Information in Your Pocket: How Brynhill is Changing the Way a Golf Club Communicates With Its Members
At Brynhill Golf Club, we believe being a modern members' golf club means much more than providing a great golf course.
It also means keeping members informed.
It means being open about what is happening around their club.
And, importantly, it means making that information easy to find.
Golf clubs can be busy organisations. Competitions, societies, team matches, social events, clubhouse opening hours, course updates, catering, committee information and club announcements can all change from one week to the next.
Expecting members to search through noticeboards, old emails, social media posts and different websites to find that information simply isn't good enough anymore.
That's why communication and transparency have become such an important part of how we operate at Brynhill Golf Club.
Our aim is simple:
If something is happening at your golf club, you should be able to find out about it quickly and easily.
And increasingly, that means putting Brynhill directly into our members' pockets.
A Members' Club Should Keep Its Members Informed
Brynhill is a members' golf club.
That makes communication particularly important.
Our members aren't simply customers who arrive, play 18 holes and leave. They are part of the club and have a genuine interest in what is happening both on and off the golf course.
Members understandably want to know about course conditions, competitions, events, clubhouse developments, financial decisions, membership matters and the future direction of their club.
We believe they should.
Good communication builds trust.
And good communication shouldn't only happen when something goes wrong.
It should happen every week.
Transparency Isn't Just About Sending More Emails
One of the challenges facing golf clubs is that simply communicating more doesn't necessarily mean communicating better.
An important announcement can disappear down an email inbox.
A WhatsApp message can quickly become buried beneath other conversations.
A social media post may never appear in someone's feed.
A notice pinned to a clubhouse board can only be seen when somebody visits the club.
That's why Brynhill has developed a combination of communication channels rather than relying on just one.
Our members can receive information through our official WhatsApp Club Channel, website, regular club communications and, most importantly, our dedicated MembersHub app.
Each has a role.
Together, they create a much more connected golf club.
Introducing MembersHub at Brynhill Golf Club
One of the biggest improvements to member communication at Brynhill has been the introduction of MembersHub.
MembersHub effectively gives every Brynhill member a digital front door to their golf club.
Instead of asking:
"Where do I find that?"
The answer increasingly becomes:
"It's in MembersHub."
Members can add MembersHub directly to the home screen of their smartphone, giving them instant access to important Brynhill information wherever they are.
No searching through emails.
No scrolling through weeks of WhatsApp messages.
No waiting until your next visit to the clubhouse to look at a noticeboard.
Just tap the Brynhill MembersHub icon on your phone.
Your Golf Club – Right in Your Pocket
The principle behind MembersHub is incredibly simple.
Members shouldn't have to work hard to find information about their own golf club.
MembersHub brings important club information together into one easy-to-access place.
At Brynhill, our MembersHub has grown into a comprehensive information centre covering virtually every part of the club.
Members can access information about areas such as:
What's happening at Brynhill
Weekly club schedules
Competitions and golf information
Course information and updates
Clubhouse opening information
Bar and catering
Social events
Club news and announcements
Membership information
Club policies and governance
Useful club contacts
Member benefits
Important documents
Surveys and member feedback
Frequently requested information
Instead of information being scattered across different places, MembersHub gives members one familiar place to start.
No Logging In. No Searching. Just Tap.
One of the biggest advantages of MembersHub is what members don't have to do.
There is no need to visit the Brynhill website, find a members-only section, log in with a username and password and then search through pages to find the information you need.
For everyday club information, we wanted to remove those unnecessary steps.
With MembersHub added directly to the home screen of your phone, you simply:
Tap the Brynhill icon and you're in.
No passwords to remember.
No forgotten usernames.
No logging into a members-only section of the website.
No searching through old emails.
No scrolling back through weeks of messages.
The information is simply there when you need it.
That simplicity is particularly important in a golf club with members of all ages and different levels of confidence with technology.
Good technology shouldn't make life more complicated.
It should remove complications.
MembersHub does exactly that.
Whether you want to know what's happening at the club this week, check opening hours, find information about an event, read a club update, access a policy or find the right person to contact, your starting point is the same:
Take out your phone. Tap MembersHub. Find what you need.
That's what we mean when we say we're putting Brynhill Golf Club in every member's pocket.
Know What's Happening This Week
One of the most useful features is also one of the simplest.
What's happening at Brynhill this week?
Golf clubs are incredibly busy environments.
On a single day there might be a competition in the morning, a visiting society around lunchtime, a team match during the afternoon and a function in the clubhouse that evening.
That can affect tee availability, clubhouse activity, catering and opening hours.
MembersHub helps members understand what's happening before they even leave home.
Our weekly information can show members what's taking place around the club and help them plan their visit.
It's a small thing that makes a significant difference to the member experience.
More Than a Golf App
MembersHub isn't designed to replace specialist golf systems.
