It is not unexpected that, in the current economic climate, a high percentage of respondents make ‘value for money’ a high priority. Despite the fact that ‘value for money’ means different things to different people there is nonetheless the need for serious effort to achieve a better performance in this area.  This also goes hand in hand with a better communication strategy of the initiatives already underway.

		Good	Sat	Poor	N/A
Membership
	Membership Categories Available	31%	50%	18%	1%
	Value for Money	15%	39%	45%	1%
	Fee Payment Options	32%	51%	15%	2%
	Friendliness/Courtesy of Members Generally	43%	50%	7%	0%
	Enforcement of Club Bye-laws	11%	44%	38%	7%
	Overall Management of the Club	16%	53%	28%	2%

 

 

Council’s Response to the Survey Findings

The Council has tried on more than one occasion to change the membership categories. The most recent attempt, at the AGM in February 2012, was a motion proposing the introduction of 5, 6 and 7 day categories for adult golfing members. The intention of this was to simplify the membership categories and also to redistribute the cost of membership in a fairer way. Regrettably the motion did not achieve the necessary 75% vote and was defeated so the status quo remains for now.
There are a lot of comments about who pays what and how fair or otherwise this is. Until Council is able to make changes to the membership categories this will remain. The Social Membership levy for example was set at lower level because a substantial element of the cost of the Clubhouse refurbishment was spent on the Locker Rooms for the exclusive of golfing members. The lower levy is also charged to House members for the same reason and to Junior and Student members. People who receive age related discounts do not get discount on their levy only on their fees and for the last couple of years that has been a specific amount rather than a percentage of the total fee.     
Council recognizes that value for money can mean different things to different people but first and foremost in our thinking is the need to improve the Course and present it to a higher standard more consistently. Council believes that this is the way to retain existing members and to attract new ones.  It is still very much the case that Fortwilliam is a Golf Club and that we rely heavily on being able to attract Golfing Members and visitors to play golf here.  But we have also been trying in recent months to increase the number of Social members since this is   an obvious way to increase the numbers using the Bar and Restaurant.   The Course has taken a terrible pounding over the past two to three years with the enormous quantities of rain (and snow!) that have fallen. Despite this, the new Course Manager is making valiant efforts to do whatever work is possible at the present time to create the conditions for a much healthier course in the future and Council supports this work wholeheartedly. It may take a few years but we will eventually see the benefits. It won’t happen overnight so your patience is an essential ingredient in the mix. An interesting side note on all the criticism of the course and its availability is the fact that most of the courses around the Belfast area have been closed far more often than Fortwilliam and some have been restricted to nine holes over the winter months. Their members probably have some pointed things to say about value for money as well.
Many members may not be fully aware of the various options available to pay  fees. You can, of course, pay in full by cheque, credit card or cash. In addition, payment by direct debit is available and over the last two years has enabled you to spread your payments over 4 months (it used to be 2 months). A third option is to use the Club’s advance payment scheme where you pay by direct debit in advance – this collects a payment every month for  10 months ending in January by which time the full amount required to settle your fee bill for the incoming year is saved. And finally, you can choose to spread your payments by using the Fairway Credit scheme. In this instance, Fairway Credit settles you fee bill with the Club and you pay them back in monthly instalments which include an interest charge. There are suggestions about alternative ways of paying fees that members have made which are worth looking at and that will be done during the course of the year. 
Overall management of the Club and enforcement of Club bye-laws are clearly interlinked. Bear in mind that the Club is managed by the Members for the Members. Every single member of Council and the Club Sub-Committees is a volunteer who has committed to work for the Club and Members. It is clearly very disappointing to see that while 69% regard management as satisfactory or better, only 16% see it as good and 28% think it is poor. There is quite clearly an opportunity here for you who are dissatisfied with the management to throw your hat in the ring and stand for election to Council. Perhaps your involvement is just what this grand old club is waiting for. Or you could offer your expertise on one of the sub-committees. Is there some way in which you can help to improve the areas of which you are critical ? All help is appreciated and no offer of assistance will be rejected provided you have genuine skills to offer and you are prepared to work. In the meantime the present Council will do its utmost to improve the way in which the Club is managed and hope that Members will support its efforts. And, finally, for the person who asked, Is anyone clear what the bye laws are?  - This has to be clarified so that everyone is interpreting the same information, the Bye-Laws are published on the website in the Members Only section as are the Rules.
Communication is something that comes in for criticism.  The immediate past Hon. Secretary produced a regular Bulletin which was newsy and read by a large number of people (some 400+).  It was distributed by email and apart from the Fortwilliam Man feature, contained notices, results, photographs, news about members as well as news of the exploits of the Armagh County GAA team (everybody knew why) and Rory McIlroy among others. There were regular claims that people didn’t know about things that had been publicized in the Bulletin, in the same way as members denied knowing about items published about the Clubhouse on the various noticeboards. Council is focusing now on using the new website as the primary means of communication and this appears to have struck a chord with most people. But even that will only be effective in the longer term if news is supplied from all the Conveners, by Members and, of course, by the Officers of the Club, mainly the Hon. Secretary. If you have anything you feel could be of interest to other Members then please let the Hon. Secretary know about it by emailing webadmin@fortwilliamgc.co.uk .
 There are quite a few comments about equality, some practical and some not so and not just in relation to the male / female equality issue but about other items such as playing times, the use of the time sheet, access to the Members’ Bar, age related discounts. It is not possible to deal with these issues in a brief commentary such as this, however, all the matters raised will be considered by Council.

