National/nonresident memberships

[AndrewRanaudo]

On 9/30/2019 at 8:18 PM, taylorbrown said:

Hi everyone, I’m looking to join a club somewhere in the states as a national/nonresident member. I’m not too hung up on top 100 courses or rankings, just looking for a great course that is kept in great shape. Also looking for a club with overnight accommodations that I could take the family to. I’d like to keep initiation around $10-20k and yearly dues around $3k. I’m also 26 so if they have junior membership even better.

Some clubs I’m looking into already are Ballyneal, Prairie Dunes, Flint Hills National, Secession, Chechessee Creek.

Thanks for the help!

Saucon Valley is the deal of the century man absolutely amazing place. Non resident which is what I am is 10k with 705/month for 30-130 miles. National membership is 5k with 489/month for outside 130 miles. Only 50/60 mins from Philadelphia international. Guest house has 13 rooms, sits on the 3rd course. 3 courses all have been ranked in top 100 in country and all are still top 20 in PA. Place is an absolute joy something to consider for sure, not at all mentioning it being a top 70 club in the world who has hosted 7 USGA championships. 

[tarheel golf]

Pine Needles membership is a good suggestion, since it now includes 3 courses. 

[JRSc]

Curious is anyone is a member of a “Resort” course. What concerns me about getting a national membership at a club that is also a Resort is the greens will run at Resort speeds and not private club speeds. May be a moot point.

 

[VOL4Life82]

What is your opinion on the "Minimum Rounds" per year that you would play at a Non-Resident Club?

 

I joined one four years ago. I play most of my golf at a local resort course, but it is a resort and not a club. You never see the same players twice and while there's a restaurant, there's no "club" feel. 

 

My non-resident club is a true golf course. It has hosted the state amateur, the greens are fantastic and it's always in excellent shape. They hired a full-time agronomist who used to set up US Opens and honestly, it's just a joy to play. It's not a Top 100 or anything ... just a super well-maintained course with a great clubhouse, excellent food and bar, and lots of golf games. I try to go about 4 times a year and get 25 rounds in, plus tournaments.

 

I'm curious what anyone here thinks represents good value in terms of a non-resident club? I've already paid the initiation fee  (which wasn't much at the time ... it's a LOT higher now), but I would estimate I pay $400 a month and get about 25 rounds per year. The club itself is very exclusive and very polished. Most locals can't afford it but I got in when they really needed it. 

 

I was toying with finding something closer, but it is a nice club. At a recent Korn Ferry event, I mentioned it to one of the players who recognized it and remarked, "That's a really good club with a great vibe." And it got me to thinking ... 

 

What say you?

[Abh159]

19 minutes ago, VOL4Life82 said:

What is your opinion on the "Minimum Rounds" per year that you would play at a Non-Resident Club?

 

I'm curious what anyone here thinks represents good value in terms of a non-resident club? 

 

What say you?

 

Those questions are entirely subjective. What is a "good value" to you may not be to someone else.

 

There are plenty of people on this forum who won't join any private club because they don't feel they would get their money's worth in rounds played vs cost of dues.

 

I'm a member at a private club, but I don't have any other national or non-resident memberships. Personally, I feel like I'd have to make a minimum of 5-6 trips per year to make a non-residential membership make sense. Plus, it would have to be a really special place. 

[VOL4Life82]

1 hour ago, Abh159 said:

I'm a member at a private club, but I don't have any other national or non-resident memberships. Personally, I feel like I'd have to make a minimum of 5-6 trips per year to make a non-residential membership make sense. Plus, it would have to be a really special place. 

 

That's fair. I had a very special criteria. It had to be a member owned club (no ClubCorp or company owned clubs), it had to be walkable, it had to have stable membership and longevity (to avoid going out of business), it had to have a rigorous tournament schedule for members, and it had to be really well-maintained. 

 

I visit about 6 times a year ... usually starting in March. It's better than any of the clubs I was a member of in Atlanta. I know a few folks who are non-res members elsewhere who only go 3-4 times a year and that seems a waste. But I get your point. 

[ND2005]

As said the definition of "worth it" will depend a lot on the individual perspective. 

 

Some people just like to say they are members of whatever prestigious club it is, even if they rarely use the membership. They find value in the opportunity/availability of it. 

 

From a strictly cost per round perspective a national membership almost never makes sense. 

[me05501]

21 hours ago, VOL4Life82 said:

What is your opinion on the "Minimum Rounds" per year that you would play at a Non-Resident Club?

 

I joined one four years ago. I play most of my golf at a local resort course, but it is a resort and not a club. You never see the same players twice and while there's a restaurant, there's no "club" feel. 

 

My non-resident club is a true golf course. It has hosted the state amateur, the greens are fantastic and it's always in excellent shape. They hired a full-time agronomist who used to set up US Opens and honestly, it's just a joy to play. It's not a Top 100 or anything ... just a super well-maintained course with a great clubhouse, excellent food and bar, and lots of golf games. I try to go about 4 times a year and get 25 rounds in, plus tournaments.

 

I'm curious what anyone here thinks represents good value in terms of a non-resident club? I've already paid the initiation fee  (which wasn't much at the time ... it's a LOT higher now), but I would estimate I pay $400 a month and get about 25 rounds per year. The club itself is very exclusive and very polished. Most locals can't afford it but I got in when they really needed it. 

 

I was toying with finding something closer, but it is a nice club. At a recent Korn Ferry event, I mentioned it to one of the players who recognized it and remarked, "That's a really good club with a great vibe." And it got me to thinking ... 

 

What say you?

 

The Farm? 

 

Being in a mid-sized city like Chattanooga the idea of a national membership has little appeal to me, but if I lived in Atlanta or NYC I'd totally do it. It's really hard to play golf in those cities without a club membership, and even if you belong to a club you probably have a brutal commute to get there. 

 

Hell, a friend in Hong Kong joined a course in Thailand and leaves his clubs there. He says getting on a 3 hour flight is easier for him than going to Mainland China to play. It's not much better in NYC from what I hear. I have a friend there who belongs at Hawk's Ridge outside Atlanta. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by me05501

[Siper11]

Ballyneal in Colorado and Prairie Dunes in Kansas have to be a top 5 options as well. 

 

[Dancin]

13 hours ago, Siper11 said:

Ballyneal in Colorado and Prairie Dunes in Kansas have to be a top 5 options as well. 

 

Ballyneal isn't even taking names for wait list any more. Prairie Dunes is also likely multi year wait.

[Tarheelnation3]

On 8/1/2022 at 6:19 PM, Siper11 said:

Ballyneal in Colorado and Prairie Dunes in Kansas have to be a top 5 options as well. 

 

I'm a member at PD. If you're not on the waitlist already, you won't be getting in anytime soon. Initiation fee and dues recently went up this year as well. Pretty much the same story for Ballyneal. 

 

As for "worth" of a national membership or second club out of state, I can say with certainty that I likely don't get my money's worth. I play probably 70-100 rounds a year at my "local" club. But for my out of state club, I'm lucky if I make it back more than 3 times in a year. Regardless, I have no regrets about joining it and enjoy it a lot when I'm able to go back and visit.