What does it take for golfers to start playing at a new home course?

Say you golf and the course nearby where you live isn't half bad. You play most of your golf there due to convenience. Say down the street a bit not too far is another course equally as good sometimes better depending on the time of year, what would it take for a golfer to make the switch and play there golf there? Thoughts and comments appreciated

Any particular reason why you can't play both?

My home course knows we're not in a committed monogamous relationship.   I'm free to enjoy the company of other courses, and as long as I come back to her and don't brag that the other courses are much prettier, she still lets me play around with her whenever I want.

There's a lot of missing data in this what-if scenario:  cost, course conditions and rating, for how many months out of the year is the other course "equally as good sometimes better depending on the time of year", course amenities (practice facilities, bar/clubhouse,...). "", course offerings,  fg, ,, ,

Sounds like you could play both, and switch off when one is playing better than the other.  Variety is a good thing.

Assuming these are both open to the public, I'd probably begin the following process:

Step 1. Book a tee time at the other course

Step 2. Go there and play golf.

Service and pretty golf cart girls delivering beverages to the heated and weary :D

Always puts a smile on my face :D

To me it is a combination of layout and course condition.  To make me switch I'd need (at least) parity on one of those and improvement on the other over my current course.

To me a Home golf course is a combination of 3 key things.

1) Convenience, if the nicest course in the world is 2 hours away and public Id play it a lot but I cant have a "Home" course 2 hours away.

2) Niceness, my home course is among the most well designed and maintained in the area. I don't think I could chose a home course that I did not consider to be challenging enough to improve my game on. Nor could I pick a course that was poorly maintained.

3) Price. Gotta be reasonable costwise. My home course is $29 for 18+Cart after 1PM on weekdays. and $18 for 9+Cart on weekdays. This makes playing at least 18 holes during the week pretty cheap and feasible. I can go drive far away and adventure on the weekends.

Other things that factor in:

Driving Range/Practice Green - Id like my course to be one stop shopping for practice.

Crowdedness - Id like to keep 18 holes under 4.5 hours even at peak times.

Amenities - Lessons are nice, so is being able to purchase new gloves/towels/balls/hats in a pinch without being way overcharged. A good spot to grab a bite between 9s or after 18 is good too. And of course the 19th hole.

People - If the course is great but full of d-bags Im not gonna wanna be there weekly. 4s should let 1s and 2s play through. People should replace divots and at least make and attempt to fix ball marks.

Walkable - I personally like to walk when I have time so Id like a walkable home course (although mine is currently not walkable)

The Pro - I like to have a pro who I like. I don't want him to be too stuck up, and I hate Pros who are just salesman running a golf course.

and of course the Hotness of Cart Girls!

Lots of things: new course being less crowded, having cheaper greens fees or having better people running it.  I have my fav courses but I have absolutely no problem playing somewhere else for good reason.

So I don't really have experience if this question is pertaining to joining a new private club. If I were to make a guess on why people would change clubs it would be because 1) They were on a waiting list and they finally got into the club they desired 2) Their current course had some sort of change (dues, assessment, course redesign they didn't like, maintenance practices changed, new mgt...) 3) Their friends decided to change clubs.

If we are talking about public courses I'll give you my take. I currently live in West LA and the closest course to me is Rancho Park. I play most of my golf here because it's the closest public option at 10 min from my place. I prefer however to drive 50 min to a different course. Why do I do this? I think there is better value at Rustic Canyon in Moorpark. The price is slightly more and it's further away but I have more fun out at Rustic, the round is quicker out at Rustic (it takes at least 5 hours to play 18 at rancho), I feel like the course makes me think a bit more at Rustic and I enjoy putting on greens that are true as opposed to the abused greens at Rancho. Because I like the course and have a preference and make the tee times the guys I usually golf with go where I go (I also end up driving when we go to Rustic Canyon).

So what was it that got me go to Rustic Canyon in the first place...internet forums and others who said good things about the course. Once there I found the things they said on the forums to be true so I go back.

1 - Cost

2 - Pace of Play

3 - Greens in good condition

If you are affiliated with the Deltona Club, you need do nothing except publicize the course and  perhaps enforce fast pace of play. I love that course (since the Bobby Weed renovation). Great layout and fairly priced. There are a lot of good golf courses surrounding Orlando and Deltona is one of the best even though most people don't know about it. Here is a link to my pix of Deltona Club http://sports.webshots.com/album/575701091uZEiEn

I am not sure what it would take, but I do know what the deal breaker is...pace of play. If the course is not interested in maintaining a respectable pace of play then I don't want much to do with it.

I have about 10 courses within 30 min of my house. My 'home' course is not the closest, nor the farthest. But it does have a challenging layout, is set up for walkers, has one of the best practice areas, and has firm, fast greens.

And a competitive cost.

My home course is 9 hole Muni Executive.  The reason I play here is because it's extremely affordable ($345 for an unlimited season pass) and it's on the way home from work and only 10 minutes from home and because my game sucks.  It's a short course and the course conditions are only about average but I'm not much of a range rat and prefer to practice on the course so I tend to play 3 or 4 times a week after work trying to hone my irons and short game. (to no avail sometimes but I'm an golf addict)  Also the pace of play hasn't been that bad the last two years. (probably due to economy)  Last year alone I played over 50 times and in the last 2 months I've played over 20 rounds already.

That said, on weekends I will always seek out a different course to play.  I will try to find an 18 hole course to play within a 30 mile radius, either with friends from work or by myself.  Cost isn't an huge object but if I find an affordable course I will play it a few times during the year.  I try to seek out new courses to challenge myself and see how my game has progressed.  Variety is the spice of life.

I dont like to play at the same place all the time, ive played about 20 different courses in the 3 years ive been playing.   My home course, Colonial  at Sandoval, IL is 5 miles away, reasonably priced, easy to walk and not too difficult.  Only drawback is that it drains poorly so if it rains, it takes a long time to dry out because its so flat that water just sits there.   No driving range either but have another course almost as close, Salem Country Club in Salem IL, had a decent driving range so if i want to go practice thats where I go.   Actually its the only decent driving range within 20 miles of my home so its really my only option.  I basically only go there to use the range most of the time, dont play there often.

I have 3 different places that i play fairly often. My "Home" course is the nicest of the 3. Great layout, well maintained, and it doest get super crowded. But because of cost and my schedule i only play it on the weekends.  The other two are 9 hole courses that i can play a round by myself any day after work.  But if i have a mid week day off ill play on my "home" course. It just all breaks down to what i have time for and if i feel social.