May is the month your club shifts gears. The pools are prepped, the patios are open, and members are ready to trade winter routines for long evenings outdoors. But here’s the thing — the clubs that win the summer aren’t the ones that simply unlock the pool gate on Memorial Day weekend. They’re the ones that build anticipation in May, stack their calendars with programming that gets families talking, and create early momentum that carries through September.
This is your tactical playbook. Below are 20 concrete, actionable programming ideas organized by category — drawn from what the best clubs in the country are actually doing — to help you own the month of May and set the tone for your strongest summer yet.
Jan–Jul, Hospitality Venues
U.S. Census Bureau via FRED
Membership Experience
GGA Partners, 2024
Membership Growth
NGCOA Key Trends, 2025
or With a Waitlist
NGCOA Key Trends, 2025
Mother’s Day Programming (May 10)
Mother’s Day is the single highest-grossing Sunday in American dining — and your club should be treating it as a tentpole event, not an afterthought. The clubs that sell out Mother’s Day don’t just offer a buffet. They create an experience worth posting about.
1. Mother’s Day Brunch & Blooms. The City Club of Baton Rouge pairs their Mother’s Day brunch with a live floral bar where each mom leaves with a custom bouquet. Your club can replicate this easily — partner with a local florist, set up a build-your-own arrangement table, and include a complimentary mimosa or bellini for every mother. Add a professional photographer near the entrance to capture family portraits, and you’ve created a shareable moment that does your marketing for you.
2. Sip & Paint Afternoon. Hire a local artist to lead a two-hour guided painting class on the patio. Members bring their mothers, enjoy wine and light bites, and leave with a finished canvas. This format works particularly well as an add-on to a brunch seating — offer a 10:00 AM brunch followed by a 1:00 PM painting session.
3. Spa Day Pop-Up. If your club doesn’t have a full spa, bring one in. Partner with a local aesthetician or massage therapist to offer complimentary 15-minute chair massages and hand treatments in a lounge area. The Madison Club in La Quinta — which features a private day spa and a dedicated recreational and lifestyle wellness team — has demonstrated that wellness programming drives member engagement far beyond the gym crowd.
4. “Mom’s Night Off” Dinner. Flip the script. Instead of a Sunday brunch, offer a Friday evening adults-only dinner the weekend before Mother’s Day. Craft cocktails, a prix fixe menu, live acoustic music. Position it as the gift members give their spouses — an evening where mom doesn’t plan, cook, or clean up.
Memorial Day Weekend (May 23-26)
Memorial Day is your official summer launch. Treat it like opening night.
5. Memorial Day Family Cookout & Pool Opening. This is the classic — and it works every time. Open the pool, fire up the grills, bring in lawn games, and let families spread out. The key is making it feel like a celebration, not just a Tuesday with hamburgers. Live music, a DJ by the pool, and a dessert truck elevate it from routine to memorable.
6. Patriotic Golf Scramble. A four-person scramble with red-white-and-blue team shirts, closest-to-the-pin contests, and a post-round cookout on the clubhouse patio. Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth — home to the longest-running PGA Tour event in America and one of the most storied private courses in the country — demonstrates that well-executed tournaments are as much about the social experience as the competition. Keep the format casual and the entry fee reasonable to maximize participation.
7. Military & First Responder Appreciation Day. Invite members to bring guests who serve. Complimentary golf, lunch, and a brief recognition ceremony create goodwill and strengthen your club’s relationship with the broader community. This is also a natural prospecting opportunity — every guest is a potential future member.
8. “Kickoff to Summer” Wine Dinner. A five-course wine pairing dinner on the patio to officially mark the start of the summer season. Feature a guest sommelier, and give members early access to the new summer cocktail menu. This sets the tone for the elevated dining experience you’ll deliver all season.
Golf Season Openers
9. Member-Member Spring Classic. The first major tournament of the season should feel special. A two-day member-member format — with Saturday competition, a Saturday night dinner, and a Sunday final round — gives your golf program a flagship event to anchor the spring calendar.
10. Demo Day & Fitting Fair. Partner with two or three equipment manufacturers for an on-course demo day. Members try new clubs, get fitted by reps, and place orders at club-exclusive pricing. This costs you nothing — the vendors bring the inventory and staff — and it drives foot traffic to your pro shop.
11. Junior Golf Kickoff Clinic. Basking Ridge Country Club in New Jersey runs junior golf camps that fill to capacity each summer, with early registration strongly recommended — a model worth replicating. Announce your summer junior program in early May with a free introductory clinic. Get kids on the range, let them hit balls with a PGA professional, and send parents home with a registration packet. Clubs that fill junior programs early lock in family engagement for the entire summer.
