Private C.C.'s

[golfnut_rlv]

There are many motivations to form a private club. The private club I work at was originally founded to be a social and golf center in Spokane in 1898. In that day, golf was a rich man's game. Much different than today. Today, beyond the usual country club rational, the main reason that people join our club is for course access and quality. Our club has a small membership by design. You can come to the Spokane Countr Club at 2:00 on a summer saturda afternoon, and play 18 holes in 3 hours if you don't fool around. You will find very few rounds at our club over 4 hours in fact. As opposed to many of the courses in this area which are nice, but packed almost all the time.

Just food for thought.

[Leek]

TCCcaddie, wow those clubs you work at must either be terrible, or perhaps you are somehow just full of resentment.

I can only tell you about my two clubs. Conditions are amazing, the courses are immaculate. One has greens that regularly have a stimpmeter over 12 and usually runs over 13 feet for tournaments. The other one is a beautiful wooded course, no houses in site, and when on the course, you feel as if your group is the only group on the course. It places a premium on ball striking and doesn't allow for many misses. You carry the ball onto the greens or you are dead. Miss the fairway by more than 10 yards? The ball is in deep woods and you have little or no chance of finding it. Water on 9 holes. Forced 175-185 yards carries over ponds and lakes on several holes. A great test!

Are all of our members nice people? Heck no! I know guys who have never tipped the bag room guys, never tipped the locker room guys and complain like crazy too! Can everyone play to a low handicap? Of course not. Does everyone replace every divot and fix every ball mark? No.


Both have time on course rules that are seriously enforced. One club has a 3 hour 58 minute limit. Rangers check each groups progress and if they are behind , they warn them one time. If they don't get on schedule, they are asked to skip as many holes as it takes to get back on time. The other has a 4 hour 20 minute limit. If you don't meet the time constraints, you lose priviledges for weekend am, Wednesday and Friday afternoon tee times.

I have played on public courses and when busy, been subjected to 5 and 6 hour rounds of golf. Standing and waiting on every shot, becoming impatient and then having a terrible time. I want to play during peak times and get my round completed at a pace and rhythm that allows me to enjoy the game.

The quality of the courses, they pace of play and the beauty make it worth my 12 grand a year for each.

[Leek]

All I can say about the exclusivity some private clubs is, that's part of the charm. Ultra exclusive clubs have members and most members of exclusive clubs like to show off their club. If your an avid golfer networking is your best bet to get onto private club. This can take some doing and time but if your really interested in playing a course what's a little time. Here in the area where I live we have a amateur league that puts on tournaments, most of the private clubs in the area's better players play in them. I've met a lot of nice people in these events and been invited to all the local private course around my hometown. A member of private club is the same as a local public regular who love's the game. It's all about networking and making new friends. I guess if your dream is Augusta then you'd better become friends (really, really good friends) with a member, and if you do please invite me!

Ever play Squaw Creek?

[cwo2lt]

So a few friends and I decide we want to build a golf course. We all pitch in a few (thousand!) bucks each, hire an architect and build a beautiful course. The course becomes world famous but is a bit much to take care of so we invite a friend or two to join us, for a fee of course.

We don't know you nor have we invited you to join our little club. What makes you think you have the God given right to play on our course?

[Leek]

So a few friends and I decide we want to build a golf course. We all pitch in a few (thousand!) bucks each, hire an architect and build a beautiful course. The course becomes world famous but is a bit much to take care of so we invite a friend or two to join us, for a fee of course.

I don't have any right to play your course. You may choose to offer me a membership so you can pay the bills, but depending on how many friends you have, you better put up a few hundred thousand to a few million each, just to build it. Then you will need operating capital, say 500k per year, at a minimum.

[TCCcaddie]

TCCcaddie, wow those clubs you work at must either be terrible, or perhaps you are somehow just full of resentment.

Salem CC hosted the 2001 US Senior Open and was on the 100 best courses in America list a whle ago. And Tedecso has the best greens in North Shore Ma. The people at Tedesco are considerabley nicer than the Salem CC one which was why i only caddied there for a year. THere are still some jerks at Tedesco but the Salem people just had a larger air of duchebaggery.

[Shindig]

There are many motivations to form a private club. The private club I work at was originally founded to be a social and golf center in Spokane in 1898. In that day, golf was a rich man's game. Much different than today. Today, beyond the usual country club rational, the main reason that people join our club is for course access and quality. Our club has a small membership by design. You can come to the Spokane Countr Club at 2:00 on a summer saturda afternoon, and play 18 holes in 3 hours if you don't fool around. You will find very few rounds at our club over 4 hours in fact. As opposed to many of the courses in this area which are nice, but packed almost all the time.

Improved pace of play would certainly make me consider joining a club. Do clubs like this let you play twice or three times a day?

[Leek]

Salem CC hosted the 2001 US Senior Open and was on the 100 best courses in America list a whle ago. And Tedecso has the best greens in North Shore Ma. The people at Tedesco are considerabley nicer than the Salem CC one which was why i only caddied there for a year. THere are still some jerks at Tedesco but the Salem people just had a larger air of duchebaggery.

I didn't mean bad courses. I meant terrible membership.

[Leek]

Sure, if you make 2 or 3 tee times.

[cwo2lt]

I don't have any right to play your course.

Apparently there are some on this site who think they do.

[MGP]

Salem CC hosted the 2001 US Senior Open and was on the 100 best courses in America list a whle ago. And Tedecso has the best greens in North Shore Ma. The people at Tedesco are considerabley nicer than the Salem CC one which was why i only caddied there for a year. THere are still some jerks at Tedesco but the Salem people just had a

I'm going to have to add that one to my list of descriptive phrases!