60k + memberships

[DLiver]

[quote name='hurley9192' timestamp='1343847222' post='5391164']
[quote name='gr8 flopshot' timestamp='1336088056' post='4843426']
I must disagree a little bit...LACC, Riviera, Wilshire and Hillcrest are all still 6 figure initiaion fees. Additionally, all 4 are very old school...Just played at Riv for the first time. No cell phones allowed, no shorts allowed on the course, no denim allowed on the property, no guest can play more than 4 times per year & then the guest fee + caddie + cart fee made it a $500 day but the facility is unreal. add great food and a great singel malt selection to that as well.
[/quote]

Riveria is the kind of club where you can throw down $250k and get in immediately. We refer to that as the zip line.
[/quote]

Riviera isn't a typical country club. It is a "for profit" business owned by a Japanese businessman. It's goal is to make money. Riviera has a huge out-of-town membership.

I think gr8 may be confusing LACC with Riviera. Riviera allows shorts. LACC is pretty stuffy.

[Arizonalefty59]

[quote name='teejaywhy' timestamp='1335821105' post='4818046']
[quote name='XFelon' timestamp='1335811341' post='4816334']
However - I know that Troon North (up in Scottsdale) is $75k per year PLUS $500 dollars in dues every month.
[/quote]

You may be thinking of Troon CC.

Troon North is a public daily fee course.

*EDIT*
I looked on their website and you are right, they offer memberships for $75K initiation +$510 monthlies. LOL, what kind of moron would pay such coin to "join" a public course.
[/quote]
Troon North is not that great, but Troon CC is UNREAL and no one but millionaires live on that course.

A guy I know used to work as a bagboy there. The residents would always get rattlesnakes in their backyards and the guy said he would on average get about $600 to catch and release the rattlers!

[TomWishon]

This is an interesting topic. Having been in the golf business since 72 I have been around a LOT of higher dollar fee clubs so I have seen all sorts of interesting behaviors of the clubs and the members. I live in Durango, CO now, and one of the most interesting of all the high dollar clubs I have seen or been around is one here - The Glacier Club. $75K to join, $800 a month dues, 27 holes and a 4th nine planned for 2013. 18 of the holes are accessible to people who stay at the old Sheraton lodge close to the club, for a $150 green fee.

200 total members, of which 5 live locally. The other 195 have 2nd, 3rd or 4th homes here for the summer. It is at 7500 elevation so that means it is only open May to early November. For that 6+ month season, they get 4,000 rounds per year - and over half of those come from guests at the lodge. So the members play only 2,000 rounds in total a year. The pro shop staff is more like the "Maytag reparimen" in that they can go a whole day sometimes and not see one golfer.

I remember playing up there last summer as a guest of the head pro. He let me and my wife play the totally private 9 since he knew there were no members around that day. I can't forget seeing NOT ONE DIVOT on the tee boxes of any of the 4 different par-3 holes - and they all were definitely iron shots. NOT ONE DIVOT on any par 3 teebox??

The only sort of higher dollar club I was a member of was Austin CC in Austin, TX. That was $50K initiation and $400 a month dues. 700 members so the one 18 hole Pete Dye course was not one you could just walk on very often. Nice members in general, not too hoi polloi, but I do remember one thing that got me about the club. Back in the late 90s a faction of the club started to suggest with 700 members they needed another 18. One very wealthy member stepped up and was willing to DONATE 150 acres off site, about a 10 min drive from the club, for the second 18.

So the club did all the due diligence and planning and determined this would require each member to pay a one time assessment of $5,000. $5K per member for a new course + new clubhouse at the off club site. Not bad eh? But guess what? The assessment did not pass the vote. 60% said no. So go figure - $50K to join but the majority did not want to pay another $5K each for a second course??!