2012 Survey - Comments on Membership

The comments which follow are the full and unedited contributions from members who completed the Survey carried out during 2012. I have tried to sort them into groups specific to particular areas of the membership.  In a few cases, where comments related to more than one area, I have split them into a number of comments and allocated them under the different headings. The comments expressed are those of the members who submitted them. I accept no responsibility whatsoever for spelling, grammar or content!
Denis O’Sullivan

Membership Structure

• "Fortwilliam GC needs a restructuring of membership categories to 5, 6 & 7 day membership and apportion fees in a more fair and structured manner. The current membership fee structure is top heavy on Full Members resulting in poor value for money for them and consequently too many resignations.
• There are too many membership categories.  Many of the bye-laws, especially relating to equality are out-dated and unenforceable i.e. people using the member's bar.
• There is a lot of work to be done to consider all aspects of this but I believe that a backbone structure of 5, 6 and 7 day is long overdue.
• I am at present a social member but would upgrade to a six day member if available
• this depends on what rates are paid for these categories
• "The more choices the better for membership options.
• worth considering this new approach. we have to keep members and in the present world we have to give people flexibility and choice.
• I believe other clubs have tried this formula so some indication of success or failure should be available."
• I presume there would be a Junior category also?  What about students?  There seems to be a dearth of talent/membership in the 20-30 age group.
• I have put 1 down but the club has to maintain its membership base .People with 5 or 6 day membership may not maintain the commitment and ethos of the club
• There is more than enough classes of membership but we do need to ensure value for money, payment methods and the retainment of young member for future growth of the club. The clubhouse experience needs to be utilised to bring in this badly needed revenue.
• The different categories allow people to find the membership that best meets their personal circumstances and if this variety is reduce you may find a further reduction in membership.
• "Ladies, Juniors and Students will more than likely always require different classes of membership to allow for the payment of reduced fees. I do not believe these classes of membership should be discarded.
• only two choices 5 day or seven day 6 day should be scrapped ie cannot play Sunday
• I would like to know more about the 5, 6 and 7 day categories.  Would ladies and gents have equality when it comes to booking tee times on Saturday or Wednesday afternoon?
• I ticked 5 as the the system will not allow me to proceed if I do not tick something. I really have no idea what this question means. I would comment that there is only one full membership and that is the 7 day one anything else should not have the same standing.
• "We could be here all day!!! THE COUNCIL IS OFFERING FAR TOO MANY DISCOUNTS AND REDUCTIONS IN FEES TO NON-FULL MEMBERSHIP CLASSES.
• THIS IS THE REASON FOR THE LOSS OF CLASS 1A MEMBERS IN THEIR DROVES! THERE IS NO EQUITY OF PROVISION!!!!!
• As a Class 1A member I find it appalling that there are essentially 17 different variations of membership category.
• I do not imply that those members who have been Class 1A in the past and are now ENTITLED to their discounts, are included in this argument. They have paid full subscriptions for 25 years or more and are entitled to their reduced fees for their service to the club.
• ALL MEMBERSHIP CLASSES SHOULD PAY FULL LEVY. CLASSES OTHER THAN 1A,1B,1C,1D HAVE A NATURAL BUILT IN REDUCTION IN FEES AND THE LEVY SHOULD BE SEPARATE FROM DISCOUNT!!!!!
• This is a major issue which needs to be discussed in a fair and equitable way. I have been a full female member since 2007 and it hasn't provided me with any benefits. If we are looking at a category such as 7 days then it must mean 7 days. I basically pay the fee for 7 days but have access for 6 days. The same applies to men who have not a slot on the Saturday time sheet. It cannot remain as it is. On a Saturday there are men playing in competition along side men not playing in competition. Some of those playing are retired and could play there golf on another competition day perhaps with an incentive thus freeing up the time sheet. If there were set times on two competition days there could also be some free playing times  available. If the ladies have to sign and show their intention to play in a competition every week then so should the men. The system currently employed is totally inefficient and unfair.
• "the change of categories is only been pushed by those members wishing to obtain an enhancement to their fees and playing times, is the same argument going to allocated to house and social members becoming 5/6/7 they only use the club on fridays/saturdays.
• some of the other Belfast clubs do not offer 5 day membership i wonder why- when does the five day start and naturally the five day member will always want to play wednesday to sunday - who is going to enforce these people playing when they shouldn't be playing, moving over to these new categories is the age discount lost and will these class 2a members now have access to inter club matches which is why they are pushing this agenda.  "
• Who will enforce 5 day membership on the course?

