Joining a Club, why?

I tried doing a search.

What do you see as the positives of joining a club versus playing different courses randomly?

What Value do you feel that you get back from your dues?

And do you still pay green fees and cart fees? Any other?

Regrets?

Thanks!

I’m probably a bad example for you as I just joined a fourth club this week. I belong to clubs where I like to play golf period. I don’t miss playing other courses in my area at all.

I’ve never once considered “value” that I get back from my dues. Instead I think of how many extra rounds I can play due to various factors tied to the clubs.

Three of the clubs I belong to are local and one is where we own a vacation home. The way I break it down is this way:

1. My true home club and my favorite place to play golf in the US

2. A fun course that is 3 min from my front door. It is a top 20 course in AZ but not even close to my favorite place to play. That fine because we love the actual club, the gym and the restaurant. Being so close to home is a huge advantage.

3. Business club. Home of the Schwab Cup and a fine course but nothing special. Good place to host clients who are almost all absolutely terrible players.

4. Our vacation home club. 36 holes. Top club in Latin America. Dues are $0 as we own property there. Most people have fractional ownership and pay $3000-$5000/week of ownership.

The first rule of fight club is there is no fight club.

> @BB28403 said:

> I tried doing a search.

> What do you see as the positives of joining a club versus playing different courses randomly?

> What Value do you feel that you get back from your dues?

> And do you still pay green fees and cart fees? Any other?

> Regrets?

>

> Thanks!

1. Easy access anytime-no crowded tee sheet

2. A regular game w/ good guys/good players

3. Better course conditions than public

4. Practice facilities/range balls included

5. Club tournaments, inter-club matches

6. Reciprocity at other privates

7. Social events, good people, business opps, etc.

8. Proximity to home/work

9. Personalized service/attentive staff, locker, shoes cleaned/polished, etc.

10. Pace of play, less beginners/casual twice per year clueless types , whack jobs, and other yahoos you'll often find at public courses

So I am the value guy, or at least I was when I first joined. I was playing a lot of golf and it just made sense to join a club for me. I joined a clubcorp club (yes many have hatred for them, but not me) because it was very affordable and offered options to play other courses as well. I have taken several trips since joining and have enjoyed the membership as well. The MGA tournaments and playing with a good group of players. Pace of play has also been nice. No more 5 hour rounds of golf on the weekends as well. Now that I've been a member of some time, I would be more willing to join a better club even though it wouldn't bring as much monetary value as the club I am a member of now. As far as playing other courses, I still play them time to time with other buddies if there is a golfnow deal (more so them wanting the deal than me), but don't really miss them considering I can play just as many with my membership.

Biggest single advantage to me is the ability to play any time, any number of holes, with friends and no planning whatsoever.

I can knock out of work at 3:00, play 18 holes and be home in time for dinner.

I also really enjoy playing the same course a lot. As long as the course is challenging, no two rounds are the same and I've never been bored.

The "value" is comically bad. You can't even compare it to a per-round cost at a public course (nor is it fair to, because it is effectively a different product).

A club will never pass a "value" proposition compared to other courses. That said, where can you play after a long day and squeeze in 9 holes after work in 75 minutes walking before going home? Good games, players, MGA, and tournaments. Also a great place for the kids to spend time in the pool or playing golf.

**Positives;**

Meeting lots of other people who have similar interests. We have met a few dozen couples that we now enjoy traveling with.

High-quality golf courses (my club has four).

Unlimited range balls.

Tee time availability.

Reciprocal play at other clubs

**Negatives;**

Cost.

If you are talking about a true private country club. You will never be able to make the value of it work; that's not their purpose. They are a luxury spend and a lifestyle choice. Community, facilities, kids activities, dining, wine tastings, workout facilities, etc were many of the factors for us.

You also have to take into account the different types of clubs. For instance, I've found Club Corp courses to essentially be glorified munis. I've known members at these courses to have a difficult time getting last minute tee times, which one would figure should be easy when you are paying upwards to $1,300/month in dues. If possible, I would opt for a true equity membership as the courses seem to be much higher in quality, but so are the dues.

As mentioned above the value proposition never works when deciding to join a club unless your work is fronting the bill.