Absolute best club I have been part of is the one I play now - Dalton Ranch GC in Durango. And definitely not a $60K club - $8K initiation and $200 /month. Not because it is in fantastic shape due to a stellar sup't, not because a hot day is never above 85*, not because the 6,500 elevation means a 7 iron goes 175, not because of the WONDERFUL workout physical therapy center, not even because of the drop dead gorgeous red cliffs of the mountain foothills that surround the course. Those are all part of it - but I ROFLOL because Dalton Ranch is a true example of a benevolent dictatorship. One man owns the whole thing and one man runs the whole place. There are no committees, there are no members trying to lobby for this or that change because one and only one man makes all the decisions. And he is one very smart, very nice person so it all works out perfect.

[nfinch10]

[quote name='TomWishon' timestamp='1347047012' post='5603235']
This is an interesting topic. Having been in the golf business since 72 I have been around a LOT of higher dollar fee clubs so I have seen all sorts of interesting behaviors of the clubs and the members. I live in Durango, CO now, and one of the most interesting of all the high dollar clubs I have seen or been around is one here - The Glacier Club. $75K to join, $800 a month dues, 27 holes and a 4th nine planned for 2013. 18 of the holes are accessible to people who stay at the old Sheraton lodge close to the club, for a $150 green fee.

200 total members, of which 5 live locally. The other 195 have 2nd, 3rd or 4th homes here for the summer. It is at 7500 elevation so that means it is only open May to early November. For that 6+ month season, they get 4,000 rounds per year - and over half of those come from guests at the lodge. So the members play only 2,000 rounds in total a year. The pro shop staff is more like the "Maytag reparimen" in that they can go a whole day sometimes and not see one golfer.

I remember playing up there last summer as a guest of the head pro. He let me and my wife play the totally private 9 since he knew there were no members around that day. I can't forget seeing NOT ONE DIVOT on the tee boxes of any of the 4 different par-3 holes - and they all were definitely iron shots. NOT ONE DIVOT on any par 3 teebox??

The only sort of higher dollar club I was a member of was Austin CC in Austin, TX. That was $50K initiation and $400 a month dues. 700 members so the one 18 hole Pete Dye course was not one you could just walk on very often. Nice members in general, not too hoi polloi, but I do remember one thing that got me about the club. Back in the late 90s a faction of the club started to suggest with 700 members they needed another 18. One very wealthy member stepped up and was willing to DONATE 150 acres off site, about a 10 min drive from the club, for the second 18.

So the club did all the due diligence and planning and determined this would require each member to pay a one time assessment of $5,000. $5K per member for a new course + new clubhouse at the off club site. Not bad eh? But guess what? The assessment did not pass the vote. 60% said no. So go figure - $50K to join but the majority did not want to pay another $5K each for a second course??!

Absolute best club I have been part of is the one I play now - Dalton Ranch GC in Durango. And definitely not a $60K club - $8K initiation and $200 /month. Not because it is in fantastic shape due to a stellar sup't, not because a hot day is never above 85*, not because the 6,500 elevation means a 7 iron goes 175, not because of the WONDERFUL workout physical therapy center, not even because of the drop dead gorgeous red cliffs of the mountain foothills that surround the course. Those are all part of it - but I ROFLOL because Dalton Ranch is a true example of a benevolent dictatorship. One man owns the whole thing and one man runs the whole place. There are no committees, there are no members trying to lobby for this or that change because one and only one man makes all the decisions. And he is one very smart, very nice person so it all works out perfect.
[/quote]

I didn't realize people did things in Durango besides hike, bike and smo...just kidding. Love Durango but didn't realize there was good golf there. As a CO native, I keep trying to find mountain towns that have good golf options (and have a smaller feel than summit county) so I can move there one day. Durango may have to be added to the list. Had quite a few friends go to Fort Fun out of HS, guess I'll have to go visit the ones that stuck there.

[nfinch10]

BTW, it doesn't seem fair that you have Silverton Mtn in the winter and the course you're describing in the summer. Durango keeps climbing up my list the more I think about it...