 

Value for Money

• Value for money is rated poorly given the state of the course for most of the calendar year compared to the total cost of full membership."
• As the full membership along with the capital levy appraoches £1,000 it just feels as if it is to dear. A figure around £750 would be more acceptable. Once you approach the £1,000 mark you stop to think is it really worth so much money.
• The value for money for the membership is poor although the bar prices is extremely good value. The balance need to be better spread and the bar prices should better reflect outside prices  for all.
• Fortwilliam is increasingly becoming a 12/13 hole course for 5/6 months of the year. This is clearly having an effect in the recent decline in membership numbers."
• The general golf course is not value for money.  We are paying Malone prices for Ballyearl standard.  This needs to be dramatically revised.  The standard membership even with a high standard of course presentation is still very high and unreasonable inn this day and financial circumstances.  Myself and others are seriously considering their membership  renewal unless this is seriously addressed.
• the age related discount is killing us-also there's no point in being a Class1a member if you can't get a seat in the members' bar (happened twice in the last 4 weeks) due to the high number of non/social members-nor in the doors being opened to anyone who wants to walk in
• The current system to me is not correct. As a Class 1A member I feel there is really no benefit to me paying approx £1000 pa  versus other member classes who play more golf than me at key times for quite a lot less yet demand as much if not more than members who pay nearly double the money in fees. If there is going to be equality then let it happen and ensure all members pay accordingly and fairly. As someone who also has 2 sons that are members why have we no family rates available to encourage more families to join the club. We also need to be as flexible as possible with fee paying options, whats wrong with letting members pay their fees in current year over 12 months. If we don't we could lose more members.    
• The age proportions are skewed at both ends of the scale leaving the middle carrying the burden This section having the least available time to make use of the facilities

 

