Member Survey

June 2020

 

Introduction

Member based organisations have a critical need for conducting member surveys to best assess the satisfaction levels and opinions of direction, from the member base of the club, as a whole.

A club which forms direction and makes corrections from the opinions of those who complain, exposes itself to rapid and regular changes of direction based on only a small number of points of view, while not taking into account those who choose to remain silent who can be either positive or negative regarding matters.

Member surveys are valuable for a number of reasons; they allow the Committee and Management to collect important feedback from members, make improvements (thus boosting engagement and retention), and at the most basic level, show members that the club genuinely cares about their thoughts and enjoyment.

This survey was written with the express intent of obtaining member opinions of direction, and satisfaction levels, and was structured so that these could be quantifiable.

The survey was sent to all adult playing members only, as it was specifically targeted at the playing membership.

A future survey could be targeted at the social aspects of the club specifically but at this stage the playing aspects were considered more important.

The Survey

The survey was sent to 678 adult playing members with a return of 66%.

Member surveys traditionally attract a response rate of 20-30% so this result is outstanding and can be regarded as a fair cross section of member opinions in general.

There was an incentive of two $50 house card credits offered to encourage participation.

The survey was conducted using the platform of Survey Monkey, which was set up to allow only one response per survey sent.

This meant that members who used one email address for more than one person (such as partners) were only able to complete the survey once. This was dealt with by those who asked for a second survey being accommodated by being asked for a different email address to which another survey could be sent.

The Survey Responses

Not all respondents answered all questions so there will be discrepancies between the numbers from question to question and there is no explanation for this.

Comments will be made with most responses as assessments in the writer’s opinion.

Q1. Gender
Answer Choices	Responses
Male	79.65%	360
Female	20.35%	92

According to the finding published by Golf Australia in their most recent Golf Club Participation Report the average age of male golfers in Australia is 56 years of age, with females being 64 years of age.

Q2. Age Bracket
Answer Choices		Responses
Under 18		0.00%		0
18-30		3.33%		15
30-45		11.31%		51
45-60		23.73%		107
Over 60		61.64%		278
Q3. Membership Type
Answer Choices		Responses
6 or 7 Day Membership		49.89%	226
5 Day Membership		22.96%	104
Flexi Membership		22.74%	103
Other Membership		4.42%	20

The breakdown of gender, age and membership categories in respondents is considered representative of the playing membership and a fair representation of those giving their opinions.

Q4. How long have you been a member of The Vines
Answer Choices	Responses
Less than 2 years	19.38%	88
2 - 5 years	17.84%	81
3 - 10 years	21.37%	97
11 - 20 years	17.62%	80
21 years or more	23.79%	108

This represents an even cross section of members which again supports the “fairness” of opinions.

If there was a more uneven spread it could be argued that one demographic or another, such as long-term members, was dominating results however this is not the case.

Previous generations of golfers were long term members with individual club loyalties however this has changed, especially with areas where more clubs are available and transport being less of an issue.

This places greater pressure on clubs to be a “club of choice” for reasons important to the mobile golfer.

Q5. Prior to the Covid-19 restrictions, how often did you use the following facilities
	More Than Weekly		Weekly		Less Than Weekly		Monthly		Less than Monthly		Total
Course	49.34%	223	35.18%	159	9.29%	42	3.10%	14	3.98%	18	452
Practice Areas	20.09%	86	22.90%	98	14.95%	64	10.98%	47	31.31%	134	428
Club House	36.63%	163	35.96%	160	13.03%	58	5.39%	24	10.11%	45	445
Function Facilities	1.93%	8	5.30%	22	7.47%	31	4.10%	17	81.45%	338	415
Bistro	4.82%	21	16.28%	71	12.84%	56	18.35%	80	48.62%	212	436

The responses to this question need to be assessed in conjunction with the responses to Question 3 Membership Type, which would have a direct bearing on the use of playing facilities.

With traditional 7, 6 and 5 day memberships making up 72.85% of respondents the heavy bias towards use of the course at least weekly is to be expected.

The responses to use of Function Facilities and Bistro by members will need to be addressed by Management and indicate that the majority of patrons for the bistro, which prior to the Covid crisis were increasing, are coming from non-members and non-golfers.

