60k + memberships

[kellygreen]

[quote name='Conman48' timestamp='1335737394' post='4811314']
I see tons of pricey and impressive bags here everyday and it led me to wonder how many people on here are part of a high price membership? I am at a 60k course here in fr worth and no one I know at the club has been on the site. So let's hear it!
[/quote]

Initiation fee, or annual membership?

You may get a few of the former.

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for many of the latter.

[ksgolfguy007]

Initiation fee

[kellygreen]

[quote name='ksgolfguy007' timestamp='1375149848' post='7565480']
Initiation fee
[/quote]

Just not a good (golf) investment in my area.

Too many quality public courses. Too many quality private courses that are far less expensive.

The only way shelling out that kind of money makes sense (here) is if you own a business, and see such a club as a networking tool for that business.

If I lived in a more densely populated area, where getting to play good courses was a much more difficult proposition...then I'd look at the situation differently.

Or had a salary in the high six-figures, or seven-figures...and the value of $60K were less of an issue.

[golfheaven69]

[quote name='Motley' timestamp='1340055742' post='5123494']
Why in the world would you join a private club, and play the same course over and over and over. How boring. I go out and play high end public courses. I rarely play the same course twice in a year.

It's like having Pizza for dinner every night. Oh YUCK!
[/quote]

Major reason is I play in 3 hours. How bout you?

[Chief Illiniwek]

Depending on your area pace of play isn't an issue. I just played my local public in 2:45 with a buddy. "City" golf on public courses can be a brutally slow pace though.

[Ballgofarboy]

It is golf not Stank of America. I could find a whole lot better things to do with 60K. I pay $750 for what is classified as a 9 month membership. That means April through Dec I do not pay green fees and for the three months of Snowbirding I get 25% off the inflated rates to play if I want to play. That being said, it is like paying $40 on one course and $25 on the other if walking. Not horrendously expensive and this is in FL.

[Thug Hunter]

Austin Country Club is probably the only one around my neck of the woods that has a fee of $60k or above. Members include the names Kite and Crenshaw just to name a few.

[HackerDave]

[quote name='DLiver' timestamp='1337188059' post='4925562']
[quote name='ruascott' timestamp='1337180895' post='4924848']Geesh.....10% of gross income? That seems really high to me. And an incredibly stupid financial move. Someone making $100k/yr gross, should not be spending $850/mo on cc dues unless they are single and have very minimal living expenses. Jmo...guess I'm too conservative, but that smells of someone attempting to live above their means.

5% of gross maybe.
[/quote]

I'm talking about ALL CC expenses, not just dues. This includes F&B, pro shop expenses (including carts) etc. That stuff really adds up, and in many cases can exceed the cost of dues every month. It wouldn't be unusual for someone to pay $450/mo in dues, then have another $400/mo in other CC expenses. Typically a large chunk of that would be food & beverage, and those costs might not be an additional expense since you would do some of your dining at the CC instead of restaurants.

But as I explained in my earlier post, each person's situation is different and you need to decide what makes sense for you.
[/quote]

Exactly. If anyone is just looking at the monthly dues for an estimate of costs, you are really WAY to low. How low depends on what kind of usage you expect from your club. We belong to a more family orientated club. In addition to the normal costs (monthly dues, bag storage, F&B min) there are pro shop costs, golf and tennis lessons, the infamous $3 gatorades that kids consume in vast quantities, skins for tourneys, various betting and the annual invitational alone costs more than a grand. Add in junior golf, ladies leagues, mens leagues and any number of individual or couples tourneys and cost goes up.

Someone will try to tell you that the more you use it, the more the cost per round drops. I just don't see that happening. The more you use it, the more you use it. Drinks and food after the round. More ammo. More time in the pro shop (oooh, need that shirt and a new driver) blah blah blah. Our dues are approx $500 a month plus a $150 food min and our monthly bill in the summer is often $2,000+ with four people using it. It's certainly not always that high, but it's usually closer to that than the "$500 monthly dues".

If you are the only one using the club, your costs will be lower but not by a whole lot. And if you don't spend money there, the members will know it.

[golfortennis]

[quote name='HackerDave' timestamp='1375713701' post='7607738']
[quote name='DLiver' timestamp='1337188059' post='4925562']
[quote name='ruascott' timestamp='1337180895' post='4924848']Geesh.....10% of gross income? That seems really high to me. And an incredibly stupid financial move. Someone making $100k/yr gross, should not be spending $850/mo on cc dues unless they are single and have very minimal living expenses. Jmo...guess I'm too conservative, but that smells of someone attempting to live above their means.

