Are you a member?

[erik]

I am a member of a Peterhead Golf Club. I am only allowed to use the nine-hole course. I paid £80 for my membership, I am not sure how much that would be in US dollars, according to http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi , it is $145.849.

[SFbaybum]

I guess it truly is a different world out here in California. "Semi Private" generally refers to resort courses, which can be anywhere from $100 to $350 for green fees. Private refers to country clubs. I belong to a club. Current memberships run about $65,000 (there are some much, much, much more expensive), plus monthly dues of $350, plus quarterly minimums (for food and beverage) of $350.

That said, I can't imagine life without it. The weather is great year round, and during daylight savings I go out after work, put one of my kids on a cart with me and play as few or as many holes as we can get it. These investements can be tough for individuals to justify, but once you have kids who want to play the game, it makes a lot of sense.

[luv2golf]

I live in NJ where everything is overpriced. My brother joined a country club recently and I can play there as his guest, but I can't afford to join on my own. The public courses are overcrowded and since I'm a beginner, I'd rather not play where I'm going to feel rushed. I think Rafcin's idea about driving out to Sparta might be my only hope. I used to actually live near Sparta, but that was before I started playing golf. There's a semi-private club near me (9 holes) so I might look into that next year. The price is reasonable.

[AtlantaGolfer]

Dogwood in Austell.

The only things you should look at are how many members are there, how hard is it to get tee times, and remember that you get what you pay for. I have always heard that course called dogpatch and I personally have never seen it in good condition. But if it fits the wallet then it can't be that bad!!

[Peter_in_Atl]

The only things you should look at are how many members are there, how hard is it to get tee times, and remember that you get what you pay for. I have always heard that course called dogpatch and I personally have never seen it in good condition. But if it fits the wallet then it can't be that bad!!

I'm a single so tee times don't really apply unless I'm bringing friends. They are under new ownership so I've seen improvements made. They've lengthened one tee box, resodded another and if all goes well, they are going to do more.

[who00knows]

I will be joining a local course here in a month or so. It is the course that I grew up on (20 years). Im 21 now, and feel that it would be worth it to me to join. They are rebuilding the entire course and should be done in 6 or so months. I also get what they call a Legacy Discount since my parents are members. I also plan to move to the neighborhood in a few years so it will be nice to already be even more established than I already was. Initiation fee is 1500 bucks and then its 75 dollars a month until the course is done and will go up to 200 upon completion.

www.bentwinds.org

[elksgolfer]

I think I may be getting the best deal in golf.

I am a member of an Elks club that happens to have it's own 9 hole golf course.

I pay $60 a year for Elks dues then $350 a year for a golf permit which means I golf anytime NO GREENS FEES.

My dad and I have a golf cart which is stored at the course for $90 a year.

I leave my clubs on the cart, I just drive out jump in the cart and hit the first tee anytime I want.

Don't let the price fool you, it is actually a pretty nice course, they hired a new greenskeeper a few years ago and also added a fairway watering system. We have 2 holes that have alternate greens for your second nine
holes.

Plus there are morning groups everyday of the week you can join in, and Wednsday afternoons is stag night we toss balls in to a coffee can pick foursomes toss in a couple bucks and play 12 holes of best ball, then have steaks in the clubhouse.

Small town midwest golf ROCKS!

BTW we have a "Country Club" in town also, nice course, but gets little play, they have been steadily losing members for years.....

[rckymtnglfr]

I am a member of a Peterhead Golf Club. I am only allowed to use the nine-hole course. I paid £80 for my membership, I am not sure how much that would be in US dollars, according to

Hey Erik,

Just thought I would let you know that you live in one of the most beautiful areas of the world. I've been through Cruden Bay a couple of times and it is absolutely wonderful as are the people who live there. You are very lucky! As for membership, I have mixed feelings. I enjoy the variety of courses we have but would also like the freedom to go out at 8 PM and play 3 or 4 holes. Most of the private clubs are minimum 20K and 250/mo. There are some semi-privates that go for around 3K/yr. If my family played golf, I might look into the club thing, but since it is only me, I'll probably just stay on the publics.

[aceadair]

I am currently a member of a country club. I LOVE IT! With the value of the course it would cost a preety pennie to play and pay each and every time! I play 2 a day and I definalty get my money's worth! I pay about a 250 a month and easily play that much golf to almost 3x that amount if I paid every time. And it is nice to go to the pool after a HOT TEXAS round!

