Golf Monthly UK – August 2019

Theneedforflexibility

Thisis interestingtomebecauseI

havelongfeltthatit is notcost,per
se,thatis golfmembership’sbiggest

obstacle,butcostrelativeto

perceivedvalue.Youonlyhaveto
lookatthehordesnowcycling

aroundonveryexpensivebikeson

a Sundaymorningdressedheadto

toeinLycratosensethatmany
peopledostillhavemoneyto

spend.Andtherearestillplenty, it

wouldseem,happytospend
whateverit takestoenjoythebest

golfingexperiences,whichperhaps

explainsthesuccessofMashieGolf.
Thefactthisnewstyleof

membershipappearstobeworking

intandemwithexistingmodels
maygosomewaytoexplaining

why more than 70 very nice golf

clubshavechosentopartnerwith

Mashie.Thatsaid,Mashiehasused

thestrapline‘thefutureofgolf

membership’,soI askHoveyforhis

widerthoughtsontheissue.“I

thinktheBritishgolfindustry

needstolooka littlebitmoreatthe

Americanmarket,”hereplies.

“Clubsneedtobemoreflexible

withtheirmembers.Toomany

clubsdon’thaveaffiliateclubs,so

youcan’tthenhavetheflexibility

ofplayingdifferentplaces.That’s

whatwe’retryingtoharness.”

Ontopoftheeventsandthe

clothing,Mashiemembersalso

enjoydiscountedgreenfeesatall

partnerclubs,plusthechanceto

holdanofficialhandicapviaoneof

Mashie’saffiliatedclubs.The

membership fee is £1,000 a year,

with£750ofthatprovidingthe

memberwith£500credittobe

usedagainstentryfeesforevents

and£250worthofclothingcredit

sotheycankitthemselvesout in

Mashiegear.Corporate

membershipshaveproved

extremelypopulartoo,butHovey

iseagerfortheeventsnotto

becometoolarge-scale.“Iwant to

getawayfromtheideaofa

corporategolfday,”hetellsme.

“Wearea members’clubsowe

wantourmemberstogettoknow

eachother,andyoucan’tdothat

ona daywith 80 people.”

Astherainbeginstofallmore

steadily,ourconversationdrawsto

a closeasHoveyis eagertogetout

andhelpraisethespiritsofhis

somewhatsoggymembersand

guestsastheyreachthesanctuary

ofthehalfwayhouse.Beforehe

goes,I askforhisthoughtsasto

whyMashiehasprovedso

successful.“Iwouldsaythefirst

reasonis it’sunique,”hereplies.

“Weoffera roundedservice,with

oureventsatthecoreofit.

Everyonelovesoureventsandwe

playsomegreatcourses.But

memberscanalsogetanofficial

handicapthroughouraffiliated

clubs,plusdiscountsongreenfees

ata lotofgreatcourses,sotheycan

playwhereandwhentheywant.If

you’renota memberofa club,you

canbea memberofMashieand

feellikeyouare.Evenif youare,

you can get the benefi ts of both.”

JOHN PIGOTT

IseeMashieGolfascomplementing
myclubmembership.I’mfortunatein
theroleI haveasaself-employed
financialadvisor,asmydiaryismyown.

I playregulargolfatmyhomecluband

useMashieasamechanismtoinvite

clientsasathankyou.ButtodayI’ve

broughtthreepersonalfriends,soI mix

andmatch.Forme,it’stheperfect

complement to golf at my home club.

WHAT THEY SAYÉ

We caught up with some of the Remedy Oak competitors to get their thoughts on Mashie GolfÉ

KEVIN BUCK

WhatI enjoyaboutitisthemodernway

theydothings.They’rethinkingabout

us,soweplaygoodcourses,it’ssetup

wellforusandtherearen’tloadsof

people.I’vebeenamemberofaclub,

butwithchildrenI justcan’tjustifythe

expense.It’splayingthesamecourseall

thetime,andifI canonlyplay12-15

timesayear,golf’sabitofanevent

anyway so I want to make the most of it.

HENRY MARTIN

It’smostlythemaineventsforme,butI

tryandplaynewcoursestoo.Themain

benefitformeisgettingtoplaynew

coursesandseeingnewpeople–the

peopleI’vemetI generallygetonreally

wellwith.MyfriendColinusesMashie

becausehewantsthemembership

andthehandicapbuthedoesn’thave

thetimetocommittoatraditionalclub,

so this is a better alternative for him.

MASHIE GOLF

Theweatherdidn’tdampen

spirits at Remedy Oak