My C.C. always having events , course closed.

[third-times-a-charm]

Also there is no exclusive tee times for members . So the public can play anytime of the day any day of the week . So what's the point of me having a membership !?

So it's really not a Country Club? It's a Semi-Private. If it was a true CC, then it would be controlled by membership. So sounds like you're paying for something that does not exist. I haven't read all the responses but I'd also bet it's operated by a management company. I have three basis thoughts concerning the place where I play golf, One, is nothing will change, and Two, they don't care, and three, bottom line is, if you don't like it spend you money somewhere else.

 

IMO there's no such thing as Semi-Private....it's just paying for preferred tee times and 10% off of stuff nobody buys.

 

What if your club has a hotel attached to it and the only way someone can get on without being a member is if they pay the hotel night rate + full rate + caddy.

 

I call it 7/8's private

[FourTops]

Also there is no exclusive tee times for members . So the public can play anytime of the day any day of the week . So what's the point of me having a membership !?

So it's really not a Country Club? It's a Semi-Private. If it was a true CC, then it would be controlled by membership. So sounds like you're paying for something that does not exist. I haven't read all the responses but I'd also bet it's operated by a management company. I have three basis thoughts concerning the place where I play golf, One, is nothing will change, and Two, they don't care, and three, bottom line is, if you don't like it spend you money somewhere else.

 

IMO there's no such thing as Semi-Private....it's just paying for preferred tee times and 10% off of stuff nobody buys.

 

What if your club has a hotel attached to it and the only way someone can get on without being a member is if they pay the hotel night rate + full rate + caddy.

 

I call it 7/8's private

 

Hmmm...let me think about that....OK...I'd call that a Hotel with a golf course.

[sheldonjhacker]

Find another club.

[third-times-a-charm]

Also there is no exclusive tee times for members . So the public can play anytime of the day any day of the week . So what's the point of me having a membership !?

So it's really not a Country Club? It's a Semi-Private. If it was a true CC, then it would be controlled by membership. So sounds like you're paying for something that does not exist. I haven't read all the responses but I'd also bet it's operated by a management company. I have three basis thoughts concerning the place where I play golf, One, is nothing will change, and Two, they don't care, and three, bottom line is, if you don't like it spend you money somewhere else.

 

IMO there's no such thing as Semi-Private....it's just paying for preferred tee times and 10% off of stuff nobody buys.

 

What if your club has a hotel attached to it and the only way someone can get on without being a member is if they pay the hotel night rate + full rate + caddy.

 

I call it 7/8's private

 

Hmmm...let me think about that....OK...I'd call that a Hotel with a golf course.

 

You're half correct.

 

So near me there is Tranquilo which is now 'fully private' but has a LARGE hotel attached to it for Disney vacationers which guests can play if they stay there.

 

Then there is my club which is Bay Hill, which has a small 'hotel' attached to it, but its mainly for destination golfers who wish to play Arnie's finest course and a PGA tour stop bucket list course.

 

So I would agree about Tranquilo, but not Bay Hill. Riff raff isn't gonna pay upwards of $500 at BH, but MAYBE for under $300 at tranquilo.

[cristphoto]

"This is Allendale CC we are talking about correct? I played there a couple of years ago and it is a fun course. I really enjoyed my round. Sorry to hear about the way it is managed. CC of New Bedford is a nice course as well, but without the issues you mention. Perhaps you deserve an upgrade to the private side of life."

 

I just looked a their web site. I know nothing abut this place but after hearing the complaints I have a few comments. Under "Outings" they say there're usually on Mondays (but comments here say otherwise). Plus they want $3240 for an annual membership. Seems a bit high to me. That's about 1/2 of what I pay for a private club in the DC area with a full package of amenities (plus longer golf season).

[Rory4Pres]

OP...

 

I had a similar experience at my public course for 3 years. I'd get a annual membership to play anytime but when I went to play, the course would be closed for a private tournament. Happened so often I'd have to call the course before heading there just to make sure I could get on.

 

that experience definitely impacted my next move, which was another annual membership but to multiple courses in town, where if one was closed for an event, I could get on another. I'd say if your course was hosting that many events, they should have a sister course you could get on that day instead.

 

I see your post was from the summer so I'm sure you've moved on. I'll have to read through the forum to get caught up.

[J2putts]

My brother just joined a private country club recently and they have "sister country clubs" that will let their members play for free on days that his club has tournaments . Thought that was pretty cool.

