Hospitality expert Tony Adams on why the 19th hole is crucial to the success of a golf club
Middle-ground hospitality is dead and golf clubs need to pay attention. Pubs and restaurants aren't closing because people don't want to go out; they're struggling because hospitality has split down the middle, with the top 10 per cent of earners now driving 50 per cent of consumer spending.
Luxury is booming and restaurants charging £150-plus per head are packed, all while mid-tier operators are closing their doors at an alarming rate.
Since Covid, according to the ONS (Office for National Statistics), food costs are up nearly 40 per cent and the cost of labour has followed close behind.
Operators have, understandably, tried to protect their margins by making cuts: smaller portions; cheaper ingredients; fewer staff. These are logical decisions in isolation, but the problem is that the quality of the experience has remained the same and, in many cases, they've actually become worse.
Pictured: Tony Adams
Consumers have noticed, and they're asking themselves why they're paying £18 for a bang-average burger. So they trade down to cheaper alternatives, or they save up for one outstanding experience; either way, the middle ground gets squeezed.
Golf clubs are not immune from this either, far from it. Too many are stuck in that dangerous middle, not cheap enough to feel like value and not good enough to feel like a treat.
They're just there, serving average, middle-ground food that members tolerate rather than celebrate.
What I think gets missed in these conversations is that F&B isn't really about the food, or the coffee or the drinks. Of course, those things matter enormously; get them wrong and you've lost before you've started. Yet that's not the product, not really.
“F&B is time with friends and family around the table – breaking bread together, sharing a meal after a round, celebrating and commiserating” - Tony Adams
The product is time with friends and family around the table – breaking bread together, sharing a meal after a round, celebrating and commiserating. This is ancient stuff. The food and drink are just the vehicle that gives us permission to sit together and actually connect.
So why should PGA Members care about any of this?
Simply, you'll never have the golf club experience we'd all like without the warmth and hospitality of a genuinely excellent clubhouse.
The 19th Hole matters; coffee after a lesson matters; it all connects. When I think about meaningful occasions in my own life, the celebrations and gatherings and events that stay with me all come back to F&B in some way. If the meal wasn't good, if the service was poor, if something felt off, it influences everything that surrounds it.
F&B is overlooked in golf clubs because people don't appreciate the power it has over the whole experience, yet its fingerprints are on everything.
So where does this leave your club? Pick a lane. Run it lean, affordable and clear, or be premium, unforgettable and absolutely excellent. You can’t serve average, middle-ground food because, after a while, your members won’t use F&B.
If you're not selling as much food as you think you should be, ask yourself whether it's cheap and cheerful or premium excellence; if it's neither, that's your answer.
Hospitality isn't dying, but the middle ground is.
About Tony Adams
For the past 20 years Tony has worked in the hospitality industry, owning restaurants, bars and nightclubs. He is also a county first-team golfer for Kent and he began Hospitality in Golf to help golf clubs simplify operations, improve member experience and grow F&B profits.
