The most dangerous thing I hear in golf clubs (and it sounds so reasonable)

I heard something recently that made my blood run cold.

A comment about how golf club members often have "lots of experience eating at nice restaurants, so they understand nice restaurants."

Now, I need to be clear here... there's absolutely no malice in this thinking. It comes from genuinely good intentions and a desire to maintain standards. But it represents one of the most dangerous assumptions I see plaguing UK golf clubs.

Here's why this terrifies me

Imagine someone who loves shopping deciding they can run a retail operation. Or a passionate cinema-goer thinking they understand the film distribution business.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

Yet we accept this logic in golf club F&B all the time.

The uncomfortable truth about restaurants

Commercial restaurants survive on volume, razor-thin margins, and a complex web of metrics that most people never see. Food cost percentages, labour ratios, table turn rates, average spend per head, seasonal cash flow management... the list goes on.

They live or die by operational efficiency.

Golf clubs? They operate in a completely different universe. Member-focused service, different cost structures, varying demand patterns, and fundamentally different success metrics.

What members actually know

Your members know what excellent service feels like. They recognise quality ingredients and skilled preparation. They understand hospitality at its finest.

And that knowledge is absolutely invaluable.

But knowing what makes a great dining experience doesn't automatically translate to understanding what makes F&B operations profitable and sustainable.

The missing piece

The gap isn't in their palate or their standards; it's in understanding the business mechanics behind great food and beverage operations in a club environment.

How do you balance member satisfaction with financial viability? What's the optimal staffing model for your specific member usage patterns? How do you price appropriately for your market whilst maintaining accessibility?

These aren't questions you learn by dining out, no matter how frequently or how well.

A better approach

Your members' experience and expectations are crucial to getting F&B right. But combine that member insight with specialist operational knowledge, and you've got something powerful.

Don't assume experience equals expertise. Instead, recognise what each brings to the table and build from there.

What's your take on this? Have you seen this assumption causing issues at your club?

If you're questioning whether your club's F&B strategy is as strong as it could be, why not take our Success Scorecard? It takes just a few minutes and might highlight some areas worth exploring.

Quick one — if you’ve not done this yet, my scorecard helps you spot gaps across guest experience, costs, and day-to-day ops. Takes a few minutes and you’ll get a proper report at the end.