Working at a place like Sand Valley a good idea? Free Golf? Any feedback?

[BG5]

Hi Gents,

 

I am soon to be a retired teacher and have thought about working at a place like Bandon, Sand Valley, Streamsong etc just for the opportunity to play free golf at some of the best resorts in the world.  I would assume they need workers as most resorts do but maybe I am wrong.  I will be retiring somewhat early in life (55) and thought it might be fun to work at a place like that just to keep life interesting.

 

I also dont need the money so maybe I just move to a place a join a country club and not work but the idea of living in a place like Sand Valley for the summer and golfing it like crazy is somewhat appealing to me.  I doubt I can do it forever but it does seem like it might be cool to do for a period of time and enjoy the simple things in life.

 

Any experience with someone doing this?  Do you get free golf?  Is there a "team" atmosphere at a place like sand valley and if so do people have feedback on this?

[TBone0576]

My dad retired at 55 and he and my mother moved to the Augusta area back in 2005.  He caddied there for about 5 years and then when that got to be a bit too physical he was given a job driving a cart picking up members in the parking lot and taking them wherever they wanted to go on the property another 5 years.  I don’t think it’s all that difficult to get your foot in the door there if it interests you at all.   I’d say one of the drawbacks would be some of these elite golf resorts are in very rural areas.   That may limit housing and entertainment options. 
 

edit - forgot to mention the main drawback at Augusta us you only get to play on caddy day once at the end of the season. 

Edited November 13, 2022 by TBone0576

[psygolf]

I would think the opportunity to play (free) might be higher if you chose to work at a private club instead.

[VNutz]

@BG5  The forecaddie I had at Sand Valley mentioned he was allowed to go out whenever he wanted, but he never really did as he wasn't much of a golfer. I think he said he took his grandson out a couple of times but not much more than that. I do know the caddies at Bandon are allowed to play for free, but obviously guests take priority and they likely have to take what's available, which might thwart your plan  given how packed placed like Bandon and Sand Valley have become. I don't know if there are any frequency limitations upon it though. I'd assume the same for staff, but you know happens when you assume.

 

As to the post above, my understanding is that working for a private club as anything other than a club pro you only are allowed to play on Mondays, as that's traditionally the day they're closed. I know when I worked grounds for a summer at a private club we were only allowed to play on Mondays after 3:00. Obviously that might differ depending on the situation or how "stuffy" a club is. If you want more free golf your best bet is usually a public course in my experience as they generally let the starters, rangers, etc play quite often in the non-prime time slots.

[SnowbirdTom]

Re: munis - i volunteer as a starter/marshal at a county course summers in Michigan.  We get the same access as paying players for tee times during the week.  Weekends, we are allowed out after 2PM, but Sat/Sun are off my normal rotation due to slow play and stupidity.

 

Four of us are usually the first tee time on Mondays and Fridays while chasing the ground crew around the course.  

[sleuth]

On 11/11/2022 at 9:16 AM, BG5 said:

Hi Gents,

 

I am soon to be a retired teacher and have thought about working at a place like Bandon, Sand Valley, Streamsong etc just for the opportunity to play free golf at some of the best resorts in the world.  I would assume they need workers as most resorts do but maybe I am wrong.  I will be retiring somewhat early in life (55) and thought it might be fun to work at a place like that just to keep life interesting.

 

I also dont need the money so maybe I just move to a place a join a country club and not work but the idea of living in a place like Sand Valley for the summer and golfing it like crazy is somewhat appealing to me.  I doubt I can do it forever but it does seem like it might be cool to do for a period of time and enjoy the simple things in life.

 

Any experience with someone doing this?  Do you get free golf?  Is there a "team" atmosphere at a place like sand valley and if so do people have feedback on this?

I mean -- you're phrasing this like you're going to get unlimited play whenever you want. Unless this was a local muni, I highly doubt a golf resort would allow this. You're directly impacting their revenue stream.

 

Anyway from my personal experience playing SV and talking with the caddie -- he rarely played. From what I understood he was allowed to play once a week and during off-peak hours.

 

Good luck, but you're better off calling SV yourself and speaking to HR.

[exgolfpro]

I have talked several times with one of the starters at Black Wolf Run in Wisconsin.  He is allowed to play any of the courses on his day off except for Whistling Straits.  But since your round if free, you are usually filling in a 3some somewhere (tougher to get on if you are part of a twosome/threesome/foursome of your own).  For this reason, he is a member of a local course (Quit-Qi-Oc) and the marshals/starters all play there.  He said he only plays the resort courses in the shoulder season when it is less crowded.

Edited December 5, 2022 by exgolfpro

[dfwgolfer92]

On 12/1/2022 at 8:41 PM, sleuth said:

I mean -- you're phrasing this like you're going to get unlimited play whenever you want. Unless this was a local muni, I highly doubt a golf resort would allow this. You're directly impacting their revenue stream.

 

Anyway from my personal experience playing SV and talking with the caddie -- he rarely played. From what I understood he was allowed to play once a week and during off-peak hours.

 

Good luck, but you're better off calling SV yourself and speaking to HR.

I worked for a summer at a high-end golf resort in PNW and was allowed to play anytime I wanted at any of the courses for free.  Catch was that I could not make advance times, I had to show up and talked to the shop guys who I knew well from working there and they would give me a single slot to fill in with a 2 or 3some that had a gap, but it would be a minute-by-minute decision.

 

So it definitely exists at some places, even on weekends, but you get at the very last minute only when that slot would otherwise go empty, so not impacting revenue.