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Public vs. Private - Would You Join A Club?

dduarte85

dduarte85

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As my game has improved and my desire to play more has steadily grown I’ve come to a cross roads in life. After reviewing the numbers I’m on pace to spend about 3,000 this year on green fees. The reality is that I’d love to play or practice every day to some degree. Paying green fees prohibits this, simply too expensive.

Im torn between the safety of paying for a years pass at a local public track, Shaker Hills in Harvard, MA vs joining Vesper Country Club, an old Donald Ross track from the late 1800’s that is fully private. I’m 33 so I can take advantage of a serious discount as a young professional. That club would carry a 1500 initiation and 5k in dues. That’s a little high in my budget but I could make it work. The issue is that the club is member owned and why it’s a great club I’m fearful of something going wrong and then I’ll be asked to foot an increased bill to repair a kitchen fire etc.

The downside of Shaker Hills is that it’s a typical higher end public course that has a lot of tournaments, leagues, and tee times get full so I would have full access to unlimited golf but it’s not the type of place you can roll up and get out.

also, I’m a school teacher so I’m off from May 20 to August 24th so I will get my money’s worth either way. I can play everyday and I gladly will if I don’t have to thrown down 50-100 bucks every time I play.

advice, opinions welcomed! What’s your experience or have you faced a similar decision?
 
I'm about to face a similar but slightly different situation. I am moving to a house where a par 3 will basically be out of my back yard. I can join the club for about $2100, but it is semi-private and green fees are $35 during the week and $45 on the weekend. I only get to play once a week and even living there it will only be twice a week probably, but if I joined I think I could just go out and play 3 or 4 holes whenever I wanted to. An added benefit would be the kids getting to use the pool and helping make sure the course I live on is supported.
 
If you feel that paying the extra to join a club is going to be worth it over paying for each round as you play, then it is a simple decision really

I have played enough this year to be easily on course to get my moneys worth for my membership, and Jen has pretty much been playing at least once a week on average, with some weeks where she has played 2 or 3 times, so for us it isn't even a consideration

We also have a practice area that we can go up and use whenever we want for as long as we want without any costs involved either

DataDude said:
I'm about to face a similar but slightly different situation. I am moving to a house where a par 3 will basically be out of my back yard. I can join the club for about $2100, but it is semi-private and green fees are $35 during the week and $45 on the weekend. I only get to play once a week and even living there it will only be twice a week probably, but if I joined I think I could just go out and play 3 or 4 holes whenever I wanted to. An added benefit would be the kids getting to use the pool and helping make sure the course I live on is supported.
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The highlighted above is a big bonus for us having joined the club we are at - it means that during the nicer weather we can head out after work and play as many or as few holes as we like without having to think that we have paid for 9/18 but only play 3 or 4 holes

Yesterday I went out with a friend after work and we only managed to play 15 holes as there were a couple of knockout matches being played ahead of us so it was a little bit slower than normal, but it didn't bother us as we didn't need to worry about any costs for the round
 
I use to have a membership. I play once a week and really enjoy bouncing around to various courses
 
When I could afford it, belonging to a private club, a Dye course only about 5 minutes from the house, was certainly nice. The various tournaments, access to the practice area, always being able to get out or find a game, were well worth it at the time. Since being retired, that kind of membership is out of my financial range but there are a few daily fee/ public courses in my area that offer weekday annual passes for, on average, about $200/month or slightly less if paying a lump sum. This usually includes unlimited weekday golf, cart, range balls 7 days/week and sometimes reduced pricing on food and beverages. As a member you get known by the management and staff and can get some special "privileges" not afforded to the general public. Singles may not be able to just "roll up" and get on the course as a single but I see singles get paired up all the time in the mornings. It might be different in the late afternoons.

Your decision might boil down to how crowded that public course is. Talk to the staff and management before committing to the private course. Don't make your decision based just on observation. Oh, and my old mentor belonged to a member owned course and was always getting year end assessments for things like a new roof, or redoing greens or bunkers, upgrading the locker rooms or dining rooms. I'd check both out very closely.
 
Belonging to a truly private course is so much more convenient and enjoyable to me. The ability to get on with ease is nice, but in my experience the pace of play and ettiquite is much better at private courses.
 
I'd love to belong to a private course simply for the practice facility, weekly games and access. However I think I'd get bored playing the same course over and over again. For me its not worth the $$
 
Wake said:
Belonging to a truly private course is so much more convenient and enjoyable to me. The ability to get on with ease is nice, but in my experience the pace of play and ettiquite is much better at private courses.
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I let small things bother me... pace of play, uneven tee boxes, tees everywhere , divots never repaired and ballmarks galore.

I just don’t know if I can swing membership once I’m considered a senior member.
 
I have long said it comes down to whether or not you are going to use other aspects of the club. If it is just for golf, only golf, and its about savings or even breaking even. Then no, I would not join. If it is about weekly games and social, then it can be very enjoyable.
 
I like to play various courses-but enjoy the convenience, practice facilities, smaller crowds, and better pace at private courses.

Club Corp had been good to me in the Tampa Bay area.

4 local courses and access to several affiliated private courses gives me plenty of flexibility.

I think playing one single course might get a little stale--plus it is nice to have options during aeration, renovations, etc.

There are leagues at your designated home course--plus you can generally still play in unofficial men's games at the other courses once you get to know some of the members.

If there is a similar option available in your region I'd strongly recommend exploring.

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If the opportunity presents itself and makes financial sense I would go private. Less headaches imo.

