PGA pros lose £9k per year due to cancellations

UK golf coaches are losing more than £9,000 per year due to clients cancelling their pre-booked coaching sessions, new research reveals.

According to fibodo, which looked at coaches covering a range of sports including golf, clients’ top three excuses for failing to attend a pre-booked session include tiredness (62 per cent), lack of motivation (59 per cent) and forgetting other commitments (52 per cent).

The figures equate to a loss of £239 million for the sports coaching industry as a whole.

“With lost earnings of more than £9,000 annually, many find themselves struggling to make ends meet, with their only option being to leave the profession altogether, despite their time and effort spent training,” said a spokesman for the Survival of the Fittest report.

“This is supported by the research identifying that more than a quarter (27 per cent) of sports coaches worry whether their business will last more than a few years.”

On average, coaches report five no-shows or last-minute cancellations every week. A fifth are even let down six to eight times per week by clients who had committed to a session. More than half, (58 per cent) of sports coaches believe this is having a negative effect on their business.

Jonathan Lamb, 53, a golf pro at Tehidy Park Golf Club, Cornwall, says: “Previously, around one in three client bookings would result in a late cancellation or no-show, customers would bail out with a weak excuse – or not even show up at all.”

“It’s frustrating, both for myself and the genuine customers that weren’t able to book due to me showing no availability, which obviously also hurts me financially. People didn’t fully understand that our livelihoods rely on the sessions we deliver.”

“The excuses were different every time; their car wouldn’t start, they had a dental appointment, or they were simply stuck at work.”

“I realised something had to change or I was never going to make my time profitable. I’ve been using a booking management tool and when bookings are made payment is taken. This has meant that the number of no-shows has reduced dramatically, I can organise my days more efficiently and I can put more money away each day.”

Anthony Franklin, CEO and founder of fibodo, commented: “These cancellations are crippling for coaching professionals whose livelihoods rely on clients attending their pre-booked sessions. People wouldn’t expect to book a holiday without pre-paying so it shouldn’t be any different for people wanting to book coaches’ time.”

A number of people in the industry have been discussing this story and what they can do to prevent lost revenue from cancellations on The Golf Business LinkedIn page here.

UK golf coaches are losing more than £9,000 per year due to clients cancelling their pre-booked coaching sessions, new research reveals.