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Ok any advice on joing a CC or a course membership? Things to look for and prices if it saves you money or not. My home course is Twining Valley and they are pretty close and i recently purchased 5 rounds w/ cart for $125 and they can be used at anytime, is that pretty good? They also offer a reduced greens fee membership for $99 and it dramatically drops the price down from say on a weeknd morning w/ cart is usually $40 and with the membership it is only $25.....

Any advice!!!

Trying to save money and play more at the same time!!!

That sounds like a gr8 deal man! Green fees in SoCal are overwhelming, unless you play a muni. I would jump all over those rates. I am planning on joining a men's league at a local course. FYI: They want $100 for the year, no discount in green fees, preferential tee times though.

hey that sounds pretty good too......i am no where near ready to join a league, once i start breaking 100 on a consistent basis and can hit my woods and driver then maybe, i would love that, i miss competition, use to play a lot of sports in high school at a very big State Championship school so competition is in my blood.......

I've never played in PA but I assume it must be beautiful..I think Arnold Palmer has a course in that state..Latrobe.

yeah it is out west more i beleive, i played his course in Phoenix and man it was beautiful, i got lucky cause when i was playing with my old clubs i couldnt get too much loft on my irons but the ground is so hard out there iwas getting great rolls.....great course, firts birdie was there too......

yeah PA is nice, lots of trees on the course though!!!

That's a NO BRAINER for you. I have a much HARDER dilema - can anybody help me??

Help me decide on which Private club to join....

You may have seen my previous posts on my frustrations with playing single/public golf, and my search for a private club. As you know, I'm concerned about playing & practicing a LOT, and I want TEE TIME availability, to get on the course, and play at my own pace without hassle.

I'm definitely going private, it's a matter of which one. I've researched the list to three clubs in the area. Here are the pros/cons to each one:

Club #1 Thorntree CC, DeSoto TX
http://www.americangolf.com/detail-p...urseidlist=257

* Clubhouse - A full "country club" with a nice clubhouse, wonderful dining area, tennis, swimming. In good condition, but it's not new.
* Location - Very close to work (~20 mins), but over 50 minute drive from home. I have a bad feeling that the super-long drive home would eventually bother me. This course is located south of Dallas, while I live in the VERY far North Dallas suburbs.
* Course - Very difficult golf course. Tough greens, and a lot of slope, that requires accurate shotmaking. Some houses on the course, but not too bad.
* Driving range - is GOOD. Nice markers, and over 250+ yards.
* Variables - This club is like a little Oasis in the middle of a very bad neighborhood. While the club area is nice, I'm not sure I want to be in the vicinity at night. Also - I know a member there, who is a very, very good golfer (3 hdcp, I believe) that works in my building - it will be nice to know someone, but I'm not sure how much we'd play together, considering he's a MUCH better golfer than me. He also plays VERY fast, while I play slow.
* Costs - Initiation fee is only $100 with a voucher from the member I know. Monthly dues are the same for all 3 clubs.
* Summary - I'd join this club in a heartbeat if it wasn't so #$@#$ far from home.


Club #2 Great Southwest CC, Grand Priarie, TX
http://www.americangolf.com/detail-p...urseidlist=174

* Clubhouse - A "golf only" club, but the clubhouse is sub-par and older. It's clean and presentable, but is not the most modern place on earth.
* Location - Medium distance from both work at home (~25 minutes). The surrounding area is near the baseball stadium, SIxFlags, and in a good area that I like.
* Course - Easy golf course, but it's beautiful, with virtually no homes around to look at. Feels like a secluded wooded area. I had a great round the only time I've played there.
* Driving range - Terrible. Only 200 yards long, and not the greatest chipping/sand area. The membership director has suggested they are purchasing some nearby land to expand the range later this year/next year.
* Variables - The rumour on the street is that this club is VERY cliquish, and there are many established members who play/talk/eat together. Outsiders are accepted, but it's not easy to break into the groups. No matter, as I play as a single most of the time anyhow.
* Costs - Initiation fee is waived on a ongoing promotion. Monthly dues are the same for all 3 clubs.
* Summary - This club is #1 on my list due to the good location, waived initiation, and proximity to both work and home. I think I could live with the cliquish members, as I play most of my golf alone anyhow.