General Membership Issues

• I wish to focus on clarification of the following membership issues:
• Ladies membership - Is this membership class' subscription reduced because they cannot play at all times? If so, I agree. Hearsay has it that they do not pay into their competitions. Is this statement true? If true, why do they not contribute?
• 5-day membership -  Reduction is warranted here as they do not play at all times.
• Social Membership - Social Members enjoy a reduction in subscription fee AND levy. Why reduced levy?
• Social Members have reduced locker fees......Why?
• If a Social Member plays 52 weeks of the year on the Reduced Visitor's Fee PLUS their subscription PLUS their reduced levy - The Total amount of cost to a social member is STILL LESS than what a Full member pays AND THEY CAN PLAY AT ALL TIMES DURING THE YEAR!!!!
• House Membership - This should be scrapped.
• Honorary Life - This should only be used for those members over the age of 80 or 85 OR over 50 years service to the club.
• Juvenile Members - The initial motion to extend the reduced subscription for Juvenile members from 25 to 30 was thrown out by the membership at the AGM. Why was it passed at Council? All decisions of this nature must be from the body of the Hall.
• We all face financial hardship but Juvenile should mean 18-21 as it always has and Full subscription should come into effect when the Juvenile member turns 22 and finishes University.
• Junior Members - This subscription is currently at the correct level.
• Social membership would still be very important and should be included as a further choice."
• "all members should b equal as all bring different qualities to the club . but we need different prices for different types of  membership or we could have 1 membership  fee then a pay as u play . the more u play the more u pay . overall management of the club is good . but needs to put more of a business head on to make our club what it should b dooming .we have the best site in Ireland i think and no one knows about it . lets tell and sell it . we can open up a bit and still keep our high standard up with zero tolerance for rule breakers .  "

 

Fees and Payment Options

• There needs to be a monthly standing order system that does not require you to be paying a year ahead, available for fees.
• "Membership options needed for under 25's and 'new golfers'.
• Fortwilliam fees do not compare favourably in the area."
• Personally feel asking for payment straight after Christmas could put people of rejoining for financial reasons and the fact the course is usually very wet at this time a lot of people have not played in a good while and give serious thought to value for money
• "Every other club has reduced their fees yet we continue to pay Malone prices.. An incentive needs to be introduced to stop the loss of membership.. The price needs to reflect the condition of the course.. £1,000 per year for a course that's only ever in tip top nick one day of the year isn't on.. Dropping the prices would increase new faces - if Cairndhu & Greenacres can generate new membership then surely so can we.. Fortwilliam is a far superior course when it is in decent condition.
• "Compared to some courses in and around Belfast, membership fees seem to be in the top half.
• May already be available, but an option to pay monthly by direct debit may help with affordability of membership"
• "The annual fees are more in line with a club that offers full playing facilities all year round, providing weather conditions allow.
• Men and women should all pay the same rate for the amount of days they opt to play for, lower rate for juniors
• The fees, plus the levy, plus the £10 per week to play in two competitions make it an expensive hobby. Combined with the fact that the full course is not playable all year round do take away from the value for money aspect of the membership.
• Also the payment options are at best poor. More flexible payment options.. say by dd over 12 month.
• Need to reduce the cost of full 7 day membership.
• We have to reduce fees or we will continue to lose members. Get your act together Fortwilliam

 

Bye Laws & Enforcement

• "It has always annoyed me that so many people turn a blind eye to the blatant breaking of the clubs rules.
• I would also like to see vans being banned from parking in the car park."
• Perhaps introduce a 1/ 2 monthly membership, embracing July and August when the course is not heavily used or a taster membership
• Is anyone clear what the bye laws are?  - This has to be clarified so that everyone is interpreting the same information.
• Who enforces the by-laws?  I have seen children in the main lounge after 9.30 pm when council members were present.
• while I understand the reason for allowing "JEANS" in the clubhouse I feel that there is no enforcement as to torn jeans or fashionable jeans torn at knees etc-- enforcement as to shirts without collars or dress presentation is not enforced due to ambiguity as to what is an acceptable dress code--enforcement or indeed the drafting of an acceptable dress code is nearly impossible
• Standards of dress  in the clubhouse on social occasions have fallen too far.
• "Unruly language/ behaviour  ,mainly ,but not exclusively ,from the members bar area on  social occasions can be embarrassing.
• Too much noise on course particularly around First/tenth/fourteenth tees. Starter could control better?"
• "There are bye laws and rules for almost every possible eventuality but how well are they enforced? There are two members who were engaged in violent behaviour, albeit some years ago, but they are still members!
• Council do their best but .......
• Non-members - not signed in-  regularly use the club facilities. Who monitors this ?
• Members Lounge - ha! still same old thing  men only. Who can use this facilities needs urgent clarification.
•  Attitudes of some Officers and Council need to change and hence lead by example. Well done Immediate Past captain and Present Captain!"
• Equality
• All these points regarding male and female inequalities were presented to council as part of a working group many years ago but were ignored.  I will never work on a sub group in this club again unless proper communication channels are put in place between members, interested parties, committees and council.  I certainly hope that this current exercise is acted upon and members views taken into account.  If there are no changes then you have to ask yourself is it worth continuing to pay the current fees.
• "The current membership categories, as I am sure you realise, are conflicting.  The rights within a category of membership vary depending on whether you are male of female (eg Wednesdays) and a 5 day membership is almost equivalent in price to associate membership with very different playing rights.  Full membership as it currently stands is not equal to males and females therefore is not a viable option.  Full membership for many years has had too many associated perks including a fully serviced private bar for the male members of this category and their friends (not full members).  This is plainly wrong, unequal and causes resentment.
• The subject of equality and fairness with regards to all members, fees and generally in all aspects of the club needs addressed."

