Back on the course
I was golf-obsessed as a teenager. Spent every spare hour at the range or out on the course. But life has a way of getting in the road - work, uni and the social life of a teenager Golf just sort of fell away and before I knew it, years had gone by without picking up a club.
Then in 2024, I got back into it. I joined Fereneze Golf Club in Barrhead as my home course and fell in love with the game all over again. The swing was rusty but the obsession came back hard and fast.
And I wasn’t alone. Golf participation across the UK surged during COVID (being a sport that by its nature is social distant… especially if you’re often hunting for your ball in the rough) and has stayed strong ever since. Courses are busier than they’ve been in years. Tee sheets are full. Memberships are up. By every measure, the game is growing. So why are clubhouses so quiet?
I started chatting to the team at Fereneze about it. They were seeing the same thing. Membership up and more rounds being played but people just weren’t hanging about afterwards. Less engagement in the clubhouse. Members finishing their round and heading straight for the car park. And it’s not just Fereneze. We’ve heard the same from club managers and members right across Scotland.
I have two theories…
COVID changed how we approach a round
During the COVID times you couldn’t go into the clubhouse. People would come ready for golf instead of going into the locker room to change (even if it was just shoes) and at the end of the round would stick the clubs in their boot and shoot off home.
For a lot of people that behaviour change has been permanent.
It’s a shame as the clubhouse is the social beating heart of any golf club. It’s where you sit down after a round, rehash every shot, wind up your playing partners and plan the next round. It’s where new members become regulars and where the club community actually lives. Is it fair to say without a busy clubhouse, a golf club is just a field with flags in it? A clubhouse is an invaluable asset and clubs can’t afford to let it go quiet.
Scotland’s drink-drive limit changed everything
In 2014, Scotland lowered its drink-drive limit from 80mg to 50mg per 100ml of blood - bringing it in line with most of Europe. Absolutely the right call for road safety, no question about it.
But it had a real knock-on effect for golf clubs. The “quick pint at the 19th” after a round became a thing of the past for a lot of golfers. If you’re driving home - and most golfers are - even one drink puts you close to the limit. So people started heading straight to the car park instead of into the bar.
That single change quietly hollowed out a huge chunk of clubhouse trade. And it’s not just alcohol sales. When people stop coming in for a drink quite often they buy some scran too. The whole social side of the clubhouse took a hit.
That’s why we built Golf Scran
We built Golf Scran because we could see this gap between a thriving game and the clubhouses. So our idea is to make it easier for golfers to order food and drink in ways that fit how they play today.
Golf Scran is a mobile first food and drink ordering platform built for golf clubs. Golfers order from their phone - on the course, in the clubhouse or before they even arrive. A coffee waiting at the first tee. A bacon roll ready when they finish. A full meal for the family to sit down to after the round. It works for takeaway orders that golfers grab on the way to the car and sit-in orders that keep people in the clubhouse longer.
Our focus is a quick ordering process so it has little to no impact on pace of play and checkout can be done with Apple Pay or Google Pay.
For clubs, it means more orders, higher average spend and less food waste. The kitchen knows what’s coming so they can prep ahead instead of guessing. Golfers get a better experience without standing about waiting at the bar. And more people staying in the clubhouse means more revenue and a better atmosphere for everyone.
The clubhouse doesn’t need to be quiet. It just needs to work differently than it used to.
What’s next
We’re just getting started. Golf Scran is working with clubs in Scotland and we’re building new features every week based on what clubs and golfers actually need.
This blog is where we’ll share what we’re learning along the way - the challenges clubs face, what’s working and where the game is headed. If you run a golf club and want to see how Golf Scran can help, get in touch. We’d love to show you around.
