Seattle Area Country Clubs

[PebbleChamp]

Hi everyone, I'm likely moving to Seattle during Jan/Feb and so I'm beginning to scout out areas to live. I'm under 40 and married with a 9yo son. At one point I got down to a 4.3 index, but I'm playing to probably more like a 13 right now since work has killed my golf game the last year or two. My son won some tourneys in the SLC area, so I'm looking for a club that has a strong of Jr. Exec members and a good youth program. My wife is a beginning golfer who enjoys going out with my son and me, and would like to play more if she fell in with a group.

 

Could anyone direct me as to which clubs have Jr. Exec programs (i.e. affordable initiation fees) and still have a challenging/interesting layout with decent length (I get bored playing 300 yd. par 4's)? We would like to live fairly close to the course (20 min. max) in a place with good schools (so no southwest Seattle), and I would be working downtown near Capitol Hill, so anything more than an hour commute to downtown would not be fun.

 

From poking around on the web, it looks like Inglewood, Overlake, and Glendale may match-up... is that right? Any feedback on them?

 

Thank you!!

[wkuo3]

Just curious, why would you want to join any "private" golf clubs ?

Most golfers belong to a"member" club around here would be interested in other function than just golf. Social function besides golfing would be a good motivation to join a private golf club here. Any "member only" golf club with nice dinning facility and maybe swinging pools, sauna, exercise room...... will not come cheap, average about $600-$800 monthly dues and some plus food tab ( another $150-$200).

With that in mind, even with low Junior member initiation ( which is a non-equity which mean it's less to join but say good bye to the initiation fee ) That $8000 - $10000 could buy you a lot of rounds in just about any public or daily fee golf courses around here , even with a golf trip or two. Nice golf courses like Chambers Bay and a close trip to the Bandon Dunes.....

If you must join some private golf clubs, just about any clubs would offer Junior Executive membership. They are aiming not at the initiation but the monthly dues attached to it. I would think you should look at any organization and pick one you like then call them up to see what they offer.

 

Other alternative like getting annual pass to Oki Golf, RMG Golf or even the Chambers Bay offer annual pass.

 

It really depending what your expectation is for what you would pay for it. Nice golf clubs like Sahalee, Bear Creek, The Plateau, on the Eastside. Fairwood in South http://fairwood.org/...aspx Everett Golf Club in the North http://www.everettgolfcc.com/home,

[njlam]

A friend of mine moved to Seattle a few years ago and instead of rejoining a private golf club, he just decided to play Chambers Bay whenever he wanted to play golf.

 

It has worked out really well for him.

[oregongolf]

This is heavily dependent on where you want to live. I'd choose that first, then look for a club. Sammamish would be a nice spot and central to a few clubs. Some of the better privates are going to be pretty spendy.

 

I would recommend Aldarra and Sahalee but their memberships are kind of unique - you may want to inquire. I think Sahalee is extremely overrated, but they have a great instruction program there. Courses like Inglewood, Broadmoor, Overlake, etc are all great and fun to play, but I don't know if they will check all your requisite boxes either. Probably the most family-friendly club that I have seen is Sandpoint, but the course is short and honestly, kind of janky. TPC Snoqualmie Ridge is very good too, but it'll likely be a hike from your workplace and also where you might be keen on living.

 

Seattle is one of the most unique golf markets I have ever seen. Lots of good privates, but none of them are among the best tracks in the state. Given what you need to pay to go private, you'd have to really be invested in your club, in my opinion.

[PebbleChamp]

Thanks for the input. I'm not stuck on joining a private club. Are there public tracks nearby that have an "all you can eat" annual or monthly fee that includes golf and range balls?

 

I like to play and practice multiple times per week after work with my 9yo, so obviously I can't be driving 30-60 min. home from downtown and then another 30-60 min. to the course. We generally go out to practice and/or play just a few holes and sometimes my wife joins us, so a low pressure (i.e. less busy) track is important. I also like to play an early tee time with a group of guys on Sat morning and look to get done in ~4 hr. Everywhere I've gone it ends up being cheaper in the long run to join a club, especially when you add up paying for nine multiple times a week (when I'm not playing a full nine) and paying for range balls. (Then you add the other intangibles like short drive to the course, no need for tee times except on weekends, not a lot of traffic.) After living in many metros across the country I have only found one public course that offered an annual membership which included unlimited use of the practice facilities (incl. range balls) as well, but it was a 45 min. drive from the downtown area. So, if there are public courses like that which also aren't very busy and close please add those, too.

 

With a country club you usually also add a pool and fitness center on top of golf and the social aspects, but for significantly cheaper we could always find those elsewhere. Thanks!

[dave willie]

I personally play public courses, but if you want a restaurant, pool, workout facilities and a reasonable price you should check out Rainier Country Club. The course is kind of short (6,000 yards) but it is really tight with small, fast greens. They are really trying to increase their membership so you could get in for a modest initiation fee, even for an equity membership. I've always enjoyed playing Rainier CC - good variety of holes and challenges all aspects of your game. Everett CC is another course that is similar; nice facility, well conditioned, but about 6,000 yards.