Personally, I would join a club primarily for the flexibility. If I want to play 1,2, or 36 holes I can do it and at almost any time. Also like the idea of having a nice practice facility where I can chip and hit endless balls if I want. In California, I will never be able to afford this luxury so I continue to live the muni life.

You can meet/play with better players. Cheaper. When you hit range balls 3 times a week and play more than twice a week, you can save some money. It depends on what you are looking at. If you play and practice a lot and purchase a golf membership it makes sense. If you pay for a luxury full club membership, it's for other reasons than golf.

Another big bonus is being able to jump on the course for 9 whenever. I find it difficult anymore to get in a full 18. I'm either just too tired or I have too much other crap to do. I'm not in the mood for it when I pay for 18, start getting tired, make the turn and its backed up. I'm out of there, and that happens regularly. Once I move back to the Jax Beach area, I'm getting a golf membership somewhere nice and close by so I don't have to deal with the BS.

> @dpb5031 said:

> > @BB28403 said:

> > I tried doing a search.

> > What do you see as the positives of joining a club versus playing different courses randomly?

> > What Value do you feel that you get back from your dues?

> > And do you still pay green fees and cart fees? Any other?

> > Regrets?

> >

> > Thanks!

> 1. Easy access anytime-no crowded tee sheet

> 2. A regular game w/ good guys/good players

> 3. Better course conditions than public

> 4. Practice facilities/range balls included

> 5. Club tournaments, inter-club matches

> 6. Reciprocity at other privates

> 7. Social events, good people, business opps, etc.

> 8. Proximity to home/work

> 9. Personalized service/attentive staff, locker, shoes cleaned/polished, etc.

> 10. Pace of play, less beginners/casual twice per year clueless types , whack jobs, and other yahoos you'll often find at public courses

This.

Basically, to be away from the peasants.

There has been more than a few threads on this:

https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1643024/private-course-membership#latest

https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1684748/played-a-private-course-and-regret-it#latest

https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/199670/private-club-vs-public-course

The general consensus, as stated by a few posters on this thread, is a private club will never be a value proposition. So if that is most important to you then a private club will not make sense.

Very generally speaking as a guy from NJ where everything is expensive, if you need to do the math to determine whether you're going to come out ahead or not by joining, a private club most likely is not for you. Note in my previous post I did not include VALUE on my list of private club benefits.

Fast Pace of Play

Good Conditions

Play whenever I want

Can Walk whenever I want

Nothing worse than paying $45+ and hooking your first tee ball OB.

Nothing worse than 5 1/2 rounds behind complete idiots that have fallen 3 holes behind the group in front of them

Nothing worse than showing up to a public course on a Saturday morning and the greens aren't being mowed until Sunday morning

Nothing worse than bunkers filled with cement (certainly makes for easier maintenance)

Nothing worse than the majority of public course practice facilities

I joined a club in November on a Junior Membership. I was playing a couple rounds a week on public courses in AZ. Cost-wise it's break even or even a little better in the winter when prices in Phoenix are jacked, but won't even be close in the summertime. The value I see is ability to just go out whenever I want, skip around the course if necessary, and just do what feels good that day. I might work on the range and practice area for an hour and then go out and play 3-4 holes. Pace is such a big deal. As mentioned by many, no 5.5 hour rounds. I walked 18 at 4:15 the other night and was done at 6:45. It's just created amazing flexibility in the way I pay and practice.

I joined a club for numerous reasons. Pace of play is huge I have two kids, and can’t justify 5 to 6 hour rounds. My home course is very well-maintained and is better than the majority of public courses around me. I love my practice area and can easily spend 1 to 2 hours out there and not worry about running out of balls. As has been stated before, I can’t stand playing behind guys that only play once or twice a year and use golf as an excuse to drink for five hours. I also love the social events my club puts on. It’s a great way to meet people and I’ve made many numerous lifelong friends at my club. It is also great to have a staff that knows your name and knows what you like. My club is my home away from home. I have zero regrets in joining a private club.

I looked into a private club near home last month and I feel like there’s much better value in a lot of the other clubs people here have mentioned.

