Cost per round

[BG5]

For those of you who have memberships what is the avg. cost per round you want in order to justify your membership?

[Left53]

I am in semiprivate cost per round sat/sun 135,include cart I pay $3000 per year and played 40-50 rounds last year .totally worth it for me plus we get reciprocal with another club..my course has 27 holes ,3hole practice loop .that being said I'm sure there are better deals out there .

[Mr_71]

Do not use "cost per round" to justify a membership. In most cases, it won't work. You need to determine the value you will gain from the membership relative to the price it will cost you.

[portland]

I can not put a price tag on

- first tee 2.5 miles from home
- 3.5 to 4 hour rounds if I tee off before 9am
- very easy to find a game
- big maintenance budget keeps our greens/course in great shape


Don't join a club to "save" money on golf.

[ghabanos]

I'm gonna say it... Some golf clubs aren't for golf...so it can't be measure on per round basis

[kelzzy]

At my course the cost is $20 for non members, but free for members. It's $190/month to be a member, but you're able to play the course whenever you want, and $75 for a social membership. Social membership is where you just get to use the range and practice area, but have to pay the $20 every time you want to play a round.

EDIT: I just want to mention that the course I'm talking about is amazing and is worth the $190/month. Greens, fairways, and tee boxes are kept in mint condition by the workers there. Bar is beautiful, pro shop is great. It's a wealthy place.. like others have said, a course creates it's own value. If a course is charging $50 bucks to play a round and it's a beautiful course, but there's another course down the street that charges $10.. well, you get what you pay for.

[DrivesFourShow]

[quote name='portland' timestamp='1388374127' post='8365671']
I can not put a price tag on

- first tee 2.5 miles from home
- 3.5 to 4 hour rounds if I tee off before 9am
- very easy to find a game
- big maintenance budget keeps our greens/course in great shape


Don't join a club to "save" money on golf.
[/quote]

Spot on Portland.

[The Pearl]

BG,

I will give a different view. I have a very nice private course less than 2 miles from my front door. It is an above average layout and is always in pristine condition and it enjoys limited play. Last year's cost of membership was a $3500 initiation fee with annual dues to include all golf, cart, food and beverage requirements, etc at about $6600/year. I can afford it with ease and given my employment situation I could conceivably play everyday for the entire golf season, which is about 8 months or so. Backing out the food requirement and adjusting for some other amenities, I am certain I could get my cost per round down to somewhere close to $30 with a cart.

From a current cost basis standpoint I can certainly justify the expense.

Some reasons why I don't make the plunge...

1. There is no membership option for a single golfer. My wife and kids don't play so I am paying the same rate as a family. So in a sense, single player households subsidize the other members.

2. The driving range is substandard given the overall price of membership.

3. Membership would severely limit playing with my best friends and casual golfing partners as none are current members.

4. The club has a bit of a contentious reputation for management in terms of assessment and add on projects. I usually check on membership once a year and I can testify the increasing monthly fees seem to be ongoing.

5. We are able to play quality muni golf at a reasonable price, probably near 30/35 bucks per round. Slow play and access is generally not a problem.

As others have said, it is not really a cost basis only judgement, in fact, cost is probably one of the lesser concerns. As a general rule you should be able to afford any membership with ease in order to a enjoy a financial margin of safety in your life. Each situation is entirely different. For me, if my golfing buddies decided to significantly scale back their play and if our local muni golf scene deteriorated significantly, I would pay up in a heartbeat.

In my dream world, the club would adopt a single membership option and I would join in a heartbeat and live in both the private and muni golf world. I have had some nice discussions with the membership chairperson and she has told me that this option has been kicked around, but they just can't seem to approve it.

[xThor]

Cost per round is only 1 factor for me, as I am looking to join a private club in the coming months. For me, the club has a single junior rate special if more than one person signs up, and thankfully I have a few friends also interested. $99 a month with no assessments and no quarterly min. I'm looking to at least double my rounds played this year, and for that club, at that price, is a no brained.

Like others have stated there are more factors than just "cost per round", but it is hard to ignore quantifying your membership/money in those terms.

