Podcasts

Is Your Club a Good Investment?

Raymond P. Cronin - Founder & Chief Innovator — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:55:29 GMT

Show Me the Data Episode 04 Is Your Club a Good Investment? 39 min

Is Your Club Worth More Than It Was 20 Years Ago?

Dr. Jim Butler and Ray Cronin on why net worth is the most important number most members never see, what drives it down, and the two questions every member should ask their board.

Featuring Dr. Jim Butler and Ray Cronin Moderated by Ed Heil

Also listen on Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube

40%+

of clubs are worth less today, in real dollars, than they were in 2006

20%

of clubs are worth less in absolute dollars than they were 20 years ago

7–8%

of the average club's operating expense that CB's analysis attributes to waste

7 to 10

Member-owned clubs that close each year, even in today's strong market

Club members are often careful investors. Few would put six figures into anything without reading the financials. Yet most have no idea whether the club they own is growing in value or quietly losing it.

Club Benchmarking believes net worth over time is the single most important metric in the industry, and that every board member and every member should know it.

What does equity mean for a private club?

Founder Ray Cronin calls "equity" one of the most misused words in the industry. CB uses it the way any business would: the net worth on the balance sheet, which in a club represents what it can reinvest in its facilities. The old model of a refundable entrance fee has largely faded, and for good reason. "It'd be like saying you go to college and, 25 years after you graduate, you get your tuition back," Cronin says. With average tenure now around 25 years, a $100,000 entrance fee works out to about $4,000 a year on top of dues.

Why are so many clubs losing value?

More than 40 percent of clubs are worth less in real dollars than they were in 2006, and about 20 percent are worth less in absolute dollars. The cause is inadequate capital income. Operations typically break even, so net worth only grows when capital income exceeds depreciation and interest. Without it, clubs can't reinvest in their facilities. They are, in Cronin's words, consuming themselves.

“Have we ever seen a club cut their way to success in the club business? Never.

Dr. Jim Butler, CEO, Club Benchmarking

Part of the problem is human. Board members find it hard to ask their friends for more money. That doesn't mean expense equals waste. A six-month CB analysis found only about 7 to 8 percent of the average club's operating expense could be called waste. On the margin, adding a percentage point to dues leaves a club better off than cutting a point of expense.

Go deeper: WhitepaperThe Capital Scorecard: Measuring Your Club's Capital HealthRead the whitepaper

Why is efficiency the wrong goal?

CEO Dr. Jim Butler describes stopping at an airport restaurant where no one greeted him and a QR code handled the entire order. It was efficient, and it's the opposite of what a club should be. The most successful clubs spend more on labor, not less, because members join for the experience: the bartender who knows your name and your drink.

“No one ever wrote a check to join a club because it was efficient.

Ray Cronin, Founder, Club Benchmarking

Cronin frames it as efficiency versus effectiveness. Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing. Funding F&B as an amenity through dues may look inefficient on an income statement, but it's effective. Growing net worth over time is what matters.

What should every member ask their board?

Two questions. What is our club's net worth? And has it grown, stayed flat, or declined over the last 10 to 20 years? Cronin estimates no more than 10 percent of club board members could answer both within 10 percent. Butler recalls a club chairman, a senior executive at a major pharmaceutical company, who knew his company's equity instantly but had no idea about his club's. His reply: "I'm asking you the wrong question, aren't I?"

The stakes are concrete. A club whose net worth is declining will eventually face a capital call. Avoiding assessments starts with growing net worth faster than inflation.

Free toolNet Worth / CAGR Calculator: see where your club stands todayGet started

Quotes are lightly edited for clarity.

Featured experts

Dr. Jim Butler

CEO, Club Benchmarking

Jim Butler brings a unique perspective to his leadership role at Club Benchmarking. He earned a PhD in Hospitality from Iowa State University for his research on member loyalty and attachment, and holds an MBA in Real Estate Development & Finance, a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, and a Turfgrass degree. Jim has a wealth of operational experience as a private club general manager and a proven track record in real estate sales and capital renovation in gated communities. He is a recognized leader in data science and academic research and a highly sought educator and public speaker.

