Interesting Concept for Private Courses

[ArmyGolf]

Not sure if I've chimed in on this one yet, but I'll put my hand up and say that I dream of joining an exclusive, private club. Maybe I'm an elitist scumbag but the golfing public that we need to navigate has a lot of bad eggs, and the pure hassle of getting a tee time that works for us is enough to ruin my enjoyment of the game.
I took 4 weeks off this year just because I was sick of the grind to get tee times.

 

[wubears71]

Not sure if I've chimed in on this one yet, but I'll put my hand up and say that I dream of joining an exclusive, private club. Maybe I'm an elitist scumbag but the golfing public that we need to navigate has a lot of bad eggs, and the pure hassle of getting a tee time that works for us is enough to ruin my enjoyment of the game.
I took 4 weeks off this year just because I was sick of the grind to get tee times.

Nope. Not at all. I still have a season pass at my home public course but never play it anymore. The grind of getting a tee time (even as a pass holder) coupled with the 5+ hour rounds and all the yahoos that never heard of ready golf or golf etiquette made going back to private so worth it. It was the 5+ hour rounds after covid that finally did it. i use to work around the busy times and all was good, but now, it’s always busy.

it’s been nice going from a course where 200+ golfers/day was the norm to a Course where 100 golfers is considered a busy day. We value or time too much at the private course to play long rounds.

 

[Hoganman1]

Not sure if I've chimed in on this one yet, but I'll put my hand up and say that I dream of joining an exclusive, private club. Maybe I'm an elitist scumbag but the golfing public that we need to navigate has a lot of bad eggs, and the pure hassle of getting a tee time that works for us is enough to ruin my enjoyment of the game.
I took 4 weeks off this year just because I was sick of the grind to get tee times.

I don't think you're an elitist scumbag. Obviously, you enjoy playing and like most serious golfers you're tired of having to deal with the
beer busts in golf carts that can happen on public courses. As a friend of mine who owned a great bar once said, "the problem with a public place is sooner or later the public shows up!" Here's hoping you can find a private or semi-private club that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to join.

 

[MrBlast]

A private club with unconditional public access is not a private club. There are plenty of clubs in USA that have tried the 'semi-private' model. They essentially become public courses. There's no real in between.

They aren't charging the non-members enough money. The motivation for a private club to do this would be to increase membership. Charge a fairly large amount to play and it won't be as "public" as you'd think. 6X more than the local munis, would probably be enough to keep it private, with a few new faces here and there.

 

[Chef23]

They aren't charging the non-members enough money. The motivation for a private club to do this would be to increase membership. Charge a fairly large amount to play and it won't be as "public" as you'd think. 6X more than the local munis, would probably be enough to keep it private, with a few new faces here and there.

In my area most of the private courses don't need to increase membership. Memberships are full and there are waiting lists.

 

[wubears71]

In my area most of the private courses don't need to increase membership. Memberships are full and there are waiting lists.

That’s how it is here in St. Louis. Some are too full - the for profit ones. The owners set the limits too high and now they are as busy on the golf course as many public courses.

 

[MrBlast]

In my area most of the private courses don't need to increase membership. Memberships are full and there are waiting lists.

Well, there would be zero incentive to open it up to the public in that case.

 

[MrBlast]

That’s how it is here in St. Louis. Some are too full - the for profit ones. The owners set the limits too high and now they are as busy on the golf course as many public courses.

This is when you increase the dues until it works itself out.

 

[bozack]

It's amazing, but golf participation has exploded recently. Getting tee times at my club has become much more difficult. I was in Florida last week and was able to play at some semi-private clubs, but they were packed with players. I think there are still many people "working from home" or not working at all and golf has been fairly safe during COVID. Also, golf is still recovering from the Great Recession of 2008. Many courses closed and very few new public courses have been built in recent years. We are starting to see some super exclusive projects pop up, but who knows if there will be a surge of new layouts like we saw in the 90s. I can think of four or five courses here in Charlotte that have closed in the last decade and I know of three in Florida where we often visit. If participation continues to grow rapidly maybe new course construction will follow. Meanwhile, if one can afford the cost and is willing to wait, joining a private club is probably the best option.

I will be curious to see if this lasts and demand stays high, I was told about the downturn in golf with clubs basically begging for membership but unfortunately came into the sport well after that, and with all of the talk of the economy it is interesting to see these clubs which require 20K at least just to get in the door being at capacity and or with wait lists

Around here real estate is tight and a number of clubs are closing down their pools or shortening their courses to develop housing

As for me I am still thinking of just doing the limited membership even though it is expensive for just two rounds a month with having to pay greens fees, as the course is nice, I get to use their clubhouse which is new, and if I want to get on the list for the golf membership I am already a member there

 

[wubears71]

I will be curious to see if this lasts and demand stays high, I was told about the downturn in golf with clubs basically begging for membership but unfortunately came into the sport well after that, and with all of the talk of the economy it is interesting to see these clubs which require 20K at least just to get in the door being at capacity and or with wait lists

Around here real estate is tight and a number of clubs are closing down their pools or shortening their courses to develop housing

As for me I am still thinking of just doing the limited membership even though it is expensive for just two rounds a month with having to pay greens fees, as the course is nice, I get to use their clubhouse which is new, and if I want to get on the list for the golf membership I am already a member there

There are wait lists for clubs with 6 figure initiation fees here. A decade ago these same clubs were getting very creative in finding ways to allow members to pay the fee over time. Now it’s write a check for $100k or don’t bother.

 

[bozack]

There are wait lists for clubs with 6 figure initiation fees here. A decade ago these same clubs were getting very creative in finding ways to allow members to pay the fee over time. Now it’s write a check for $100k or don’t bother.

yeah one small 9 hole here said they are closed to any tier of membership, and the other private clubs all have years long waiting lists, they do have all those reports saying the income gap is growing so guess it aligns with high end club membership growth.

I am not even sure what some of the clubs around here that are old money cost to join, I am sure it is in the stratosphere

 

[RayG]

Quite a few near my Dad's place in Florida turned to the "Member for a Day" scenario during non peak times. this was during the downturn back around 2008(?). They had been super private previously. AFTER they were "public" for a time to sell memberships. Buying a house on property didn't guarantee any access to the course, either. You still had to pony up for the Membership. I managed to get on a few, but the experience was anything but welcoming. Treated me like I was going to steal everything after chopping up their precious weed filled fairways and bumpy greens.
It comes down to economics. plain and simple. If the course is going under, the membership has to decide whether to open up to limited outside play to keep the place open or lose everything and sell out to a developer who will build god awful McMansions or cram 1000 units of Condo's into the space.

 

[cmon man]

For those commenting on elitist attitudes because of the financial barrier to joining a private club; would you pay a very high green fee to play a round at that same course? Are you not then elitist since there are large numbers of golfers that cannot afford the high price that you would pay? In fact isn't even paying for a toll road, when a segment of society cannot afford a toll elitist under the same logic? I think that people joining a private club do so for a defined benefit, just as some choose to buy a house based on the school district or other amenities. Changing that characteristic reduces the value to many participants, and in the long run there must be some sort of readjustment in cost if benefits are reduced. Even St. Andrews has resorted to dramatically increasing greens fees in order to ration scarce tee times.