Q6. How important to you are the following methods of communication of information which affects you as a member?
	Extremely Important		Important		Fairly Important		Unimportant		Total
Newsletter (Grapevine)	21.82%	96	52.05%	229	18.86%	83	7.27%	32	440
Facebook	3.85%	16	20.91%	87	19.95%	83	55.29%	230	416
E-mails from club	43.96%	193	44.87%	197	10.02%	44	1.14%	5	439
Speaking with staff	37.01%	161	46.67%	203	14.48%	63	1.84%	8	435
Speaking with committee	11.57%	50	28.01%	121	35.42%	153	25.00%	108	432
Posters and signage	12.18%	53	47.36%	206	29.66%	129	10.80%	47	435
Facebook and social media	4.65%	20	24.19%	104	24.42%	105	46.74%	201	430

Communication with members is critical to any club, and this question was written to identify the most relevant and trusted ways playing members obtain information about their club.

By grouping Extremely Important and Important responses together gives emails from the club and speaking with staff the most responses, although the newsletter On the Grapevine closely follows. It is interesting that speaking with staff is more highly regarded than speaking with Committee however this could be due to the information being obtained being more day to day operational rather than critical.

Social media channels were seen as not important to playing members however results from promotions indicate the importance to non-members and non-golfers, with currently in excess of 2,400 “liking” the Facebook page.

Q7. How do you rate the current communication the club has with you, as a member?
	Very Satisfied		Satisfied		Neutral		Dissatisfied		Very Dissatisfied		Total
Newsletter (Grapevine)	40.91%	180	47.27%	208	11.59%	51	0.23%	1	0.00%	0	440
Noticeboard	12.12%	52	44.76%	192	40.09%	172	2.56%	11	0.47%	2	429
E-mails from club	44.65%	196	47.38%	208	7.29%	32	0.23%	1	0.46%	2	439
Signs and posters	10.88%	47	53.01%	229	33.80%	146	2.08%	9	0.23%	1	432
Website	31.09%	134	50.58%	218	14.62%	63	3.25%	14	0.46%	2	431
Facebook and social media	3.94%	17	28.07%	121	62.41%	269	1.86%	8	3.71%	16	431

The rating of communication follows Question 6 closely, with emails from the club seen as highest.

This may be a reflection of the communication strategy during the Covid period, when emails were used to advise members of updates as they occurred.

It is extremely pleasing to see the “community” based newsletter On the Grapevine rating highly and interesting that signs and posters rate second to last.

The low total of Dissatisfied and Very Dissatisfied responses indicates the communication to members is considered sound.

Q8. In your opinion please rate the importance of the following facilities for the club going into the future?
	Extremely Important				Important				Fairly Important		Unimportant			Total
Course	96.13%		422		3.87%		17		0.00%	0	0.00%	0		439
Clubhouse internally	41.61%		181		49.66%		216		6.90%	30	1.84%	8		435
Clubhouse externally	30.07%		132		49.20%		216		18.45%	81	2.28%	10		439
Function facilities	20.18%		88		48.17%		210		23.62%	103	8.03%	35		436
Restaurant/bistro	43.48%		190		42.79%		187		10.53%	46	3.20%	14		437
Car park	24.94%		109		48.28%		211		21.74%	95	5.03%	22		437
Cart storage	10.32%		45		25.69%		112		27.98%	122	36.01%	157		436
*See comments for following question Q9. With the club having limited financial resources and many demands, where would you rate the importance of spending the funds available?
		Extremely Important				Important			Fairly Important		Unimportant				Total
Course		87.44%		383		11.87%		52	0.46%	2	0.23%		1		438
Clubhouse internally		15.51%		67		47.45%		205	28.01%	121	9.03%		39		432
Clubhouse externally		8.55%		37		35.33%		153	42.03%	182	14.09%		61		433
Function facilities		7.83%		34		35.71%		155	39.17%	170	17.28%		75		434
Restaurant/bistro		21.15%		92		48.28%		210	23.91%	104	6.67%		29		435
Car park		7.11%		31		23.39%		102	41.51%	181	27.98%		122		436
Cart storage		3.23%		14		13.82%		60	31.34%	136	51.61%		224		434

Questions 8 and 9 are important in obtaining the opinions of members regarding the direction of clubhouse precinct facilities going into the future.

There are no surprises in the responses given anecdotal evidence from general conversations.

The interesting result is the importance of the car park, given a combined top two responses for importance of facility, and yet how low it rates with importance of funding. This would indicate a general acceptance of its condition.