Ray Cronin

Founder, Club Benchmarking

Ray has led high-technology companies for more than 30 years, specializing in building teams and navigating early startup phases. He founded Club Benchmarking in 2009 and is recognized for his ability to communicate the strategic financial dynamics of private clubs. A top-rated speaker for manager, controller, and board education, he was named Club Industry Educator of the Year by BoardRoom Magazine in 2018 and an Industry Influencer in 2019. Ray served three terms as President of Thorny Lea Golf Club in Brockton, MA, and holds a BSEE from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

In this episode

01:20What "equity" really means
04:01From the income statement to the balance sheet
06:28Why 40% of clubs are worth less
08:59What drives net worth down
13:37Expense isn't waste
15:51Efficiency vs. experience
22:19Why every owner should know net worth
29:08Two questions to ask your board

Related resources

ArticleMeasuring Financial Sustainability WhitepaperZombie Debt: Causes and Costs

Plan the reinvestment that grows your club's value.

COMPASS pairs capital planning software with Club Benchmarking's proven process, so your board knows what needs replacing, when, and how to fund it without surprise assessments.

Explore COMPASS Book a Demo

Not Your Grandfather's Club

Jim Butler, CEO - Club Benchmarking — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:55:24 GMT

Resource Center / Podcasts / Episode 03

Show Me the Data Episode 03 Not Your Grandfather's Club 36 min

Why Today's Most Successful Clubs Are Built for the Whole Family

Dr. Jim Butler and Ray Cronin on the demographic shift behind club membership, the "yellow slice" of amenities that drives demand, and why golf-first boards often get the priority wrong.

Featuring Dr. Jim Butler and Ray Cronin Moderated by Ed Heil

Also listen on Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube

Average age to join a private club, for decades. Today, that's millennials

⅓

How much smaller Gen X is than the boomers. The 2000s membership dip was demographic, not price

~50%

of clubs still struggling, mostly those that haven't invested in broader amenities

18% / 22%

Golf vs. non-golf amenity share of fixed expense at a leading full-service club

Depending on who you ask, private clubs are either thriving or dying. Club Benchmarking's data says the top performers are doing well, but they look almost nothing like the club your grandfather joined, with its tie rules, golf-only calendars, and amenities built for the men of the house.

The clubs leading today have invested in a broader range of amenities for the entire family, and they've embraced that shift from the boardroom down to the membership.

Why did clubs struggle to attract members in the 2000s?

Founder Ray Cronin launched Club Benchmarking in 2009 while serving on his own club's board. He watched normal attrition of about 5 percent a year go unreplaced. The cause was demographic. The average age to join a club has held around 42 for decades, and when Gen X, a third smaller than the baby boomers, reached that age, a third fewer people were joining. Many clubs cut initiation fees in response. "It wasn't a price problem," Cronin says. "It was a demographics issue." Today's 42-year-olds are millennials, and they want something different again.

Why do members join a club today?

Today, people join a club for lifestyle: a place where the whole family can spend time together and build lasting friendships. Prestige and the golf course matter less than they once did. CEO Dr. Jim Butler recalls focus groups at one well-known golf club where members were shown the same signature hole. For some, it was the club's greatest selling point. For others, it said little about whether the club was the right fit for their family. Leading with golf alone speaks to only part of the household.

“There's no greater connection in a club than the friends and being able to have your family come and experience that.

Dr. Jim Butler, CEO, Club Benchmarking

Those bonds, built over decades and often between members and staff, are what turn a satisfied member into an attached one. On a Saturday morning, the whole family heads to the club, each to a different amenity, then meets up for lunch.

What is the yellow slice, and why does it matter?

In CB's early research, Cronin split each club's fixed expense into slices. Green was golf. Yellow was non-golf sports and amenities other than F&B. Clubs with wider yellow slices consistently had higher entrance fees, because a broader set of amenities appeals to a broader pool of prospective members. Those clubs also spend more per 18 holes maintaining their golf courses, because they have more dues revenue to work with.

Go deeper: ArticleClub Amenities: Follow the Yellow SliceRead the article

Where should a club in the middle invest first?

Clubs with a clear brand at either end, an elite golf club or a full-service country club, tend to do well. The risk sits in the middle: 18 holes, a dated pool, and tennis courts with grass growing through the cracks. Boards made up mostly of long-tenured golfers often resist those investments, even though fitness centers built over objections tend to fill up the day they open.

“Do you want a club where your granddaughter can have fun? Or your grandfather?

Ray Cronin, Founder, Club Benchmarking

Asked where they'd start at a struggling club with deferred maintenance, both give the same answer: a family-friendly, resort-style pool. It brings families in, lifts demand for membership, and the rest follows. That doesn't mean neglecting the golf course. As Butler puts it, golf and broader amenities aren't mutually exclusive.