[aceadair]

O Ya! I almost forgot! This course has 27 Holes!!!! MAN I LOVE IT!

[cireyamel]

Around the first of the year, I joined a private club and it ROCKS! At the time, the initiation was $10,750, but I get to pay that over ten years, interest free, until I'm 45 yo. I did have to pay 1/3 up front, though. It's $225 a month and a $250 quarterly food/drink minimum -- but there are several food venues to choose from. There are only about 400 golfing members, so there are no tee times. Kiddo loves the pool and it's on a lake, which is also fun to splash around in. It was kind of weird at first, all the staff knowing your name and no membership card, per se, but I've gotten very use to the fact that I can jump on the course anytime and play any number of holes. It's also very women and juniors friendly. I can easily play 18 holes in less than four hours -- which you just can't do on public courses around here.

[aceadair]

Man. It is nice to have that kind of money!

[erik]

I see golf is more expensive in the US. As I previously said I paid £80 for my membership, I either paid in January or February, can't remember which. Anyway, it costs £8 for a day ticket if you are not a member, and if I had not paid for a membership, I would have paid more than that in green fees already. I can play the course in around an hour and a half as I usually skip holes 7 and 8, the layout allows this to be done. The club is fairly junior friendly, but there are rules, you are not allowed on the 18 hole course, or the putting green unless you are accompanied by an adult or have a handicap of 12 or better. I satisfy neither when at the golf club.

I have seen someone's reference to Cruden Bay earlier in this thread. It is a fairly good 9 hole course, more challenging than my home course. I am actually considering getting a membership their next year, as I have had problems at Peterhead. The main one being bullying in the clubhouse. Word in our clubhouse is that Cruden Bay's 9 hole course is better than our 18.

[shakespeare]

I've been a member for four years at my club (semi-private) - $3,300 annual, no fees of any kind, unlimited rounds, 10 day advance tee times, free range balls, free locker, free cart, 25% discount on pro shop, excellent practice facility. I've played 184, 202, 178 rounds respectfully over the past three years, and I am on pace to top 220 this year so far. My club is the home of the Northern Texas PGA where the Texas State Open has been held a couple of times. It's a nice track. You can't top that.

[StreakyPete]

I'm a member at East Kilbride golf Club in Scotland. The green fees are around £600 (approx $1100) per year. The 'Joining fee' is 3x the annual subs. This represents a lot of golf for the money. It's a pretty good course with a reasonably well appointed club-house. We have excellent practice facilities, and the course is rarely closed - even in winter.
There are plenty of Municipals within a 25 mile radius which are all really busy. It's really cool to be able to drive up to the club, confident that you'll get a tee-off time almost immediately.

[AtlantaGolfer]

I have played at Cruden Bay on the 18 hole course. Definitely want to play it a couple of times though. The fourth hole is very well known in the world of golf as a picturesque par 3. There is a whales back in the middle of the 17th fairway, plenty of blind tee shots on holes. It is a great "short" course.

[Lumpy_22]

Wow, reading some of the posts were kinda scary, but I shouldn't be suprised.

Even where I'm at, some of the high end private clubs I've checked with, a yearly expense for golf would be near 5-7 thousand Canadian.. But, I've been a member at a club that was only 1000 Canadian, so I've been lucky. I realize it wasn't the most difficult or prestigeous course around, but it served my purpose and I was able to get my cost per round in around 10 per...

This season I will be changing. The reason is I've gotten better, have bigger aspirations, and realize that the practice facilities have become extremely important. My last course didn't have that available, so hence the switch. The course will be a farther travel, about 15 minutes each way, and the cost very similar, but I'll get the practice time with it, so that for me is the factor for the switch. I love playing daily, or everyday that ends in 'y' as I like to say, but for me to reach my goals, I'll require the practice facility also...

Still not in the neighbourhood of a private club, but that's not the reason I play golf. For me it's the game, the challenge, not the status...

Fairways and greens!

[Norm66]

I've been wrestling with whether or not to buy a membership to a local club this year myself. It's a public course that's pretty well established (over 50 years in operation), but they don't have a range or really a short-game area, just a nice practice putting green and the 18-hole course. Still, it's only $625 for a walking memebership and with greens fees of $18 (weekdays) and $22 (weekends) I figure I have to average a little under 11 holes of golf a week to break even. That shouldn't be a problem. I'm a beginner so I don't really forsee getting tired of the course and there's not really a lot of options in my area. I think I just talked myself into it.