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Private courses are for.........


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3 members have voted

  1. 1. private golf courses are for .......

    • those who are good players and dont want hackers getting drunk on and tearing up their course
      11
    • higher class people who only want to be around other higher class people while playing golf
      25
    • those who might be racist towards people of a different color
      2
    • people who have the extra money to spend so they are pampered as soon as they set foot on the course
      31
    • people who take the game of golf more serious and dont mind paying for the more serious atmosphere
      59


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sorry guys i blew in with this poll. i was being part funny, part serious, part idiot. *note to self. dont start polls/threads late at night*

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Originally Posted by pixel5

Envy? Absolutely not. Bias? Everyone in this thread is biased because they either are a private course member or aren't.

It came off that way. I also don't think everyone is "biased" because they are or aren't members at a private course. I have been in the past and probably will be in the future. My membership once cost as little as $2500 + food ($600). Not exactly requiring someone to be super rich or have "money lust."

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There are lots of different variations on private courses. You have your invitation only privates, your 125-250K to join privates and you have your affordable privates and you have those in between, plus semi-privates.

A public course with a green fee of say $200+ is close to a private, no?

Then you have your British Open courses which are "private", but the public can play, some of which cost less to play than their American equivalents.

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

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Originally Posted by JetFan1983

Agreed on all points. I joined one for better practice facilities: grass ranges, short game area, etc. There are some affordable private clubs out there. They aren't just for the super rich.

I joined an excellent, well maintained semi-private club and got this. The practice facilities and good quality, shiny range balls definitely make a difference. And, it's along the way to and from work.

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i joined my club for the golf, the course conditions, the member events, the business contacts...total spend is approx 800 per month includes dues, food mins, drinks, cart fees etc

most of the guys at my club are small business owners or local business guys... most all the members are very down to earth. they were typically public golfers who became addicted, tired of 5 hour rounds, got the chance to be a guest at some private club and realized there is a big and better world out there in golf.

The private club is not cheap but there are many levels of cost and certainly not out of range for many.

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Originally Posted by meenman

I voted the last one, but dont feel that any really apply.

I joined a private club for my guaranteed reasonably early Saturday morning tee time, no worries about rounds lasting much more than 4 hours, monthly tournaments and playing around people that take pride in their course.

As an added benefit, our pro shop charges less for any equipment than you will find anywhere else, there are many non-golf extracurricular activities constantly and I always have a place to get a drink where I know everyone.

^^^This^^^

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I didn't vote because I do belong to a private club but you don't have my reason for doing so listed.  I spend six months a year in a location that has only one public course that isn't an executive course in about a 20 miles radius (one way so it's a 40 mile trip) and It is not what one would think of as a really good course.  So it is about 30 miles to a well conditioned, good layout 18 hole championship course.  Since I'm in a position to pay the fees I did to avoid driving 60 mile 3-4 times a week to play golf.

BTW the membership is open to all who can pay the membership fees and annual dues and the club has pretty casual atmosphere.  We do have and enforce some behavior standards but the dress code is causal.  We also have Jr. memberships for those under 40 that are affordable and we open the course to our kids/Grandkids under 21 who play for free (cart fee if they take one), free golf for members of the Clergy, and the local high school golf teams use the course for no charge.   The membership has donated many free foursome passes every year to local charities for various fund raising events.  We have also opened the course for some charity tournaments at costs well below our guest fees.  So those of you who believe membership in a private club is for old, fat, rich and conceited people are wrong and should learn to not judge people you don't know.

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I might even save money with mine. It sort of depends how you count the food minimum and pool membership. The basic cost is ~3k for membership and 15 bucks for a cart/round. Put me down for once a week so the cost for golf is

3000+780 = 3780 or 72 bucks a round

Now that is  high but lets look in more detail. I save 300 dollars in not needing a pool membership so we get down to 66 bucks a round. I also don't have to buy balls which at the range would be 10 dollars 4x a week so now I am looking at 27 bucks a round.  My public course is 32 bucks a round with cart.  Now I probably don't practice quite that much (in summer I am there every day but maybe only 2x a week in Dec/Jan) but the numbers are close.  The 800/yr food min is a bit of a chore(the food isn't bad but there are places I would rather eat at.) Throw in I save 10mins of driving and the rounds are 30 min faster and the club is a no brainer to me.

