Long-time lurker here... I'm thinking of joining a local country club and it seems that a lot of golfers in my area are leaving their clubs, and memberships are declining (in the Midwest).
I'm wondering if the advantages of private membership are wearing off, or whether it's more an economic issue. Have you seen any positive/negative changes in your club?

While we're at it, I'd appreciate any thoughts on the pros and cons of membership.

The club I'm considering has a great track, good facilities, nice pool, inconsistent service. I would have a one-year contract without an initiation fee, so I figure I'll get a good tryout.

my membership includes a cart, which is awesome....I like a membership because I can play 18 holes or 1 hole....If I have an hour, I go out and mess around and play a few holes..... sometimes i just go play 9....sometimes I go out a 7 pm and practice and mess around on holes and close the course down at about 9 pm..... nothing like being out on the course in peace as the sun is going down and the rabbits come out.... I also have taken my SON out since he was 4 in the eve at times when there is nobody on the course... he is now 10... at first he would just chip and putt around the green while I did my thing...then I would drop him off in the fairway and let him finish into the hole...then he started teeing off and finishing......ALL of these things are made possible by a membership, because I don,t have to pay for an 18 hole green fee when I just want to go out for an hour or so.

Great point. If you have a kid who is interested it's a great way to get them into the game. The ability to jump out on any hole, or only play a handful, is a real plus.

No brainer if you have a year virtually free. Good thing about membership is that you can play at whatever time and how many holes you want.

I've belonged to clubs in the past but not currently. You're right, the demographic trend is towards declining private club membership levels although many private clubs remain very successful. I believe one main issue for a lot of people including myself is that I just don't have the time during the week to play. To make a club membership work financially you need to use it a lot.

If you can get out sometimes during the week, in addition to the weekends, and if there is no initiatiion fee then this sounds like a good way to go.

Yes, I love it. My average cost per round last year was less than 9 dollars. My son who will be 16 in less than 2 months got to play with his friends all day long, if they wanted too. As long as the obeyed the club rules. It is well worth the money.

I'm not sure that it will work out financially to be a great deal (unless I play A LOT), because I have a lot of reasonably-priced public courses nearby.

But I really like that I can play 18 in under 3 hours, and I do hope that it would lead to playing more. The practice facilities are superb, and I really want to use those to work on my game.

Even if I play a lot, it'll still cost me, say, $1000/year more than a public membership, but I really like the flexibility on the course (starting times, locations, etc)

We just joined a private club. It costs several grand to buy an equity membership (currently sold out), pay the force feed monthly rate, and annual dues all at once. We live in a valley of 75,000 and there are two private clubs and two public courses.

Basically, dealing with the public courses were the reason we joined. I got fed up with making a 6:30 tee time only to make the turn at 7:50 or so and see several groups of four in front of me just teeing off or on the fairway. Other reasons include slow play, fivesomes, hackers disrespecting the course, lack of any amenities, disrespectful grounds crew, and an overall attitude that the public courses had that "you are stuck without many options."

We love golf a lot and have found that it is quite worth the money. It is easy to get tee times, play is fast, having a restaurant and nice practice grounds is great, people generally respect the game and the course, etc... I could go on and on. We choose to spend money on golf as opposed to travel, eat out, or live in a big house.

It all depends on what the public courses are like and how much you love the game.

Under99,

My advice is simple: Try it out and see for yourself.

I have been a member at two private clubs as an "adult" and both experiences were very good. The first was when I was living in Raleigh, NC and the other is in Minneapolis, where I currently live.

Here are the things that I see as positives:
- The ability to play in the evenings without having to worry about leagues or only being able to play for an hour or so.
- That I can play on weekend mornings without any worries.
- That I don't have to worry about making a tee time at a public course and having to put a credit card down and then having one guy call at the last minute unable to play because of a sick kid or something. Am I going to get billed?
- That pace of play is better
- That playing conditions are better.
- That our practice facilities are good.
- The pride of ownership factor.
- That I've met a bunch of good people and gotten some business contacts.
- That I've been able to play other private clubs in town when we've hosted tournaments.

What I don't like as much
- That it isn't cheap.
- That I sometimes have to make a special trip there in the winter to use my dining room minimum.

If you can try it without an initiation fee commitment, I say go for it. There really isn't much to lose in that situation.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a note.