Q10. To what degree would you support the following initiatives to generate and attract new members and green fee players to the club?
	Support Fully		Support Somewhat		Not Fussed		Don't Support		Totally Against		Total
Relaxation of dress code	7.05%	31	20.91%	92	19.55%	86	35.00%	154	17.50%	77	440
More advertising signage	24.32%	107	37.50%	165	34.09%	150	3.41%	15	0.68%	3	440
Changing competition days	4.33%	19	9.34%	41	37.59%	165	35.31%	155	13.44%	59	439
Increasing reciprocal clubs	32.27%	141	32.04%	140	30.66%	134	3.66%	16	1.37%	6	437
Open days	19.77%	87	35.45%	156	37.05%	163	5.45%	24	2.27%	10	440
Novelty events	15.10%	66	29.75%	130	41.19%	180	10.07%	44	3.89%	17	437
Functions	19.86%	87	37.21%	163	39.04%	171	2.51%	11	1.37%	6	438

The responses to this question indicate how members appear to desire to transition to a member’s club, as distinct from a semi-private club, given this being financially possible.

The two most marked responses are the negative numbers for relaxing the dress code and changing the competition days.

There are no significant positive responses to the selections apart from increasing reciprocal clubs.

Q11. How satisfied are you with the following club facilities?
	Very Satisfied		Satisfied		Somewhat Satisfied		Somewhat Dissatisfied		Very Dissatisfied		Total
Course	76.38%	333	21.56%	94	1.83%	8	0.23%	1	0.00%	0	436
Clubhouse internally	25.23%	111	58.64%	258	14.09%	62	1.82%	8	0.23%	1	440
Clubhouse externally	14.09%	62	58.18%	256	21.59%	95	5.91%	26	0.23%	1	440
Function Facilities	8.64%	37	60.75%	260	29.44%	126	0.93%	4	0.23%	1	428
Restaurant/Bistro	18.39%	80	61.84%	269	17.24%	75	1.61%	7	0.92%	4	435
Pro Shop	18.22%	80	53.08%	233	20.05%	88	7.74%	34	0.91%	4	439
Bar	23.34%	102	62.24%	272	11.44%	50	1.83%	8	1.14%	5	437
Clubhouse gardens	32.88%	144	56.85%	249	9.59%	42	0.68%	3	0.00%	0	438
Buggy storage	4.39%	18	46.10%	189	40.00%	164	7.32%	30	2.20%	9	410
Clubhouse furniture	16.32%	71	60.23%	262	18.39%	80	5.06%	22	0.00%	0	435
Toilets & Locker rooms	5.68%	25	47.27%	208	23.64%	104	17.27%	76	6.14%	27	440
Entrance	11.36%	50	62.05%	273	19.77%	87	5.91%	26	0.91%	4	440
Verandah	10.48%	46	57.40%	252	23.46%	103	7.06%	31	1.59%	7	439

The responses to Question 11 indicate a general satisfaction with most aspects of the club, with the marked exclusion of the toilets and locker rooms, and the buggy storage.

Q12. For facilities with unfavourable ratings would you be prepared to lend your time to assist with implementing changes or generating income to pay for changes?
Answer Choices	Responses
Yes	55.15%	241
No	44.85%	196

An interesting response to availability for volunteering which mirrors the decline in volunteering in general.

Without disclosing any reason for choosing not to, or not being available to, this shows the challenge facing golf clubs in general, who rely heavily on volunteer workforces.

It could be an indication of the age groups who completed the survey (see Question 2) with some simply having time available and some not.

The Vines are lucky enough to have a regular group of volunteers however they should never be taken for granted, nor should their ongoing availability, as they age.

Q13. How do you rate the following as value for money for your membership at the club?
	Very Satisfied		Satisfied		Somewhat Satisfied		Dissatisfied		Very Dissatisfied		Total
Membership cost	21.87%	96	55.58%	244	18.45%	81	4.10%	18	0.00%	0	439
Beverage prices	9.82%	43	56.16%	246	23.74%	104	9.36%	41	0.91%	4	438
Variety of beverages	15.23%	67	68.18%	300	14.32%	63	1.36%	6	0.91%	4	440
Food prices	15.26%	67	65.83%	289	17.08%	75	1.82%	8	0.00%	0	439
Variety of food	10.76%	47	58.12%	254	26.32%	115	4.12%	18	0.69%	3	437
Pro Shop	15.19%	67	57.82%	255	19.73%	87	6.58%	29	0.68%	3	441
Practice range	8.01%	35	51.03%	223	26.32%	115	12.13%	53	2.52%	11	437
Hours/days of operation	24.15%	106	65.38%	287	9.79%	43	0.46%	2	0.23%	1	439
Benefits for members	12.13%	53	54.00%	236	28.38%	124	4.58%	20	0.92%	4	437

This is a difficult response group to measure and there is a great deal of relativity in what members see as value for money, given individual financial situations.

