How can some states have such cheap memberships?

[JohnnyBlueCup]

I know the Raleigh Durham area has a membership that includes FOUR different courses within about a 30 mile radius for about $3,060, that INCLUDES a cart.

As others are saying, supply and demand is key here. Raleigh and the surrounding areas have tons of golf, and publicly accessible golf at that. The membership you reference is for semi-private courses that don't really restrict tee times from the public and are extremely average courses at best. One of them is a goat track.

Even with that price, you still have to play/practice a lot to get your money back. It's basically just prepaying for your rounds each month. With so many other quality courses around, it's hard to justify putting all your eggs into one basket when you could pay roughly the same each month and play wherever you want.

Private courses are a different animal. You're not making your money back in a physical sense. You pay for the intangibles. The fully private courses in the Raleigh/Durham area are as expensive as most places outside of a few. Several clubs within 20 miles with six figure initiation fees.

It always just comes down to how many courses are in a given area, and the number/variety of golfers interesting in playing them.

 

[LIMEY13]

2300 is a steal dude - I am jealous

Some northern courses are seemingly cheaper due to only being open half of the year.

 

[mulegolf]

If memberships were $3000 around here, I wouldn't have one. As much as I love golf I just couldn't pay that much. I think the most expensive membership around here is around half of that. I pay $705 for a single membership that allows me to use my own cart on the course. Granted, it's just a 9 hole course but it's not terrible. Most of the courses around here are just 9 holes. The population of the towns around here can't support 18 hole courses. The largest towns (2) within an hour of here have a population
of between 13,000 and 14,000. There are only three 18 hole courses within an hour of me.

 

[mantan]

As others are saying, supply and demand is key here. Raleigh and the surrounding areas have tons of golf, and publicly accessible golf at that. The membership you reference is for semi-private courses that don't really restrict tee times from the public and are extremely average courses at best. One of them is a goat track.

Even with that price, you still have to play/practice a lot to get your money back. It's basically just prepaying for your rounds each month. With so many other quality courses around, it's hard to justify putting all your eggs into one basket when you could pay roughly the same each month and play wherever you want.

Private courses are a different animal. You're not making your money back in a physical sense. You pay for the intangibles. The fully private courses in the Raleigh/Durham area are as expensive as most places outside of a few. Several clubs within 20 miles with six figure initiation fees.

It always just comes down to how many courses are in a given area, and the number/variety of golfers interesting in playing them.

Agree that overall supply and how it stacks up to current demand is still a huge factor.

I was back in San Antonio for the WWGC and the following week to visit my mom. Despite having a great climate, the supply of good public golf courses is surprisingly low for a metro area with 2.5 million people.

The result is you'll pay $100+ for a weekday round at one of the decent tracks there. It's easily 60-70% more expensive to golf there than pre-covid. Sure the private clubs have gone up in tandem.

 

[GolfFest]

$76 dollars a month at my city course. It is for Monday-Friday walking. Feels like a steal.

Private course close by is $40k to join then $700 a month.

 

[Triple Lindy]

the one I keep trying to decide whether to join near me is 1600 for the year without carts. It's a muni but one of the best kept secrets in the area. Problem is I walk it for 14$ at twilight (ride for only 32). It would take 110+ rounds to break even and with my current work schedule I can't come anywhere close to that.

I’m surprised at how few people do the math. I can join my home course, which is one of the higher rated courses open to the public, with an annual senior rate of $1750 for a 5 day membership. Walking or riding costs $18/round. There are 2 sister courses included, both of which are great, but 1 is an hour’s drive away, and the fee on those is $21. Without a membership, the senior rate is $49, including cart and range balls, and there’s often a special for $39 that adds a beer. Assuming I never get the $39 special, I’d have to play around 60 rounds just to break even. Now that doesn’t include free range access, which costs around $40 for a day’s unlimited access without the membership. It’s a great facility and I do use it from time to time, but opt for the daily fee. I have a great setup in my backyard with a Spornia net and an MLM2, so I don’t need the range to hit balls. Cost of the net+MLM2 was less than 1 year’s range only membership.

I’m retired and I still couldn’t find the time to play more than once a week for a full year. Yes, there are weeks that I’ll play 3x, but there are also months with no play at all. Plus, we have so many great courses around, including some munis that cost around $20, I’d hate to feel obliged to play the same 1 or 2 courses over and over. I’ve played both my home course and the nearby sister course over the past 2 weeks on the $39 rate. Love both of them, but am now eager to get out to some other tracks.

 

[CTRosarian]

Someone at my home course said they played 268 9-hole rounds that year and there was still some warm weather left!

 

[Slowmo]

I really want a course like my dad retired to. he payed like 750 for the year for unlimited golf and like 300 for a trail fee to use his own cart.