But a club with zero initiation fees and 225 dues is nice but it isn't in the class of the other club I looked at with a 50k fee and something like 500 (I couldn't really figure out if I was paying 400 or 600/month.I stopped paying attention when I heard 50k)/month dues.

Originally Posted by ghalfaire

I didn't vote because I do belong to a private club but you don't have my reason for doing so listed.  I spend six months a year in a location that has only one public course that isn't an executive course in about a 20 miles radius (one way so it's a 40 mile trip) and It is not what one would think of as a really good course.  So it is about 30 miles to a well conditioned, good layout 18 hole championship course.  Since I'm in a position to pay the fees I did to avoid driving 60 mile 3-4 times a week to play golf.

BTW the membership is open to all who can pay the membership fees and annual dues and the club has pretty casual atmosphere.  We do have and enforce some behavior standards but the dress code is causal.  We also have Jr. memberships for those under 40 that are affordable and we open the course to our kids/Grandkids under 21 who play for free (cart fee if they take one), free golf for members of the Clergy, and the local high school golf teams use the course for no charge.   The membership has donated many free foursome passes every year to local charities for various fund raising events.  We have also opened the course for some charity tournaments at costs well below our guest fees.  So those of you who believe membership in a private club is for old, fat, rich and conceited people are wrong and should learn to not judge people you don't know.

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Originally Posted by x129

I might even save money with mine. It sort of depends how you count the food minimum and pool membership. The basic cost is ~3k for membership and 15 bucks for a cart/round. Put me down for once a week so the cost for golf is

3000+780 = 3780 or 72 bucks a round

Now that is  high but lets look in more detail. I save 300 dollars in not needing a pool membership so we get down to 66 bucks a round. I also don't have to buy balls which at the range would be 10 dollars 4x a week so now I am looking at 27 bucks a round.  My public course is 32 bucks a round with cart.  Now I probably don't practice quite that much (in summer I am there every day but maybe only 2x a week in Dec/Jan) but the numbers are close.  The 800/yr food min is a bit of a chore(the food isn't bad but there are places I would rather eat at.) Throw in I save 10mins of driving and the rounds are 30 min faster and the club is a no brainer to me.

But a club with zero initiation fees and 225 dues is nice but it isn't in the class of the other club I looked at with a 50k fee and something like 500 (I couldn't really figure out if I was paying 400 or 600/month.I stopped paying attention when I heard 50k)/month dues.

so do all private courses offer free range balls if you are a member?

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Most...not all. I'm joining a club next year. In the past I have been a member of a private club, and then have gone for 10+ years playing strictly public courses. Yeah, its a bit more expensive, but these days it seems much more reasonable than it once was. Initiation fees are either gone, or WAAY down from 10+ years ago. Waiting lists are things of the past almost everywhere here. There are a lot of great public courses in the area for reasonable prices, and I actually have a membership this year at one for $140/mo...inlcuding cart...can't get much cheaper than that for a pretty good quality course. So why go private? For me, it's 2 things....the crowds...I love just being able to show up and never worry about tee times. 4 hrs is the absolute max. Walking is encouraged. The 2nd thing is the relationships....you get to know everyone much better/easier than at a public course. The club starts to feel like an extended family. The tourneys and leagues are all well run, and there is always something fun to sign up for. The pristine course conditions don't hurt either....
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Originally Posted by ruascott

Most...not all. I'm joining a club next year. In the past I have been a member of a private club, and then have gone for 10+ years playing strictly public courses. Yeah, its a bit more expensive, but these days it seems much more reasonable than it once was. Initiation fees are either gone, or WAAY down from 10+ years ago. Waiting lists are things of the past almost everywhere here. There are a lot of great public courses in the area for reasonable prices, and I actually have a membership this year at one for $140/mo...inlcuding cart...can't get much cheaper than that for a pretty good quality course. So why go private? For me, it's 2 things....the crowds...I love just being able to show up and never worry about tee times. 4 hrs is the absolute max. Walking is encouraged. The 2nd thing is the relationships....you get to know everyone much better/easier than at a public course. The club starts to feel like an extended family. The tourneys and leagues are all well run, and there is always something fun to sign up for. The pristine course conditions don't hurt either....

i would love to be able to join one if it included cart fees and i could pay monthly. one thing i hate now is almost always playing alone. i enjoy playing with others especially better than me! one down side to joining a club for me is i like to play many different places so i dont get burnt out on the same thing. i tire of things easy and love change to challenge my little brain. there are 6-8 different public courses in my area that i try to keep in rotation.

