it just made sense,” says Smith.
Smith originally became a member of Woodstone as a 16-year-old when his family joined the property. “I was playing high school golf, and my dad wanted me to have a more challenging golf course to play,” he says.
Membership dues for Millennial members are $130 a month. They do not have to pay a food-and-beverage minimum, but O’Neill says they spend an average of $500 to $600 a month at the property.
“They don’t limit us whatsoever. We can play in the club championship and the member-member,” says Smith, who has won the club championship the past two years. “With no limitations on what we can do, we feel like a full member.”
When Millennial members turn 30, they age out of the program into the Young Executive category. Dues increase to $380 a month for young executives, but this type of membership is also open to couples.
With an average of $18,000 per month in dues and more than $100,000 in revenue in the property’s wedding and event business, Millennial memberships have increased Woodstone’s bottom line.
“We do 80 weddings a year. It’s been a pipeline for us. They have baby showers and bridal showers here,” says O’Neill. “It has increased our golf rounds and participation in all of our events. It creates positive energy throughout the club.”
Smith, a car salesman, often brings his clients to Woodstone to play golf and build relationships with them. He goes to Woodstone for a meal a couple of times a month, often with his family. He also planned a golf outing at the property in June for 40 people, including his customers, friends and other Woodstone members.
With an entry fee of $150, the four-man scramble includes 18 holes of golf, an all-day comped beverage cart, food and drink at the turn, a full Italian buffet after the round, competitions, prizes, and a gift bag. “It’s a way to give back to the people that have bought from me,” says Smith.
Although he has lined up six or seven sponsors, Smith is funding the tournament himself this year. He plans on it becoming an annual event and using it to benefit a charity in the future.
Woodstone has reaped cultural benefits through the Millennial program as well. The club’s average member age has dropped from 68 to 58. And where previously the property had few female members, a 60/40 split between male and female Millennial members has also changed the atmosphere at the property. “We’re welcoming,” O’Neill says. “We don’t have ladies’ day. The golf course is open to everyone. Men and women play in the member-member and other tournaments.”
The category also carries an emphasis on learning how to be a private-club member, O’Neill adds. “The big picture is to teach integrity and to develop the young men and young women into better people,” he says. “How else can a young person learn to be a private-club member unless they’ve grown up in a club with their parents?”
The property also teaches Millennial members how to be respectful. “Don’t change your shoes in the parking lot. Don’t show up with your hat on backwards,” O’Neill says.
In addition, he adds, “You represent Woodstone. When you show up at another course with a Woodstone tag on your bag, you act like you’re supposed to act.”
In turn, Smith confirms, the staff treats the millennials with the same courtesy and respect they show to other members. “They call me Mr. Smith,” he says.
Woodstone’s older members have also taken the younger ones under their wing to teach them about private-club membership, rules, etiquette, dress codes, how to pay a bill on time, and responsibility.
“We asked our older members to help. We asked them to play golf and participate in events with the millennials. The membership has been very supportive,” O’Neill says. “Everybody on the staff is constantly talking to these young kids. You have to spend time with them.”
Woodstone doesn’t offer any formal classes about membership to the millennials. “They learn on their own through experience,” O’Neil says.
The majority of Woodstone members work in blue-collar industries, notes O’Neill, and most of the millennials did not grow up in a country club. They are up-and-coming young professionals, he adds, and the property has not yet had to revoke the membership of anyone in the category.
Woodstone also recently upgraded its software to keep millennials more connected to the property through technology and apps.
“We are trying to cater to the millennials and younger members,” says O’Neill. “They teach the older members how to download the app, and the older members teach them about private-club membership.”
Smith, who has met other professionals at Woodstone and tries to patronize their businesses, says millennial members and older members “feed off of each other.”
“We all teach each other, whether it’s about golf or technology,” he says. “I feel really comfortable at Woodstone. I don’t plan on leaving.”
Woodstone marketed the Millennial Membership program on social media, and the young members refer prospects as well. “They refer their friends the most out of any generation,” O’Neill notes.
The 60 available Millennial Membership spots are currently filled, and Woodstone has a waiting list for the program. When a millennial ages out of membership, however, it opens up a spot for someone else to join. Woodstone now can take in four or five new millennials a year because of the aging-out process, O’Neill says.
Other properties throughout the industry should adopt a similar approach to increase revenue and to teach social skills and responsibility to young people, O’Neill believes. If some members are hesitant to change their traditional culture, he encourages them to “liven it up.”
“Any sort of private club needs to accommodate their younger members, and they have to do that based on price,” he says. “They have to give them access so they can feel it, touch it, and have fun.”
The Goal: Launch a Millennial Membership program at Woodstone CC that not only attracts younger members, but also helps to teach them how to be a member of a private facility and become better people.
The plan: Through social media and word-of-mouth, Woodstone promoted the program that gives single Millennial members full privileges and access to property amenities. Millennials pay monthly dues of $130. When they turn 30, they age out of the program into the Young Executive category. Dues increase to $380 a month for young executives, but this type of membership is also open to couples.
The payoff: Through the Millennial Membership program, Woodstone has increased its bottom line with an average of $18,000 per month in dues and more than $100,000 in revenue from the wedding and event business. The average age of members has fallen from 68 to 58, and the property is growing the game of golf. Millennial members are learning how to be private-club members, undertaking the responsibility of paying monthly statements and building relationships and social skills.
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