I canceled my membership today

[Boeing777]

I canceled my membership today, after only 1 1/2yr of playing there. It was costing about 350$ a month, and i had to pay a babysitter 50$ to watch my girls cause my wife is a flightattendent. So it was a min of 400$ a month to play. And i haven't been playing that much, so i bit the bullet and canceled it today. It was a sad day today.

[cigarsmoke23]

$350/month to play golf?! holy smokes. that is definitely not cheap golf...

[JML22]

Depends how many rounds you play
we've been doing 2 rounds a week at 55 with a cart
We get a deal to so that could easily be al ot more

[clearwaterms]

  cigarsmoke23 said:

$350/month to play golf?! holy smokes. that is definitely not cheap golf...

If this was a country club and included other ammenities (such as a pool, fitness center, club storage, restraunt, driving range, etc) that isn't too much to ask.

On average I play about 1~2 rounds of golf a week, most courses around me are $30 ~ $40 a round. 6 rounds of golf a month, plus driving range, etc. I don't know if I spend $400 a month on golf, but I could justify $400 a month if it meant I could play 12 months a year.

[WUTiger]

See if you can find a semi-private club that will sell you a 20-round card for $800 or $900.

How long before your daughters can caddie for you?

[Boeing777]

it's not a country club, it's public. 36 holes, it's extremely nice club, walk in customer is 85$ I only been playing about once a week. Cause i got tired of paying for a babysitter for my 5 and 6 yr. olds. So evertime i drop them off at the sitter it's 50$. So that is automatically 400$, so if i take them every weekend it turns into 550$. And that was getting old fast.

[tm22721]

Sadly we are following Japan which has lost 95% of its golfing memberships since 1990.

[gspjeb]

sorry to hear that....had to be a tough call. It is crazy how much golf costs in some places in the US. Luckily there are like a million golf courses down here around Pinehurst so clubs compete with one another to be affordable. Hopefully it stays that way and golf clubs wake up and realize they are losing folks by out pricing them.

[clearwaterms]

  tm22721 said:

Sadly we are following Japan which has lost 95% of its golfing memberships since 1990.

It is a sign of the economy. I heard a figure last week. Something like 70% of american's have had a declining income when averaged against inflation. Don't quote me on the numbers, but it was somewhere north of 2/3's. If you think about it, very few people are getting raises, yet inflation continues to increase the cost of goods. Golf is a luxury. When you combine those facts with the fact that the work force is dwindling because companies are laying people off. The result is not a suprise; those who are still working are finding themselves working longer hours. Longer hours, plus less money is not condusive to country club memberships.

In the end I suspect that; it will turn around. However, golf as a sport is gaining in popularity. So like all things, I imagine that country clubs are going through some lean times. Those that can stick it out, will find prosperity again in time.

[alf174]

I believe it. Many of the private clubs in this area (SE Michigan) have gone semi-private or have dropped their monthly dues and/or eliminated their initiation fee. Its actually a good time to sign up.

[clearwaterms]

  alf174 said:

I believe it. Many of the private clubs in this area (SE Michigan) have gone semi-private or have dropped their monthly dues and/or eliminated their initiation fee. Its actually a good time to sign up.

i wish some places around here would consider doing that. THey just opened a new course in my town. It is a full service country club (pool, ice rink, workout facility, 18 holes of golf, etc) The sign up fee is $125k and the dues are expected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $850 a month. In this economy, believe it or not they are not having trouble selling them (although i think it is only about 60% sold at the moment)

[JWL1957]

The economy is very tough right now. There are courses here in Virginia Beach that are struggling. There are alot of rumors going around that the city is trying to unload the 3 muni's that it operates due to lack of funding.

My membership at the course I play runs out in 14 days and I will not be renewing it. Business is very slow for me right now. I'll probably stick with playing the Navy courses until thing pick up.

[Fat Slice]

The 36 hole muni in my city has a deal for residents: $160/mo (no cart included). Both courses are flat and walkable. My walk-up rate as a resident is something like $23, so I don't bother with the monthly as I like to play other courses too.

Speaking of Japan...I met a guy who lived in a rich Tokyo suburb who bought 2 golf memberships (in the 90s) at $1M each. I asked him why 2? Did he like golf so much? He said, no, he doesn't play....but he had two daughters and he knew that when they married he would be expected to gift their husbands with a membership so he thought he'd buy them ahead of time and save some money. I wonder how that worked out for him...

[treebound]

  Fat Slice said:

...

Right about now I suspect a couple dozen single golfers lurking on the site here just also logged in to Monster.com to look for jobs in or near Tokyo, are checking visa requirements, and will be PM'ing you shortly for the gentleman's contact info and requesting an introduction to him and one of his daughters.

Back on track, the folks with money and spare discretionary funds are getting deals, us folks who have been laid off or are working temp jobs are looking for budget courses. For folks like me memberships are just a daydream. Boeing777 screen name, living in TX, spouse a flight attendant, I suspect there's a story there. When I saw the user name I thought you'd be in Washington state. I can fully understand dropping the course membership, and I can understand any sadness in doing so. How much are "regular" public course fees down in your area?

[alf174]

  clearwaterms said:

i wish some places around here would consider doing that. THey just opened a new course in my town. It is a full service country club (pool, ice rink, workout facility, 18 holes of golf, etc) The sign up fee is $125k and the dues are expected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $850 a month. In this economy, believe it or not they are not having trouble selling them (although i think it is only about 60% sold at the moment)

I love the Chicago area but I don't think I could afford to play more than once a month if I lived there.

edit: I just started reading your blog, I guess there are deals to be had. :^)

[Tec]

  clearwaterms said:

It is a sign of the economy.

I couldn't agree more. Here in the Tampa/St. Pete area, little semi-private & public courses are gaining ground because they can provide rounds cheaper to the "working man golfer" than any country or private club. There's one down here that's $14(cart & green fees) for a sunset round. That place is even under-cutting some smaller, executive courses.

[SpoiledRotten]

Sorry about that. Times will hopefully get better soon..... maybe November of this year... maybe 2012.

Anyway, good luck to you.

[sean_miller]

  Boeing777 said:

it's not a country club, it's public. 36 holes, it's extremely nice club, walk in customer is 85$ I only been playing about once a week. Cause i got tired of paying for a babysitter for my 5 and 6 yr. olds. So evertime i drop them off at the sitter it's 50$. So that is automatically 400$, so if i take them every weekend it turns into 550$. And that was getting old fast.

They're 5 and 6? I'm forced to watch some kid's shows (e.g. icarly, Max and Ruby, Ponyo, Waybaloo) and I never see parents around - get them some snacks, pop in movie, and head to the course!

This was a wise decision - only a few days before Father's Day too - I hope they appreciate it some day.