[nuthin but a hacker]

[quote name='The Pearl' timestamp='1388418453' post='8367383']
BG,

I will give a different view. I have a very nice private course less than 2 miles from my front door. It is an above average layout and is always in pristine condition and it enjoys limited play. Last year's cost of membership was a $3500 initiation fee with annual dues to include all golf, cart, food and beverage requirements, etc at about $6600/year. I can afford it with ease and given my employment situation I could conceivably play everyday for the entire golf season, which is about 8 months or so. Backing out the food requirement and adjusting for some other amenities, I am certain I could get my cost per round down to somewhere close to $30 with a cart.

From a current cost basis standpoint I can certainly justify the expense.

Some reasons why I don't make the plunge...

[color=#ff0000]1. There is no membership option for a single golfer. My wife and kids don't play so I am paying the same rate as a family. So in a sense, single player households subsidize the other members.

2. The driving range is substandard given the overall price of membership.

3. Membership would severely limit playing with my best friends and casual golfing partners as none are current members.

4. The club has a bit of a contentious reputation for management in terms of assessment and add on projects. I usually check on membership once a year and I can testify the increasing monthly fees seem to be ongoing.

5. We are able to play quality muni golf at a reasonable price, probably near 30/35 bucks per round. Slow play and access is generally not a problem.[/color]

As others have said, it is not really a cost basis only judgement, in fact, cost is probably one of the lesser concerns. As a general rule you should be able to afford any membership with ease in order to a enjoy a financial margin of safety in your life. Each situation is entirely different. For me, if my golfing buddies decided to significantly scale back their play and if our local muni golf scene deteriorated significantly, I would pay up in a heartbeat.

In my dream world, the club would adopt a single membership option and I would join in a heartbeat and live in both the private and muni golf world. I have had some nice discussions with the membership chairperson and she has told me that this option has been kicked around, but they just can't seem to approve it.
[/quote]

The 5 reasons you listed above are exactly why I don't join the course I live on. I could hop in my cart and be on the first tee in 2 minutes. But I won't because of those reasons plus the fact that the clique mentallity of this course is insane. It's like dealing with a bunch of high school kids. And if you aren't in their circle, you aren't welcome. Oh sure, they will let you join to get your money. But they prefer you pay and then stay away so that their golf is cheaper. I know of a half dozen people who have joined and then quit because of the atmosphere there. So to pay through the nose to get treated like crap...I'll pass on that one. Sure I have a drive to make if I want to play but luckily I work out of town so there are several places to play on the way home.

[eagles1]

[quote name='The Pearl' timestamp='1388418453' post='8367383']
BG,

I will give a different view. I have a very nice private course less than 2 miles from my front door. It is an above average layout and is always in pristine condition and it enjoys limited play. Last year's cost of membership was a $3500 initiation fee with annual dues to include all golf, cart, food and beverage requirements, etc at about $6600/year. [b]I can afford it with ease and given my employment situation I could conceivably play everyday for the entire golf season[/b], which is about 8 months or so. Backing out the food requirement and adjusting for some other amenities, I am certain I could get my cost per round down to somewhere close to $30 with a cart.

From a current cost basis standpoint I can certainly justify the expense.

Some reasons why I don't make the plunge...

1. There is no membership option for a single golfer. My wife and kids don't play so I am paying the same rate as a family. So in a sense, single player households subsidize the other members.

2. The driving range is substandard given the overall price of membership.

3. Membership would severely limit playing with my best friends and casual golfing partners as none are current members.

4. The club has a bit of a contentious reputation for management in terms of assessment and add on projects. I usually check on membership once a year and I can testify the increasing monthly fees seem to be ongoing.

5. We are able to play quality muni golf at a reasonable price, probably near 30/35 bucks per round. Slow play and access is generally not a problem.

As others have said, it is not really a cost basis only judgement, in fact, cost is probably one of the lesser concerns. As a general rule you should be able to afford any membership with ease in order to a enjoy a financial margin of safety in your life. Each situation is entirely different. For me, if my golfing buddies decided to significantly scale back their play and if our local muni golf scene deteriorated significantly, I would pay up in a heartbeat.