5% of gross maybe.
[/quote]

I'm talking about ALL CC expenses, not just dues. This includes F&B, pro shop expenses (including carts) etc. That stuff really adds up, and in many cases can exceed the cost of dues every month. It wouldn't be unusual for someone to pay $450/mo in dues, then have another $400/mo in other CC expenses. Typically a large chunk of that would be food & beverage, and those costs might not be an additional expense since you would do some of your dining at the CC instead of restaurants.

But as I explained in my earlier post, each person's situation is different and you need to decide what makes sense for you.
[/quote]

Exactly. If anyone is just looking at the monthly dues for an estimate of costs, you are really WAY to low. How low depends on what kind of usage you expect from your club. We belong to a more family orientated club. In addition to the normal costs (monthly dues, bag storage, F&B min) there are pro shop costs, golf and tennis lessons, the infamous $3 gatorades that kids consume in vast quantities, skins for tourneys, various betting and the annual invitational alone costs more than a grand. Add in junior golf, ladies leagues, mens leagues and any number of individual or couples tourneys and cost goes up.

Someone will try to tell you that the more you use it, the more the cost per round drops. I just don't see that happening. The more you use it, the more you use it. Drinks and food after the round. More ammo. More time in the pro shop (oooh, need that shirt and a new driver) blah blah blah. Our dues are approx $500 a month plus a $150 food min and our monthly bill in the summer is often $2,000+ with four people using it. It's certainly not always that high, but it's usually closer to that than the "$500 monthly dues".

If you are the only one using the club, your costs will be lower but not by a whole lot. And if you don't spend money there, the members will know it.
[/quote]

That all depends on what kind of club. Mine is more of a golfers club as opposed to a Country Club. There are plenty of banquests/weddings etc. hosted, but there aren't that many $500 monthly bar bills run up by guys(unless there's a husband *and* wife.)

There are a couple of clubs in the area though that that would likely be very common. Not ours though. You can manage it pretty well if you really put some thought to it.

[titushem]

I just joined my club last month. I was able to get the young associates membership, so the initiation was not too bad. However, the proprietary membership is 50k.

Funny thing is that this is actually the cheapest club to join. The other ones around the area are at least 75k, some with 10years of waiting period...

[GoHoosiers05]

Hi everyone. Long time reader, first time poster.

I found this thread and figured I'd ask some questions.

Someone mentioned getting 50% of the appreciation if they sold their membership. Are most of these memberships transferrable? I was under the impression they weren't. And for those that aren't, do you just eat the initiation fee?

And an observation: Pepper turbo guy, I know this whole thread is an uncomfortable discussion of money, but people might give your opinions more weight if you didn't act so new money. If you ever find yourself interviewing at a club around here, let me know. I'll pop some popcorn, it should be entertaining.

[Chief Illiniwek]

Oh snap, Pepper is gonna buy your house just to burn it to the ground!

[GoHoosiers05]

[quote name='Chief Illiniwek' timestamp='1375847481' post='7621264']
Oh snap, Pepper is gonna buy your house just to burn it to the ground!
[/quote]


Which one?

(I'm sorry, I know my first post shouldn't be firing shots over the bow, but after reading 9 pages of this I really couldn't help myself. This is all incredibly entertaining.)

[Prof3ssor]

Oh snap, Pepper is gonna buy your house just to burn it to the ground!

 

 

Which one?

 

(I'm sorry, I know my first post shouldn't be firing shots over the bow, but after reading 9 pages of this I really couldn't help myself. This is all incredibly entertaining.)

 

[GoHoosiers05]

Oh snap, Pepper is gonna buy your house just to burn it to the ground!

 

 

Which one?

 

(I'm sorry, I know my first post shouldn't be firing shots over the bow, but after reading 9 pages of this I really couldn't help myself. This is all incredibly entertaining.)

 

 

(I'm only kidding. I rent.)

 

But to bring this back on topic, anyone have any insight regarding my actual questions?

[Schley]

There's a new club near me that includes a real estate development....its a nice course, and the clubhouse/amenities are very nice...they are still wanting $50k. The monthly is very reasonable, but $50k is not....I'd be shocked if they are charging that 5 years from now.

Well

 

l did it go down?????????????????

[golfheaven69]

At $60k it should be pristine every day of the year.

[CincyJCK]

This just seems to be so regionally based.

 

I am from the Boston area originally, and clubs there and in Fairfield/Westchester Counties, NYC, etc. just blow by the $60K initiation. I assume it is the same in San Fran and other high priced markets. In Cincinnati, from what I understand, you have plenty of options with initiation well under $20K.

 

But the barrier to entry at high level clubs wherever you are isn’t the money, that’s a given, it’s the invite.

[Schley]

This just seems to be so regionally based.

 

I am from the Boston area originally, and clubs there and in Fairfield/Westchester Counties, NYC, etc. just blow by the $60K initiation. I assume it is the same in San Fran and other high priced markets. In Cincinnati, from what I understand, you have plenty of options with initiation well under $20K.

