Yep

You could remove all of the social aspects of a country club and I still think the premium is worth it for the pace of play.

are you guys who are talking about joining a club saying its worth it for a single guy who likes golf or as someone with a family? As a single guy I don't think I could justify the expense even if there is a possible benefit of networking in addition to the golf perks. The monthly dues and minimum food spend plus high initiations just seem like too much just to be able to play golf at a nice and convenient course when the alternative is 30 more min of driving and playing a longer round on a average track.

It obviously depends on price and initiation, but it's worth it for me because of how I like to play golf. I like getting in 18, but the majority of my play is after work, playing as many holes as I can before dark. I wouldn't/couldn't do that if I had to pay a 9 hole rate every time. As a member of a club, I get in at least 9 holes three times during the week, and usually play 18 at least one weekend day. Range balls are included in my membership, which is also a nice little perk. $5 for every medium bucket adds up.

And ask the club if they do anything for young single guys (often called an executive membership or similar) where the monthly fees and minimums are less and some clubs forego initiations etc.

Unless it's a club with strong membership and deep tradition the market is seems pretty good for buyers right now. Negotiate!

Almost every club around here has junior executive rates for people under 35

The clubs around here have the Junior Executive rates for under 35 year olds, but my understanding is that they are all (or at least the ones I know I could get recs from members and get into) still $25k+ initiation for that membership and I am not sure what the monthly clubhouse/food spend and dues are, but even if they're fairly light it seems like a big commitment to play maybe 75 rounds of golf a year (and thats if I start playing 5x as much as I have the last 2 years). The problem is that there are two really dumpy city courses and no other public courses within 30 minutes of me (60 min if its rush hour traffic so after work is never possible without an in city club membership). Because it take me 6+ hours for the commute plus round to play some pretty avg courses at $45-75 on a weekend I basically never do it. I also don't have a public driving range within 20 min of my home or work and thats even if traffic is light.

That seems outrageous to pay 25K. Don't you live in Atlanta?

Canongate operates out of Atlanta. They are here in Houston and you can get membership to 5 courses spread around town for way the **** less than 25K. I want to say it was 2-3K to get in then a decent rate after that.

They aren't full out country clubs. Just golf clubs. So they got a clubhouse but no pool or tennis courts or all that ****. Everyone there is there to play golf and get laid and that's IT. I'd look into their rates.

I know canongate and sometimes play at a couple of their courses with my grandpa who is a member, but all of them at 30+ min from me with no traffic and with any normal amount of traffic at least 40-45 min for the close couple and over an hour to most. All of the in city clubs are full on country clubs, but those are the only ones that aren't stuck out in the suburbs. If I want to drive 45-60 min I can always play at nice public courses, but that's a bit of a hike and the whole reason I have played much less than I want over the past few years.

Houston's the same way. Super spread out. Like 3 of the 5 courses are an hour North, 1 is 15 minutes South and the other is like 30 minutes South of my father-in-law so he almost always plays the links course that is 15 minutes away. He's got friends up in The Woodlands that he'll meet once in a while and play up there. Atlanta is probably the same way wrt everything being spread out and in the suburbs since it's a young city like this one.

Either bite the bullet and drive or pay an arm and a leg, I guess.

Is moving a possibility with your irl situation? Do you enjoy your job?

yes and for the most part. The moving reason is why I really havent considered it, but I have played more in the past 6 months than the prior 2 years combined and its not even summer yet and I have several golf trips planned that I am excited about and am generally wanting to play a lot more than I can realistically do with how much of a hassle it is to get to courses outside the city. I saw country/golf clubs being touted as the end all be all and I know I'd play more if it was convenient, but I dont know that I would get any value out of the non-golf aspect in my current life position (aside from the possibility that it leads to a new job) plus it is a ton of money that I could be investing or spending on other stuff.

God, when I lived in Atlanta I played Bobby Jones like 4x a week. And then played the one off Cleveland St ( I think) on the weekend.

Gotta have deep pockets to live downtown and be a member somewhere.

Joining a country club almost never makes sense from a purely financial standpoint. It is always the abstract stuff like accessibility that makes people decide it is worth it IMO

Definitely depends more on your area.

