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This deserves its own thread. Buns raised an interesting question. What are the pros & cons of joining a private club where you live ? How expensive is it depending on the club ? Any other thoughts on the issue ?

There are probably private clubs around here at the low end that I could afford if I wanted to. I really haven't priced them, though. The reason is two-fold... I try to minimize my golf costs so that I can play as much as possible and more importantly, I have no desire to restrict my playing to a single course or even a couple. Also we have an abundance of good public courses in SE Michigan and playing during the middle of the week in the early afternoon as I do, I rarely have trouble with crowded or slow conditions.

I'd have to agree with waz.

I probably drop a few grand a year in greens fees and the courses range from local Muni beaters to high end layouts. I love the diversity and there are literally hundreds of golf courses within an hours drive. Why restrict myself to one course?

http://www.weaverridge.com/ - best public course around my area - too expensive to go all the time, it would cost you almost 100 dollars.

public course 2 is only about 30 dollars for 18 and cart, private course is 500 or so since im only 25 to join and you get golf all you want for free. (probably will join this next year since i spend more than that in a year playing golf)

Here's my reason for going private: CROWDS.

This is the point where I decided to join a private golf club........................ Fundamentally, I was growing very tired of the waiting times and crowds at public courses. This is a recurring problem at many public courses in my area - they will not make tee times for singles, and it's very common to wait 1-2 hours for an available slot as a "walk-on". Even If you call ahead of time, the proshop insists on telling you on the phone the course is open, no tournaments, and it's easy to walk-on. LIES!

I went to a local course called "Westridge GC" to walk-on as a single. I was told to standby on the practice green, and they should have an opening in 30-45 minutes. TWO HOURS later, I still never got the call. The Proshop apologized, then immediately sent me to the #10 teebox (the course was starting on #10 that day, which is a long cart ride away from the clubhouse). To add to the confusion, there were no carts available, and I had to wait another 2-3 minutes for a cart. Once I (finally) got to the teebox, the Starter, and all the other golfers waiting to tee off were FUMING at me for my tardiness. There must have been 7-8 golfers all standing around the teebox waiting for me.

I had to explain that the Proshop directed me out there, to pair up with a 3-some on the teebox! Without a warmup, I immediately came under the ball, and put a huge Skymark on my BRAND NEW Titleist 980F 3Wood. The ball popped up high, and only about 50 yards away from the teebox! As you would imagine, the starter, and all the golfers waiting looked at me as if I was a prize idiot.

PRECISELY at that moment, I made the decision to join a Private Golf club. I've never looked back since. Having the ability to make a tee time as a single golfer has changed my golfing life for the better. I'll never go back to Public golf again, if I can help it.

As far as costs - Yes, it's less expensive to play public golf, especially if you can play during the week with coupons and special deals. Unfortunately - my work schedule only allows evening/weekend golf, so I can't do that, and have to suffer with the maddening crowds in my area.

As far as playing the same course - I also previously enjoyed playing multiple courses. However - I do not get bored playing the same course time and again - the teeboxes change, weather conditions are different, tees are moved around, pins/flagsticks vary, and my playing partners are always different. I don't mind it at all, but I do play with public golfer friends about 1 time/month for a little diversity.

I'm with was and colonel... I like the diversity of playing lots of courses. It not only provides variety, but makes you a better golfer. I play one local course to get experience in its high winds, another for its hilly lies, another for its high slope/rating, another for its wildlife, another for its scenery, and another for its low greens fees. The course I play most often has a 10-play card which gets the fees down from $55/round to about $35/round. They also have an annual membership for $2-3k/yr, but I'd feel compelled to play that course too often to get my money's worth if I became a member. Our one and only private club is just too snooty... members seem to enjoy stroking each other's ego. Plus our public courses are just as nice.

Those are some compelling points Sam and while they don't change my opinion I can see why going private works for you.

Man, I feel lucky. All I play is muni's and public courses. I usually am able to walk on as single, or call and get a tee time. There are plenty of courses in my area so crowds are seldom a problem. There are also a nice variety of courses at reasonable prices.

You should all come to New Zealand and drive around the country - apart from the very best courses which charge like $70-100 a round (except Cape Kidnappers which is more expensive) most courses in metro areas don't exceed $30 and when driving around the country many have honesty box donations or go up to about $15-$20.

I don't think there is a cheaper place in the world to play golf - just a shame all the equipment over here is so expensive and there is not enough support in fitting clubs etc.

Why do I spend $2000 a year to be a member of a private club? The answer I gave my wife was :

1. Tee times are a lot easier to get
2.The course is better than 99% of muni's in the area.
3.I get to play with regular friends
4.I can play in regular competitions and matches.

As I play every week it works out at about $40 per round which is similar to the local muni.

It all depends on the availablity in your area and the regularity of your playing time.

I agree, as sooon as i moved to Dallas i joined a private club for:
location to my home
tee times are always available
have met a great group of guys to play with on a reg basis
always a "sporting game going on

samT...
PM me where you joined. I live in Glenn Heights now
maybe we can get together at one of our courses....

I've always been enthralled by the beautiful pictures I've seen of New Zealand and I hope to go one day. The fact that there are excellent golf courses at reasonable prices get make the ideal all the more enjoyable.

The cheapest private club I know of that's within easy driving distance of my house is one I could afford... except that to realize a return on my investment, I'd have to play it about 50 times a year (if I'm remembering my cost-benefit analysis correctly). That's a lot of golf when you live in a place where winter eliminates about half the year. Plus which, it would come at the expense of the variety I enjoy in playing lots of different courses. Maybe when I hit the lottery....

Well around here, there doesnt seem to be such clear course distinction. Most courses you can be a member of, allowing you all the priveleges of a private club (no additional green fees, clubhouse facilities etc.), but at the same time any old Joe can come along, pay his money, and play.

Membership (assuming you can get it - entry is often restricted and money cant necessarily lift that) at a reasonable club will cost you anywhere up towards £1k, somewhat less than it would cost to pay fees every time. As others mentioned, it is very tough to get to play exactly when you want on a course to which you do not belong. In fact you simply cannot play at some times. Another reason why i like the privatish setup is that you get to know people. While I would tend to play with the same people, I know alot of people of all ages as a result of their also playing at the same course.

Over here at, being a club member is just something any serious golfer will try to do.

£1k = $1,763 US... that's very reasonable. Is there an initial entry fee over & above that and are there any additional costs ? I presume that's a yearly fee. I suspected it was much different over there. I haven't really studied it , but I don't think you can get a sniff of a private club around here for anywhere near that and there is generally a 1-time membership fee in addition to yearly dues.

In my area, you can buy what amounts to a season pass at most any public course. I know, at my home course, it runs about $800 for the year, and it's pretty similar at most other courses in the area. Some are a bit less though, and prices are different for seniors and juniors, of course. There are a couple private clubs in the area and I believe their yearly dues are somewhere in the $3000 range, plus requirements to spend a certain amount in the club restaurant each month.

If I were in one place for the entire year rather than back and forth between school and home, more than likely I'd get a season pass....I don't mind playing the same course all the time, and although it's sorta morbid to say it, the courses in my area have been clearing out more and more each year as the older folks pass on and very few younger people move in. Granted, it's still busy at times and you can't show up at any course on a Saturday morning and get in, but I didn't make a tee time once in all the times I played this summer on Wednesdays at 9-10 am, and never really had a problem getting out.

That said, when I do have to pay each time I play, I like variety...which I don't get here at school. Two courses nearby, and a few more within a half hour drive...one long track and the rest are all less than 6000 from the back.