I like to hit balls at the range frequently and also enjoy putting and chipping practice. The club I looked at is less than a 10 minute drive so I figured why not, they were running a new member special at the time. If you’re looking into a club, be sure to get the full breakdown of all the costs.

Place I looked at near home had monthly dues, and a minimum monthly food & beverage of $50. Pretty standard stuff in terms of a club. So then I asked about greens fees, your monthly dues cover greens fees, only if you want to walk. If you want to take a cart that’ll be another $54 PER ROUND! For those of you not familiar with western PA, good luck trying to walk 18 holes that aren’t up and down a hill every hole.

I mentioned the I like to hit balls at the range, membership director said “that’s great, we have a full size range and putting green. That’s an extra $150 a year”. Hmmm...ok

Then looking over the paper they gave me I saw there was a “capital fund fee”. What’s this? I was told it’s a fee everyone pays per month so at the end of the year the club doesn’t do an assessment and tell all the members “hey btw you owe us $3500 for upgrades”.

Then while i was there for a visit I saw a sign for that weekend was the kids make your own pizza event....$15 per child. Wtf are the monthly dues for then?

Bottom line, point I’m trying to make is be sure to understand the full cost of a club before you sign anything. As others have posted above me, joining a private club isn’t ever going to be a “value” buy.

> @diablocrusher said:

> If you want to take a cart that’ll be another $54 PER ROUND!

>

Man, I've never heard of cart fees that high. $36 is the highest I've ever paid at a club.

value-wise, it's never gonna make sense to join a club--at least not on a cost per round basis. the value is belonging to a community of like-minded people with a certain respect for the game and its decorum (although every club as a few members that don't 'get it') and having a better golf experience from start to finish.

whatever the monthly dues and minimums are, budget for double

i've never met anyone who regrets joining a private club

> @MaxBuck said:

> > @diablocrusher said:

> > If you want to take a cart that’ll be another $54 PER ROUND!

> >

> Man, I've never heard of cart fees that high. $36 is the highest I've ever paid at a club.

>

I assumed he was talking about for a twosome but, if not, you're right. That's extremely high. I can walk at all of the places I belong to (one I need to take a caddie and let him drive which is what I usually do) but I think $23-$27 is the price/rider at the other clubs so that wouldn't be out of the norm.

> @"Cool Hand Luke" said:

> i've never met anyone who regrets joining a private club

The only case where I've found this to be untrue is some Florida-style equity courses, where friends paid big initiation fees and then couldn't get out of the club (in the sort of three-in one-out model).

> @diablocrusher said:

> I looked into a private club near home last month and I feel like there’s much better value in a lot of the other clubs people here have mentioned.

>

> I like to hit balls at the range frequently and also enjoy putting and chipping practice. The club I looked at is less than a 10 minute drive so I figured why not, they were running a new member special at the time. If you’re looking into a club, be sure to get the full breakdown of all the costs.

>

> Place I looked at near home had monthly dues, and a minimum monthly food & beverage of $50. Pretty standard stuff in terms of a club. So then I asked about greens fees, your monthly dues cover greens fees, only if you want to walk. If you want to take a cart that’ll be another $54 PER ROUND! For those of you not familiar with western PA, good luck trying to walk 18 holes that aren’t up and down a hill every hole.

>

> I mentioned the I like to hit balls at the range, membership director said “that’s great, we have a full size range and putting green. That’s an extra $150 a year”. Hmmm...ok

>

> Then looking over the paper they gave me I saw there was a “capital fund fee”. What’s this? I was told it’s a fee everyone pays per month so at the end of the year the club doesn’t do an assessment and tell all the members “hey btw you owe us $3500 for upgrades”.

>

> Then while i was there for a visit I saw a sign for that weekend was the kids make your own pizza event....$15 per child. Wtf are the monthly dues for then?

>

> Bottom line, point I’m trying to make is be sure to understand the full cost of a club before you sign anything. As others have posted above me, joining a private club isn’t ever going to be a “value” buy.

>

What club is this at? I'm in Pittsburgh and may have looked at the same one haha

I paid a 38 dollar cart fee the other day in a Club Corp travel round where I only pay the cart fee. At that point calling it a cart fee is outrageous, but it was still a great value compared to other options so whatever.

