Columbus Golf Clubs

[skyways]

Any suggestions? I definitely am on a budget and can't really afford more than $4,000 annual membership fees. I know that will limit my options significantly. Thanks for the help!

[MaxBuck]

Heritage Golf Club in Hilliard. Hickory Hills in Grove City. Maybe Rattlesnake Ridge near Galena and Worthington Hills.

 

Depending on your age, you may be able to get a junior membership at reduced monthlies, so I wouldn't rule out any of the clubs in town necessarily except Scioto, Muirfield Village GC, Double Eagle and The Golf Club. It doesn't hurt to call and ask.

[Jagpilotohio]

To add to the above. Pinnacle is nice in grove city. Tartan fields is nice in Dublin.

The “New Era” club package is good if you play a lot and like different courses. Gets you playing privileges at 6 different decent public clubs.

Hickory hills Is only $215 a month with no buy in fee. Decent practice area. Very low key, golf only club out in the country. Carts are extra but they have $1000 a year unlimited plan if you like to ride. It’s hilly.

[stowbulldogs25]

Northstar is solid as well. Pretty cheap, no initiation, and a great group of guys. It is semi-private, but it very much feels private aside from allowing public tee times. I just joined and played in the weekend pot game for the first time last weekend and had a blast.

[ratdg1]

Check out York up in Worthington.

[stephen3108]

> @MaxBuck said:

> Heritage Golf Club in Hilliard. Hickory Hills in Grove City. Maybe Rattlesnake Ridge near Galena and Worthington Hills.

>

> Depending on your age, you may be able to get a junior membership at reduced monthlies, so I wouldn't rule out any of the clubs in town necessarily except Scioto, Muirfield Village GC, Double Eagle and The Golf Club. It doesn't hurt to call and ask.

 

MaxBuck, do you have any ideas of the fees for Heritage? It’s 5 minutes from my house and I’m very interested in joining. Thanks!

[MaxBuck]

> @stephen3108 said:

> > @MaxBuck said:

> > Heritage Golf Club in Hilliard. Hickory Hills in Grove City. Maybe Rattlesnake Ridge near Galena and Worthington Hills.

> >

> > Depending on your age, you may be able to get a junior membership at reduced monthlies, so I wouldn't rule out any of the clubs in town necessarily except Scioto, Muirfield Village GC, Double Eagle and The Golf Club. It doesn't hurt to call and ask.

>

> MaxBuck, do you have any ideas of the fees for Heritage? It’s 5 minutes from my house and I’m very interested in joining. Thanks!

 

Stephen, you're probably best advised to call for yourself. You may be able to negotiate a better deal than "list price." B)

[SilverBullets]

$4000 per year is about right for most of the mid tier clubs in Columbus. Places like the ones mentioned above should be in that range... $3500-$4500 per year... I did a lot of research in 2015 and while I'm sure some things have changed, I doubt they have drastically changed. At the time, I lived in UA and worked in New Albany so I was mostly looking at the west side clubs and the north side clubs between my office and house.

 

Worthington Hills is a great club, that's where I ended up landing. I'm not a big fan of the layout at Heritage (just personal preferance), but it is a nice course, in great shape and should be in that price range. York should be cheaper than both of those. The greens are great, it's always in great shape but it's an old school design which is land locked by the 23/315 cooridor. It's a good place to save some coin though.

 

Hickory Hills is an awesome layout. While it's further away, it's actually easy to get to from the west burbs. I will say, the course is seriously deteriorating though. Many long time members are running away.

 

Other places to consider: Pinnacle. Really great course. First 4 holes are a bit boring (flat, wide fairways, parkland, nothing really to them). But once you get past 4, the course gets very interesting. There were some funky things about their membership which I didn't like. For instance, the restaurant is open to the public and is widely used by those living in the community which are not members at the course. The members, however, paid for a large patio renovation. Also, every year they do some major projects. This including building a new, large, water feature and green complex on a hole. Which I found as odd considering it's basically a brand new course. It seemed like they spend money simply to spend money. It had me nervous.

 

Also look at places like Jefferson, Kinsale, Scioto Reserve, Tartan Fields. All should be somewhere around that $4k range. Columbus has one of the best mid tier private lineups of any city in the country. There are so many options and all them provide great golf. Something Phoenix/Scottsdale completely lacks.

