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Membership vs Playing Different Courses

Membership vs Playing Different Courses

  • Membership

    Votes: 21 32.3%

  • Pay as I Play

    Votes: 40 61.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 4 6.2%
  • Total voters
    65
MSB256

MSB256

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Hey guys and gals,

This is a simple question. Do you have a membership to a golf course or do you play different courses and pay each time you play?

After you answer, tell us what you'll do in 2011 and why?
If you're a country club member, what do you love about that? If you're not, are you opposed to it?

What about public course memberships?

And one last thing, if you have a second and don't mind, you could cast your two cents into my decision for what I'll do in 2011. My options are below.

To me, it comes down to possibly saving money because joining a course is kind of like buying in "bulk" as long as you play enough to get your moneys worth. But, if I pay a lot for a membership I won't want to play elsewhere, so you might lack variety.

I'm considering three options for 2011.

Join Public Course
One solution to the variety thing is a membership I purchased at a prorated rate this year to a public course. But, this year (2011) I'll have to pay the full price. This course is about a 25 to 30 minute drive for me. It's $600 for the entire year, walking. $12 for a cart each time. Plus, you get to play 4 or 5 other area courses once a month at just the cost of the cart.

Join Country Club
By no means do I really have the money for this, but in the long run, it could balance out. A Junior Membership last I checked was $500, plus it's $150 a month. So a year would be $2,300. Now, obviously it's much more than the public membership, but it's literally 2 minutes away. I'd save on gas plus I think the cart is included with playing. Plus the wife would get access to the pool and I could possibly meet people who need marketing help - so the social aspect is there. The downside is I'd only play this course. Oh and free driving range I think.

Pay as you Play Public Route
Self explanatory. Although with this route, I don't think I could play as much as if I joined one of the other two options. Most places around here are in the 30 to 40 dollar range if you use a cart. $22 to walk the joinable public course mention up top. I think this route is the more expensive route but it allows for variety.
 
I've got a membership. I get to play a lot of good courses in good condition since I'm a tour professional and I don't pay many greenfees since I'm a PGA member.
 
I don't think I played a dozen rounds last year. And those were at six different courses. I never know when I'll be able to play so I pay as I go.
 
I think it depends on a lot several things. Price vs amount of rounds etc. My wife and I pay about $1100 for a membersip to a semi private club. Between the both of us, we get about 100 rounds in at the club. Many times we will stop after work and play 18 holes in 2 1/2 hours. We also spend time practicing on the course without anyone bothering us. So there are several non recorded practice rounds. There is no way we could play and practice that much at a public course. Because of all of the practice we get in, we have a better games to enjoy the outside courses. At the end of the year I had 100 rounds and she had 50 rounds on our GHIN card.

Good luck on your decision. :friends:
 
I personally am a member of a muni. I pay a yearly fee and walk for free and pay approximately $11 each time I ride so it is very inexpensive for me. I play at this course 2 to 3 times a week and play at least 50 rounds a other courses also. Usually in a tournament or through Golfnow.com. If you don't play many rounds a year, golfnow.com is a great option to get to play different courses and save a good bit of money over the regular rates. I sometimes find "rsort" style courses for under $45 and sometimes under $30. I find many area courses under $20 so it is an easy way to play many area courses at a savings.
So my advise is to join an inexpensive muni and supplement this with golfnow.com.
Hit 'em straight.
 
I really like the public course route - that way you get to play as much as you want but don't feel "stuck" at the course - or guilty about playing other courses when friends call you up for a round out of town. I'm in a similar situation where I'm a member at a public course ($600 a year unlimited) in the next town over - when at the same time there is a country club about 2 min from my house. BUT the price is more than double that of the public course. This way - I play as much as I want at the muni AND still get to play other courses with friends who don't have memberships without breaking the bank. I think its the best of both worlds.
 
I'm a member at a public course and it pays for itself if you play more than 4 times per month. The staff treats you just a little better, I think. My course has three seperate 9 hole courses which makes it play different most of the time. Though, I still play other courses in the area and that breaks up the boredom of playing the home course. My membership also includes range balls $18 a day worth...so just being able to go over and hit balls for free each day if I wanted to makes it worth while. I'll be joining again as member this year...no doubt.
 
So...you made me go and look at my rounds this past year. (especially since we live in the same town...)
I did the pay as you go route:
24 rounds
16 different courses
Avg. $35.75/round (75% with cart)
~~$860 on green fees/cart

I kind of like the Public Course idea that lets you play others during the month as I am all about variety.
I would like to know where that one is at. (Colonial?? Point Mallard??)

I think my constraint is I can only play 24-26 rounds per year.
I think most membership players can play at least twice that

bama
 
I was a member of a country club for about 10 years. I found playing the same course over and over again to become boring and predictable. I could almost tell you where my drive was bound to go on each of the 18 holes. Now, as a non-member, I split my time between 3 different courses and find that the variety keeps me refreshed and challenged.
 
I'm a member at a muni, I actually live in the course subdivision off the 14th green. They had two levels of membership, a full membership for around $1200. The second is the one I have, they call it The "Practice and Play" membership. For $360 I get unlimited range balls and practice facility use and twilight rounds for cart fee only ($16). Range balls are normally $5/ bucket so it paid fir itself pretty fast. Membership also gets you discounts at the clubhouse restaurant and pro shop.
I did play three other courses last year.
 
