From April, many English golf clubs will face a sharp increase in business rates following the latest revaluation. In some cases, rateable values are expected to double or more.
What makes this particularly challenging is why these increases are happening.
Business rates are calculated using estimated open-market rental values, which take into account location, facilities, and — crucially — trading performance. As a result, clubs that have invested, diversified, and grown demand are often the most exposed.
In other words, success is being penalised.
Business rates sit alongside other fixed costs such as staffing, utilities, insurance, and maintenance. These costs rise regardless of how many members a club has or how busy the tee sheet is in any given month.
For committees, this creates a difficult question: If a fixed cost rises overnight, where does the money come from?
In practice, clubs usually have only three realistic levers:
The first two options are well understood – and politically difficult. Subscription increases risk resignations, while green fee rises can affect demand and price perception.
Increasingly, clubs are exploring the third option: revenue that flexes with demand rather than locking in more overhead.
Participation-linked income has several advantages:
This approach is particularly relevant at a time when leisure facilities have not received the same rate relief afforded to sectors such as hospitality – a concern being raised across the industry by bodies including the UK Golf Federation.
The issue facing clubs isn’t whether fixed costs will rise – that now appears inevitable.
The real question is whether future revenue plans rely primarily on price increases, or on participation models that allow income to grow without increasing the club’s fixed cost base.
It’s a conversation more committees are starting to have — and one that will only become more important in the months ahead.