Eagles Landing and Clubcorp in General

jwil · June 3, 2016

I am in talks with the membership director at Eagles Landing and the offer to join I have been presented with seems pretty tough to pass up. I have been told that I get access to ONE tee times at other clubs in the city, but I am wondering just how plentiful those tee times are. I live in town and Eagles Landing is the closest to me, but the north side courses aren't too much further from my home. How tough is it to find tee times on these north side ONE courses on the weekend? How hard is it to get a weekend tee time at Eagles Landing with it as my home course?

This will be my first foray into "private" golf and I am wondering what I should expect in comparison to the public courses I have been playing around town (typically Cherokee Run). Is Eagles Landing course itself markedly better than Cherokee Run? Or is it more of the overall experience that is better?

Are there any watch-outs for the details of the membership offer I have been presented? I think I have hit on most of the important topics in my follow up questions, but certainly interested in hearing about other's experience in dealing with Clubcorp.

Thanks!

toypor · June 3, 2016

I am a fan of ClubCorp. I think their offer is very good. Regarding One times at other courses in your (Atlanta) market on the weekend, you cannot book between noon on Friday through noon on Sunday. At least the high end clubs up north... You might be able to book the old Cannongate courses at any time? You might want to double check on this. Out of market you can book at anytime if available including weekends. If you have some flexibility, I don't think you will have issues getting times at other clubs.

I think Eagle's Landing is pretty well run and generally in decent shape considering the cost of admission. There doesn't appear to be a very active golf membership, so if you are looking for a game, it might be difficult.

OutBackHack · June 3, 2016

The first thing you need to do is play Eagles Landing...that will give you the comparison to Cherokee Run.

In my opinion it's a fair bit better in design and quality, the grasses are completely different though, so comparing the greens or fairways between the two courses is not on a like for like basis.

Capitalist! · June 4, 2016

Do you mind posting the details of the offer? Curious...

jwil · June 5, 2016

Do you mind posting the details of the offer? Curious...

Certainly. 255/mo under 40. No initiation. An additional 50/mo for unlimited carts in year 1 at Eagles Landing, Heron Bay, an one more course on the south side.

This pricing is with a one year commitment and good for my wife and I combined.

jwil · June 5, 2016

The first thing you need to do is play Eagles Landing...that will give you the comparison to Cherokee Run.
In my opinion it's a fair bit better in design and quality, the grasses are completely different though, so comparing the greens or fairways between the two courses is not on a like for like basis.

Agreed. Was just trying to get as much info as I could before going further down the path.

Capitalist! · June 5, 2016

That course is well worth that... Roll it...

Heron Bay is decent, but about 2-3 steps below...

thejuice · June 5, 2016

That course is well worth that... Roll it...

Heron Bay is decent, but about 2-3 steps below...

I haven't played Eagles Landing yet but I disagree that Heron Bay is "decent". I think it's a really nice course. Very well maintained and tough in some spots and then very fair in others. A very nice track on the Southside.

manderson2228 · June 6, 2016

My wife and I were members at a club corp course. We were members before the club corp buy out and then after and we noticed a significant decline in services. We left, and moved to another course that isn't club corp and couldn't be happier. Tee times have that blackout period on the weekend. We rarely got the chance to use the play other course thing simply because of that blackout period. I tried multiple times to get on country club of the south and couldn't. Club Corp only cares about their margins, and making money and will cut corners to make profits.

All that said, for 255 I would probably do it. We did play eagle watch and it was a decent track. The club house seemed decent too. On the most recent earnings call for club corp they announced rate increases in the Atlanta market, so expect your dues to go up.

Capitalist! · June 6, 2016

Heron Bay is not as nice as Eagles Landing... Thus I rated it 2 or 3 steps below....

Heron Bay has varied in conditioning over the years... Last time I played, it was improved... But have also seen it in poor shape multiple times...

crazy8golfer · June 6, 2016

Do you mind posting the details of the offer? Curious...

Certainly. 255/mo under 40. No initiation. An additional 50/mo for unlimited carts in year 1 at Eagles Landing, Heron Bay, an one more course on the south side.

This pricing is with a one year commitment and good for my wife and I combined.

You might want to get all the promises in writing and have it looked over by your attorney.

Spicoli · June 7, 2016

I'm former Canongate on the North side of town, now ONE with Club Corp.

As far as access to the high end clubs, it depends on the club!

Example: before the buyout I played Laurel Springs several times as a guest. The place was wide open every time. My coworker was a member. After the acquisition, I called to get Fri tee time before noon. They said totally full, sorry!