 

[Jagpilotohio]

Hickory hills is getting a needed boost in membership due to Oakhurst closing for housing development. It’s only a few miles away and I’ve heard about 50 members went over to Hickory. They needed the membership numbers to get healthier financially. I think they were down in the mid 200 range before the influx. Last year some of the greens got sick with a fungus but someone told me that has been remedied.

[JDFish]

I have friends that are members at Jefferson - they say they spend around $1k/month.

[MaxBuck]

> @JDFish said:

> I have friends that are members at Jefferson - they say they spend around $1k/month.

 

Surprisingly easy to do at most clubs if you like to drink.

 

I like to drink.

[ratdg1]

One other thing to consider is whether you're a walker. > @SilverBullets said:

> $4000 per year is about right for most of the mid tier clubs in Columbus. Places like the ones mentioned above should be in that range... $3500-$4500 per year... I did a lot of research in 2015 and while I'm sure some things have changed, I doubt they have drastically changed. At the time, I lived in UA and worked in New Albany so I was mostly looking at the west side clubs and the north side clubs between my office and house.

>

> Worthington Hills is a great club, that's where I ended up landing. I'm not a big fan of the layout at Heritage (just personal preferance), but it is a nice course, in great shape and should be in that price range. York should be cheaper than both of those. The greens are great, it's always in great shape but it's an old school design which is land locked by the 23/315 cooridor. It's a good place to save some coin though.

 

One other thing about York - I'm a member there - is that it's probably the most walker-friendly club in Columbus. "Old school design" is a good description. It was designed by George Sargent, who was the first pro at Scioto and you can see the Ross influence on a lot of the holes. One thing I will say is that while it's not the longest course - 6536 from the tips - it's got a lot of elevation changes and plays longer than it is. Plus it's one of the easiest courses to get to. Just get on 270 and it's right at the High St. exit.

[Florida Gator]

I have been a member at Kinsale for several years up until I moved to the Detroit area. Having played most clubs in the area, it was one of my favorites.

[JDFish]

I had the opportunity to play Columbus Country Club earlier this week. It's on the east side of town. It is a great old golf course, originally built in the early 1900s and redesigned by Donald Ross. It is fair, but tough if you aren't in the fairway or are out of position. They have removed tons of trees in the past few years, really opening up the views of the course. I think the dues are around $230/month. And they allow walking and have a caddie program. If I were in a position to join a club, this would be at or near the top of my list.

[ratdg1]

I've heard Hickory Hills is closing at the end of the year. No idea if it's true or not, but it seems to be hemorrhaging members, even with the rate reductions.

[birdman72]

> @ratdg1 said:

> I've heard Hickory Hills is closing at the end of the year. No idea if it's true or not, but it seems to be hemorrhaging members, even with the rate reductions.

 

I played Hickory Hills a couple of weeks ago and it was not in good condition. I dont know if they are closing or not but I have a few friends that are members who are not going to renew their membership.

[MaxBuck]

> @birdman72 said:

> > @ratdg1 said:

> > I've heard Hickory Hills is closing at the end of the year. No idea if it's true or not, but it seems to be hemorrhaging members, even with the rate reductions.

>

> I played Hickory Hills a couple of weeks ago and it was not in good condition. I dont know if they are closing or not but I have a few friends that are members who are not going to renew their membership.

 

Hickory is a nice design (clearly Kidwell's best one), but it's in the middle of nowhere and its amenities are on par with Waffle House. I've never really understood the appeal. When conditioning goes down the tubes there's not much left - might as well play Champions, which honestly is a much better layout.

 

Rattlesnake Ridge doesn't get enough appreciation in my opinion. It's an easy course to walk, and a really smart design. Another one that's hard to get to, though.

[buckeyefl]

> @stowbulldogs25 said:

> Northstar is solid as well. Pretty cheap, no initiation, and a great group of guys. It is semi-private, but it very much feels private aside from allowing public tee times. I just joined and played in the weekend pot game for the first time last weekend and had a blast.

 

If I had lived a little closer when I lived in that general area this would have been my choice.