I had a series of interviews at The Landings Club in Savannah, Georgia (see: www.LandingsClub.com). Like most prominent private clubs they had a surge in membership over the past 24 months.

As (we hope) the pandemic is entering the final stretch, their attention has adjusting from how to attract new members to retaining current members.

It’s very likely that rounds played nationwide saw there “high water mark” last summer as the entire economy reopens. During your next management meeting, discuss how your membership mix may have changed and if you are doing all you can to engage your newest members. A purist who plays 300 days per year has different expectations from a social golfer who plays once in a blue moon.

A Success Story

Over the course of the past three decades, Discovery Land Company has expanded to include dozens of golf clubs (most with Tom Fazio designs) that span 10 time zones from the tranquil shores of Hawaii to Portugal’s sunny Blue Coast. Their success can’t be questioned. Most of its communities offer a vertical, intergenerational membership that allows the primary member’s parents and children to enjoy the entire range of amenities and programs to the fullest. See: www.DiscoveryLandCo.com.

If you haven’t already implemented an intergenerational membership, now is the time to discuss the option. As initiation fees and monthly dues increase, an intergenerational membership is a perk that, while stressing already busy amenities, can create goodwill and loyalty.

Political Correctness

In today’s “politically correct” world, I wanted to make you aware of one term that you might be using in marketing literature.

Historically, master has been used to describe a man in an authoritative, disciplinarian position: a school master or, the more sinister term, slave master comes to mind.

The term “master bedroom” first appeared in the early 20th century to denote that the room was reserved for the master of the household, who almost always was a man.

Given the word’s history, however, steeped with an uncomfortable combination of hierarchical, racial, and sexist connotations, does it still fit in today’s lexicon?