Pleasington Golf Club puts members first to drive long-term project

Pleasington Golf Club has always been a go-to place for golfers. With high-profile events under their belt, 800+ members, and a Championship standard course featuring five different tee options, it's no wonder this North West England club is pretty popular. 

But Pleasington Golf Club isn't one to settle for second best. So, they set a goal a few years ago to become the best inland course in Lancashire and one of the Top 100 courses in England.  

And their game plan? We’re glad you asked. 

Driving a business strategy with member experience at the center 

Pleasington Golf Club's project took off back in 2021. The club wanted to regain its old charm and plant the seeds of a successful future, starting with a complete upgrade of the courses and clubhouse.  

But, as you can imagine, this wasn't going to be cheap. 

They realized they needed buy-ins from members and centered the strategy around them to take the club to the next level – which led to their strategy's name, "Good2Great". 

As their business model now relied heavily on members, the club wanted to make sure their members’ opinions continued to be heard loud and clear during the rebuilding. After all, the members had basically founded the project themselves.  

For this reason, the club launched the Players 1st Member Experience Survey. 

The 2021 survey was a hit with members, with nearly half participating. The club listened closely, dug deep, and pinpointed two areas that needed attention.

The Member Survey from Players 1st identified two areas for improvement.

With the help of the Players 1st dashboard's filter options, the club could smoothly and swiftly break down feedback by gender, age, and handicap to identify the most significant areas in the eyes of different golfers.  

Pleasington Golf Club also used the split option and the platform's priority map, which enables clubs to combine scores and compare their importance for members. Now, the club could also get a clear view of how their female members felt about their experience at the club and address their key concerns.

The priority map in the Players 1st dashboard.

A perfect example of the benefits of having a thriving membership 

Pleasington Golf Club shows that investing in member satisfaction pays off. As a side note, their general healthy relationship with their members actually allowed the club to get investments from members to start the project. 

And by gathering feedback through regular surveys and using the Players 1st platform to benchmark their progress, the club can make sure the upgrades meet the expectations of their members and fulfill their needs. This way of leading their long-term project helps the club to drive change and improve the member experience at the same time. 

Other golf managers and clubs looking to improve their own courses and satisfy their members can learn a thing or two from Pleasington Golf Club's approach of putting the member experience first while upgrading the club.