There is a marked difference in the opinion of food and beverage value for money, which may be linked to the poor playing member usage of the bistro as evidenced in Question 5.

Q14. How do you rate The Vines as an overall club against the following clubs, taking into account all parts of your experience?
	Much Better		Better		About The Same		Don't Know		Worse		Much Worse		Total
Aston Hills	20.67%	86	9.86%	41	3.13%	13	64.90%	270	1.20%	5	0.24%	1	416
Blackwood	14.65%	63	31.86%	137	29.53%	127	16.98%	73	6.98%	30	0.00%	0	430
Flagstaff Hill	61.95%	267	21.81%	94	2.55%	11	9.98%	43	3.25%	14	0.46%	2	431
Glenelg	3.55%	15	8.98%	38	18.68%	79	36.88%	156	26.48%	112	5.44%	23	423
Kooyonga	3.10%	13	5.49%	23	11.22%	47	42.24%	177	31.50%	132	6.44%	27	419
Links Lady Bay	9.95%	42	19.19%	81	26.07%	110	34.36%	145	9.72%	41	0.71%	3	422
McCracken	17.77%	75	28.91%	122	15.64%	66	32.94%	139	4.27%	18	0.47%	2	422
Mount Compass	15.80%	67	26.89%	114	21.93%	93	29.72%	126	5.19%	22	0.47%	2	424
Royal Adelaide	3.84%	16	8.87%	37	8.39%	35	45.32%	189	26.86%	112	6.71%	28	417
Thaxted Park	57.24%	245	19.63%	84	3.04%	13	14.72%	63	3.50%	15	1.87%	8	428
West lakes	20.52%	87	29.25%	124	13.92%	59	30.42%	129	4.72%	20	1.18%	5	424
The Grange	3.10%	13	6.90%	29	16.67%	70	38.10%	160	29.76%	125	5.48%	23	420
Westward Ho	40.05%	169	21.80%	92	6.16%	26	29.38%	124	2.13%	9	0.47%	2	422
Willunga	41.51%	176	21.23%	90	5.42%	23	29.01%	123	2.12%	9	0.71%	3	424

Ratings for this question appear dominated by the “Don’t Know” responses however apart from the more expensive courses, the opinions are quite positive for the experience as a player, especially against the clubs in the near vicinity.

Q15. How do you rate the following facets of the clubhouse?
	Really Good		Good		Average		Poor		Really Poor		Total
Indoor Furnishings	13.70%	60	58.22%	255	25.57%	112	2.51%	11	0.00%	0	438
Toilets	2.95%	13	33.41%	147	44.55%	196	13.41%	59	5.68%	25	440
Locker rooms	2.51%	11	28.77%	126	46.58%	204	16.44%	72	5.71%	25	438
Office hours	10.48%	46	78.36%	344	10.48%	46	0.68%	3	0.00%	0	439
Staff service	32.19%	141	52.51%	230	11.19%	49	2.97%	13	1.14%	5	438
Outdoor area	11.36%	50	58.18%	256	26.36%	116	3.18%	14	0.91%	4	440

As with the results of Question 11 the toilets and locker room are rated very poorly.

It is pleasing to see customer service in general rates 2nd highest in the ratings above average.

Q16. How do you rate the following facets of the golf course?
	Really good		Good		Average		Poor		Really Poor		Total
Greens	67.88%	298	29.38%	129	2.73%	12	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	439
Tees	40.77%	179	46.47%	204	10.71%	47	1.59%	7	0.46%	2	439
Signage	14.38%	63	58.90%	258	22.83%	100	3.20%	14	0.68%	3	438
Rough	13.64%	60	57.05%	251	25.00%	110	3.86%	17	0.45%	2	440
Bunkers	12.76%	56	44.19%	194	32.57%	143	7.97%	35	2.51%	11	439
Gardens on course	22.37%	98	59.36%	260	15.53%	68	2.51%	11	0.23%	1	438
Paths on course	7.74%	34	41.69%	183	39.18%	172	8.43%	37	2.96%	13	439
Practice Range	5.75%	25	41.15%	179	38.39%	167	11.49%	50	3.22%	14	435

Combining the ratings above average indicates a general satisfaction with the condition of the course and surrounds but not with the practice range.

Survey Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in the survey results and analysis of responses are those of the individual respondents and are for purely information purposes regarding the opinions of the membership of The Vines Golf Club of Reynella.

No discussion or correspondence will be entered into regarding the results and the anonymity of the respondents will be protected by the club.

The Vines Golf Club of Reynella reserves the right to use or not to use this information when considering future decisions about the operations or future direction of the club.