Back when I started club riding there was one " club run" , and it was social and no- drop. This meant that I, as a 14/15 year old, was riding with 1st cats and a range of other riders. I gained a lot of advice, grew up a fair bit, and developed a life-long love of the sport.
What I observe is that clubs often have " ability" groups. I observe that these effectively split a club into factions, and can lead to some riders becoming elitist. The experience of older, but often very experienced, riders does not get passed on. The " faster" rides become races, and are often the only riding some riders do. I know- I hear riders defining their riding objectives as " being at the front of the Saturday ride"
Of course, the exponential growth of interest in cycling has been a factor, and sensible group sizes are important, but we are in danger of making clubs merely a means of supplying competitive rides for people, and the " softer" benefits of long- term immersion in a "club culture", of giving to the sport as well as taking.
Training rides are important of course, but it is still possible to try to meet up as a club, and to do some social riding without the need to continually focus on the garmin.