[FourTops]

Simple....move to La Quinta, CA and join PGA West. Plenty of courses. Play Stadium until you tap-out on #17 - Alcatraz - island green.

[youraway2]

It's a lesson learned. I will NEVER pay for a membership for a "open to the public " club. Next year I will get a season pass at another course that i prefer anyway.

An interesting note; some courses sell "memberships" that aren't really memberships. My course called us members in the past, but no more. We pay an annual fee and they call us an Advance Fee Payer. The amount of fee depends on service provided, such as unlimited golf, or unlimited golf with cart. However, if they have an event, you simply do not have access. Membership usually includes the ability to vote on issues (management and operations) and your vote with the other members dictate the outcome. But if you are not empowered, then you're really not a member but just an Advance Fee Payer.

[FourTops]

Did anyone ever think the course pro shop sees the guy coming, or his user-ID is tagged and the course responds that it's closed? Could be...who knows with all these golf apps now?

[Schley]

Either a course is private or it is public. There are various ways to access the public, some of which allows you to buy a season pass in the UK for example you pay your yearly "membership" fee and you get unlimited golf or what have you.

 

If a course is not fully private then what do you expect but your public course to have events. If you don't like it go elsewhere. At a private club it is a different story with the membership (equity club) deciding what events can be played and can't.

[third-times-a-charm]

Either a course is private or it is public. There are various ways to access the public, some of which allows you to buy a season pass in the UK for example you pay your yearly "membership" fee and you get unlimited golf or what have you.

 

If a course is not fully private then what do you expect but your public course to have events. If you don't like it go elsewhere. At a private club it is a different story with the membership (equity club) deciding what events can be played and can't.

 

As I mentioned earlier, some private clubs have hotels attached to them which allow the guests to buy a round of golf. There is an extremely minimal chance of abuse by the hotel guests, though, due to the high price of these stay + golf packages so I dont think these types of clubs would have any member complaints.

[J2putts]

Well ....almost a year since I posted . I joined a 100% PRIVATE country club today and couldn't be happier . Lesson learned ......

[Lodestone]

i belonged to a private club for years in a small town. The club was always on the edge of a financial disaster. Then I quit. After I quit the membership decided to build a big clubhouse. They couldn't afford it. Not even close. The thinking was something like this: We'll build this beautiful clubhouse and we'll have outings, and weddings. Which we will need to have so we can afford the clubhouse.

So the members are paying $500-$600/month, even during the months the course is closed , which is typically November-March, and sometimes most of April....then when a member finally gets a day off to play, they find out the course is not available.

They are in a death spiral....every time a batch of members quit, the dues go up, and another batch quits....The beautiful clubhouse needs new carpeting, new wallpaper, new everything...including some new members.

Word is it's about to go belly up....

where I live, there are very few private clubs....all public, or "semi-public"...the course I belong to is "semi-public"....but it works out for me because I am on the course a lot, often playing just a few holes.

[Roody]

> @J2putts said:

> Well ....almost a year since I posted . I joined a 100% PRIVATE country club today and couldn't be happier . Lesson learned ......

 

Congrats! I did the same thing in August of last year. Went from a semi-private to a fully private. And it's been worth the extra cost. My wife and I love it.

[stachoaj]

> @NPVWhiz said:

> FBDom wrote:

>

>

>

> As others noted, semi-private = public, and public courses rely on hositng events.

>

>

>

> With so much of the season left I would approach management about a pro-rated refund of your membership and find a new course to play that more closely aligns with what you want.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> I'd gently offer that there aren't any anymore that are public. Our local public courses are going to the same model. As many outings as possible, as often as possible. Saturday, Sunday....doesn't matter. Pack in the money makers as often as possible. Core, avid golfers be d@mned.

>

>

>

> I hit some balls yesterday morning and was driving the ball pretty well, and thought, today would be a great day to sneak in nine holes. I went out to a local, county run golf course at 2:00 and checked to see if I could get out for nine. Nope. "We've got a local hospital league going out at 3:00 and I've got a foursome at 2:15 that's the last group and I don't want to put you out in front of the league." I kid you not.

>

>

>

> It was effectively "We don't need no stinkin' singles out here".

