Joining a Private Club - What Would You (Should I) Ask?

[SunnyWalker]

You might want to ask about a late summer/fall membership drive. Some clubs offer a no dues until 2022 type thing at some point later in the year.

FWIW, I'm going back to the private club I used to belong to. I don't care that the course can be boring and I know it'll cost me. At least I'll be able to more or less play when I want.

 

[BuffaloPlunger]

You have covered the main issues very well. Be sure to ask for history and dollar amounts of mandatory assessments to members. Good luck!

This! Also may not be a bad idea to ask for some club financials if you’re doing a multi year commitment. It can give you an idea of how much dues will increase on a yearly basis and what the future of the club looks like

 

[Chef23]

Join where you A) have friends and B) really love the course. Without those things, it won’t matter what the answers are to your financial questions….


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I am not sure that having friends is critical if the club has a way to integrate you into the club. I have joined two clubs now where I loved the course and didn’t know many people and met lots of good people. I think you need to love the course, the location needs to be convenient and it fits within your cost requirements. If the club has a men’s club or even just the pro is good at finding you games with like minded golfers then I wouldn’t be concerned about having a lot of friends if the other requirements are met.

 

[links_slayer]

really appreciate everyone's thoughts, suggestions, and advice so far!

 

[captaincaution]

If your wife golfs, make sure to ask when she would be able to golf. Same for the kids.
At our club, you have to define who the "primary" golf member is. Any golfers who aren't the primary can't golf before 10:00 on the weekends. Kids can't play until after 2 on the weekends, which makes a ton of sense.

 

[JB]

I am not sure that having friends is critical if the club has a way to integrate you into the club. I have joined two clubs now where I loved the course and didn’t know many people and met lots of good people. I think you need to love the course, the location needs to be convenient and it fits within your cost requirements. If the club has a men’s club or even just the pro is good at finding you games with like minded golfers then I wouldn’t be concerned about having a lot of friends if the other requirements are met.

This is very true. Most good clubs have a ton of ways to integrate as well as social activities designed for this very reason.

 

[captaincaution]

This is very true. Most good clubs have a ton of ways to integrate as well as social activities designed for this very reason.

I know very few people in town, and moving to a new neighborhood right before everything shut down doesn't help. That's one of the reasons we joined our club. Very easy to meet new people.

 

[sposey013168]

I would want to know how many member families there are? There are various thoughts on how many is too many members where you start having the same issues as playing public courses, i.e., pace of play & difficulty getting tee times.

Number of members does not always tell the story. When I was at Millwood they had 500 good members but almost every member played often. At highland we have 375 golf members and about half of them play regularly. The tee sheet between the 2 is night and day. But if you just look at the number of members it would not seem like a huge difference.
Back to the OP original question I would only ask a couple of things. Do they have member groups that play and welcome new members in (Things like a Friday noon game, Saturday morning game etc) I would ask to see the tee sheet while I am there.
The questions about dues raises a GM can’t answer because he does not know what inflation or drought or things like that could do to dues.

 

[Raiderboost]

Number of members does not always tell the story. When I was at Millwood they had 500 good members but almost every member played often. At highland we have 375 golf members and about half of them play regularly. The tee sheet between the 2 is night and day. But if you just look at the number of members it would not seem like a huge difference.
Back to the OP original question I would only ask a couple of things. Do they have member groups that play and welcome new members in (Things like a Friday noon game, Saturday morning game etc) I would ask to see the tee sheet while I am there.
The questions about dues raises a GM can’t answer because he does not know what inflation or drought or things like that could do to dues.

I think you are right on asking about groups and if they are welcoming. My biggest concern about joining a new club (other than costs) would be the atmosphere and golf with the other members. You may be able to talk to the GM or Pro about it and maybe he can get you in to play a round with one or two of those groups. If they have a member guest tournament he might know of a member who needs a guest and perhaps you could play in that to meet people and see if it's a place you would like.

My club is not the cheapest but nor is the most expensive. It could be in better shape and the service could be better. The thing that we have going for us though is the members at the club. @H8tobogie can attest to this as he played with me this weekend in our 2 day member guest tournament. He said in one weekend he felt like he meet more people that he would like to hangout and play golf with than he has in a year at his current club.

 

[McLovin]

i don't have a problem with your list. like @GolfTravelDude said, it may not be well-received by the membership director. it may be a better use of everyone's time if you schedule a time to talk to the director and tell him what you're looking for. the type of members. the social aspects you're interested in. what about the golf is most important to you. things like that. i was a member of a club for about 6 months last year, and dropped because it basically didn't check any of the boxes i wanted it to. in hindsight, that's on me for not doing my homework beforehand.

 

[JayB]

I know very few people in town, and moving to a new neighborhood right before everything shut down doesn't help. That's one of the reasons we joined our club. Very easy to meet new people.

Most private clubs (at least in my area) require you to have sponsors and letter writers who you have existing relationships with. I would inquire as to the process. Without having contacts at the club, you may find the application process drawn out or even a non-starter.

Good luck. Hope you find a good setup that gets you the golf access you want.


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[JB]

Most private clubs (at least in my area) require you to have sponsors and letter writers who you have existing relationships with. I would inquire as to the process. Without having contacts at the club, you may find the application process drawn out or even a non-starter.

Good luck. Hope you find a good setup that gets you the golf access you want.


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I honestly don't think that is the case. Not for "most" anyway. There are some courses that do need an invite or "sponsor" but many facilities do not. A good example of that would be Club Corp, the largest selection of private golf clubs does not need that nearly across the board.

 

[captaincaution]

Most private clubs (at least in my area) require you to have sponsors and letter writers who you have existing relationships with. I would inquire as to the process. Without having contacts at the club, you may find the application process drawn out or even a non-starter.

Good luck. Hope you find a good setup that gets you the golf access you want.


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Even if you don't know anyone at the club, the membership director can usually help get you in touch with members who would be able to sponsor your membership.

Each club is different. Our club has one owner, and so it operates differently than the equity clubs in town. And that was actually a positive for us.