Joining a club???

[Lemay427]

I have been considering joining either a private club or just buying an unlimited pass from a public course. Who here joined a club and what was your reason, outside of a social standpoint. Has it forced you to practice more as you have use of the range and course at your will. I normally hate spending $7+ for a bucket of balls when i can easily hit 2 or 3 in a session. Again, I would not be joining to hang out with other people and eat dinner and be social. Im 24 and just want to improve my game. Thanks in advanced,

Kenny

[Ogg]

  Lemay427 said:

I have been considering joining either a private club or just buying an unlimited pass from a public course. Who here joined a club and what was your reason, outside of a social standpoint. Has it forced you to practice more as you have use of the range and course at your will. I normally hate spending $7+ for a bucket of balls when i can easily hit 2 or 3 in a session. Again, I would not be joining to hang out with other people and eat dinner and be social. Im 24 and just want to improve my game. Thanks in advanced,

I joined a club simply because it gave me unlimited access to playing and I found that my game improved dramatically because of it. I practiced a lot more and I got to know the pro and assistant pro and they helped me too. My Dad was a member of the club so that helped too as we got to play all the time together.

I noticed a friend of mine who was probably around a 7 handicap, he joined a VERY nice club with excellent practice facilities and a great track. He is now down to a 2 as he has stepped up his game.

[NM Golf]

When I hear people talk about how they want to join a club for unlimited golf or range balls, I always tell them the same thing. Before you join you might want to price out how much it will cost you to join the club then compare it to how much green fees and range balls cost you outright. It depends on the club, but lots of times its still cheaper just to buy your rounds and range balls one at a time just like your doing now. Plus are you ready to play one course all the time. Guys I know end up joining clubs then it costs so much that they can't play anywhere but their club. Personally, I like the freedom of playing wherever I want.

[kevntri]

Our private clubs are too expensive in Rockford, IL
We have a city park district pass that includes unlimited play on three 18 hole and one 9 hole courses and also an $11 surcharge on a 4 star course with a great practice facility. Free tee times but every other time is a walk on.
The cost is only $480.00 and is good from 4/1 thru 10/31

[mRogers88]

im not a member of a club. but im related to a few who are. with me being only 18 and living in a prime area the cost is unreal. the way i see it is this:

-it is a HUGE status symbol. (if that is important to you)
-though u may not get dollar for dollar your value, there are many perks and priveledges you attain from becoming a member of a country club. such as exclusive greens fees, dining room discounts, club house discounts etc.

the two main clubs in my area are Baltimore Country Club and Sparrows Point Country Club. sparrows point pretty much sucks. Baltimore Country Club however, is an AMAZING course. ive played it a few times and not only do you recieve VIP service, the course itself is immaculately kempt. but taht comes at a cool 150k a year to join. or there abouts. then on top of that you pay greens fees each time (at a dicounted rate of around 200 bucks) lol.

so i mean hell, if you can afford it id go for it. im sure there are some clubs that are less expensive. i know lighthouse sound in ocean city has like a summer rate. where from like, june to october you can pay 1800 and play as much as you want at the course and discounted rates at its sister courses.

[Lemay427]

here are my calculations for figuring cost (public) vs cost (private-unlimited):

Range balls:

I pay 87.50 per 25 Large Buckets.= 3.50 per bucket. I hit about 2 buckets everytime i hit. i would like to go 3 times per week. so that would be:
7.00 (2 buckets) x 3 = 21 a week = 84 a month...


Golf:


Costs me about 35 average for 18 holes. I normally play in the afternoon so i get a discount. normal cost would be 55-75. i play on saturday and sunday. one time during the week. so lets just say $70 per week.
$70 x 4 = $280 per month

total = $364


Golf season is 9 months (March-November) so thats roughly $3276 for golf.....



Membership or unlimited pass:

most around here for a full year is 2000-2500 so roughly 222-270 a month.


But....then i would be locked into playing one course....

There would be times though that I would play more than 18 so it would work out for the unlimited package.



im just confused lol

[Lemay427]

wow..i saw that baltimore CC on the web. They have rules for wearing your hat the correct way and ABSOLUTELY no demin lol.

[iacas]

My home course costs about $200/month on an Intermediate membership. Otherwise it's around $275. That's $2400/year, and admittedly, we can only play April - October (7 months). So, that's effectively $350/month or about $85/week.

That's only two to three rounds, and all at courses much worse than my country club. And that doesn't include range balls, the putting green, and getting to know the people.

