GOLFERS have been urged to continue subscriptions as clubs remain closed during lockdown.

All courses and ranges were forced to close during the third national lockdown, started earlier this month.

But though members are not able to use the facilities, they’re still being encouraged to renew subscriptions when they are due.

Mark Schofield, secretary at Harwood Golf Club, said: “Members will have had around four months of golf where they’ve not been able to play, but they’ve been extremely supportive of the club.

“We usually do very well with external functions but the bar’s been shut so we’ve lost nearly 12 months of income there.

“There’s a really good, strong management team, we’ve had to manage it extremely carefully and keep spending to a minimum to get through.”

The club, with more than 400 members, did not see any members asking for a refund on their subscription.

With uncertainty surrounding the reopening of golf courses, and even more uncertainty over when social aspects could resume.

"The club is trying to find a way to give members a discount, whilst also balancing the books to make up for lost income.

Many clubs saw a huge increase in membership enquiries during lockdown last year, when golf was one of the few sports allowed.

Mr Schofield added: “We’ve done very well for new members, it’s just trying to retain them now.

"Usually we’d give them something more than just golf, but with the clubhouse being closed we don’t have those social aspects.

“The after-golf experience is very important to a lot of people, and you can understand people thinking it’s a lot of money for just playing golf when they can’t experience anything that goes along with it.

“We’re a member club and it’s a lot different to a gym membership.

"People get attached to the club and they’re very supportive and loyal and want it to succeed.

“Most people will stay with the club they started at, we hope we can convince some of our new members to do the same."