Zack Bates01 November 2024

Club Marketing Innovator ft. Zack Bates

2Frameworks

11Insights

Frameworks in this episode

Marketing4 steps

Club Education-to-Invitation Funnel

Turn qualified interest into membership through education and hosted experience

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Innovation5 steps

Tradition-Preserving Experience Upgrade

Modernize surrounding touchpoints while keeping the core ritual intact

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Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Myth Buster· 1

Myth Buster16:30

Millennials Did Not Kill Golf—They Helped Save It

Bates rejects the earlier claim that millennials were killing golf and says they became a major source of renewed participation. Their arrival forced traditional clubs to relax dress rules and replace dated programming with experiences such as Pilates and reformer training.

Millennials increased golf participation
Clubs had to loosen traditional dress expectations
Younger members expect contemporary wellness programming

“everyone was saying the Millennials are kill golf”
Zack Bates · 16:30

#golf#millennials#club innovation

Hot Take· 1

Hot Take20:30

The Post-Covid Golf Boom Created a Retention Risk

When Covid drove people into golf, clubs no longer needed help attracting members, so Bates returned his focus to retention. He warns that rapid price increases can exhaust the available market and leave fewer people willing to join after the spike fades.

The Covid golf surge reduced immediate acquisition pressure
Demand spikes can hide a coming retention problem
Prices that rise too fast can shrink the future member pool

“this Spike and then it's going to fall down and you're going to get less people joining because the price went too high too fast”
Zack Bates · 21:00

#retention#pricing#golf

Explainer· 3

Explainer04:30

What a Private Club Actually Offers Members

Bates explains private clubs as access businesses in which members pay an upfront fee and recurring dues rather than paying each time they play. The service becomes personal because staff learn each member's drinks, clothing preferences, and habits.

Members pay for recurring access rather than individual rounds
Staff remember personal preferences and anticipate requests
The model extends from golf to yacht, tennis, and social clubs

“everyone knows your name when you walk in”
Zack Bates · 05:00

#private clubs#hospitality#membership

Explainer06:30

How Remote Work Reshaped the Social Club

Bates links the expansion of newer social clubs to remote work and a demand for places where people can work and meet like-minded peers. He contrasts that with an earlier club culture that often prohibited laptops, phones, and denim.

Remote workers wanted a social place outside the home
Newer clubs combine coworking and hospitality
Traditional restrictions have loosened substantially

“working from home or remote work has really driven people to look for places where they can um hang out all the time hang out…”
Zack Bates · 06:30

#social clubs#remote work#coworking

Explainer18:30

How Tiered Pricing Opens Clubs to Younger Members

Higher-end clubs can make membership more accessible through legacy or junior programs. Younger members enter at a lower price and pay progressively more as they approach later age bands.

Legacy memberships reduce prices for members' children
Junior programs use age-based price bands
Dues increase as members move through the tiers

“some just have a junior membership program that are you know if you're between 20 and 25 or 20 and 30 there's tiered pricing”
Zack Bates · 18:30

#pricing#membership#younger members

Story· 2

Story35:00

Inside Zack Bates's Most Memorable Private Club

Bates names the Santa Lucia Preserve near Carmel as the nicest private club he has experienced. He describes a vast property with only 300 home sites, a golf club, a separate social club, old oak trees, hillsides, and glimpses of the Pacific.

The property spans 20,000 acres
Only 300 home sites occupy the land
The landscape and separation create a distinctive escape

“only 300 hom sites on the whole property”
Zack Bates · 35:30

#santa lucia preserve#private clubs#carmel

Story38:30

Doing the Right Thing When Nobody Owes You Anything

Bates closes with a story about withdrawing his daughter from a birthday party after her friend was excluded and spending time with that friend instead. He frames a good legacy as helping people and making principled choices without expecting repayment.

Model loyalty and inclusion through action
Use difficult social moments as lessons for children
Help people without demanding something in return

“you don't need a lot of friends you need a close circle around you”
Zack Bates · 39:00

“you did as many of the right things as you could along the way”
Zack Bates · 39:00

#values#parenting#legacy

Takeaway· 4

Takeaway07:00

Luxury Wellness Is Moving Beyond Major Cities

The conversation explores sober clubs, preventative wellness, and biohacking as a growing hospitality category. Bates notes that resorts and hotel groups are also adopting wellness concepts, so access is not limited to residents of cities such as New York, Los Angeles, or Newport Beach.

Younger customers are drinking less alcohol
Preventative wellness is becoming part of club design
Resorts can distribute wellness experiences beyond dense cities

“there are Resorts that are picking this up as well”
Zack Bates · 08:30

#wellness#hospitality#biohacking

Takeaway17:30

A Club Needs Reasons for Weekly Use, Not Monthly Visits

A social venue loses energy when members see nobody like themselves in the room. Bates argues that clubs need activities younger members want to use once or twice a week, rather than relying on the prestige of membership to generate occasional visits.

An empty room discourages return visits
Members look for peers in their age demographic
Programming should create weekly usage habits

“we've got to do fun things for younger members to want to come and use the club not just once a month but once a…”
Zack Bates · 18:00

#engagement#retention#social clubs

Takeaway27:30

Luxury Service Still Benefits From Human Boundaries

Bates lets his children spend time at the office and says clients accept the realities of family life. For him, showing that human side is compatible with running an elevated luxury brand, including setting straightforward boundaries around family time.

Children can observe a parent's work directly
Close client relationships can accommodate family life
A luxury brand does not require pretending its operators are inhuman

“we're still human at the end of the day and having boundaries like my kids are having dinner I'll call you in 20 minutes”
Zack Bates · 28:30

#family business#boundaries#luxury service

Takeaway32:00

Teach Children to Earn the Extras They Want

Bates says his family tries to live normally despite a comfortable environment. His children receive chores and responsibilities, then use what they earn to buy optional items themselves.

Avoid making every want instantly accessible
Connect chores to responsibility
Let children purchase extras with their own earnings

“you have chores you can help out around the house with”
Zack Bates · 32:00

#parenting#work ethic#money