So, it's a no-brainer for me.

[GoFlyers]

  Lemay427 said:

Golf season is 9 months (March-November) so thats roughly $3276 for golf.....

Looking at your numbers it looks like you have about $1,000 to spend playing other courses... I joined a club this year and I cannot believe how much I enjoy having a golf course to myself. I can go after work and play 3 or 4 holes and then drop a half dozen balls and work on my short game. Having a course just about to yourself is really really nice and allows you to work on any part of your game. If you are not looking for a cost savings then you can join the club and get improved practice time and still play with your friends once a week on a public course and be about even $'wise. Seems like a slam dunk.

[Lemay427]

ya i am beginning to think the club is worth it

[mRogers88]

hahaha yea baltimore CC is pretty crazy.. a little too ritzy for me but i still enjoy the pampered treatment.

they have a complete dress code for men and women for the entire clubhouse and golf area. and the dining rooms there are pretty strict too..

its also a big community and they have like 30 tennis courts and squash courts and pools they all have dress codes.. tennis is all white collared shirts and white shorts with white shoes haha.

and among the lines of the other forum with drinking, im sure a club may filter out some of those knuckle-heads.

[North49]

Hey Kenny,

Do it. You get to play when you want. You can show up to the course with $.25 in your pocket and get away with it (as long as you have some sort of food thing/billing) My home course is set up where I can go out and play 5 or 10 holes. Great practice. I have often shown up later in the evening, had the place to myself, and played a few holes with 5 balls in play. You meet people, gain a few friends etc. Good luck with your choice.

[jb1982]

My home course is "semi-private" meaning most days anyone can come out and pay to play or use the range. But on league days/nights you have to be a member to play. I joined for that reason. I do practice more as it doesn't cost me a thing. If I only have time for 3 or 4 holes before/after work, what the hell. It's free. Also, on the member only days the course is so empty you can get in some ON COURSE practice. I go out on those days and drop 15-20 balls around the location I usually hit my tee shot and practice my approaches. That way when i go out and pound a drive down the middle, I know what club to hit and have the confidence to do so. Only at a private club can you get a day with enough time to do that without getting killed!!

[Lemay427]

after reviewing a few places, a fully private club (about 10-15min from me) would cost about $500 on initiation and about 290/month for unlimited play. that would be a little more than the public "membership" of unlimited golf, but might be worth it if its not as crowded.

[TarDawg]

Here in Marietta we have two executive courses side by side. One is a par 61 the other a 58. My mother in law bought me a yearly membership for $250. All the golf I can walk for free or $12 a round with cart. I received this in October and have easily played 15-20 rounds there since. Absolutely worth the money.

[lamebums]

  Lemay427 said:

I have been considering joining either a private club or just buying an unlimited pass from a public course. Who here joined a club and what was your reason, outside of a social standpoint. Has it forced you to practice more as you have use of the range and course at your will. I normally hate spending $7+ for a bucket of balls when i can easily hit 2 or 3 in a session. Again, I would not be joining to hang out with other people and eat dinner and be social. Im 24 and just want to improve my game. Thanks in advanced,

I got myself a membership at

Kenton County , which works out as a great deal for me, since it's 54 holes on 3 golf courses. Unlike being a member at most clubs, where it's only one golf course, I can get onto any one of the three that I please, basically on how I feel that day, or what I want to work on. It's also a small enough place that you get to know most of the people (I deliberately took a few extra minutes out of each time I went the first week to shoot the shit with random people so I'd get to know 'em...) And, I haggled with the guy trying to sell me the membership - it only cost me $450 when it was all said and done, and each time I go, I can get a free token for a bucket of range balls, as well, all I have to do is pay for the cart. The biggest disadvantage of being a member - being limited to one course - is practically nil, since there's 3... When I do the math, I'm saving a whole lot of money. Normally, if I want to play 18 holes with a cart, it would be $49, but all I have to pay is the cart fee of $14, saving 35 each time. Sometimes, I hit the bucket of balls, worth $3, about half the time. Assuming I hit 36 holes a week, that's mean I'm saving roughly $73 a week, multiplied by 40 weeks (9 months), and, hell, that's 2890 dollars. 2890 minus the 450 for that membership...and, well, yeah, I'm saving a lot of cash.

[Lemay427]

i just found out either of the courses i join have recipricol privelages at 5 other courses. they are owned by a company called walters golf management and if you join the public course you get golf at 5 different courses. same with the private course except you only get golf at 4. seems like this could be a great deal