Brynhill already uses dedicated technology for areas such as competitions and golf administration.
Instead, MembersHub fills a different and extremely important gap.
It is about the whole golf club experience.
A member's relationship with Brynhill doesn't begin on the first tee and finish on the 18th green.
There's the clubhouse.
The Sports Lounge.
Catering.
Social events.
Club competitions.
Teams.
Functions.
Membership information.
Governance.
Member benefits.
Course developments.
News.
And dozens of other things happening throughout the year.
MembersHub brings those different parts of Brynhill together.
WhatsApp – Information Delivered Directly
Our Brynhill WhatsApp Club Channel complements MembersHub.
WhatsApp is excellent for quickly alerting members when something important has happened.
A course update.
An event announcement.
An important reminder.
Something new at the club.
Rather than expecting members to continually check the website, information can reach a device most people already have with them throughout the day.
The distinction is important:
WhatsApp helps us tell members something has happened. MembersHub gives them somewhere to find the information whenever they need it.
That combination works extremely well.
Transparency Means Talking About the Difficult Things Too
Good communication isn't simply about promoting events or sharing photographs when everything is going well.
Transparency matters most when there are important decisions to explain.
Golf clubs face difficult decisions.
Course investment costs money.
Buildings require maintenance.
Utility costs change.
Staffing changes.
Membership structures evolve.
Projects sometimes encounter delays.
Not every decision will be universally popular.
We believe members should understand why decisions are being made.
That is why Brynhill continues to improve the way we communicate important club matters and provide members with opportunities to ask questions and give feedback.
Being transparent doesn't mean everybody will agree with every decision.
It means members should never feel that their club is deliberately keeping them in the dark.
Ask The GM – Giving Members Another Voice
That philosophy is also behind our Ask The GM initiative.
Members periodically have the opportunity to submit questions anonymously about the club.
Those questions can relate to virtually anything members would like greater clarity about.
Rather than rumours circulating around the clubhouse, we'd rather members ask the question.
If we can answer it, we will.
It's another simple principle:
Questions are healthy. Transparency is healthy. Communication is healthy.
A successful members' club should encourage all three.
From the Traditional Noticeboard to the Digital Golf Club
The clubhouse noticeboard will always have a place in golf.
But golf clubs need to recognise that the way people consume information has changed dramatically.
Members now manage much of their lives from their phones.
Banking.
Travel.
Shopping.
News.
Appointments.
Entertainment.
Communication.
There is no reason information from their golf club should be any more difficult to access.
That's why we believe platforms such as MembersHub represent an important part of the future of golf club membership.
The traditional noticeboard hasn't disappeared.
We've simply put one in every member's pocket.
Why Every Golf Club Should Think About the Member Experience
There is enormous discussion within golf about attracting new members.
That's important.
But clubs should spend just as much time thinking about how they look after the members they already have.
Communication is a major part of that.
If someone chooses to spend hundreds or thousands of pounds every year belonging to a golf club, keeping them properly informed should be considered a basic part of the membership experience.
Members shouldn't continually have to ask:
"What's happening this weekend?"
"What time does the clubhouse close?"
"Where can I find that policy?"
"Who do I contact about this?"
"What's happening with that project?"
"Where was that announcement?"
The information should already be available.
And ideally, it should be available from the device already sitting in their pocket.
Technology With a Purpose
Digital transformation can sometimes become technology for technology's sake.
That isn't what we're trying to achieve at Brynhill.
The objective isn't to have another app simply because apps are fashionable.
The objective is to solve a genuine problem.
How do we make it easier for members to understand and enjoy their golf club?
MembersHub helps us do that.
WhatsApp helps us do that.
Our website helps us do that.
Regular club communications help us do that.
And initiatives such as Ask The GM help us do that.
Technology is simply the tool.
Better communication is the objective.
Members at the Core
Brynhill has changed considerably in recent years and will continue to evolve.
But one principle remains central to everything we do:
Members at the core. Structure for the future.
That means continuing to invest in the golf course and facilities.
It means creating better experiences around the clubhouse.
It means listening to members.
And it means making sure our members understand what is happening at their club.
We won't always get everything right.
No organisation does.
But we can make sure that we communicate, explain and listen.
That is what being a modern members' golf club should be about.
Welcome to the Connected Golf Club
The golf club of the future won't abandon its traditions.
It will combine them with better ways of looking after its members.
At Brynhill, that means maintaining the values of a traditional members' club while embracing technology that genuinely improves the member experience.
Our WhatsApp Club Channel keeps members connected.
Our website tells the wider Brynhill story.
Ask The GM creates another opportunity for questions and transparency.
And MembersHub brings the club together in one place.
No complicated members-only website area.
No usernames and passwords for everyday club information.
No searching.
Just tap.
Your golf club. Your information. Right in your pocket.
That's the Brynhill approach to member communication.
And we believe it's how a modern members' golf club should work.