 

Playing Times

• The fairways are empty on most evenings, people within assoc membership categories should be allowed to play (springtime) - it is a waste that they are unused in the evenings. 
• As an associate member who works and has had a caring role for many years I have been unable to play during the day.  This leaves a limited choice of evening times and weekends.  Given the economic climate people heve to consider is it worth it - It would be cheaper to pay green fees.  This is why I welcome a change that will open up the times available.  The time has come to get rid of categories with archaic rules  that indirectly discriminate against people through their personal circumstances.  They are now out of date.  I welcome change in this regard.
• Personally I would pay for full membership (AGAIN) if there was a slot reserved on a sat morning for those women wishing to defer their friday competition to a Sat. (I realise that this would need support from other female members and the ladies committee.) This would facilitate women who work / care for children, sick relatives etc.  I am only talking about 1 to 2 slots as I think there would be very few interested in this option.  I would also like to have the option of playing on a Sat evening. 
• There would have to be a premium rate for playing on a Sat particularly in the morning time - this could not be calculated by simply dividing the 7 days into equal amounts.  If time slots are also reserved for a certain grouping on a Sun or other day then these have also to come at a premium. They cannot be regarded as equal access - they must cost extra at a given weight.
• In addition you cannot offer a 7 day membership without providing an opportunity for women to play. As I have previously stated I have paid the additional joining fee from assoc membership to full membership a few years ago.  After paying full fees for a number of years I realised that it was a complete waste of time and money. 
• In addition the existing time sheet that has been there from the year dot cannot continue as it discriminates against new male members coming into the club.  A new member cannot get onto this sheet unless he belongs to a group who know where there is a slot.  This practice has to stop if you want to make Fortwilliam more accessible, popular and modern.  To continue with the current practice is discriminatory against new members not in the know.

 

Other Membership Suggestions (New Categories?)

• Has anyone considered giving day membership and evening membership - ie allowing people to play to 4 o clock during the day and then another category for evening members ie 4 onwards?  This would be more suitable for people who work.
• Also Malone has a house membership with something like 10 playing times per year plus a handicap (I think).  If this was priced appropriately could this be an option for our club.
• I would like to see some creative thinking around membership and recruitment. would it be possible to have an April To September membership
• "The present structure engenders division.
• I recently retired after more than 20 years as a full corporate member dropping to 5 days for affordability reasons. I find I am not eligible for a long service rebate as I changed class of membership ( a break in service?) had I been 20 years as a 5 day member I would have received a reduced fee. I find this questionable and unfair - this needs sorted and affected members treated with some parity.
• I now find I cannot play on Captain's day as it is played on a Saturday. Again is the Captain not my Captain also and how many members does this affect ( does the club not want their participation and cash on this special day?).
• It is these relatively small things that impact on club loyalty.   "

 

Playing Times

• Also - when I travel to other clubs eg Dungarvan (Waterford) -  they have an excellent booking system which allows you to book a tee time as a non member at a very good rate at times when the course is not being used (mornings and evenings during the week).  In the evening times they offer a decent green fee plus a pint/meal deals.  May not be of any use but I often avail of it and think it is very good value for a very good course.
• All tee bookings should be made one week in advance at max to avoid all these internal societies taking over the booking sheet.
•  As a five day member I am not keen on the time restriction this time restriction means those who work can only play on days off surely it would benefit the club if 5 day members could play anytime during the week and wouldn't inconvenience the full members.