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There are more reasons than the polls states. My parents are members because they like to live, play, belong to the club within walking distance of their home. Those that are members will attest that it's nice belonging to a club where people know your name. They appreciate the details in the way the course set-up. My experience is private courses look and feel different, the rough is stickier, fairways are more narrow and the greens are faster. I play a different game when I am at the club. People that are serious about golf and enjoy the social perks appreciate the club. Being able to walk out on the practice facility and having balls there wating, the immaculate tee boxes and greens. All things that are different about a private.The funny thing is the vibe at that particular club is more laid back than most public courses. People are there to enjoy the course and what it offers not peacock around like some of patrons at the nicer public courses.

Dave :-)

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I travel to Cleveland a lot and got a great Associate membership at a club there.  Course is great and the club/restaurant is excellent.  I joined because my time is limited and I can play most times that I want (Wed ladies league and Thurs men's league being the exception).  I don't need to be pampered (and we aren't) but being treated nicely is, well, nice.  Also convenient to have a locker where I can keep a couple of shirts, some shorts and shoes so can change there if I want.  I'm guessing that my cost per round will be high but the extra expense is worth it to me.  Sometimes I just go to eat, other times to hit balls and other times to golf.  It's nice.

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I didn't vote because A) I am not a member of a private course B) those options are just ridiculous.

I am a member at a public course, it's monthly fee of $50 allows me to walk (I have to pay cart fees) anytime. I don't feel as though I have to play there a certain number of times to get my value out of it. I am treated as though I own the place because the staff are just that friendly and take care of everyone that way. I can't say I would ever join a private course because I don't like to play the same course repeatedly. I enjoy bouncing around to a different course every weekend.

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Originally Posted by Lost-Ball

i would love to be able to join one if it included cart fees and i could pay monthly. one thing i hate now is almost always playing alone. i enjoy playing with others especially better than me! one down side to joining a club for me is i like to play many different places so i dont get burnt out on the same thing. i tire of things easy and love change to challenge my little brain. there are 6-8 different public courses in my area that i try to keep in rotation.

Yeah, it's a pretty good deal...they just took their annual membership and divided it up by 12....as a lot of people I guess said they could swing it easier that way. They did ask for a 6 month commitment, and if you quit over the winter and joined back up in the spring, you have to pay for all the off months. I'm going to likely be moving by this fall anyway, so that won't matter to me. As I said, it's a nice public course....but also pretty busy. Yes, I can always find a tee time, but the course is still pretty full when out there, and makes it tough if you just want to go out alone for a quick round.

The best of both worlds of course is joining a private club and still getting to play elsewhere. You may want to ask around about reciprocity at other private clubs in the area....I've talked with a few clubs that offered access to over 20 area private clubs that members could play for a nominal guest fee (like $20)....some even waive the fee entirely.

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Originally Posted by ruascott

Yeah, it's a pretty good deal...they just took their annual membership and divided it up by 12....as a lot of people I guess said they could swing it easier that way. They did ask for a 6 month commitment, and if you quit over the winter and joined back up in the spring, you have to pay for all the off months. I'm going to likely be moving by this fall anyway, so that won't matter to me. As I said, it's a nice public course....but also pretty busy. Yes, I can always find a tee time, but the course is still pretty full when out there, and makes it tough if you just want to go out alone for a quick round.

The best of both worlds of course is joining a private club and still getting to play elsewhere. You may want to ask around about reciprocity at other private clubs in the area....I've talked with a few clubs that offered access to over 20 area private clubs that members could play for a nominal guest fee (like $20)....some even waive the fee entirely.

see this is one thing i never run into at all the courses i play at. i never have to book a tee time even on weekends and its never flooded to where it takes hours upon hours to play. normally im playing alone and if i happened to start trailing someone they gladly let me play on through. takes about 2-2.5 hours to ride 18 holes everytime.

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Note: This thread is 3482 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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