Green Fees vs. Membership - Break even Point?

[glenametz]

I joined a semi-private club this year. Membership is $970/single walker. Weekend prime rounds are $33/walk, so I need to get 30 rounds in to get my moneys worth. Considering I've played 8 full rounds, and 2 nine hole rounds already, I don't think that will be a problem. Not to mention:
-Five Miles from my house
-I like the course a lot, and it's in fantastic shape
-I never have a problem getting on
-Nice grass range and practice area
-I'm taking lessons there also, and I've played 3-5 holes after each lesson
-They have pretty damn good and inexpensive food and drinks
-The staff is great, and the members I've met have been fantastic as well

I'd say I made a wise decision

[marmooskapaul]

I've got a dual membership at two public courses....$400..for both..walking is free and cart/18 is $14. Normally would cost $20-$30 for play without membership. I play enough and for that little of money, I don't think about breaking even. If I walked it would be unbelievably cheap, but I usually take a cart. These are not bad courses and one stays open for play as long as no snow. They give me a cart key and I help myself if no ones there...can't really get a better deal than that.
The ability to play December,January, February and March...weather permitting, was a big factor in several of us getting memberships at this course. If I'm not ice fishing...we golf..if we can.
Paul

[prsgtrman]

i think about 31.5 rounds. per year, peak. ive got close to 60 rds this year. no brainer for me

[BigBee216]

We joined a semi-private club 2 years ago, and I tried looking at it this way, too. This is a course that I played at numerous times over the prior 9 years to joining.

However, there were several variables that made it hard to calculate:

1 - There are 3 plans to join at our club:
$3000 initiation fee/$1150 yearly
$5000 initiation/$850 yearly
$7500 initiation/$500 yearly

This provides unlimited green fees and pool access for me, my wife, and son.

2 - A cart is $5/9 or $10/18. Given our proximity to the course, we bought a new cart and I can drive it over and be there in 3 minutes. The cart was ~$7000, and we pay $150/yr in trail fees. We also use the cart as the primary mode of transportation in our neighborhood in the warm weather, so it gets plenty of use.

We wound up treating the initiation fee and cost of the cart as if we were buying furniture, taking a vacation, etc. It was a one-time expense that we would slowly recover over time (years).

We chose the cheapest option (initiation fee), so it costs us $96/month. Given that I'd play either PM weekdays or AM weekends, fees are $21 to walk PM weekdays or $35 to walk AM weekends, we need to play ~35-40 rounds per year to break even on the price point we chose. I say "we" because my wife and son also play, though not nearly as much as I do.

I play 18 every Sunday with friends, then 9 with my wife and son Sunday nights. I play 9 every Monday night in our Men's League, and then usually at least 2 other times a week. Just last week, I played 36 on Friday. I probably average 12 rounds/month May-Sept.

For us, it is a fantastic deal. If it is later in the day, I'll go over and play however many holes I can get in and not feel like I "have" to get in a complete round. I've gone over and played 9 and left at the turn because it was backed up, and it's not a big deal. It's also nice in the fall/winter on those days we get 40-45 degree temps on the weekends. We play during those temps. I played 5 or 6 times Jan-Mar this year. We more than get our money's worth on the monthly fees, and will slowly recover the initiation fee/golf cart cost over the years. We've met some great people since joining, and being a member gets us outside regularly in the summer.

BTW, joining was my wife's idea - we were getting quotes on getting a pool built, and after we started customizing it, the price kept going up. My wife said "you know, for a quarter of the price of a pool, we could join the CC and buy a cart and you could golf all you want and we can go to the pool all we want, plus you won't have to take care of the pool". I said "Yes" by the time the word "quarter" came out of her mouth! LOL

[nuthin but a hacker]

Seeing some of the prices you guys are paying tells me that the course here is extremely over priced for what it is. Either that or they quote me an outrageous price knowing I won't bite because they don't want me out there.

[Tax Man Golfeth]

Consider this: not having to swipe your credit card each time you tee it up means you're more likely to go play as often as you can (even if your schedule only permits you to play a few holes). I can go out at say 7pm after work and play 5 holes with no one in front of me instead of hitting the range, and I'm not worried about paying for 18 and not getting my money's worth so to speak. Love it.

I'm sure there is a breakeven point, and I'm sure I'm past it, but regardless... I play more golf because there is no incremental cost associated with each round or partial round I play. AND, I tend to play more partial rounds instead of slogging it out for 4-5hrs each time, which makes the wife happy.

[Koegel's Viennas]

Agreed, but this is a double-edged sword. When I decided to join the club it was for this same reason as you say, so-called "convenience play" and it was the only way it really made any financial sense. We did something similar with museum/zoo memberships when the kids were young. It eliminated the obligation when paying admission to stay for hours until the kids were miserable, but the break even point there was much more easily reached. With that said, with a membership, I do probably play more than I should ("more than I should" as defined by my spouse) to still "get my money's worth."

[quote name='Tax Man Golfeth' timestamp='1432228589' post='11602008']
Consider this: not having to swipe your credit card each time you tee it up means you're more likely to go play as often as you can (even if your schedule only permits you to play a few holes). I can go out at say 7pm after work and play 5 holes with no one in front of me instead of hitting the range, and I'm not worried about paying for 18 and not getting my money's worth so to speak. Love it.

I'm sure there is a breakeven point, and I'm sure I'm past it, but regardless... I play more golf because there is no incremental cost associated with each round or partial round I play. AND, I tend to play more partial rounds instead of slogging it out for 4-5hrs each time, which makes the wife happy.
[/quote]