Quotes are lightly edited for clarity.

Featured experts

Dr. Jim Butler

CEO, Club Benchmarking

Ray Cronin

Founder, Club Benchmarking

In this episode

01:18What "your grandfather's club" looked like
02:34The 2000s dip: demographics, not price
08:14Why members join today
12:41Building attachment, staff included
18:46The yellow slice explained
24:17Clubs stuck in the middle
32:53Where to invest first

Related resources

ArticleCapital Investment Trends in Private Clubs WhitepaperThinking Bigger Sooner: The Key to Proactive Capital Planning

Read the research behind this episode.

Not Your Grandfather's Club draws on data from more than 1,000 clubs and over a quarter million member surveys on what today's most successful clubs do differently.

Download the Whitepaper Book a Demo

Budget to Your Club's Vision

Jim Butler, CEO - Club Benchmarking — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:55:21 GMT

Resource Center / Podcasts / Episode 02

Show Me the Data Episode 02 Budget to Your Club's Vision 39 min

Why Raising Dues by CPI Leaves Clubs Falling Behind

Dr. Jim Butler and Ray Cronin on why club costs outpace inflation, why spending more often builds a better club, and how boards can set a dues increase they can defend.

Featuring Dr. Jim Butler and Ray Cronin Moderated by Ed Heil

Also listen on Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube

56%

of the average club's expense is labor, which tracks wages, not CPI

Median club operating margin, year after year. Operations exist to deliver the member experience

~90%

Accuracy of CB's dues prediction, using just two metrics: campus size and amenity subsidy

6.5–7%

CPI in 2023, when members still pushed back on dues increases of the same size

For years, many boards have set dues by a simple rule: raise them by the Consumer Price Index and move on. Club Benchmarking's data says that convention costs clubs ground every year.

Part of the problem is structural. "The members are the owners, and in their role as owners, they effectively have the ability to set the cost of belonging for themselves," says founder Ray Cronin. "That's an inherent conflict of interest."

Why doesn't a CPI-based dues increase keep up?

Inflation isn't uniform. CPI tracks a basket of consumer goods, but about 56 percent of the average club's expense is labor, which follows the Employment Cost Index instead. When wages outpace consumer prices, as they did after COVID, a club that budgets to CPI falls behind by definition. Skip an increase, and the gap compounds the following year.

Go deeper: ArticleLead Us Not into Temptation: Club Dues vs. InflationRead the article

What does it mean to budget to your vision?

CEO Dr. Jim Butler points out that most club vision statements are interchangeable: the best golf club in the state, the best residential club in the market. A useful vision is data-driven and specific about where the club wants to compete, and the budget should fund it. Because the median club breaks even on operations year after year, asking for more dues isn't about making money. It's about delivering a better member experience.

“What's the best version of who you can be? And then let's fund it.

Dr. Jim Butler, CEO, Club Benchmarking

Can a club price itself out of the market?

Not according to the data. The clubs with the highest dues and highest expenses are the most financially successful in the country, regardless of region. Cronin reviews the finances of the 7 to 10 member-owned clubs that close in a typical year, and the pattern is consistent.

“Those clubs didn't go out of business because their expenses were too high. They went out of business because their expenses were too low.

Ray Cronin, Founder, Club Benchmarking

That doesn't mean doubling dues overnight. On the margin, when a board is choosing between slightly higher expense with a better experience and slightly lower expense with a lesser one, the data consistently favors the better experience.

How should a board set a dues increase it can defend?

Start with data. CB can predict a club's dues revenue with roughly 90 percent accuracy from two variables: the size of its campus and the total subsidy it puts toward amenities. "The setting of dues is not a mystery," Cronin says. "It's a science."

CB recommends beginning with a free net worth report, then benchmarking several years of financials on an apples-to-apples chart of accounts. From there, the board's role is to bring an open mind, trust its management team, and steward the long-term health of the club rather than any one member's wallet.

Free toolNet Worth / CAGR Calculator: see where your club stands todayGet started

Quotes are lightly edited for clarity.

Featured experts

Dr. Jim Butler

CEO, Club Benchmarking

Ray Cronin

Founder, Club Benchmarking

In this episode

00:55Members as owners: a built-in conflict
02:21What budgeting to your vision means
06:59Why CPI is the wrong benchmark
13:51Can a club price itself out of the market?
22:06Predicting dues with two metrics
31:29Where a board should start

Related resources

VideoTop Down Club Budgets ArticleThe Impact of Strategic Budgeting

Build a budget your board can defend.