[littleinjunp]

I personally play public courses, but if you want a restaurant, pool, workout facilities and a reasonable price you should check out Rainier Country Club. The course is kind of short (6,000 yards) but it is really tight with small, fast greens. They are really trying to increase their membership so you could get in for a modest initiation fee, even for an equity membership. I've always enjoyed playing Rainier CC - good variety of holes and challenges all aspects of your game. Everett CC is another course that is similar; nice facility, well conditioned, but about 6,000 yards.

 

how much is the junior exec at Rainier?

[Reider]

Junior exec at Rainier is $3K down, around $400/month after food minimum and locker fees.

[littleinjunp]

Junior exec at Rainier is $3K down, around $400/month after food minimum and locker fees.

 

Well that's an absolute joke

[Roy_Munson]

Hi everyone, I'm likely moving to Seattle during Jan/Feb and so I'm beginning to scout out areas to live. I'm under 40 and married with a 9yo son. At one point I got down to a 4.3 index, but I'm playing to probably more like a 13 right now since work has killed my golf game the last year or two. My son won some tourneys in the SLC area, so I'm looking for a club that has a strong of Jr. Exec members and a good youth program. My wife is a beginning golfer who enjoys going out with my son and me, and would like to play more if she fell in with a group.

 

Could anyone direct me as to which clubs have Jr. Exec programs (i.e. affordable initiation fees) and still have a challenging/interesting layout with decent length (I get bored playing 300 yd. par 4's)? We would like to live fairly close to the course (20 min. max) in a place with good schools (so no southwest Seattle), and I would be working downtown near Capitol Hill, so anything more than an hour commute to downtown would not be fun.

 

From poking around on the web, it looks like Inglewood, Overlake, and Glendale may match-up... is that right? Any feedback on them?

 

Thank you!!

Out of curiosity, what did you end up deciding?

[TMBob]

Hi everyone, I'm likely moving to Seattle during Jan/Feb and so I'm beginning to scout out areas to live. I'm under 40 and married with a 9yo son. At one point I got down to a 4.3 index, but I'm playing to probably more like a 13 right now since work has killed my golf game the last year or two. My son won some tourneys in the SLC area, so I'm looking for a club that has a strong of Jr. Exec members and a good youth program. My wife is a beginning golfer who enjoys going out with my son and me, and would like to play more if she fell in with a group.

 

Could anyone direct me as to which clubs have Jr. Exec programs (i.e. affordable initiation fees) and still have a challenging/interesting layout with decent length (I get bored playing 300 yd. par 4's)? We would like to live fairly close to the course (20 min. max) in a place with good schools (so no southwest Seattle), and I would be working downtown near Capitol Hill, so anything more than an hour commute to downtown would not be fun.

 

From poking around on the web, it looks like Inglewood, Overlake, and Glendale may match-up... is that right? Any feedback on them?

 

Thank you!!

Out of curiosity, what did you end up deciding?

 

So do I....if I would have saw this post back then, I would say Glendale and Newport for the Schooling

[PebbleChamp]

Out of curiosity, what did you end up deciding?

 

We ended up moving to Sammamish (Issaquah and Lake Washington school districts are well known to be great quality), and we joined Plateau Club. It's a tough track that's decently maintained with great greens and a good junior program (at least for my son's age). It's an interesting layout that has good enough length from the tips and lots of variety (really no two holes at all similar). It also has two sets of family tees which came in handy to help my son work up to the ladies tees this year. The couple of holes with homes on them are mostly far enough away to not be an eyesore and the front nine is practically in the middle of the forest. The practice area could be better, but overall we're happy with our decision, and Mom got the fitness center and pool to go with it. :-D

[KTG3]

Is there a Jr.  Exec program at The Plateau Club?

[NSoundHacker]

It appears so.  I have no idea to the cost

 

https://plateauclub.com/memberships/

 

[Andrew Carlin]

On 1/4/2016 at 1:30 PM, oregongolf said:

This is heavily dependent on where you want to live. I'd choose that first, then look for a club. Sammamish would be a nice spot and central to a few clubs. Some of the better privates are going to be pretty spendy.

 

I would recommend Aldarra and Sahalee but their memberships are kind of unique - you may want to inquire. I think Sahalee is extremely overrated, but they have a great instruction program there. Courses like Inglewood, Broadmoor, Overlake, etc are all great and fun to play, but I don't know if they will check all your requisite boxes either. Probably the most family-friendly club that I have seen is Sandpoint, but the course is short and honestly, kind of janky. TPC Snoqualmie Ridge is very good too, but it'll likely be a hike from your workplace and also where you might be keen on living.

 

Seattle is one of the most unique golf markets I have ever seen. Lots of good privates, but none of them are among the best tracks in the state. Given what you need to pay to go private, you'd have to really be invested in your club, in my opinion.

I agree that it highly dependant on where you live. If you are going to be in Seattle proper, try checking out Rainer CC. It's a private course that has a fair layout and the greens are always in good shape. They have a strong youth contingent and it's central. The membership is very reasonable for the area as well.