[Johnny Biarritz]

So I have not plowed through all 8 pages of this...but it all depends on location. Pensacola Country Club is basically the best private club on the Gulf Coast from New Orleans to at least Panama City. The initiation fee according to their website is $15k a year, half that for under 40.

But you get to bigger cities, especially places like New York, Boston, DC, Chicago and so forth, the fees can get quite high. Pretty much any new, high end club is going to have a massive fee.

Personally, were I to consider a course with a 50K initiation, I'd run through my head whether it was worth it to me, or if I'd rather play Pebble Beach 100 times, inclusive of air, lodging and caddie tip.....

[nuthin but a hacker]

Wow what a bunch of money to spend on golf. I don't think I can afford to even post in this thread.

[tp280]

Wow, my thoughts exactly, I think my days in Reno/Tahoe are dwindling!

[quote name='nfinch10' timestamp='1347053764' post='5603699']
BTW, it doesn't seem fair that you have Silverton Mtn in the winter and the course you're describing in the summer. Durango keeps climbing up my list the more I think about it...
[/quote]

[dporto]

[b]"is a true example of a benevolent dictatorship. One man owns the whole thing and one man runs the whole place"[/b]

Benevolent Dictatorship is an oxymoron in the first degree. While I'm sure you feel that way I can't imagine that ALL the members feel the same way. Even if they do, I feel bad for you guys when said "benevolent dictator" checks out. I bet things will get ugly real fast.

[CPSOX]

[quote name='dporto' timestamp='1347636450' post='5639299']
[b]"is a true example of a benevolent dictatorship. One man owns the whole thing and one man runs the whole place"[/b]

Benevolent Dictatorship is an oxymoron in the first degree. While I'm sure you feel that way I can't imagine that ALL the members feel the same way. Even if they do, I feel bad for you guys when said "benevolent dictator" checks out. I bet things will get ugly real fast.
[/quote]

Hmm....I guess the folks at Sand Hills, Friars Head, Champions, Sebonack, etc have it all wrong.

[vpd]

I recently joined the Colorado Golf Club(CGC) located in Parker this past August. A fantastic golf course(Coore/Crenshaw design) with first class service all around. The initiation is $50,000 equity and $700/mo dues. Not cheap but very reasonable for the quality of the golf course and club. CGC hosted the 2010 Senior PGA Open and is hosting the @013 Solheim Cup. Prior to the economic downturn in 2008 the initiation was almost $100,000. In a few years there will be a waiting list to get in based on population growth in the greater Denver area and no new building of golf clubs of the caliber of CGC in the next five or more years. Also, the membership is very friendly and welcoming to new members. Not difficult to fit in. This is more of a golf club than a country club. Best value for the money anywhere around Denver.

[Pepperturbo]

[quote name='dporto' timestamp='1347636450' post='5639299']
[b]"is a true example of a benevolent dictatorship. One man owns the whole thing and one man runs the whole place"[/b]

Benevolent Dictatorship is an oxymoron in the first degree. While I'm sure you feel that way I can't imagine that ALL the members feel the same way. Even if they do, I feel bad for you guys when said "benevolent dictator" checks out. I bet things will get ugly real fast.
[/quote]

[b]Benevolent [/b]dictator owned clubs are often better then equity and corporate owned clubs. But, to know that you'd have to know a benevolent owner, like I do. You're also right, not all people feel that way too. Fortunately, they are almost always in a minority and think they are more important, and smarter then the group as a whole. Thankfully, they have the option to resign. Amazing, how they never do, and keep mumbling to anyone that was around.

I recall going up to one such member and asked if he has 20M to buy a club, and maintain the monthly negative cash flow... he looked perplexed and said of course not. I said, so quit bitc....