I have been a member of two clubs, both in Buffalo, NY area. I have since moved to TX and do not belong to a country club. If I ever move back I will certainly join a private club primarily because the public courses in the area are crowded and not kept in good shape. Yes a private club is expensive but I think its worth it. Especially because my son has started to like to hit balls and it would be nice to take him out in the evening with me.

If it is not too much prying.. What are the fee ranges that some of you guys are paying? I live in the Seattle area and I know only one small CC where the monthly fees does not exceed a $300. Everything else has initiation fees in the range of $50k or more.

Thanks,

It seems that the going rate around here is $500/month, plus any food minimum. Various special categories can lower that (senior/junior/nonresident/social, etc).

It's all about the $money$
Here is Alberta, Canada I am a member at a semi-private course. I am still under 25 years of age (23) so I don't have to buy a $10,000.00 "share". I pay $900.00 to play all I want and the greens, which are the most important part, are kept in excellent shape. If I wasn't a member I would be spending $50 per 18 holes. That means that I would've already spent $400.00 (I have played 8 rounds this season so far). The season has just begun and there is lots of golf to be played so the membership is more than worth it for me.

Your time played to membership cost is probably the most important factor to consider. Unless you are rich of course.

Many people do not like the idea of being locked in and feel bad if they do not play at their "home course" as much as needed to make a membership worth it. So I think that people are a little more concerned with finances and freedom now. Your average golfer is a "weekend warrior" anyway and the price of a membership just isn't worth it for them.

i just dropped my membership after 5 years. I really miss the guys and the groups but I don't miss paying all of the money up front. Pros... pretty much what everyone else has stated, but one of the Cons is having to play the same course over and over. It gets boring playing the same track all the time. I ventured out to play but you get caught up in the fact that you are paying good money for the club so why play anywhere else. I am now playing all over the place during the day when places are less crowded. It works for me due to my job but I like playing at different places.

I am back and forth on what to do as I am in a similar situation:

Why I want to join the club in my area:

-five minutes from the house
-Good course and getting better every time I am out there
-I hit balls 1-2 times per week(pay$13 a pyramid right now)
-Good mens league
-Growing membership especially in the age group of 30-45
-Good practice facilities
-Ownership group comittted to growing and getting better
-Not very crowded
-I can take clients out at $45 each(green fees are $90)
-I can take as many guests as I want per month. Each guest can pay $45 the first time. Make sense?

Financial side:

$3,800 initiation just for me. Includes golf and social. No pool yet but it is in the master plan.

w/ $210 per month. Includes all the range facilty use. No food/beverage minimum or anything. Only out of pocket is cart fees which you can all all the use for another $80.

I dont like playing public courses in my area. They get a ton of traffic, arent all that well mantained and are SLOW.

Right now I pay $60-100 per outing for green fees and cartThe way I see it is at 2.5 rounds and six range sessions a month and I am saving money...without consideration to initiation. Not to mention I could easily get in 9 maybe 18 holes in the summer AFTER work.

Thought on my situation?

adding to my above reply.... I am a high school teacher/ coach which enables me to play a lot during summer break as well as some other breaks....

Jeff J,
I guess i don't know your financial situation but based on what you were explaining above it seems to make sense to join the club. I'd try it for a year or two and see what you think. With the economy down and most clubs looking for members i imagine they would be willing to work with you on the initiation fee - or at least space it out over a period of time. Plus can you write any of it off for business purposes? ( i know they have tightened the tax laws up but not sure to what extent).

Hey JShel - if you don't mind me asking what club in Minneapolis are you a member at? My wife and i are thinking about joining a club in the next few years or so after we move in to a new house. Only problem is that she could get relocated for work at anytime which makes it hard to settle down.

I am a member at two private clubs in my area. I think it is worth every dollar.

Greyman, care to expand on that?

I'm leaning toward a "yes" (going to decide tomorrow). I'm a bit less worried about the 'playing the same course every day' thing for a couple reasons: 1. I need the on-course practice you can only get at a club, 2. it's a challenging track, 3. I have a Monday league at a muni and 2-3 out-of-town weekends/year, so I mix it up anyway.