> @mlecs03 said:

> > @diablocrusher said:

> > I looked into a private club near home last month and I feel like there’s much better value in a lot of the other clubs people here have mentioned.

> >

> > I like to hit balls at the range frequently and also enjoy putting and chipping practice. The club I looked at is less than a 10 minute drive so I figured why not, they were running a new member special at the time. If you’re looking into a club, be sure to get the full breakdown of all the costs.

> >

> > Place I looked at near home had monthly dues, and a minimum monthly food & beverage of $50. Pretty standard stuff in terms of a club. So then I asked about greens fees, your monthly dues cover greens fees, only if you want to walk. If you want to take a cart that’ll be another $54 PER ROUND! For those of you not familiar with western PA, good luck trying to walk 18 holes that aren’t up and down a hill every hole.

> >

> > I mentioned the I like to hit balls at the range, membership director said “that’s great, we have a full size range and putting green. That’s an extra $150 a year”. Hmmm...ok

> >

> > Then looking over the paper they gave me I saw there was a “capital fund fee”. What’s this? I was told it’s a fee everyone pays per month so at the end of the year the club doesn’t do an assessment and tell all the members “hey btw you owe us $3500 for upgrades”.

> >

> > Then while i was there for a visit I saw a sign for that weekend was the kids make your own pizza event....$15 per child. Wtf are the monthly dues for then?

> >

> > Bottom line, point I’m trying to make is be sure to understand the full cost of a club before you sign anything. As others have posted above me, joining a private club isn’t ever going to be a “value” buy.

> >

>

> What club is this at? I'm in Pittsburgh and may have looked at the same one haha

> @mlecs03 said:

> > @diablocrusher said:

> > I looked into a private club near home last month and I feel like there’s much better value in a lot of the other clubs people here have mentioned.

> >

> > I like to hit balls at the range frequently and also enjoy putting and chipping practice. The club I looked at is less than a 10 minute drive so I figured why not, they were running a new member special at the time. If you’re looking into a club, be sure to get the full breakdown of all the costs.

> >

> > Place I looked at near home had monthly dues, and a minimum monthly food & beverage of $50. Pretty standard stuff in terms of a club. So then I asked about greens fees, your monthly dues cover greens fees, only if you want to walk. If you want to take a cart that’ll be another $54 PER ROUND! For those of you not familiar with western PA, good luck trying to walk 18 holes that aren’t up and down a hill every hole.

> >

> > I mentioned the I like to hit balls at the range, membership director said “that’s great, we have a full size range and putting green. That’s an extra $150 a year”. Hmmm...ok

> >

> > Then looking over the paper they gave me I saw there was a “capital fund fee”. What’s this? I was told it’s a fee everyone pays per month so at the end of the year the club doesn’t do an assessment and tell all the members “hey btw you owe us $3500 for upgrades”.

> >

> > Then while i was there for a visit I saw a sign for that weekend was the kids make your own pizza event....$15 per child. Wtf are the monthly dues for then?

> >

> > Bottom line, point I’m trying to make is be sure to understand the full cost of a club before you sign anything. As others have posted above me, joining a private club isn’t ever going to

> What club is this at? I'm in Pittsburgh and may have looked at the same one haha

Shannopin country club, they had a winter special going on before March 31st where you paid $0 initiation fees.

And to answer az2au above, that was the cart for one person. It may be the same price for a twosome but I’m not positive. It almost seems like they are trying to keep people from using carts.

To others here who belong to a club, is it common to have an additional yearly fee to use the driving range or is that typically included in your monthly dues?

It is fairly common for most private clubs to have separate fees for range, locker room, club storage etc. I get charged yearly in March for the range ($150) and locker room fees ($300). That is on top of my monthly dues. It is a one time yearly charge.

> @diablocrusher said:

> > @mlecs03 said:

> > > @diablocrusher said:

> > > I looked into a private club near home last month and I feel like there’s much better value in a lot of the other clubs people here have mentioned.

> > >

> > > I like to hit balls at the range frequently and also enjoy putting and chipping practice. The club I looked at is less than a 10 minute drive so I figured why not, they were running a new member special at the time. If you’re looking into a club, be sure to get the full breakdown of all the costs.