>

>

>

> The guy said, "Here's a card. Why don't you give us a call and see whether you can get out before driving over here?". It took me about 15 minutes to figure out that it is more comfortable for the guy at the counter to tell you you can't play during the week as a single over the phone than to have you stand there and look at him looking at the tee sheet. "Ah, no, we're uh, all booked up this Tuesday afternoon. Nope, no room for a single. We've got the Sisters of Mercy outing at 11 am, then the local International Festival of Clowns outing at 3pm and then the Cincinnati Beer Tasting Society is out at 5:30. Thanks for calling."

>

>

>

> Rangers love the outings though. They can sort of drive around out there and be friendly, but they don't really have to do anything, because really, the management doesn't even have any expectation that things will move along. And they sure as heck don't want to tick the big outing people off. They might take it somewhere else next month or next year. It's like a General Motors plant in the 70s. Slow...and they like it like that. We don't have as many GM plants today, in case anybody's counting.

 

Is this course in Cincy? If so, which one? Don't want to make the same mistake.

[zoned_post_meridiem]

> @Lodestone said:

> i belonged to a private club for years in a small town. The club was always on the edge of a financial disaster. Then I quit. After I quit the membership decided to build a big clubhouse. They couldn't afford it. Not even close. The thinking was something like this: We'll build this beautiful clubhouse and we'll have outings, and weddings. Which we will need to have so we can afford the clubhouse.

> So the members are paying $500-$600/month, even during the months the course is closed , which is typically November-March, and sometimes most of April....then when a member finally gets a day off to play, they find out the course is not available.

> They are in a death spiral....every time a batch of members quit, the dues go up, and another batch quits....The beautiful clubhouse needs new carpeting, new wallpaper, new everything...including some new members.

> Word is it's about to go belly up....

> where I live, there are very few private clubs....all public, or "semi-public"...the course I belong to is "semi-public"....but it works out for me because I am on the course a lot, often playing just a few holes.

 

Sounds exactly like where I'm at (ND). $500-600/month, new clubhouse. I'd be ok with paying that if I could play all year, but with a 6-7 month season, you're looking at roughly $1000/month of golf.

[BNGL]

> @zoned_post_meridiem said:

> > @Lodestone said:

> > i belonged to a private club for years in a small town. The club was always on the edge of a financial disaster. Then I quit. After I quit the membership decided to build a big clubhouse. They couldn't afford it. Not even close. The thinking was something like this: We'll build this beautiful clubhouse and we'll have outings, and weddings. Which we will need to have so we can afford the clubhouse.

> > So the members are paying $500-$600/month, even during the months the course is closed , which is typically November-March, and sometimes most of April....then when a member finally gets a day off to play, they find out the course is not available.

> > They are in a death spiral....every time a batch of members quit, the dues go up, and another batch quits....The beautiful clubhouse needs new carpeting, new wallpaper, new everything...including some new members.

> > Word is it's about to go belly up....

> > where I live, there are very few private clubs....all public, or "semi-public"...the course I belong to is "semi-public"....but it works out for me because I am on the course a lot, often playing just a few holes.

>

> Sounds exactly like where I'm at (ND). $500-600/month, new clubhouse. I'd be ok with paying that if I could play all year, but with a 6-7 month season, you're looking at roughly $1000/month of golf.

 

Which club? Or if not wanting get too specific which town?

 

[zoned_post_meridiem]

> @BNGL said:

> > @zoned_post_meridiem said:

> > > @Lodestone said:

> > > i belonged to a private club for years in a small town. The club was always on the edge of a financial disaster. Then I quit. After I quit the membership decided to build a big clubhouse. They couldn't afford it. Not even close. The thinking was something like this: We'll build this beautiful clubhouse and we'll have outings, and weddings. Which we will need to have so we can afford the clubhouse.

> > > So the members are paying $500-$600/month, even during the months the course is closed , which is typically November-March, and sometimes most of April....then when a member finally gets a day off to play, they find out the course is not available.

> > > They are in a death spiral....every time a batch of members quit, the dues go up, and another batch quits....The beautiful clubhouse needs new carpeting, new wallpaper, new everything...including some new members.

> > > Word is it's about to go belly up....

> > > where I live, there are very few private clubs....all public, or "semi-public"...the course I belong to is "semi-public"....but it works out for me because I am on the course a lot, often playing just a few holes.

> >

> > Sounds exactly like where I'm at (ND). $500-600/month, new clubhouse. I'd be ok with paying that if I could play all year, but with a 6-7 month season, you're looking at roughly $1000/month of golf.

>

> Which club? Or if not wanting get too specific which town?

>

 

Fargo, ND. (I should update my profile info someday ...)