Does having a membership limit you?

[blink3665]

I am looking at a membership at my local course. First, a bit of background on the course. They are in a rebuilding year. The course is known for BAD irrigation. It has gotten better. The fairways are lined with houses, and it is fairly short. Many of my friends won't play there because of the houses. I love the course because it plays to my strengths (short off the tee, accurate irons) and is only 5 minutes from my house and work. I can get in a round before work.

 

They have an introductory membership of $600 for the rest of the year. For those of you with memberships, do you feel like you HAVE to play your home course? I don't have a big golf budget, and I feel like it may make me not want to play other courses...

[sandwedge59]

I play mainly at a public course the offers memberships and i do play most of my golf at that course but by no means does that stop me from going other places i just do not do it as often , and my reasoning for the membership is plainly it's inexpensive and there are no restrictions and i am able to play 7 days a week if i choose to where without a membership i could only play once or twice a week

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

I would only join a place that I wanted to play 30, 40, 50 or more times a year. Having joined, I don't feel like I'm playing there to "get my money worth" at all. I play there a lot because it's fun.

As my wife says, think of it that half the cost (of a private club) is for the golf you play and the other half is for the opportunity to play there. Obviously a public or semi-private course where you're buying a subscription is entirely about the golf you play (as you could play there without joining). But at $600 a year it would be hard not to get your money worth even playing 3-4 times a month.

[Pepperturbo]

No matter what type of club you're considering, the best questions to ask yourself are the following: "are you likely, at some juncture, to tire of that course" and "will you want to bring your friends". But the most important one IMO is, "will you want to play elsewhere at times". If you do, "are you likely to feel guilty paying elsewhere when you have club dues/costs".

[raynorfan1]

[quote name='blink3665' timestamp='1330717453' post='4420661']
I am looking at a membership at my local course. First, a bit of background on the course. They are in a rebuilding year. The course is known for BAD irrigation. It has gotten better. The fairways are lined with houses, and it is fairly short. Many of my friends won't play there because of the houses. I love the course because it plays to my strengths (short off the tee, accurate irons) and is only 5 minutes from my house and work. I can get in a round before work.

They have an introductory membership of $600 for the rest of the year. For those of you with memberships, do you feel like you HAVE to play your home course? I don't have a big golf budget, and I feel like it may make me not want to play other courses...
[/quote]

Having a membership doesn't limit you. Not having enough money or being cheap limits you.

[tpariff]

Without knowing your exact golf budget the $600 for the rest of this year may limit you if you only have another couple hundred to spend playing elsewhere. I have friends at private clubs here in Tampa and they pay $400-$600 a month in dues before they ever put a tee in the ground. They typically don't want to play elsewhere because they pay dues regardless of the number of rounds they play at their club. So when they play it just makes sense to drop the $20 for a cart at their club vs. paying $50-$100 to play another good public or semi-private course.

The other point to consider is what you will get from joining the club. Do they have a good game you can easily join? Are the other members friendly and open to new guys joining their groups? If not then you'll be stuck basically playing as a single since you stated many of your friends won't play there.

Kevin

[SlapShotGolfer]

As a member of a local course I feel like I need to play there as I've already paid my money and wouldn't want to spend money to play elsewhere. But I don't think it's a matter of me having to play there, but it makes the most monetary sense!

[blink3665]

I use this course as practice for when I play other courses with friends. Playing solo doesn't really bother me, since I can breeze through a round in around 2.5 hours by myself before work. I normally play the early bird which is $15 right now, and will be $20 in the spring/summer. Then I play another course with the par 3. Between then two of those I normally only pay about $30/week for golf. If i got the membership I would play there instead of my par 3 at the other course.

Thank you everyone for your input. I think that at $600/year it is too cheap to pass up. I'm still going to play other courses with buddies, but I will be able to play practice rounds a few times a week!

[geoangus]

I joined the local course whose men's club I enjoy participating in. That said, I do find that since I've already paid for the greens fees, I'm more apt to go there first. I still played other courses, but I don't play nearly the variety I did before joining.

[blink3665]

[quote name='geoangus' timestamp='1330789277' post='4425615']
I joined the local course whose men's club I enjoy participating in. That said, I do find that since I've already paid for the greens fees, I'm more apt to go there first. I still played other courses, but I don't play nearly the variety I did before joining.
[/quote]

That will probably end up being me. I cooerced a friend into getting a membership too. so at least I will have someone to go with.