Frankly, I'm a bit worried about the culture of the club, since I ran into some real stuffed shirts the other times I've played there, but I figure that it's worth a tryout for one year.

join a club anyway you can. It's something that you can't fully appreciate until you have it day in and day out. There's no real sense of community at a public course in my experience, and there aren't usually people hanging around playing cards and cutting up after a round. I missed those things when I left my former club. Where I live in Tennessee, there is no such thing as a real tee-time at the public courses. People drive their carts right up to the greens. There is NO concept of letting people play through. I have even seen people in tube socks and jump suits. If you love golf, and love all that goes with it, you should try to join the club if at all possible. It's like marriage: you can have a bunch of different girls and that sounds good to some, but being happily married to a great person presents joys and lasting feelings that are priceless. Not to mention, the social and business aspect of being at a good club. PLUS, the people get behind one another in life at a good country club. If a person gets sick, or something like that, there is a real sense of community that you don't get other places. For kids, they get to see the same people every week, and I just think that was huge in my social development, especially when it comes to sports and competition. So, I say do it if you possibly can.

What Babbydaddy said.

When I grew up my dad joined a private club, which he worked an extra job to support. It was a great way to spend the summers and I can't tell you how many of his/our friends were made there. When they passed away, his/her friends were the ones who were most supportive. Like said before, there is a sense of community, but you have to work at it.

I think being within 5 minutes is a huge deal also. It would be a no brainer for me.

I've been a member of a private club for the last five years. Initiation was pretty steep ($30K), but I joined as a junior and could pay it over time. Dues are around $325 per month. Food minimum is $180 per quarter but we count alcohol toward that. I entertain some clients but joined more for my own personal enjoyment. Took some convincing of the wife, but now she loves it. Plus we live about about 2 minutes from the gate.

When I joined, I was talking to one of the Senior partners in our firm about it. He is a member of two exclusive clubs in town. I was having difficulty justifying spending that much money on something for enjoyment. He said there is absolutely no way to justify the cost. If you enjoy it, just do it. Its a lot of money and the summertime bills get pretty steep. My wife and kids pretty much spend the summer there. However, I don't think I've ever gotten more enjoyment out of something. I'm still like a kid with a new toy. Tee times are pretty easy to come by. Any round longer that 4 hours 15 minutes is very unusual. We also have a nine hole Par 3 course in addition to our full 18. I can walk that in about an hour. Great for practice.

In short, I like it.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Joined and had a great weekend. Practiced a ton, played 27 holes, hit some balls with my child. Weather was glorious, greens were rolling fast and true, and I had to hold off my approach to one green to let a family of great blue herons (mom, dad, new baby) cross the fairway.

No way to justify the expense except to remember that we were put on this earth to do more than work!

Ours has a 30K+ init fee and I can pay 1500 or so get our public pass and use the other 28K to play other courses with mu friends that live in other cities. Or take a vacation to hilton Head, etc

Sure, the networking, etc would be really great but for the golf, i concur paying that much for one course seems a bit steep.

As there was no initiation for me, 30,000 or something like that up front wasn't the issue.

I'd also note that many clubs are giving discounts on initiation because of declines in membership, and it might even be negotiable.

Precisely!

I joined "Great Southwest" in GrandPrairie (Dallas suburb) TX a few years ago. Here are my pros and cons about this club, and being a member of a private club (in general):

PRO:
* It's very secluded, quiet, and a wonderful course that's very free of housing, and development. It's like a little oasis in the city, to get away from the busy world.
* Even though the course is fairly short, there are many interesting holes, and many of the holes require very creative shotmaking, forcing you to work the ball left/right for the best results.
* Course availability is much better than public courses, which is a big relief to me, as I play/practice a lot. It's wonderful to get at least 9-14 holes in the evening after work, often in complete solitude. this was the #1 reason I went private, to avoid the crowds at public courses.
* It's Inexpensive ($0 initiation), roughly ~$325/month (not including food&cart fees)
* Course Conditioning is wonderful, the greens (Champions Bermuda) are in fantastic shape, and are very fast and undulating. The fairways/rough always seem to be in good shape, with very few bad areas.
* The Course amenities (water, restrooms, towels, sand filler, etc.) are always well stocked and easily available.
* Course workers are very nice, polite young men that are always willing to help with a smile.
* I do NOT get tired of playing the same course. You can play all the various teeboxes, weather conditions change, flagstick locations change, and there are many other variables that do not make it boring.
* There is a small Bobcat that lives on the course. It's great fun to watch him, especially to see him catch and run off with a squirrel for his dinner.
* This club enacted a "Partners" program that enables me to play at various other courses in my area and nationwide for cart fee only. This allows me to get out occasionally with friends or simply to play a different course on occasion.