Smelling BS, I asked my coworker to check the tee sheet. Sure enough consecutive 4 some slots every ten minutes from 10am forward! So I called back and asked what the deal is...

They said we only have to let one affiliate group on ON ANY GIVEN DAY and are protecting their membership. I said look, I get it, but you guys are wide open! He lied and said they were not, so told him how I knew. He relented and let me on, but they made me feel very unwelcome when I came to play.

That said, I never had the same experience at Atlanta National, Polo, or White Columns. With CCOS, barring a tournament, I expect the same LS BS because I've played there before and bet they want to "protect the membership" as well.

So my take on ONE is it is great, depending on the staff. Bottom line the legacy members paid serious money to join and they likely opine for the good old days. Given Club Corp had to save their butts, I'm pretty sure the bean counters at Corporate may change that POV...

manderson2228 · June 13, 2016

I'm former Canongate on the North side of town, now ONE with Club Corp.

As far as access to the high end clubs, it depends on the club!

Example: before the buyout I played Laurel Springs several times as a guest. The place was wide open every time. My coworker was a member. After the acquisition, I called to get Fri tee time before noon. They said totally full, sorry!

Smelling BS, I asked my coworker to check the tee sheet. Sure enough consecutive 4 some slots every ten minutes from 10am forward! So I called back and asked what the deal is...

That said, I never had the same experience at Atlanta National, Polo, or White Columns. With CCOS, barring a tournament, I expect the same LS BS because I've played there before and bet they want to "protect the membership" as well.

I had the exact same problem with CCOS. I never actually got on, but having a buddy who had access to the tee sheet i got lied too. Oddly if called the club line and talked to them they always were nice. Normally i would call, setup the tee time, then get a call back saying they couldn't with a BS excuse. It was after they contacted the club locally that the push back happened. I almost think that this issue specifically is at the local level at the pro shops at these clubs and not a club corp thing. I think some of the guys are going rogue with this.

Spicoli · June 15, 2016

So recent full disclosure to my post above...

I got an offer to transfer my home club from Windermere/Olde Atlanta for no initiation, but slightly higher dues, to Laurel. I took it...

I've grown tired of full tee sheets and 5hr rounds + Laurel is closer to my house.

Despite the slight grief mentioned above, I'm looking forward to what very well may be a better experience.

GTgolf · June 25, 2016

Played Eagles on Friday (creek-lake). It was in good shape. Greens were rolling beauty.

Had some issues tho. They don't let anyone out before 8:30. Guy in the pro shop didn't show until 8-8:15. There were 20 guys waiting to check in... Meaning by the time I got checked in, no warmup time.

Also, grille didn't open until 11. Pathetic for such a big course.

Club corp is a s*** show. Great value but man those courses are PACKED. 5 hour rounds on the north side all day every day.

thejuice · June 27, 2016

I get why people don't like Club Corp. It's the big group saving (although some say taking over) all of the mid-tier private golf courses in the area and grouping them with the lower-tier (Canongate) private golf courses in the area. With having said that, the value I've gotten since I joined (through a legacy Canongate golf course) has been great! It's not a 3hr 45min round I got used to when playing as a member at Rivermont, BUT I get the choice to play a ton of courses (I love Rivermont but playing the same course all the time is boring to me), get great pricing on food with my ONE membership, and I also get to play really nice mid-tier private courses outside of Atlanta when I travel. I played Wachesaw Plantation in Myrtle Beach earlier this year (it was a GREAT track, not to be confused with Wachesaw East) and just played Stonemount Forest in Greensboro, NC while I was there for my family vacation. If you care more about a 4-hour round ALL THE TIME (I have not had a 5-hour round on a weekday yet on the northside of town), then Club Corp might not be for you. If you like to play with a lot of variety and like your membership to extend OFF your home course then the ONE membership is worth a shot.

By the way, played Eagles Landing last Tuesday and I agree with the poster above, it's in GREAT shape! Had a great time inside the bar and grille afterwards too!

crazy8golfer · June 27, 2016

Played Eagles on Friday (creek-lake). It was in good shape. Greens were rolling beauty.

Had some issues tho. They don't let anyone out before 8:30. Guy in the pro shop didn't show until 8-8:15. There were 20 guys waiting to check in... Meaning by the time I got checked in, no warmup time.

Also, grille didn't open until 11. Pathetic for such a big course.

Club corp is a s*** show. Great value but man those courses are PACKED. 5 hour rounds on the north side all day every day.

WTF !!