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Private Club Status In Your Area

Private Club Status In Your Area

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LefTe

LefTe

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In the Detroit Metro area private clubs are suffering, losing membership, increasing dues to compensate while lowering initiation fees and offering incentives. I believe that this is common across the nation but is it happening in your area as well?
 
In our area, the Private Clubs for the most part have not changed. A small amount have opened the doors for public play during the summer, but that is about it. Where we are seeing the biggest change is with the Semi-Private clubs. Those that offer memberships or yearly passes and cater to public golfers. NO memberships are being sold whatsoever. The higher end clubs really have not been affected at all.
 
In NC the clubs are limping along with some doing better then others. Deals are out there but the better clubs are still pricey. I don't feel Detroit is a good bell weather for the country as it has the worst set of economic variables in the nation.
 
NoLine said:
I don't feel Detroit is a good bell weather for the country as it has the worst set of economic variables in the nation.
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Point well made we are a little better but still struggling, one other factor is the amount of great courses here that are either semi private, public or muni plus are not that costly to play.
 
When I was 15, my dad drove me to the country club (Green Hills CC San Bruno,CA) down the street from where we lived and got me a job as a Driving Range Ball Boy, Bag Room lackey, and eventually caddie. Probably the best thing my dad has ever done for me, (other than feed me , cloth me, pay for college and everything else). Recently went back and found out the course is practically bankrupt. 8 years ago they comploetly remodeled the club house and restaurant and jacked up the dues. No one can afford to play there anymore.

Heres the kicker that really KILLS me. the course itself? its an allister mckenzie design. The same guy who did augusta national. Its a great course, sitting in the middle of a great golf community, and no one can play it cuz its too expensive to get a membership there. The course NEEDS to become semi private. Thats the only way it can stay afloat. The problem is 30% of the members there are really old and set in their ways. They want that old fashioned "gentleman's club" style. They're all the same skin color too.......
BTW Kids and Woman can't play until after 1pm? WTF!?!?!

Anyways, if Green Hills CC in Nor California ever becomes semi private, I WILL move back to Cali. I spent my teen years working there and it hurts to hear the place is going under.
 
No real change around here. Some seem to suffer, but then others are popping up, and they're even fancier than the others. But many factors are in play...we're having a lot of SoCals (southern Californians) moving here and they often have more high-end tastes, whereas the native Texans are using municipal courses more and more.
 
The semi-private that I play at is hurting right now. Laying off staff, course marshals only working the weekends... but the course is still in really nice shape. It's a newer course, about 7 years old. There's been rumor among the staff that dues/green fees will be raised soon.

Another course I play at, I know the owner, and she says she's barely staying even. I guess people arent golfing as much right now?
 
sacul1573 said:
The semi-private that I play at is hurting right now. Laying off staff, course marshals only working the weekends... but the course is still in really nice shape. It's a newer course, about 7 years old. There's been rumor among the staff that dues/green fees will be raised soon.

Another course I play at, I know the owner, and she says she's barely staying even. I guess people arent golfing as much right now?
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I guess with the economy, people are forced to make a decisions between Golf and Food. I say pack a sandwich. :D
 
Two years ago our private country club went broke and sold out to some private investors, last year they were going broke and sold out to a gentleman who donated it to the junior college here and now it is a public course for all to play.
 
I've heard of one in the area that may close soon, two others are offering deals of just golf memberships or reduced joining fees. One of the newest in the area has already gone semi private offering greens fees in combination with another high end course for $150 to play both. The affordable places to join don't seem to be offering any deals though!!
 
They're struggling here in SE Cheeseland. Many have severely discounted or in some cases eliminated their initiation fee, a couple have given management over to national companies that do that sort of thing, and a couple tied with residential real estate development have really taken it hard. Now's the time to join, but I have trepidation due to general economic conditions.

Kevin
 
One of the country clubs here is a government run facility called "The Arsenal CC" as in the Rock Island Arsenal, as anyone who is familiar with the military probably has heard of/dealt with this installation. Basically its a 100% self sufficient island that is a military installment. They make tanks, weapons, etc. Anyways there is a country club on the island where a ton of rich people and high up brass belong. They are struggling so bad they just opened their doors to the public which I was floored when I heard.

I had played there long ago and it was filled with the biggest self righteous aholes I have ever met, so it must be bad for them to do this.
 
My course is closed on Monday's for corporate outings to help lessen the cost for members.

That being said, the initiation has gone from 15,000 in 2000 to around 2,000 today. Pretty big jump, and it's quite similar to a number of the private courses around here... Most remain private, but the initiation has been rocked.
 
Canadan said:
My course is closed on Monday's for corporate outings to help lessen the cost for members.

That being said, the initiation has gone from 15,000 in 2000 to around 2,000 today. Pretty big jump, and it's quite similar to a number of the private courses around here... Most remain private, but the initiation has been rocked.
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Is that where we are going to be playing? I don't get on private courses very often :)
 
RxGus said:
Is that where we are going to be playing? I don't get on private courses very often :)
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lol yeah man, and the greens are FINALLY getting back to form after being aerated. She's a Palmer design, so mostly wide fairways and tricky situations.
 
Don't know much about the private courses around here since I am not that privileged but the semi private courses are not doing well at all. I hear commercials on sports talk radio for the few that we have here in town doing membership drives and such, but when I go to the courses to play there are "For Sale" signs out front.
That can't be good....
 
Private clubs in SoCal have been negatively impacted by economy - membership is down and initiation fees in general have been lowered. Also more offer types such as play for 2 months with dues only before you need to decide to join or staggered payments for iinitiation fees, etc.
 
I know clubs around here, I think they're hurting as the cost for membership is much cheaper, still not affordable, but is much cheaper!
 
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