I’m at a “semi-private” course that I pay $75 a month for unlimited range and 1/2 off tee times.

It’s rarely packed and I like the convenience.
 
This is the first time in about 6-7 years that I have not joined a course. Usually they were of the semi-provate variety. I'll tell you what, not having a home course that I can just go to whenever the heck I want has really limited the amount of golf I have played. Where I used to just go every weekend AM at 6 AM, now I dont. Same for weeknights. I'm already looking for a place to join next year.
 
There is definitely a social element. I’m from Massachusetts but I was raised in Boston and we now live in the burbs where my wife was raised. As a result, I don’t really have many friends here. The few golf guys I know just don’t mesh well with me. They’re more into seeing how beers they can drink on the front nine, rather than making putts!

I see the membership as a chance to be a part of a community. It has a pool and tennis and all that jazz but I’m primarily only golf.

My personal goals is to compete in the Mass Mid Am and I know the only way that’s going to happen is if I have a practice facility and the ability to jump out and play 5 holes whenever I want.

Again, as a teacher I’ll be able to play every single day for a few months which is a pure joy! I play once a week now at a 50ish dollar course and practice 1-2 times a week at a local dog track muni.
 
I've done all 3. Pays as you go, member at public course and member of private club. In my experience, the private club is the way to go if you want to more or less play every day. Public courses sometimes set aside tee times for members or give members advanced access to tee times, but it's still not the same as the freedom of play at any private course I've belonged to. That said, some private courses offset expenses by allowing outings just like public courses. There may not be as many or the board may limit the number of outings per year.

My advice would be to sit down with the manager and/or membership chairman at Vesper Country Club and ask whatever questions you have. If you know any current members, they would be a great source of info as well. Vesper CC may require a number of members to vouch for proposed membership too.

Also, sometimes clubs run membership specials that allow you to join in the fall so you get 15 months of play the first year.

Good Luck!!!!
 
I was a member of a public course for a handful of years. This is the first year I'm not. I'm kicking the tires on the private clubs in the area. I haven't decided if it's worth it yet, primarily because of the short season we have.
 
I look back and wonder why I didn't join mine sooner. Although my club is 25-30 minutes from my house, its well worth it to me. The practice facilities, conditions, tourneys, games, people. Its well worth it to me.

To be honest, I cant remember the last time I played a public course around here? Not that there isn't some pretty decent public tracks especially closer to me, I just don't get near as much out of them as I do mine.

Every situation is different, just look at all situations before making your decision.
 
ddec said:
This is the first time in about 6-7 years that I have not joined a course. Usually they were of the semi-provate variety. I'll tell you what, not having a home course that I can just go to whenever the heck I want has really limited the amount of golf I have played. Where I used to just go every weekend AM at 6 AM, now I dont. Same for weeknights. I'm already looking for a place to join next year.
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Move to Springfield, I know the perfect place for you to join


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I am probably in a much different area than you in a rural part of south GA. I have 2 choices within about a 45 minute drive. One public and one private. I opted for the public course about 10 years ago and have been happy with renewing each year since then. 1 year costs me less than 2 months at the private course, no initiation fee and I am really only interested in the golf aspect of the membership anyway. Course is rarely overly crowded, there are plenty of events/tournaments to satisfy the competitive aspect and there is a nice core of members that I can get together with for games 4 or 5 days a week if I choose.
 
This is why my wife hates this site. You guys are getting me to consider joining a private club now...
 
With the raise that I'm due here in the next month (quite considerable one), I've been talking to & trying to convince Mrs Nut to join one of the clubs in our area. She doesn't think I would get my $$ worth. But she thinks she doesn't see me now because of golf ... just wait till I can walk on to the club whenever I want on the way home from work during the summer. "But honey, I'm just trying to get my $$'s worth." Gotta spend the $$ in the bar as well. Can't let it go to waste. HA!
 
JB said:
I have long said it comes down to whether or not you are going to use other aspects of the club. If it is just for golf, only golf, and its about savings or even breaking even. Then no, I would not join. If it is about weekly games and social, then it can be very enjoyable.
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This.

I've been thinking about going private here. The other amenities would have to be worth it to get my wife to sign on. As long as we are living in the city and paying lower taxes than we would in the suburbs, it might be a better value to join somewhere for the pool and everything else other than the golf. If we were in the burbs where the public recreation facilities are much nicer, it might not make sense to join a club.
 
I haven't faced a similar decision. I live in a town with one golf course. Next closest golf course (excluding the one with sand greens) in any direction is 30 miles, which results in a 35+ minute drive. So I paid $275 for a season family membership to my hometown course.

But as to your concern about the season pass to the public course, at least around here, if you have such a season pass, usually the tournament fees are greatly discounted. Also, since you have summers off, even on tournament days, I think you'd be able to find a tee time on most days. But that's just based on my experience with courses around where I live.

~Rock
 
When I was in my late 20's - early 30's, we joined a country club in MI. The dues were lower and it was the only viable option for a "nice meal" and golfing without driving 50 miles. These days, I prefer to spend my money playing a variety of courses (primarily through online site discounts) rather than joining a club. We've talk about it again, since we qualify for any offered "senior" discounts.
 
This is my first year being a member of a private club. It is so much more convenient for tee times, pace of play and quality of the course itself. There is also the social aspect with a great restaurant, wine club and other activities.

I do have numerous public courses that offer memberships for a fairly small fee to get reduced rates and really make golf very affordable but the downside to that is they are always crowded during nice weather and the pace of play is slow.
 
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