In years gone by, the membership interview was part of the standard process of applying to and joining a large percentage of golf clubs. You would put in your application, in many cases join a waiting list, then, as a final check in the box, you would have a quick meeting with the club captain or other committee members, maybe even play a round or nine holes with them so they could check you weren’t a psychopath.
It wasn’t thought of as being too overbearing 50 or so years ago. It was just an accepted procedure to safeguard the club from gaining a member who was totally off their rocker.
But things change and today far fewer clubs require prospective members to go through either a sit-down or playing interview before being accepted into the fold. Making someone justify their worth in that way seems archaic and patronising and, really golf club membership interviews in their traditional format should be a thing of the past. In the main, they are.
At most clubs, when putting in an application form, a prospective member needs a proposer and one or more seconders from within the current membership to put them forward. That should be sufficient for a club to be comfortable that the candidate is of decent character. If current members are prepared to vouch for someone, to put their names down on paper in support, then that person surely won’t be a complete loose cannon.
Even if they were somewhat of a loose cannon, would there be a justification for denying them membership? If they have the money to join and they aren’t certifiable, then they have as much right as the next person to be a member, if that’s what they would like.
Is it fair for committee members to be judge and jury?
A membership interview is not only a rather humiliating thing to be put through, it’s also arbitrary. If you have to go and play nine holes with the club captain or another committee member, it’s their judgement that decides whether you’re the “right sort” or not. What if you have a shocking day on the links? (It wouldn’t be surprising given the pressure.) What if they just don’t like you?
Would it be fair for a club representative, even a panel of club representatives to decide on behalf of the entire membership that an individual just “wouldn’t fit in.”? Surely not. That’s the sort of attitude that gives golf a bad name in the wider public and an image the game is working very hard to improve.
Membership interviews should be a thing of the past but meeting prospective members certainly shouldn’t be. Anybody considering joining a club should be given the chance of spending some time on the fairways and in the clubhouse before they make the commitment to hand over a significant wedge of cash for a subscription and perhaps a joining fee.
Today, it’s far more of a two-way transaction. It’s not a case of the club saying – “are you suitable to become a member here?” It’s very much also for the prospective member to decide – “Is this club a suitable place for me to become a member?”
Open days or member guest days are a great way to give people a look at what it would be like to be a member of a club. It gives the club a chance to be welcoming and friendly and to show off the course and the facilities.
In 2024, you shouldn’t face a grilling as a prospective new member of any club. You should have all the information at your disposal to decide whether the club you are applying for is right for you. If the club is right for you, then the current membership, the committee and the staff should, and will, welcome you with open arms.