2024 Club Leader Priority Areas
Source: GGA Partners Club Leader’s Perspectives Report, August 2024. Respondents selected all areas that apply to their 2024 club emphasis.
Outdoor Fitness & Wellness Launch
12. Outdoor Fitness Series Launch. Move your fitness classes outside. Yoga on the lawn, boot camps by the pool, sunrise stretch sessions on the tennis courts. The shift from indoor to outdoor signals the season change and re-engages members who may have dropped off during winter. Promote a “May Fitness Challenge” with a leaderboard in the clubhouse — members who attend 10+ outdoor classes earn a branded club pullover or pro shop credit.
13. Pickleball Round Robin & Social. With pickleball participation up 223% since 2020, this is the sport driving the most cross-generational engagement at clubs right now. Host a round-robin tournament followed by a casual happy hour. If your club hasn’t added pickleball courts yet, temporary nets on tennis courts work for an introductory event.
14. Wellness Weekend Retreat. A Saturday-Sunday mini-retreat for members — morning yoga, guided meditation, a healthy cooking demonstration with your executive chef, and an afternoon hike or nature walk on club grounds. This appeals directly to the wellness-minded demographic that now represents a significant portion of new member prospects. Research from the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association shows 63% of members are more likely to stay if wellness amenities are included in their membership.
Summer Menu Rollouts & F&B Events
15. Summer Menu Preview Dinner. Before you launch your new summer menu to the full membership, host an exclusive preview dinner for 40 members. Let the chef present each dish, share the sourcing story, and take feedback. This creates buzz, makes attendees feel like insiders, and generates word-of-mouth that fills your dining room when the full menu drops.
16. Patio Happy Hour Series. Launch a recurring Friday evening happy hour on the patio — 5:00 to 7:00 PM, specialty cocktails, a raw bar or small plates station. Salisbury Country Club’s Grill 63 has built a loyal following by offering casual outdoor dining overlooking the golf course, with a culinary team that sources produce and meat from local farms. The key is consistency — same time, same vibe, every Friday. Members will build it into their weekly routine.
17. Farm-to-Table Dinner Series. Partner with a local farm for a monthly dinner that highlights seasonal produce. Set up a long communal table outdoors, invite the farmer to speak, and let your chef build the menu around what’s in season. These events typically sell out and command premium pricing — $95 to $150 per person is standard at clubs running this format successfully.
Member Appreciation & Retention
18. Member Appreciation Week. Dedicate the second week of May to your existing members. Complimentary range balls. A free appetizer with dinner. Waived guest fees for one day. A handwritten note from the GM in every locker. The Union League of Philadelphia runs over 100 planned events annually across their social calendar — and that volume of engagement is what keeps members connected. You don’t need 100 events, but you do need members to feel seen.
19. New Member Welcome Reception. If you’ve onboarded new members since January, May is the time to bring them together. A cocktail reception where new members meet the board, the department heads, and — most importantly — each other. Assign each new member a “club ambassador” from the existing membership to help them navigate the social landscape. First-year attrition drops dramatically when new members form social connections within their first 90 days.
Why the First 90 Days Define Member Retention
Sources: HFA/TRP Research (onboarding retention data); Knight Frank Wealth Report, 2024 (networking motivation stat).
Junior & Family Camp Signups
20. Summer Camp Early Bird Registration Push. Cherry Valley Country Club in New Jersey and Gleneagles Country Club in Texas both offer multi-sport summer camps for kids — golf, tennis, and swimming — and both emphasize early registration because spots fill fast. If your club runs summer camps, May is the month to push signups hard. Send a dedicated email campaign with a registration deadline, offer an early-bird discount, and include testimonials from parents whose kids attended last year.
Private Club Membership Growth — Share of Clubs Reporting Increases
Source: NGCOA Golf Industry Key Trends, 2025. Percentage of private clubs reporting year-over-year membership increases. Note: 2020–2021 data excluded due to pandemic disruption.
How to Execute: The May Marketing Calendar
Here’s the framework for turning these ideas into a coordinated campaign:
The clubs that dominate summer engagement don’t do it by accident. They plan in April, promote in early May, and execute with precision through Memorial Day. Twenty ideas are on the table — pick the eight that fit your club, build them into a calendar, and give your marketing team the assets they need to fill every event.
May is your runway. Use it.
