By Gareth Morgan, GCMA Professional Development Manager
One of the most thought-provoking points to come out of the latest ASPIRE Series webinar was a statistic shared by Will Hewitt, Managing Director of 59club UK.
According to 59Club’s data, when a member of staff engages a customer in a genuine, meaningful conversation, they become nine times more likely to go on to ask a sales-related questions which lead to increased income. 59Club’s wider data also suggests that the customer is then more likely to purchase.
It is a striking statistic, but perhaps the more important question for golf club managers is not “How do we get our teams to sell more?” It is “How do we create more opportunities for our teams to have meaningful conversations?”
Because the evidence suggests that the two things are much more closely connected than we might think.
The Conversation Comes Before the Sale
In many golf clubs, sales can still be viewed as something that happens at a particular point in the customer journey.
A membership enquiry comes in. Someone gives a tour. A visitor goes into the pro shop. A golfer orders food and drink. The expectation is that, at some point, an employee should identify an opportunity and make the sale. But this can create a problem.
If we train people to think about selling rather than understanding the customer, the interaction can quickly become transactional.
The alternative is to start with conversation.
- What brings the golfer to the club?
- What do they enjoy about their current membership?
- What are they looking for?
- Have they got everything they need for their round?
- Are they staying for something to eat?
- What did they think of the course?
- Are there other facilities they haven’t tried?
- What would make their experience better?
These aren’t sales questions. They are customer questions. But they open the door to sales opportunities.
59Club’s own research illustrates precisely this point. Its recent UK data says that meaningful conversation makes staff nine times more likely to ask a sales-related question, while its wider service research argues that engagement is the gateway to upselling and a better overall customer experience.
The important distinction is that the sale becomes a consequence of good service, rather than an interruption to it.
The Evidence Goes Beyond Golf
Interestingly, there is wider research that points in the same direction. Gallup’s research into customer conversations in retail banking found that the quality of the conversation had a significant impact on sales conversion.
When customers had a high-quality conversation with a banker, a sales conversion was 1.6 times more likely when the customer initiated the conversation. But when the employee initiated a high-quality conversation, the likelihood of a sales conversion was 4.2 times greater than following a low-quality conversation.
Gallup’s definition of a high-quality conversation is particularly relevant to golf clubs. It describes conversations that are person-centric, needs-based and future-focused.
In other words, the employee isn’t simply trying to sell something. They are trying to understand the person in front of them. That should resonate strongly with golf club management.
A prospective member isn’t really buying a handicap system, a tee time or access to a golf course. They may be buying somewhere to belong, somewhere to play regularly, a social network, better golf, family time, competition, or simply a place where they feel comfortable.
Until we understand why someone is interested, how can we effectively explain why our club is right for them?
Membership Sales Should Start Long Before the Membership Enquiry
This has potentially significant implications for how clubs approach membership growth.
We often think of membership sales as beginning when somebody fills in an enquiry form, sends an email or picks up the telephone. But what if the sales process actually starts much earlier?
It might start with a conversation between a member and their friend, when a visitor arrives for an open competition or in the bar after a society day. It might even start when a casual golfer has a particularly enjoyable experience at the club.
And, importantly, 59Club’s data has previously found that 80% of new membership enquiries come from guests who have visited the club before. That makes every guest interaction a potential membership opportunity.
The question isn’t whether the receptionist, professional, bar team, catering team or duty manager should suddenly become a salesperson. It is whether everyone understands that they have a role in creating the experience that makes someone want to become a member.
We Need to Stop Separating “Service” and “Sales”
Perhaps one of the biggest cultural changes golf clubs could make is to stop treating service and sales as two different activities.
Good hospitality creates sales opportunities. A professional who asks a visitor about their game may discover an opportunity for a lesson. A bar employee who asks whether a golfer has everything they need may identify an opportunity to sell food, drinks or snacks. A member of the reception team who asks a visitor what they are looking for from a club may uncover a membership opportunity.
A manager who speaks to a new member a few weeks after joining may identify another opportunity – not necessarily to sell something, but to make sure that member becomes embedded in club life and ultimately remains a member.
This is important because retention is also a sales issue. Every member who leaves is effectively a lost future revenue stream. And research into membership businesses beyond golf reinforces the importance of relationship and rapport. A 2026 study of fitness club memberships found that service quality and rapport influence satisfaction, which in turn influences retention.
The principle is remarkably transferable to golf. People don’t simply renew because they have access to a golf course. They renew because the club continues to provide value – functional, emotional and social.
A Final Thought
Will Hewitt’s 9x statistic is compelling. Gallup’s 4.2x finding suggests that the principle extends well beyond golf. But perhaps the biggest lesson isn’t about the numbers themselves. It is about the mindset behind them.
If we want to increase membership, secondary spend and revenue in UK golf clubs, perhaps we should stop asking “How can we sell more?” and start asking “How can we have better conversations with more of our customers?”
Because when we understand people better, we can serve them better. And when we serve them better, the opportunities to sell become much more natural.
Conversation isn’t the distraction from the sale.
Conversation is the beginning of the sale.