 

But the barrier to entry at high level clubs wherever you are isn’t the money, that’s a given, it’s the invite.

 

Yes there is no doubt that New York/ New Jersey top clubs are obscene.

Boston has several as well, although not at the NY/NJ level.

LA/SF top clubs are close to obscene. Even throw in a couple tracks in Palm Springs (Madison Club, Vintage, Bighorn) which are way overpriced at 250-350k.

You have some very expensive clubs in Florida in different locals as well.

Chicago is not overly expensive with Butler, Medinah, Highland being over 60k, but not obscene.

 

Outside of those areas you probably have normal initiation (if any) and monthly dues around the rest of the country. Outside of the big population areas mentioned where else is a huge initiation?

[Blues Golfer]

 

Where do you think the line is between the “haves” and “have nots” is in golf memberships?

 

If you can afford a 5,000 dollar initiation fee, are you a have, or a have not? 10k? 60k? 100k?

 

Now where is the line in handicap? Is it an index of 5? 10? 0.5?

 

Can a below 5 index get me into the country clubs with the “haves”? I like golf. I play well. I am mostly a nice person.

 

If I took my state issued index card to your country club that says I am a low single digit, would they let me in for what I can afford?

 

 

[Swisstrader98]

Yup. If you live in certain areas you will be paying top dollar to belong to a club. I live in NY/NJ and all top name clubs around start at about $75K initiation. My brother in law lives in KY and a similar club is peanuts. Same for housing...tough to find a home for under 300K in NJ but his home in KY for what’s a very nice setup is again peanuts. All a matter of where you live but cost of living is simply much higher in certain parts of the country.

 

I view my memebership as an investment of sorts. In addition to enjoying my golf and making friends, I’ve made some great business contacts and both my kids have gotten terrific job opportunities through members.

[Golfnuck]

Yup. If you live in certain areas you will be paying top dollar to belong to a club. I live in NY/NJ and all top name clubs around start at about $75K initiation. My brother in law lives in KY and a similar club is peanuts. Same for housing...tough to find a home for under 300K in NJ but his home in KY for what's a very nice setup is again peanuts. All a matter of where you live but cost of living is simply much higher in certain parts of the country.

 

That is a good comparison between the cost of real estate and private club initiation fees.

 

In my area the price of real estate is relatively high.

- the average price of a detached house in the City of Vancouver is CAD$1.48 M

- the average price on the westside (more desirable) is over $3.5 M

- the average condo will sell for more than $1,000 per sq ft in the City of Vancouver

- condos with a mountain and sea view are over $3,000 per sq ft

 

The initiation fee of the top 5 private clubs are between $50k to $100k.

 

So really our private golf clubs here are very reasonable compared to large cities in the US like SF, LA or NY.

[Schley]

Anyone joining a club this summer?

[Roadking2003]

Austin Country Club is probably the only one around my neck of the woods that has a fee of $60k or above. Members include the names Kite and Crenshaw just to name a few.

 

I'm sure Austin Golf Club and Spanish Oaks are at least $100k. And Barton Creek CC just raised their initiation fee to $100k.

[BG5]

My buddy just played Austin CC a week or so before the tournament. Said it was awesome

[Big Ben]

You could probably buy some of our clubs in Ohio for that kind of money! BB

[supashu]

Houston has several that are 25k+. And a few that are 50k plus- River Oaks, Houston CC, Carlton Woods, Lochinvar, Shadow Hawk, Lakeside CC, Deerwood. I live in Virginia now and there are some in the Richmond area that are pretty pricey. Kingsmill in Williamsburg is like 25k but you get 3 courses. But there are tons of older private or semi private clubs that are decent and can be joined for little to no initiation.

[Schley]

Austin Country Club is probably the only one around my neck of the woods that has a fee of $60k or above. Members include the names Kite and Crenshaw just to name a few.

 

I'm sure Austin Golf Club and Spanish Oaks are at least $100k. And Barton Creek CC just raised their initiation fee to $100k.

 

Really? Is this verified?

[teejaywhy]

60k membership?

 

Yeah, 60,000 members is just too many. Must be hard to get a tee time.

[Roadking2003]

Austin Country Club is probably the only one around my neck of the woods that has a fee of $60k or above. Members include the names Kite and Crenshaw just to name a few.

 

I'm sure Austin Golf Club and Spanish Oaks are at least $100k. And Barton Creek CC just raised their initiation fee to $100k.

 

Really? Is this verified?

 

Here is Spanish Oaks;

http://luxurycountryclubs.com/spanish-oaks-golf-club-austin-texas/

 

I'm a member at BCCC and they sent us an a letter announcing that the non resellable membership fee is $100k. It's $125k for a membership that you can sell.