[b]In my dream world, the club would adopt a single membership option and I would join in a heartbeat [/b]and live in both the private and muni golf world. I have had some nice discussions with the membership chairperson and she has told me that this option has been kicked around, but they just can't seem to approve it.
[/quote]

The single vs. family membership as a whole will probably only save you at maximum 20%. Being so flush, I wouldn't think the cost differential would be significant enough to deny you the dream world.

[magdocjr]

Cost per round at my club.... hmmmmmm... When I joined it was zero initiation fee and max out of pocket of $200 per month dues (no food minimums, no shop minimums) including unlimited range balls and carts included. I play at least 3 times per week. 12 rounds minimum per month (during the summer it is probably double that). $16.50 avg cost per round with reciprocal privileges at three other courses in the area and the first tee time on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Not joining would have cost me on average $45-$65 per round. Once I laid the costs out the to wife, she said it was a no brainer to join. It helps she likes to play almost as much as I do.

[Truman]

If you're thinking about cost per round you might be better to look at season passes at semi-private or public.

[Jean-Claude]

[quote name='Mr_71' timestamp='1388370466' post='8365325']
Do not use "cost per round" to justify a membership. In most cases, it won't work. You need to determine the value you will gain from the membership relative to the price it will cost you.
[/quote]

This. Value is based on perception.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

In my neck of the woods, anyone looking to justify a decent private club membership on the basis of getting a bargain in terms of cost per round is not going to be a member of a decent private club.

Some of the public and semi-private options asymptotically approach zero dollars per round for people who play 100+ times a year. As in single digit dollars per round including a golf cart. But they are not particularly nice courses.

My cost of membership is per month. So I decide each year whether I can continue to spend $xxx/month on golf or not. The cost is roughly the same whether I play a dozen rounds or zero rounds in a month. So the per-round cost is zero. What I'm paying for on a monthly basis is access to the course.

[Gamble Gamble]

[quote name='Mr_71' timestamp='1388370466' post='8365325']
Do not use "cost per round" to justify a membership. In most cases, it won't work. You need to determine the value you will gain from the membership relative to the price it will cost you.
[/quote]

this

[quote name='portland' timestamp='1388374127' post='8365671']
Don't join a club to "save" money on golf.
[/quote]

and this.

Obviously you want to pick a course that works for your budget, but more important factors than breaking even are:[list=1]
[*]Membership base - do their personalities work with yours?
[*]Accessibility - make sure the club's schedule works for you FIND OUT when the ladies/junior days are. Also make sure you find out when the course is closed so you can plan accordingly
[*]Pace of Play
[/list]

[Gamble Gamble]

[quote name='luck box' timestamp='1389772672' post='8464031']
2. Accessibility - make sure the club's schedule works for you FIND OUT when the ladies/junior days are. Also make sure you find out when the course is closed so you can plan accordingly
[/quote]

Take it from me, I joined a course last year but due to their schedule not being aligned with mine it made a great course with a even better membership base not work for me due to not being able to play at certain times (ex. Ladies/Junior/Course closing days)

I ended up playing at another course during those days and ended up logging more playing time at the other course approximately 30 rounds at my course vs. 50 at the other.

Also, member member tournaments and course scrambles are outstanding, especially if your course does these in an over-the-top fashion.

[atlanta golfer]

I echo what others are saying - cost per round isn't the way to look at it. That comment aside, at a lot of clubs you can play a lot of golf for a fairly small amount of money - my club is $220 per month for a single membership, walking is allowed anytime except weekend and holiday mornings, and there is no required food / beverage spend. So in theory you could play at least 5 times per week walking and your cost per round might be $10 to $20. Plus you can hit range balls and work on short game for free as much as you want.

otoh a lot of people like me with day jobs can only play a couple times per week, have a wife who is also a member so the monthly fee is higher, I take carts on weekends, go to dinner at the club once or twice a month, eat lunches and drink beer there, enter tournaments, pay a small monthly locker fee, and so my monthly bill ends up being closer to $600 per month in the peak months, making my cost per round more like $50.