How to Play a Round of Golf at an Exclusive, Private Course (Aldarra in Sammaish, WA)

[BoomerGolfAnon]

I live in an eastside suburb of Seattle near Issaquah, Washington, and there is a very exclusive, private golf course less than 10 minutes from my home. I drive by this course each time I'm heading out to the local PUBLIC range to hit my daily bucket of balls.

This summer, I mustered the courage to drive through the front gate (properly attired) to check things out in person, and I was suitably impressed. Here's a link to the Aldarra Golf Course website:

Seattle-Sammamish Golf Course | Aldarra Golf Club - Aldarra Golf Club

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Just minutes east of Seattle, Aldarra Golf Club is a private membership only prestine golf course located in Sammamish Washington.

What are some methods that other folks have used to secure a round of golf at a private course if: A) you're not a member at a private club; and B) you don't know anyone who is a member who could invite you for a round?

Who knows: if the stars align properly, I would join in a heartbeat if I had enough disposable cash to do so, but that's not an option for me right now. I wonder whether the folks at Aldarra would laugh at me if I asked for a permission to play a round to set the stage for a longer-term goal of saving up enough money to join at some point down the road.

Any tips, tricks or suggestions (other than the obvious one of sneaking on to the course armed with a pitching wedge) would be appreciated.

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by BoomerGolfAnon

[Double Mocha Man]

How to sneak onto a private country club:

As a late teen, growing up in St. Louis, I had to be creative to be able to play some of the best courses that were not available to me.  I had played all the public courses in the area and still wanted more... the lure of the country clubs was quite strong... beautiful holes unplayed by me.   After making reconnaissance missions to the parking lots of the exclusive private clubs I came up with a plan, a system.  I concocted a fail-safe scheme to sneak onto the private courses.  (Before you get too excited please understand this plan only works for teens who the world thinks can be quite naive at times)

I, along with a friend I had schooled in my scheme, would walk onto the first tee... looking like we knew what we were doing.  We dressed the part... golf shirt, golf slacks, nice shoes.   We didn't furtively look around thinking we might get caught.  We just teed up our shots, smacked them down the middle of the fairway (usually) and casually strolled after them, all the time making sure not to jump in front of any other golfers on the first tee.  Being private clubs there rarely were many players waiting to tee off... usually none.

If caught, and we were on occasion, my friend and I stuck to our made-up story:  All fictional, it seems we were at a bowling alley the prior day and met a Mr. Weinroth.  Bowled with him a bit and brought up that we were golfers.  Amazingly, he too, was a golfer and a member of a private country club.  Now, Mr. Weinroth had had a few beers... when he invited us to join him to play a round of golf.  He said he might be running late but to just go ahead and tee off, he'd meet us on the back nine, and take care of everything.

This story worked every time we were caught and the head pro who quizzed us let us go.  Now, as an adult, I have this feeling that a lot of these pros suspected our scheme and they, too, had done the same thing years ago when they were teens.  But without the story.  I think the pros liked our creativity and ushered us off the course with a twinkle in their eye.  They had been there, done that, and weren't going to get us in trouble.  It's all about the love of golf and the love of forbidden golf courses.

[Sandy Divot]

Pay off the starter.

[Double Mocha Man]

A lot of private courses now have a tiered system.  You can be a young professional in business and join for a lower fee... until you reach a certain age.  They will oftentimes let these young professionals "try out" the course at no charge or a low greens fee.  You might want to look into that.  In general, private courses are hurting for new members.

[BoomerGolfAnon]

16 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

How to sneak onto a private country club:

[snip]

lol. Thank you for sharing this hilarious and very well-written summary about how to sneak onto a private country club, albeit as you note the summary really only applies to teenagers.

Your story reminded me of something I used to do regularly when I was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder back in the mid-1980's. Whenever there was a rock concert or music performance at the basketball arena, my friends and I would get dressed up in nice clothing, then we'd start pounding on one of the side doors at the venue. Eventually, when one of the security guards opened the door to see what was going on, I'd say:

"Hi, I'm private McCalister with the Army ROTC Clean Up Crew. We volunteered as part of our ROTC training to pick up trash after the performance. Sgt. Billington, our commander, told us to show up at this door at 21 hundred hours, so we're here and at your disposal. How can we help?"