[DonTom6]

[quote name='shanked71' timestamp='1343878926' post='5394158']
Initially jumped in here to see if any members from Oak Hill commented, its the one private in the area that i truly have no idea what the dues are. However in exchange i did learn quite a bit, i guess im fortunate to live in an area where you can choose from several privates for 3-700 a month with initiations of sub 5k!
[/quote]

Not a member at Oak Hill but had the priviledge of playing last month and got the opportunity to briefly speak with Dan Farrell (GM). Initiation is at $68,000 and dues in the $1000 range.

[Scottcon]

[quote name='kvnhlstd' timestamp='1335830971' post='4819406']
60k a year "boys club" phhhissh... I belong to a real nice club, cost me 20+yrs of my life but now I get exclusive membership in some of the nicest courses around. You to can be a member.... just join the military.
[/quote]

Don't have to, I know for a fact that some (all?) military courses can be played by anyone. Got partnered with a couple guys last week with no military connection, said they just called the course, stopped at the front gate/visitors center and got a pass to go play golf. Not sure which bases this will work at, one/some/all, but hey if you live near a base/camp/post give them a call and try! Fee's are very reasonable <$30, although the courses can be hit or miss, most are very nice though.

[AC168]

$60k in San Diego used to be a low number ... now with the economy the way it is, it's a high number for initiation. Highest was The Bridges at $350k to join and $2k / month or so ... now it's $120k to join. A club near where I live used to be $120k to join, but is now $45k-ish. Most that were $50k to $75k to join are in the $5k to $10k range.

[RJ11]

[quote name='knickerbocker' timestamp='1335819239' post='4817748']
I pay $550 a year!

I can afford a membership at a private club, but I choose not spend $550 a month for dues.
[/quote]

Don't blame you.

[NJCLUBJUNKIE]

[quote name='Slapjax7s ' timestamp='1335809281' post='4816126']
some of my friends belong to Trump courses out here in NJ which cost up to $75k per year. I am a member of a nice club @ $1500 unlimited greens fees for a Junior Membership (up to age 36) No initiation or Food minimums.
[/quote]

What club?

[00bolt]

only 60k club in Ft. Worth i know of is the Colonial, i have played there a couple times from buddies who are members. But Id never want to join a club because I love playing all around too much. after paying that kind of money, id be locked down to playing that course everytime

[dporto]

[quote name='CPSOX' timestamp='1347641077' post='5639715']
[quote name='dporto' timestamp='1347636450' post='5639299']
[b]"is a true example of a benevolent dictatorship. One man owns the whole thing and one man runs the whole place"[/b]

Benevolent Dictatorship is an oxymoron in the first degree. While I'm sure you feel that way I can't imagine that ALL the members feel the same way. Even if they do, I feel bad for you guys when said "benevolent dictator" checks out. I bet things will get ugly real fast.
[/quote]

Hmm....I guess the folks at Sand Hills, Friars Head, Champions, Sebonack, etc have it all wrong.
[/quote]

I'll stick to my original statement that "benevolent dictatorship" is an oxymoron. I.E. - A dictatorship by it's very definition is not and cannot be benevolent. Since I'm not a member of any of the clubs mentioned above, I can't say unequivocally - can you? Perhaps all those clubs have a "single owner", but does that make it a "benevolent dictatorship"? Not necessarily...I'm sure they all have some sort of management structure, where there are many decision makers and/or commitees.

[CPSOX]

[quote name='dporto' timestamp='1348752724' post='5703723']
[quote name='CPSOX' timestamp='1347641077' post='5639715']
[quote name='dporto' timestamp='1347636450' post='5639299']
[b]"is a true example of a benevolent dictatorship. One man owns the whole thing and one man runs the whole place"[/b]

Benevolent Dictatorship is an oxymoron in the first degree. While I'm sure you feel that way I can't imagine that ALL the members feel the same way. Even if they do, I feel bad for you guys when said "benevolent dictator" checks out. I bet things will get ugly real fast.
[/quote]

Hmm....I guess the folks at Sand Hills, Friars Head, Champions, Sebonack, etc have it all wrong.
[/quote]