I'm a member at a public course. I play 200+ rounds a year so a membership is a must. I have played at my home course for thirty+ years and I don't see myself ever switching.
 
If you are looking to save money, the muni membership is probably the best choice (assuming you play enough). To me, the country club sounds great, plus your family can enjoy the benefits. If you can swing it, that sounds awesome. You're getting more than golf out of it. I doubt you'd get too tired of one course in a year.
 
I'm a member at a private club and the decision is solely due to access and proximity. I can play early on the weekends at a fast pace of play and since the clubhouse is 3 minutes from my garage (by car) the time I spend traveling to/from the course is not a negative. I travel all week for work so fitting as much into the weekend as I can is important.
 
I move around a lot, so usually it makes no sense for me to join up. I will buy packages though. I just bought a 15 round card at a little place here which basically gives me 2 rounds free. I just can't commit to more than that.

BUT if I was living some place for more than a few years, I would probably buy a membership. I would make sure you can play at times when its not so busy if you are getting the muni membership. Muni's are usually much better on say a Wednesday morning, then on a Saturday. The country club is the best choice- if it won't break your budget......
 
Timely thread. My wife and I were just discussing what I was going to do for the 2011 season. 2010 was a pay as you go but 2011 I am joining a club on a limited membership, M-F play anytime, weekend and holidays after twilight. The reduced cost will still allow me to play other places.
 
I've only been back to the game for a couple years, but I joined a small public course two years ago, (next town over) and enjoyed it. I did not renew last year because I wanted to play a lot of courses and not feel like I had to get my moneys worth from just one. Jury is still out for this year, but guessing I'll join the local muni here. I met a lot of the members last year and they keep after me to join for men's league, so might as well.
 
I don't get enough rounds in to make it worth it for me to join anywhere. So I'll continue to pay as we go, at least for now.
 
I'll be pay as I play this year again, based on the amount I played last year it just isn't worth it for me to pay for a membership anywhere. If I was still playing 3x's a week I wouldn't hesitate to buy a membership somewhere though.
 
Way too many options in our area and I don't play enough to make it worth the price of membership. I will buy pre sold rounds if it's a good deal. I think in other threads JB has been saying that it all depends on what you're really looking for. Save money, perks, and lifestyle all come into play.
 
bama said:
So...you made me go and look at my rounds this past year. (especially since we live in the same town...)
I did the pay as you go route:
24 rounds
16 different courses
Avg. $35.75/round (75% with cart)
~~$860 on green fees/cart

I kind of like the Public Course idea that lets you play others during the month as I am all about variety.
I would like to know where that one is at. (Colonial?? Point Mallard??)

I think my constraint is I can only play 24-26 rounds per year.
I think most membership players can play at least twice that

bama
Click to expand...

Hey Bama,

Yep, the public course is Point Mallard. It's $600 and you can play any day of the week walking. $12 for the cart. You can also play 5 other courses once a month at just the price of the cart. Those courses are Cullman, Goose Pond, Gunter's Landing, Cypress Lakes, and Southern Gayles. Were any of those in the 16 courses you played?

If you just walked at Point Mallard it'd be $22 - multiply by playing 24 times and that's $528. So you're almost there anyway. Plus you'll probably pay more than $22 sometimes. But again, the thing is variety and do those other 5 courses make up for that enough or would you feel "stuck" at Point Mallard?

Let me know what you decide to do.

I need to make a decision so that I can get the full year, but if you've never joined Point Mallard before they will let you prorate the membership depending of course on when you join. So for example if I join in March it's still $600 but won't be that much for you in March.

Oh and the Country Club is Huntsville Country Club. Although that's probably a stretch. More money, less variety, but much closer.
 
Looks like we don't have that many Country Club folks here? You would think some might enjoy the social perks and such of a Country Club.
 
A couple of advantages to membership at the private club that I have not seen mentioned:

1. You can probably play a few holes before/after work and not feel like you have to play 18 or even 9 holes.

2. You can probably compete in weekly leagues and/or tournaments which I have found to add to my enjoyment.

The ability to play a couple of holes at no additional cost and tha availability of a practice facility would be very important to me.
 
MSB256 said:
Looks like we don't have that many Country Club folks here? You would think some might enjoy the social perks and such of a Country Club.
Click to expand...

I think are quite a few CC'ers here but it is New Year's Day, give it some time.

Me, I'm currently a pay as you go but if one of the many public munis around me had a membership plan, I would sign up. I have a couple of discounted plans where you get discounted greens fees but no unlimited play. There are some semi-private courses with those types of membership but the location would make it tough to maximize the benefits.

And if I had a wife and kids, I would definitely look into the country club route.
 
MSB256 said:
Looks like we don't have that many Country Club folks here? You would think some might enjoy the social perks and such of a Country Club.
Click to expand...

Its new years day, but there are many CC folks here. It comes down to what someone wants. If they are joining a course in the hopes of saving money, its not worth it, it never is, and it usually does not add up.

But the CC offers far more than just greens fees. There is a social aspect that many love including myself and GG. You also have the different people and games that are built right in. Its about what someone wants. If you want just golf, dont join. If you want a golf lifestyle, joining a club is the best way to do it.
 
for now it's pay to play, but ask me again after i hit the 290Mil megamillions jackpot Tuesday night.
 
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