It worked EVERY SINGLE TIME! I even got to see a performance by Frank Sinatra at the tail end of his career using the vaunted "Army ROTC Clean Up Crew" troll. Good times, good memories.

Edited January 11, 2020 by BoomerGolfAnon

[Double Mocha Man]

Great story!  Excellent creativity.  And they say teens "know nothing"...!  BTW, I attended CSU, and as I'm sure you noticed, now live near Seattle.

[BoomerGolfAnon]

1 minute ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Great story!  Excellent creativity.  And they say teens "know nothing"...!  BTW, I attended CSU, and as I'm sure you noticed, now live near Seattle.

Well, if you're ever in the area, send me a PM and we can see whether your troll works for boomer golf anons!

[Double Mocha Man]

1 minute ago, BoomerGolfAnon said:

Well, if you're ever in the area, send me a PM and we can see whether your troll works for boomer golf anons!

Let's resolve, for 2020, to find a way to sneak onto Aldarra Country Club.  I'm not afraid of a night in jail...

[BoomerGolfAnon]

Just now, Double Mocha Man said:

Let's resolve, for 2020, to find a way to sneak onto Aldarra Country Club.  I'm not afraid of a night in jail...

To quote Nike:

"Believe in something...even if it means sacrificing everything!"

[Double Mocha Man]

Just now, BoomerGolfAnon said:

To quote Nike:

"Believe in something...even if it means sacrificing everything!"

I only have my reputation to sacrifice.  And that's not that good anyway...

[BoomerGolfAnon]

Just now, Double Mocha Man said:

I only have my reputation to sacrifice.  And that's not that good anyway...

I fearlessly guard my anonymity, so (technically speaking) I do not even have a reputation to sacrifice. Looks like we're a go for a 2020 Sneak-In at the Aldarra Golf Course in Sammamish, WA!

[Double Mocha Man]

Just now, BoomerGolfAnon said:

I fearlessly guard my anonymity, so (technically speaking) I do not even have a reputation to sacrifice. Looks like we're a go for a 2020 Sneak-In at the Aldarra Golf Course in Sammamish, WA!

Done deal!  Then afterwards we can try to sneak on to Newcastle.  I think Freddie would approve.

[BoomerGolfAnon]

26 minutes ago, Sandy Divot said:

Pay off the starter.

Actually, I hadn't thought of this. I spent several years in Eastern Europe right after the Berlin Wall came down, and the easiest way to "get stuff done" was to either pay off someone with cash or a nice bottle of American-made whiskey.

[Double Mocha Man]

21 minutes ago, BoomerGolfAnon said:

Actually, I hadn't thought of this. I spent several years in Eastern Europe right after the Berlin Wall came down, and the easiest way to "get stuff done" was to either pay off someone with cash or a nice bottle of American-made whiskey.

An 18 year old bottle of Laphroig should do the trick at Aldarra...

[BoomerGolfAnon]

3 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

An 18 year old bottle of Laphroig should do the trick at Aldarra...

I just did some quick research, and it seems that back in 2017, Costco was selling this stuff for $38 per bottle. Here are the details:

How Does Costco Sell 18-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch for $38? - PUNCH

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There’s a recent groundswell of support for Costco’s Kirkland Signature whiskies. Just two questions: Where do they come from, and why are they...

I'm heading there tomorrow for a food run, so I'll add this to my list.

[Double Mocha Man]

Just don't tell the starter you grabbed it for $38.  Tell him you got it for $78.

In the big picture I'd buy my golf balls at Costco, but not my single-malt scotch.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Double Mocha Man

[BoomerGolfAnon]

I agree. And the "Kirkland" label would be a dead give-away. But nothing is keeping me from: A) buying the good stuff with a proper bottle and label; B) emptying the good stuff into a vessel; C) then pouring the Kirkland stuff into the now-empty Laphroig bottle. The only challenge is finding a tool to attach a new and unblemished cap to the Laphroig bottle.

Time for more Internet research, I guess...

[phillyk]

I am planning to try and play Aldarra some random Monday this summer. I’ve played with their assistant professionals, my boss knows the head pro, and being in the same PGA chapter does help. It’d be cool if I could bring a 4some, but I have no idea what they’re cool with. Aldarra is definitely on my bucket list to play. Whenever they host a Pro-Member, it fills up extremely fast.