For instance, back in Ohio I was able to join a mid-tier club and capitalize off the strained economy. No initiation and full privileges for roughly $2.5k a month. Hell, I even stayed a member after moving up to Chicago. Obviously way -EV financially, but I was going home roughly 2-3x a month to see the girlfriend, so I could get 5-6 rounds in per month.

Here in Chicago, I'd have no chance of finding a Club that wouldn't have atleast a 3-5k initiation AND similar annual dues. To get to any of them would probably take an hour drive each way.

I have every intention of rejoining a Club when I move back to OH in a few years for several reasons:

1. Nothing tilts me more than a 4.5+ hour round. At my Club, we probably average a 3:50 round with four guys (all walking) at any point during the day.

2. In general, other golfers are more considerate of repairing ballmarks, raking bunkers, replacing divots, etc. They are all respectful of each other and mindful of other players (letting others play through when they are slow, etc).

3. Play any random # of holes - This is great for weeknights obviously.

4. Club Events - I love competitive golf. Even little things like a Member-Member or Club Championship are fun. Most Clubs probably have 2-3 events per month (plus a weekly league) which makes for some fun competition.

While I join a Club for the primary reason of golf -- the relationships are also a great perk. I'm a firm believer of surrounding yourself with the right people. For the most part, the people you meet and become friends(ly) with at the Club are generally successful and driven. No harm, especially at my age, to immerse myself into that type of a social circle.

2.5K a month or year?

When I hear "strained Ohio economy" I don't picture 2.5K a month to play golf. lol. That must be a typo.

Yah - per year.

Roughly $170/mo plus some small food minimums.

It's all case specific. I pay $165 a month at my course, and negotiated a really small initiation (it was small to begin with). As mentioned, during the spring/summer/fall I play at least 9 holes at least three times a week, and an 18 hole round at LEAST one weekend day, often both. Easily makes it worth it for me financially.

Wow I had no idea clubs were so cheap, $200 a month seems like a steal even if you only play a couple times a week

You'll likely have to pay a cart (use ) fee each round and may have a monthly minimum you need to spend in the restaurant. But yes it's not that bad for the avid golfer.

I walk. Food budget is only $75 a quarter, which is pretty easy to hit without trying.

My club is by far the most affordable in the Portland area, but others aren't THAT much more. Initiation is usually what gets you. Club I'm interested in moving too is something like $245, but it's a much nicer course with nicer facilities. $1,000 initiation. From there the initiations are the big thing.

Rural courses can be much cheaper, even. The course I grew up on in Idaho is usually in excellent condition with an interesting layout, and a junior exec is only $110 a month.

for the dude that was talking about private clubs in atlanta: if you're willing to drive north a bit, there are several sick clubs in Alpharetta/Johns Creek/Duluth area that are having awesome deals. Especially if you're under 35. I'm about to join the standard club, and initiation is $1,250 with $239 monthlys. pm me if you want more info

haven't hit a ball yet this year. combination of work busy, grad classes busy, bad weather, doing lots of stuff in my yard, etc.

anyway, most fun outing of the year is saturday. first swing of the year is gonna be on whatever hole we start on. to add to the ****show, we've had flood warnings for the past 48 hours, when we tee off it's forecasted to be 42 degrees, and it'll keep raining from now til then.

only positive is that my buddy who I'll be in the cart with hasn't had a beer in 6 weeks and says he'll drink 18 or he'll give me and the other two guys in our group $75 each (that's how much the outing is). those are his exact words...

last time I pay for a ****ing outing early again in my life.

because nothing says "probably about time to open up the golf season" like 40 degrees, 15 flooded greens, triple the normal price of a course, 730am and a scramble team that's going to be scrambling to be under par. haha

last year same outing my brother and I were on the range at 710am and me, him, my dad and our buddy (our #1, though my brother would be 1a) shot a pissed off -9 grumbling off the course saying "at least we didn't miss a putt to win the thing" and in the morning flight -10 binked $2k for the team

Thanks but that's way too far. If it's anything (which is very unlikely at this point) I'd want one itp.

Newb question but do you pay your monthly dues 12 times a year or only when course is open (I.e not during the winter in the north)