I went for the first time on my membership this morning before work. This is the first time I walked this course! I don't have my push cart yet, so I used my carry bag. We (two of us) got through the front 9 in an hour and forty minutes. We even had a twosome in front of us slow playing EVERY hole! We made good time!

[orangebang]

I joined a club back in 2010. Played it maybe 8-9 times that year. Didn't renew just because it was too expensive to play as a guest so it was hard to get my friends to play there. In the end, golf is about the company. So I play mostly public courses now, and rarely the same course more than once or twice a month. (I average 80+ rounds a year).

[SpinMill75]

[quote name='blink3665' timestamp='1330717453' post='4420661']
I am looking at a membership at my local course. First, a bit of background on the course. They are in a rebuilding year. The course is known for BAD irrigation. It has gotten better. The fairways are lined with houses, and it is fairly short. Many of my friends won't play there because of the houses. I love the course because it plays to my strengths (short off the tee, accurate irons) and is only 5 minutes from my house and work. I can get in a round before work.

They have an introductory membership of $600 for the rest of the year. For those of you with memberships, do you feel like you HAVE to play your home course? I don't have a big golf budget, and I feel like it may make me not want to play other courses...
[/quote]





GlenEagle?




I used to live up in your area and have played that course a bunch of times.....I live in Oregon now and have a membership at a local course. The course I picked is one of the more difficult courses in the area and thats why I picked it. Harder courses make you better. Gleneagle is not a hard course. I understand the money issue, I would just recommend playing courses like Kayak or Avalon to round out your ability.



-spin

[ParOrBetter]

I would say pick a course that is going to challenge you. Not a course that " plays to your strengths". When I first joined my club I hit my driver all over the place and could not work the ball to save my life. The course I joined is tighter than a mouses a** and is a shot makers golf course. In the first year I played there I went from a 15 to a 6 handicap. And can now work the ball more than i could have ever dreamed Pick a course that will challenge your game

[jmiller2]

When looking at becoming a member somewhere I personally look for the following for that course to determine if it is worth it for me to buy the membership.
--> Can I walk the golf course (I like to walk and get exercise while enjoying a round of golf), if so do i have to pay a fee or not (some places still make you pay for a cart even if you walk that will not work for me)
--> What is the availability of the course (probably gonna be bad if you can't get on the course because of outings and tournaments a lot)
--> Is the course difficult enough from the tees that i currently play and as I improve does the course have room to keep testing me from a longer tee set? (I play the tips now so this is important that the course is a challenge for my game improvement)
--> How much is the membership versus the amount it would cost you to just play the course (I normally calculate how often I want to pay at $$ to see how long it would take to 'cover' the membership costs)
--> What amenities does the course offer you (locker rooms, bag storage, practice balls included, practice greens, etc) that you plan to utilize.
--> Does this course have a sister course program where you can play on other courses with your membership (Optional for me personally but this helps from getting burned out on one track)

There are a couple of cons to becoming a member at some course
--> you only get to play that course all of the time so you might get burnt out on the course or too good at playing that one course and it is no longer a challenge.
--> you might feel guilty by playing anther course when you have paid to play the course in which you are a member
--> you might not play enough to cover the cost of the membership (in this case it is a bad decision to buy the membership)

if you play 4 times a month and greens fee is $30 (i have no idea this is a guess) You are spending $120 a month $600 / $120 = 5 months worth of golf. You 6+ months would be on their dime and 'free' The more you play the more the membership becomes worth it to buy.

[cart7]

When winter rates are in force in spring and fall (and also this past winter!), I have no problem playing other courses. My membership was very cheap and I only pay $16.50 each round for cart rental. $16.50 is very close to the prices a lot of the local courses have listed for 18 plus a cart during off season rates.

[Jims123]

Membership gives you an option to play that course a lot for cheap but just remember there are other courses out there & keep playing

[bob32556]

I don't think I have to play the course I belong to, we have a foursome that travels to various public courses every Saturday. The problem is that a typical Sat/Sunday round at the nicer public courses typically are 5+ hours due to overbooking. The overall quality of golf is not that much better at the private courses, but our foursome can get around our home course in 3 1/2 to 4 hours, which is a whole lot more enjoyable for sure.