I'll stick to my original statement that "benevolent dictatorship" is an oxymoron. I.E. - A dictatorship by it's very definition is not and cannot be benevolent. Since I'm not a member of any of the clubs mentioned above, I can't say unequivocally - can you? Perhaps all those clubs have a "single owner", but does that make it a "benevolent dictatorship"? Not necessarily...I'm sure they all have some sort of management structure, where there are many decision makers and/or commitees.
[/quote]

Yes, I can say Dick Youngscap, Kenny Bakst, Jackie Burke and Mike Pascucci all hold the one vote that matters at their respective clubs.....and their memberships hold them in high praise. If that isn't a benevolent dictatorship, I don't know what is.

[dporto]

The very fact that there is a vote indicates that it is NOT a dictatorship...

[Prof3ssor]

[quote name='NJCLUBJUNKIE' timestamp='1348435499' post='5682253']
[quote name='Slapjax7s ' timestamp='1335809281' post='4816126']
some of my friends belong to Trump courses out here in NJ which cost up to $75k per year. I am a member of a nice club @ $1500 unlimited greens fees for a Junior Membership (up to age 36) No initiation or Food minimums.
[/quote]

What club?
[/quote]

My guess is Glenwood CC

[CPSOX]

[quote name='dporto' timestamp='1348846543' post='5711369']
The very fact that there is a vote indicates that it is NOT a dictatorship...
[/quote]

Oy vey....that's what I meant. Those 4 guys run their clubs.

[CowtownTexas]

[quote name='00bolt' timestamp='1348685649' post='5699755']
only 60k club in Ft. Worth i know of is the Colonial, i have played there a couple times from buddies who are members. But Id never want to join a club because I love playing all around too much. after paying that kind of money, id be locked down to playing that course everytime
[/quote]

There are three $60K clubs in Fort Worth.

We get alot of value living in an area with such a low cost of living. It's much more expensive in Dallas and Houston.

[ihatecats18]

I'm near a club that went from very private to semi-private but expensive.
Great course, but they built a few years before this last recession and their forecasted revenue from lot sales for houses in the developments near the course.

[nuthin but a hacker]

[quote name='Scottcon' timestamp='1348170894' post='5669581']
[quote name='kvnhlstd' timestamp='1335830971' post='4819406']
60k a year "boys club" phhhissh... I belong to a real nice club, cost me 20+yrs of my life but now I get exclusive membership in some of the nicest courses around. You to can be a member.... just join the military.
[/quote]

Don't have to, I know for a fact that some (all?) military courses can be played by anyone. Got partnered with a couple guys last week with no military connection, said they just called the course, stopped at the front gate/visitors center and got a pass to go play golf. Not sure which bases this will work at, one/some/all, but hey if you live near a base/camp/post give them a call and try! Fee's are very reasonable <$30, although the courses can be hit or miss, most are very nice though.
[/quote]

The course at the base where I work is open to the public.

[dporto]

[quote name='CPSOX' timestamp='1348865400' post='5713539']
[quote name='dporto' timestamp='1348846543' post='5711369']
The very fact that there is a vote indicates that it is NOT a dictatorship...
[/quote]

Oy vey....that's what I meant. Those 4 guys run their clubs.
[/quote] Oy Vey indeed!!!

[Cguinn]

Houston Country Club is 100,000 and i get to play there often with my friends (who's dads are members). The thing about Houston CC is that it is not really a good course at all but it is just has the best location ever. Also the facilities and club house are top notch.

[bc3woody]

I live in the northeast. The more selective clubs are usually the cheapest. Shinnecock, National, Pine Valley, Merion and the Winged Foots of the world are usually a LOT cheaper(initiation and dues) compared to the Trumps and Liberty National s of the world. A friend recently joined Sebonic the "process of admissions" is pretty much writing a check for $600K. The only problem with the selective clubs, getting in.

[ksgolfguy007]

anybody know how much it is to join sand hills in Nebraska?