Club #3 Eldorado CC, McKinney, TX
http://www.americangolf.com/detail-p...urseidlist=170

* Clubhouse - NEW, and SCHWEEEET! This is a spectacular country club, with all-new facilities, tennis, swimming, and a wonderful clubhouse. The rumour is that the old clubhouse was awful, and that a handful of members burned it down in the efforts to get a new clubhouse. They have a full weight room, fitness area, day-care, and at least 3 different dining facilities. This is one spectacular facility, and I LOVE IT!
* Location - A LONG way from work (50 minutes), and medium to home (~30 minutes). The surrounding area is a very upscale neighborhood, but there is a LOT of construction and traffic on the main road towards my home (Hwy 121), and the road towards work (US-75/Central).
* Course - I did not get a chance to play (rain), but I"m told the course is fairly easy and somewhat unexciting.
* Driving range - Looks nice, with room to hit Driver, and a nice-looking putting green.
* Variables - The people seem very, very nice, and everyone I met seemed to enjoy themselves tremendously.
* Costs - Initiation fee is $5K, which is more than I want to spend/avoid. I may be able to get them down to $2.5K, as the director mentioned a promotino they had earlier this year. Monthly dues are the same for all 3 clubs.
* Summary - If the initiation was lower/waived, and it was closer to work, this would be the obvious choice. I have not played the couse yet, which is an unknown variable, but the facility is absolutely TOP notch.


Here are some other factors that I need to consider:

* My MOM - she's very arthitic, and doesn't move around well. But....a full "country club" would allow her to relax, eat, and enjoy the pool, and we could hang out there after I'm done with golf. I would LOVE it if my Mom would come with me to the club, and we could spend all day there on the weekends. Unfortunately, my Mom is also not the most accepting person to meet new people (antisocial), and I have a strong feeling she would NOT blend in with other members/wives/mothers/retirees at a full "country club". For this reason, I may belong better at a "golf-only" club, rather than a full "country club".

* MY social aspect - I'm OK with meeting new people, but frankly, I want to golf, practice, and have a place to shower afterward. I'm not really into the "fun" events, but it would be nice to have a place with nice people to meet and have other interests.

* KIDS. I'm not a fan of children, and I don't want to encounter them on the golf course. The full "country clubs" will obviously have junior golfers there, and the clubhous (might) be infiltrated with families, teenagers and children on the weekends. And.......all 3 clubs allow some local high schools to practice/play at the course, but they high schoolers are instructed to "yield" to the members while on the course. OTOH - most of the kids may be at the pool, while I'm on the range or on the course.

So....can anyone help me with my decision? What are the most important factors to you, when you choose a club? Distance seems to be the biggest problem to me right now - I need somewhere relatively close to both work and home, without driving a preposterous distance around the D/FW "Metromess". I sincerely appreciate any help you can give me, or other factors I should consider.

If you'd like to email me privately on one of these clubs, please drop me a note at storrez2@ev1.net

wow they all look nice!!!

Ok, here's the best bargain in the country.

There's a course called Spring Valley Country Club, located in northern iowa. It has watered fairways, good length, bunkers, water,trees, excellent greens with speed, flowers, wonderfully manicured, and very affordable.

A family can join the club for a year, which includes all the golf you want to play, plus cartshed for around 500. to 600./yr.

If you get a chance, look it up on-line.

Stagday:)

Don't worry about what you shoot. Leagues handicap you so you will be semi-competitive with the group you play with. Most leagues, help me here fellas, have two or three tiers in their rankings. In the league I play in, there is group 1, your 0-9 handicaps, and group 2, the 10+ guys. The golfers in my league are out here to play golf and have fun. If there is a little competition thrown in, fine but it isn't the end all of everything. Contact a league, talk to the administrators and let them know what you are looking for and what you expect from a league. You will probably find that they want you to have fun, improve your game, and meet some new people. Good luck.

jayt0625: The deal you described in the first post in this thread sounds like a can't-miss proposition. Maybe try that for a year or two, see how it works out, and then reconsider the CC option. During that time, you can continue investigating CCs in your area. There are a lot of variables to sort out (SamT has done a good job of identifying them). It sounds as if you want the same thing I want: inexpensive golf, with some competition thrown in too, with socializing being a lower priority. I've been able to get that by joining a men's league at a good-enough muni near my house. Because they don't have events every weekend, I'm able to use non-league weekends to play other courses and get some variety that way. If I were a CC member (cheapest one near me costs $3500 initiation fee, plus there are other charges per month, such as eating in the dining room and buying stuff in pro shop), I'd feel locked into playing the CC course all of the time, depriving me of variety in courses played. Also, a CC membership (again, in my area) would mean I'd be paying for the upkeep of things I don't care about (pool, tennis courts). Anyway, it's a personal decision. Take your time and figure out what's best for you.

