Member vs. Pay as you Play

[b101]

Member as due to intermediate fees for being under 30, I can play a very nice course for much cheaper than if I were pay and play. Also, I quite like the ability to use all the practice facilities and just wander out for a few holes without worrying about getting my money's worth.

[Jon Hoover]

I'm pay as I play but I do get a summer membership to a semi private club but I still have to pay the cart fee, cart required. I'd love to be a member of a club but realistically the fact that their are so many good courses relatively close to where I live that even if I was a member I'd still pay to play at other courses for variety. 

[Moppy]

Around here a membership is pretty reasonable, if what you are talking about by "membership" is to pay a set fee to play unlimited golf for the season and don't mean plunk down some huge sum for an equity position in a golf club. It's a no-brainer for me, $825, unlimited golf, not just on the course next door, but most of the courses in my area, which are all pretty rural, BTW, so none of them are very busy.

Carts are extra, but I walk and like that a lot. I have improved greatly because I play whenever I can without thinking about the money.

I still pay to play when traveling, of course.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Moppy

[bkuehn1952]

Listed myself under "Anomaly".  I pay for an annual pass to our local municipality which grants me access to the two city courses (one regulation, one executive).  Cost was $476.  To date I have had about 30 rounds at the two courses and that is close to break even versus paying each time. The courses are about 5-10 minutes away and as someone previously said, it is nice to be able to go out at odd times or in iffy weather knowing that you don't have to layout any additional money if you only play a few holes.

At the same time, I play another 25-30 different courses in the area on a "pay to play" basis.  Might log 70-80 rounds away from my "home" courses.

The temptation is always to stay with the city courses since the play is "free." So far I have not felt the need to limit myself.

[DaveP043]

I've been a member at a private club for close to 25 years.  We joined when the course was still being built, and have enjoyed seeing the changes and improvement over the years.  My wife and I both play quite a bit, probably a combined 150 rounds or so in a year, which makes the $4,000 or so in dues seem like a reasonable value.  We enjoy the camaraderie, we play every club tournament that we can, and have a great circle of friends there.  Our club is not one of the snobby elitist places, its very unpretentious and welcoming.  

[dbuck]

I was a member for years at a small club in a previous town. Rates were low, you could have your own cart, and they had  decent pool for the kids, family activities on holidays etc. Kids are mostly grown and out of the house now, and my wife does not play. There is a local club where we live now, but it is somewhat expensive. It is not outrageous, but just not justifiable for our schedules and interests. There are a number of courses with very reasonable rates nearby.  The course I play most often has a membership rate, but I am not playing enough to jusify it.

[jsgolfer]

I've been a member at a private club for close to 25 years.  We joined when the course was still being built, and have enjoyed seeing the changes and improvement over the years.  My wife and I both play quite a bit, probably a combined 150 rounds or so in a year, which makes the $4,000 or so in dues seem like a reasonable value.  We enjoy the camaraderie, we play every club tournament that we can, and have a great circle of friends there.  Our club is not one of the snobby elitist places, its very unpretentious and welcoming.  

I'm with Dave, I think we've both said this previously.  I've been a member at a Country Club for the last 7 years, 2 at my present club.  My fiance and I play a lot of golf, together we are probably close to 200 rounds.  I'd never be able to play that much if I was a pay as you go member.  We too play in all of club events, have a great circle of friends (in fact we just got back from the Homestead with three other couples).  Our club too is not one of the snobby elitist places; in fact the reason we chose the course was because it precisely wasn't a snobby elitist course. There were other courses closer to where we lived but our club is the best of the bunch.  In fact, I think SGCC is the best kept secret in No. VA.

Edited October 29, 2015 by jsgolfer

[ghalfaire]

I thought I would add my experience as member of a private club as to the economics of membership.  Without being too specific my club is open 6 -7 months a year, depending upon weather.  To justify my annual membership fee I would have to play roughly 75 rounds in that time to be an equal cost/round as I could do at the public courses in the area.  I think that comes out about 3 rounds/week assuming I walk the rounds.  Being in a mountain area, read lots of elevation changes, that is a lot of walking for someone who has lived more than seven decades.  So assuming I take a cart (we get charged a cart fee when we choose to ride) about half the time, I would need to play 120 rounds to be an equal deal with the public course. Anyway bottom line here is unless you & family are playing 5-6 rounds a week it would be difficult to justify membership based on cheaper golf fees.  If you have a wife that plays it helps the economics but if it is just you, which my case, you have to justify the membership on something other than economics.

I guess I should bring up the membership initiation, this is an equity club, and you can sell that membership if you choose.  However the "transfer fee" will eat most of the income from that sale so make sure you like the club before you consider membership in any "member owned" clubs.  I like it but there are some who purchase a membership and are very disappointed later. Make sure you know the deal before you deal and usually economics won't justify the membership.

[inthehole]

Golfnow hot deals allowed me to play nearly 100 rounds each of last 4 years for far less than $20 on average per round.   The cart fee alone is $15-18 at every course in my county.    Long live golfnow !!!!

[vangator]

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