 

Friendliness / Courtesy

• Most members are courteous on the course and in the club house.  Any incidents that do occur are mainly due to misinformation or lack of communication.  These should be cleared up immediately and not allowed to fester over months.  That is of no benefit to anyone.
• I believe on my personal experience that there is a lack of golf etiquette  
• 1. Non repair of plug marks on greens is an issue.
• 2. Noise levels coming from ladies at 1st tee box on Wednesday morning @ approx 10.30am
• 3. Etiquette of individual female member who shouted from 13 rough across course to me going down 14th and coming across onto the 14th fairway to me making accusations that I had jumped on at 14th being oblivious to the fact that I was participating in the over 50 competition.
• 4. Outburst of shouting at 1st green by member when I was in middle of swing chipping onto 17th green.
• 5. The green staff out working on the course using blowers , mowers etc making alterations to course both behind and in front when playing in Wednesday competition making it most unenjoyable. "
• "I brought 3 visitors to a Wednesday competition recently and by the way they were looked at by the regulars you would have thought they had horns, but thats North Belfast for you.
• "lack of consideration from young members and speed of their play needs to be assessed
• also slow play of adults men /women is an issue"
• Other Membership Issues
• "I believe that the exclusions imposed for current classes of membership are discriminatory and destructive e.g. Student adults barred from Captains Day & Presidents Day. In fact, barring of any class from participating is not conducive with generation of revenue or promoting longevity of membership.
• I have complained separately about the Student Adult rule.
• Each time council feel the need to quote what age discounts are costing the club now and in the future please also quote a figure what the discount for associate membership is for the same period
• There are too many cliques in the club.
• We need to integrate the men and women far better, its a nonsense at the moment, the battle of the sexes with one side as bad as the other.
• More mixed competitions, less ladies days and less men only days."
• Consideration of a constructive, on- line reporting/suggestion/maintenance system. Maybe this would help reduce the number of members who grouch about things but do nothing to help eliminate problems.   
• Junior members are the life blood of the club but need more instruction on general behaviour on the course (speed of play) and in the clubhouse. They should be encouraged to see membership as a privilege. "
• Growing the Membership
• The club's social facilities are significantly under-utilised.  The cost of a pure social, non playing membership should be dropped considerably.  The Antrim Road is a strong catchment for medium to high income individuals with no appropriate competitive social offering.  I might take 2 years to develop this market, but significant profits could be raised from this  segment which would go a long way to solving the current difficulties.
• The lack of family membership greatly reduces the clubs ability to encourage complete family integration. The introduction of family membership will not only increase membership but also reduce the financial burden on larger families. As far as I am aware most clubs in the Belfast area have extended family membership. Why should Fortwilliam be any different ?
• In order to achieve the aim of reducing fees many more new members are required. To achieve this heavily discounted first year fees should be introduced and indeed one or two year discounts should apply to returning members. Furthermore, the time of year fees become due needs changed from December to April; social membership fees need reduced immediately as the real profit arises from the custom over the bar and not through fees; and, an option to spread fees over a 10 month period by DD offered by the club and not fairway credit should be introduced.
• Comments that didn’t readily fit under any of the above headings
• "Overall improvement since new council and Hon Sec appointed.
• Its early days but at least a move in the right general direction.
• I am hopeful that things are changing and that common sense will prevail.  A more open spirit of communication may facilitate or inform change. Members of the club need to work together and communicate.  It will be interesting to see what is proposed in this regard.  A male dominated Council may not be of benefit to the club in general and some fresh blood may inspire and facilitate positive change.  I am just trying to say that other viewpoints can be useful."
• Why is my wife and I trapped in the mixed lounge on a Saturday night listening to horrendous and deafening bands when we would like to go into the other bar for a chat with our friends? Many a time we have decided to leave the club and go elsewhere.