The Journal

Industry News & Trends

US Open Fan Week: Turn the Last Slam Into Racquet Members

Only 15% of club leaders report tennis capacity concerns — versus 50% for golf and 41% for pickleball. That empty court time is the one unconstrained inventor

August 24, 2026

Industry News & Trends

The Labor Day Close: Turn Summer Guests Into Fall Members

Most clubs treat Labor Day as the end of the selling season. It is actually the last day of the strongest lead-generation window on the calendar. With 53% of pr

August 24, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Designing the Wine-Club Ladder: Tier Architecture and Pricing From Entry to Collector

A framework for designing wine-club tiers and pricing, from an accessible entry level to collector and allocation tiers, and what each should include.

August 20, 2026

Industry News & Trends

The Reciprocal-Network Advantage: How Club Networks Drive Value and Retention

How reciprocity, club networks, and multi-club membership create value, retention, and marketing leverage for golf and country clubs.

August 20, 2026

Industry News & Trends

The Multi-Line Barn: How Equestrian Clubs Turn One Member Into Six Revenue Streams

Boarding, training, lessons, clinics, and show hauling make equestrian clubs the most diversified business in private clubs — and the stickiest membership.

August 19, 2026

Industry News & Trends

NFL Player Golf Handicaps 2026: The Complete Ranked List

0 Lowest active NFL handicap (Brett Kern) 0 Josh Allen handicap (2026) 0 Travis Kelce handicap (2026) 0 NFL players in AT&T Pebble Pro-Am field history Ryan Suc

August 18, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Inside the Private-Track Boom: The Membership Economics of America’s Driving Clubs

How private driving clubs are turning racetracks into real estate, initiation fees, and garage-condo communities for high-net-worth members.

August 13, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Country Club Salaries 2026: What GMs and Superintendents Earn

The private club industry pays $17.4 billion in annual payroll — 53 cents of every revenue dollar. Before your board debates what the GM, membership director,

August 13, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Monterey Car Week and the 75th Pebble Beach Concours: How Private Clubs Own the Peninsula in August

For one week every August, the Monterey Peninsula becomes the most expensive square mileage in the collector economy — and almost none of the best rooms in it

August 11, 2026

Industry News & Trends

U.S. Amateur 2026 at Merion: The Championship Hosting Case

No American course has been asked back by the USGA more often than Merion, and the U.S. Amateur 2026 at Merion adds another line to that record. For general man

August 10, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Harvest Season Is Your Best Acquisition Window: Turning the Crush and Fall Release Into Wine-Club Growth

How wineries and clubs can turn harvest events and the fall release calendar into their strongest wine-club acquisition and retention window of the year.

August 7, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Marketing the Sold-Out Club: Waitlist Strategy and Dues Positioning in a Full-Club Era

How full golf and country clubs should market membership, run waitlists, and position dues and initiation fees when demand outpaces supply.

August 6, 2026

Industry News & Trends

The 172-Club Operator: Inside the KSL Invited Heritage Golf Deal

A single operator with 172 golf and country clubs touches roughly 5% of the commercially relevant U.S. club market — and something near 40% of the for-profit

August 5, 2026

Industry News & Trends

The Fall Season Advantage: What Equestrian Clubs Teach Every Membership Team About Scarcity, Loyalty, and Land

How private equestrian, riding, and polo clubs build membership economics on land, season, and lineage — and the marketing playbook behind them.

August 5, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Your August Playbook: Beating the Late-Summer Slump and Setting Up the Fall Season

August decides your fall. Four plays for private clubs — programming the late-summer cliff, winning renewal season, the summer-to-fall handoff, and keeping se

July 30, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Budget Season Starts Now: How Top Clubs Build the 2027 Budget and Set Next Year’s Dues

The 2027 club budget is built in July–September. Inside the calendar, the dues math, and why the 9% era is over — with Sawgrass, Carolina GC, and Capital Ci

July 28, 2026

Industry News & Trends

The $530 Million Question: What Versant’s Full Swing Deal Reveals About Who Really Owns Your Club’s Golf Operation

Versant just paid $530 million for a simulator company. It already owned Golf Channel, GolfNow, GolfPass — and the software that runs private club memberships

July 27, 2026

Industry News & Trends

Food & Beverage Minimums Explained: How Clubs Structure Them in 2026 — and Why Some Are Walking Away

How private clubs structure F&B minimums in 2026 — monthly, quarterly, annual — why they exist, and why a growing number of clubs are killing them or produc

July 23, 2026