> > >

> > > Place I looked at near home had monthly dues, and a minimum monthly food & beverage of $50. Pretty standard stuff in terms of a club. So then I asked about greens fees, your monthly dues cover greens fees, only if you want to walk. If you want to take a cart that’ll be another $54 PER ROUND! For those of you not familiar with western PA, good luck trying to walk 18 holes that aren’t up and down a hill every hole.

> > >

> > > I mentioned the I like to hit balls at the range, membership director said “that’s great, we have a full size range and putting green. That’s an extra $150 a year”. Hmmm...ok

> > >

> > > Then looking over the paper they gave me I saw there was a “capital fund fee”. What’s this? I was told it’s a fee everyone pays per month so at the end of the year the club doesn’t do an assessment and tell all the members “hey btw you owe us $3500 for upgrades”.

> > >

> > > Then while i was there for a visit I saw a sign for that weekend was the kids make your own pizza event....$15 per child. Wtf are the monthly dues for then?

> > >

> > > Bottom line, point I’m trying to make is be sure to understand the full cost of a club before you sign anything. As others have posted above me, joining a private club isn’t ever going to be a “value” buy.

> > >

> >

> > What club is this at? I'm in Pittsburgh and may have looked at the same one haha

>

> > @mlecs03 said:

> > > @diablocrusher said:

> > > I looked into a private club near home last month and I feel like there’s much better value in a lot of the other clubs people here have mentioned.

> > >

> > > I like to hit balls at the range frequently and also enjoy putting and chipping practice. The club I looked at is less than a 10 minute drive so I figured why not, they were running a new member special at the time. If you’re looking into a club, be sure to get the full breakdown of all the costs.

> > >

> > > Place I looked at near home had monthly dues, and a minimum monthly food & beverage of $50. Pretty standard stuff in terms of a club. So then I asked about greens fees, your monthly dues cover greens fees, only if you want to walk. If you want to take a cart that’ll be another $54 PER ROUND! For those of you not familiar with western PA, good luck trying to walk 18 holes that aren’t up and down a hill every hole.

> > >

> > > I mentioned the I like to hit balls at the range, membership director said “that’s great, we have a full size range and putting green. That’s an extra $150 a year”. Hmmm...ok

> > >

> > > Then looking over the paper they gave me I saw there was a “capital fund fee”. What’s this? I was told it’s a fee everyone pays per month so at the end of the year the club doesn’t do an assessment and tell all the members “hey btw you owe us $3500 for upgrades”.

> > >

> > > Then while i was there for a visit I saw a sign for that weekend was the kids make your own pizza event....$15 per child. Wtf are the monthly dues for then?

> > >

> > > Bottom line, point I’m trying to make is be sure to understand the full cost of a club before you sign anything. As others have posted above me, joining a private club isn’t ever going to

> > What club is this at? I'm in Pittsburgh and may have looked at the same one haha

>

> Shannopin country club, they had a winter special going on before March 31st where you paid $0 initiation fees.

>

> And to answer az2au above, that was the cart for one person. It may be the same price for a twosome but I’m not positive. It almost seems like they are trying to keep people from using carts.

>

> To others here who belong to a club, is it common to have an additional yearly fee to use the driving range or is that typically included in your monthly dues?

>

I belonged to a club a few years ago that had it. I just counted it as part of my monthly dues and didn’t really think much about it. It that case it kinda made sense. The club had over 1,000 members but it was more of a tennis/swimming club than a golf club. I was told my last year there that less than 400 of the members played even 1 round of golf and that it dropped to around 250 if you set the rounds at 5+. In that type of a scenario a small number of members are going to be heavy range users and the rest could always get a bag of balls for a fee if they wanted.

I joined a club because it was the only way for me to continue playing golf. My career now mostly limits me to playing on the weekends, and with a wife and young daughter, it's just wasn't feasible to expect to play much at public course pacing. I can tee off early and actually be done with my round and back to the house before noon, giving me the rest of the day to do whatever the family wants.

“Then while i was there for a visit I saw a sign for that weekend was the kids make your own pizza event....$15 per child. Wtf are the monthly dues for then?”

Did you really think dues included food?