Benchmarking puts your club's financials on an apples-to-apples basis against hundreds of peers, so dues decisions start with facts.

Explore the Benchmarking Platform Book a Demo

Facts Over Opinion in the Boardroom

Jim Butler, CEO - Club Benchmarking — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:55:18 GMT

Resource Center / Podcasts / Episode 01

Show Me the Data Episode 01 Facts Over Opinion in the Boardroom 46 min

What Members Actually Want, and Why Most Boards Are Guessing

Dr. Jim Butler and Ray Cronin on why food and beverage outweighs golf in member satisfaction, and what happens when the data contradicts the boardroom.

Featuring Dr. Jim Butler and Ray Cronin Moderated by Ed Heil

Also listen on Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube

F&B's influence on overall satisfaction, compared with golf

~70%

of clubs with $1M+ revenue haven't run a data-driven member survey in decades

14% vs 33%

Share of dues the average club puts toward F&B vs golf

3% → 12%

Median F&B subsidy as a share of dues over the past decade

Most club boards believe they know what their members want. They hear it in the grill room and the hallway, and most often from the loudest voice at the table. Club Benchmarking's leadership says that is rarely the full picture.

"The purpose of a club is to be in the business of providing the member experience," says founder Ray Cronin. Yet by CB's estimate, roughly 70 percent of U.S. private clubs with more than $1 million in revenue haven't conducted a data-driven member survey in decades.

Why isn't member satisfaction enough?

CEO Dr. Jim Butler learned the value of member feedback as a general manager, where an annual survey process lifted satisfaction at his club from 88 to 95 percent over a decade. His doctoral research showed satisfaction is only one piece. Why a member joined and how they perceive value shape satisfaction, and satisfaction combined with emotional attachment drives loyalty. The strongest clubs, he found, are the ones with the strongest loyalty.

Why do members actually join a club?

Not always for the reasons the board assumes. At a 54-hole club Butler managed, golf landed in the middle of the pack. In most clubs, the top reason members join is social interaction with other members, and the most successful clubs serve golfers, families, and social members at the same time.

“I would have bet my life as a 35-year general manager that golf would have been in the top three reasons why people joined that club.

Dr. Jim Butler, CEO, Club Benchmarking

Why does F&B matter more than golf to member satisfaction?

Across hundreds of thousands of survey responses, food and beverage has roughly twice the influence of golf on overall satisfaction, in about 98 percent of clubs with golf. Yet the average club directs about 13 to 14 percent of dues to its F&B subsidy, versus roughly a third for golf. Communication with members, and management and board performance, rank higher still.

“If you sat in the boardroom of the average club with golf, the prevailing opinion would be golf is the most important thing. But it isn't.

Ray Cronin, Founder, Club Benchmarking

Cronin sees the F&B subsidy as a choice about how to fund the member experience. "It's not inefficiency," he says. "It's a pricing model." Over the past decade, the median F&B subsidy has roughly quadrupled, from about 3 percent of dues to about 12 percent, as clubs invested in the casual, outdoor, and expanded dining members value most.

Go deeper: Whitepaper"Losing" Money on Purpose: Why the Best Clubs Treat Food & Beverage Like Their Golf CourseRead the whitepaper

What should a board do when the data contradicts it?

Start with context. A 5.8 F&B score next to a 6.5 for golf can look like a problem, until benchmarks show it places the club near the 75th percentile nationally. And when a board member decides the data doesn't apply, Cronin offers a third possibility: "Maybe the data controverts what you thought prior. And rather than changing your opinion, you want the data to change."

From there, Butler's advice is practical: ask members, build an improvement plan the board and management both support, then measure again. "I've lived it. I know it works," he says. "And every club in the country can do that."

Quotes are lightly edited for clarity.

Featured experts

Dr. Jim Butler

CEO, Club Benchmarking

Ray Cronin

Founder, Club Benchmarking

In this episode

00:56Lessons from the GM's office
11:34Motivation, value, satisfaction, attachment
18:18The F&B and golf disconnect
33:52Surveying as an ongoing process
40:59When data contradicts the board

Related resources

VideoFast Facts: Using Member Feedback to Drive Continuous Improvement ArticleSatisfaction vs Loyalty: What's the Difference?

Know what your members actually think.

Viewpoints member surveys measure motivation, value, satisfaction, and loyalty, benchmarked against hundreds of clubs.

Explore Viewpoints Surveys Book a Demo