SamT: Now in your case, it seems as if the CC route is something that's best for you. I didn't visit the websites; I'll just give you some top-of-my-head thoughts, for whatever they may be worth.

Thorntree: Yeah, that long drive between course and home would concern me, too. It might a disincentive to going and could therefore prevent you from deriving full value from your membership. Tough course: another disincentive to regular play, perhaps. When I considered joining the "cheap" CC I mentioned in my response to jayt0625, I went and played it 3 times (just called the clubhouse and said, "I might join; can I play a few rounds?"). Great course but too tough for me. Didn't want to get beat up on a regular basis. Potentially bad neighborhood at night? Yikes. Well, I guess I just didn't hear enough positive stuff to offset the negatives. Again, JMO.

Great Southwest: "Golf only" sounds great to me, because that's all I'd want. Good commute there from either work or home. A beautiful course that's easy?! Man, could I come down there and play it with you?! OK so the range isn't the greatest. But it's long enough to practice those approach shots and short game (the scoring shots). I could live with that. I could live with the cliquish-ness, too. Probably you'd make at least a couple of friends, which is all I'd need, anyway. This one gets my vote.

Eldorado: Sounds like a great place, but would be too much club for me. I just wouldn't have the time to derive full value from it. (Now if I were retired, that would be a different story.) The course itself is the great unknown for you at this point; try to play it a few times. And then ask yourself: For the initiation fees and the monthly dues, would I feel obligated to play ALL of my golf here, and if so, is this a course that I would want to play over and over again, to the virtual exclusion of all others? If the people are as good as you say they are (which seems plausible), then this could easily become your #1 choice. It would mean that golf would become something different in your life: a means of socializing, friendship-building, etc., which certainly does have its appeal. You need more data. Play the course a few times, with different members, if possible. See if they're the kind of people you'd enjoy being with.

Other variables:
--Your mom. Very kind of you to be thinking of her, but I suspect your concerns about her blending in are valid, especially during the time that she's by herself while you're out on the course.
--Your own social needs. You sound like me. Not a high priority, i.e., currently have adequate network of people (but then I'm an introvert; Golf Rewind is perfect for me!)

Thanks for putting down all junior golfers. As a junior myself, I am very angry at your comments. :mad:

There is nothing wrong with young golfers learning the game. As long as kids can keep the pace and pick up the ball after so many shots, there is nothing wrong with their presence out on the course.

Anyway, since I live in the Philadelphia, I can reccomend some good, cheap, private clubs.

Waynsborough - Good for beginners and cheap as well ($3,500 initiation fee). No exclusionary club here. People of all races and religions are present at this club.

Melrose - Good for beginners as well and as far as I hear, it isn't too expensive. It is mixed in membership too, so you don't have to be a WASP, Catholic, Jew, or any other race or religion.

I'm a junior too, but I have to agree with SamT...I don't mind teenagers on the course, provided they play quickly. But KIDS (in my own experience...PROVE ME WRONG, KIDS OUT THERE! lol) are the slowest players I've seen. They can never keep up, they drive it less than 100 yards, they take 10 minutes on each green, and just hold me up. Again, I'm sorry for generalizing, but it's true.

It depends how good the kid is. If the kid (or anyone for that matter) is just beginning at golf, then sure. He or she should only play during the off hours.

However, if the kid is an experienced golfer, than he or she should be able to play whenever.

Golf privelages should be based on ability. NOT age.

When you have young children on the course, the older golfers should use the opertunity to encourage them, and help teach the youngsters ettiquite. I started as a kid and had a very positive experience. By the way, the term "Older Golfers" extends to teenagers too.:)

I understand one shouldn't discriminate upon age, but in a way I'm not. Without fail, the continuous trend for kids has been for them to be as I described above. It may sound like I'm unfairly criticizing kids, but I'm just going from experience here. Like I said, without fail, kids have been playing like I just described.