I have an interview scheduled with the manager of a club that I am considering joining.

It is a private club with all the usual amenities. The club is owned by a real estate development corp. that owns subdivisions across three states.

What are some good questions to ask before I start forking over the money?

Here are questions I would ask:

- What is the membership structure in terms of possible assessments?
- How many members do you have now? What is the cap?
- What is the tee time situation? Tee times required? How difficult is it to get out on weekend mornings? Weekday afternoons?
- What is the culture like? If you show up by yourself, how tough is it to get a game?
- Are there requirements like mandatory carts or caddies at certain times? Can you walk and carry? What percent of people walk/ride?
- What are the guest rules/fees?
- How often is the course closed for outside events?

That's a start. Hope it helps.

- How often do they have tournaments that restrict your play time. ( I think jshel covered that with outside events).
- What other fees (Men's Association, Food & Beverage, etc.)

Here are a few that I came up with:

What percentage of the membership is nonresidental?

What is the term lenght of the membership?

How many other Jr members (under 35)?

Any future capital investments planned for the club?

Are the members solicitied for feedback on the direction of the club, if so how?

You might want to consider some of these-

1. When was the last time that there was any special assessment issued (as a follow-up, you might inquire as to what it was for, i.e. course rennovation, club house upgrade- it might give you an idea what is coming down the pipe);

2. In light of the developer-owner situation: are there any development plans that my impact the course (I would want to know if the developer is suddenly planning on putting up houses all over that may change the course, membership, etc.)

in this type of environment, would it make sense to ask about the financial condition of the owner? understand that this is a touchy subject, but real estate developers aren't really doing well in general.

Agree with most of the questions asked here, but membership directors often have just enough knowledge of golf specifics to answer questions. When I joined my club, I got 90% of my info from playing the course with a few members. So if you know some members, pepper them with the golf specific and club culture questions. If you dont (or even if you do), ask to play a round with a member or two and fire away for the whole round. Most people are going to be honest with you as they dont care whether you join, whereas the membership director has a vested interest in getting you to join.

From a personal perspective, you'll want to play the course more than once to be sure it's a place you can play over and over. I've played a number of private clubs that I know I would get bored with if I had to play there 50+ times a year. You might also want to talk with the pro about the kind of groups that play out there, and whether you'll be able to find a group that you can be competitive and comfortable with.

On the money side, I'd want to know the history of dues increases and whether there are any special projects in the works that might result in assessments or increases in the next 24 months. If they've got a big clubhouse renovation or major greens rebuild scheduled soon, that could mean a big ticket increase is coming down the pike.

Your monthly tab is usually going to be a combination of dues + capital improvement fee + other fees (range, locker, storage, etc.) + maybe a food minimum. You just want to have your eyes open going in as to what it's actually going to cost, at a minimum, each month.