CON:
* Weekends are still busy. The course is very full on Sat/Sun mornings, and it can be busy in the afternoons on weekends. Their staggered tee times on the weekend (sending players off #1 and #10 simultaneously) can yield to a very full course on the weekends. Thankfully this does not affect me too much as I tend to play very late in the day anyhow.
* Very high "Bubba" factor, with Texas "good ol' boys" drinking and gambling it up all over the course.
* Very high "Young Aggressive Male" factor, the guys who are 25-35 years old, with a very self confident (egotistical?) attitude. This club gives discounts for anyone under 30, so they attract a lot of these guys.
* Driving range closes 1 hour before sundown. I really dislike this feature, as I practice a lot.
* Driving range is only ~250 yards long, they discourage hitting drivers (they lose balls to the creek behind the range), so I find myself hitting 3/4 or 1/2 swing drives.
* Grass in the driving range (both full swing and short game areas) is subpar, with quite a bit of a sand base. On the plus side - this forces you to become a better ballstriker.
* Short game area is only minimally acceptable. Since not too many players seem to practice their short game, this works out well for me, as it always seems empty.
* The Greens are diabolical - very fast, and incredibly difficult slopes, and plenty of grain near the hole. Putting can be very, very difficult here, it makes other courses appear like flat carpet.
* ProShop employees seem bossy at times. I've been shooed off the range since they like to close it early. They also seem very annoyed whenever I struggle to get a tee time (as a single) on the weekends.
* Very cliquish membership. Impossible to break into their playing groups. Most players are polite, but their groups are very closed to outsiders.
* The Clubhouse is older, but well kept. While I wish we had a modern, upscale clubhouse, this one has all the features I need including food&drink, showers, proshop, lockers, shoeshine service, several televisions, couches, and a very, very casual and relaxed atmosphere.
* I still do not partake in the tournaments and outings. Frankly - there is just too much roughhousing, yelling & screaming, and drinking for my personality. Even the men's championship tournament is much too festive for me. When I see people falling down over the teebox markers, and throwing up behind bushes, I know this is a group that I don’t' want any involvement.
* They will send 5-somes, and occasionally groups of 6 or 7 on the course. However - the groups will always allow you to play through, and they won't send large (6-7) groups of golfers unless the course is very empty.


Summary - I love being a club member, it's raised my game significantly, as my handicap has dropped 2.5 points just by joining, and playing/practicing more. It's secluded, and gives me a lot of relaxed feelings while walking the course in solitude and quiet. I have some gripes about this club, but I don't anticipate going back to public golf anytime soon.

I'm a Junior Member at my club in ND, here is how our financial structure for Jr's works. $1000 initiation fee, we're about 15 short of being full, so I think they are still charging it. As a Jr. member I pay $50 per month towards my stock ($7500), by the time I turn 35 I'll have about 50% paid for. Annual Dues are around $2500 per year, as a jr. member we are paying 75% of dues. Quarterly minimum is $225. I entertain for business so that's not a problem at all.

A few of the pros:

1) Great traditional parkland style course. Not overly long, but challenging
2) Easy tee-times. Wednesday's are tough, but just about any other day of the week you can find a time to play.
3) Weekends are actually slow, due to the fact that most members have lake homes and are out of town during the weekend.
4) Pool, my wife and kids love to use the pool.
5) Service, from the GM to the bag room guys the service I receive is 2nd too none. It's like Cheers, everyone knows your name.
6) Practice facilities are some of the best in the region. Along with a full size range, we have two putting greens, a 50 yard chipping hole, a 125 yard 19th hole, with sand trap, and 900 yard par 3 course.
7) Course conditions. This is a tough one. With the harsh winters and being on glacial lake bottom (solid clay) our course is in great condition compared to the competition. When I compare it to clubs in the Minneapolis area (more sandy soil) I get a little disapointed. I think we need to go through a major tree removal project, due to the fact that some tee boxes just don't get enough sun and air.
8) Social scene, some of my best friends I've met at the club. A great buch of guys.

