Golf Clubs and Drying Cabinets: The Case for On-Course Drying Facilities

Golf is played in all weathers. That's part of the appeal, and it means wet kit is a near-constant reality for members and staff alike through most of the year.

Despite this, drying facilities at most UK golf clubs remain an afterthought. A heated towel rail in the locker room if you're lucky. A radiator in a corner. In many cases, nothing designed for the purpose at all. For clubs that genuinely care about the member experience, this is a
gap worth looking at.
 

It's not just members who need it

The obvious answer is yes, members need somewhere to dry wet gloves, waterproof trousers, golf shoes, and outerwear between rounds or before the drive home. But the picture is wider than that.

Greenkeepers and ground crew work outdoors through the same conditions members play in. So do range staff and anyone working an outdoor event during a wet afternoon in May that was supposed to be sunny. These are employees working in genuinely demanding conditions, often across a full shift, and wet workwear that doesn't dry properly between shifts isn't just uncomfortable. It affects concentration, physical comfort, and over time,
health.

Under HSE Regulations 23 and 24 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, employers are required to provide suitable facilities for drying clothing. Golf clubs, as employers, are subject to the same obligations as any other business. A towel rail in a greenkeeper's hut is unlikely to meet that standard when staff are regularly arriving in soaked waterproofs and steel-capped boots. It's worth clubs taking a clear-eyed look at what they're currently providing and whether it would stand up to scrutiny.

The practical upshot is that investing in proper drying provision isn't just about the member experience. It's about meeting a genuine employer obligation in a way that makes the working environment better for the people who keep the course running.

Why improvised solutions don't really work

The towel rail approach is fine for damp towels. It's not built for waterproof trousers or insulated mid-layers. Radiators are inconsistent and cause real damage to technical fabrics over time, degrading the waterproof membranes that make expensive golf kit worth buying in
the first place. And shared laundry facilities create a bottleneck when multiple people need dry kit at the same time, which after a wet Saturday medal is everyone.

A purpose-built drying cabinet handles this properly. PODAB cabinets circulate warm air through and around the clothing rather than applying direct heat, which means heavy items dry evenly and thoroughly without any of the fabric damage that comes from conventional heat sources. A typical load is dry in under 40 minutes.

The member experience case

Golf clubs compete on experience. Course quality, catering, service standards, and the overall feel of the facilities all play a part in attracting and retaining members at a level where fees reflect real expectations.

The UK golfing season doesn't really stop. It just gets wetter. From October through to March, members who play regularly will arrive damp more often than not. A four-hour winter round in proper rain gear leaves even the best waterproofs feeling heavy, and gloves, shoes and base layers are often wet through by the back nine. What members do with that kit when they get back to the clubhouse matters.

Right now, the answer at most clubs is to deal with it yourself. Stuff it in a locker, drape it over a chair, hope it's dry enough by the time you head home. That's fine, but it's not the experience clubs with ambitions above the baseline want to be associated with.

A proper drying cabinet changes that in a simple, practical way. Members hand off wet kit, sit down for a drink or something to eat, and collect dry clothing on the way out. It's a small thing, but it's the kind of detail that gets mentioned. Quietly, consistently, and usually to other
golfers who are members elsewhere.

For clubs looking to improve their facilities without a major refurbishment project, it's also a relatively straightforward addition. PODAB cabinets have a compact footprint and integrate easily into existing locker room spaces without significant building work.

A word on running costs

For clubs thinking about the ongoing cost of running drying facilities daily through a full winter season, PODAB's heat pump models are worth a look.

The ProLine TS63 VP uses significantly less energy per cycle than conventional electric models. The heat pump
technology recovers and recirculates warmth rather than generating it from scratch each time, which makes a meaningful difference to operating costs when the cabinet is running every day from October to April.

For clubs with higher throughput, busy weekends, large memberships, or significant staff teams, the larger-capacity ProLine TS93 E handles bigger loads without the need for multiple cabinet installations.

If you'd like to find out which PODAB model suits your club, we're happy to talk it through.

Get in touch at mail@podab.co.uk or call 020 8936 7083.