Cons:

1) Pool, yes it's listed as a pro, but it's a con to my pocket book during the summer.
2) Flood, this is the biggest con. Our club is located in a flood plain and does have some major flooding issues. Over the past 4 years we've had 2 of our worst summer floods which basically shuts down 9 holes of the course. We've had Hurdazan Fry look at it and propose a major renovation to the tune of $3 million+. As a young member I think the renovation should be done, but I can understand some of our older members being against having the course shut down for a summer. This is really the only con that I can come up with.

Good luck with your decision.

Great summaries, Sam T - and Roper

Sounds a bit like the club I just joined. I learned over the weekend that I'm one of the worst golfers under age 70 at the club (one young lady was complaining that she got two birdies and "still shot a lousy 75" )

While I've decided to join this club, I think there are other WRXers who might find anyone else's summaries interesting, so keep 'em coming.

I've been looking at some of the clubs in my area but have been a little discouraged because im only 18 and no one else in my family plays golf. At most clubs around me, you cannot be a junior member without a full paying adult. I did find one club however that does have a junior membership. There is no intiation fee and its only 750 a year. The downside is that is still costs money to play the course everyday. I think its 20 for 9 and 50 for 18. The club does have a nice pool/tennis courts but I'm wondering if at most clubs whether it is the norm to have to pay everyday to use the course. It seems absurd to have to pay almost 5K at many clubs and still have to pay greens fees.

We are moving back to Buffalo, NY in a few weeks and I will be re-joining a country club that I grew up playing on and one that I joined after college. I wouldn't have it any other way in that area of the country. What I have found in S.A. is that there are numerous really nice courses that I can play for less than $75 (generally) so I have not joined a club here. Back home I like the fact that my membership gets me unlimited play (I like to walk so no cart fee), there are no tee times (you just show up and get on the list which is usually not too long), and I love the demographics of the membership in general.

i wish i could say the same about my club, I am a junior golfer (17 years old) and the course is basically run by older members. And as a junior golfer we have some rediculous rules. On weekends, we aren't allowed on the course at all until after 2 pm, weekdays we can't golf after 5:30 pm. We can't hit drivers on our range, but for some odd reason seniors usually get a way with it.

i'd join another club but there really aren't any other courses around here except for one and it is a rediculous amount of money for a membership

Happy with mine. The best thing is the gangs that play everyday! Pickup on Tuesday, Thursday at 10:30 and Wednesday, Friday at 11:30. Wednesday and Fridays gets over 40 people.

20 bucks to buy in, lowest handicap are captains. They all pick and usually play 2ball gross or Stableford.

Great for my golf game!

Where in Raleigh were you a member? I lived there for 8 years and the only private clubs were $30,000+ initiation fees like Prestonwood, Brier Creek, North Ridge. All the others were semi-private, and to me...joining a semi-private club is absolutely never worth the $.

I would love to pay some of those annual dues you guys are mentioning. Here in socal Im looking at like 6000-9000 annualy for a semi private club and thats the bachelor rate. It just not worth it.

Can't afford a C.C. It would be nice to get away from the hackers though.

We love ours. We belong to two clubs, one has 18, the other 27. We live on the 18 hole course, I negotiated the cost in with the house and only pay the annual dues. Great food, swimming pools, day spa for the wife, best part is I have not paid for a drop of gas in nearly three months.

very interesting post for us in England, i play a downland (links feel) course in the south of England, great layout designed by
JH Taylor in 1927 (bit on the short side, 6500yds off whites). We don't have many 'country clubs' as such because all revenue is ploughed
into the course, no pools, spa's, tennis etc, competition seem to be tough for clubs to attract new members we have a joining fee
(init) of around £600 ($1200) but that's pretty much been waived now, annual subs of £750 ($1500) for full playing rights
(no additional green fee), there was an explosion in the popularity of golf in the last 10 yrs and every farmer with a few fields to spare was 'knocking up' something!!! there's too much choice & many clubs are finding it tough, there are also so many '2 for 1' offers etc around now that it's lean times for clubs, especially with the state this country's economy is in, but that's another story!!!!!
On the whole it's a great club & course (around 500 members) tee times are never a problem (just turn up in the week)
the only downside is how it's been run in the past, committees, executive committees, green's committees, secretary, pro,
captain, president blah blah blah, get the picture (too many chiefs.............)