99% sure I'm going to quit my membership

[GB72]

I have to say that if membership was over the £1000.00 mark I would have trouble justifying it. I get to play once a week, twice if I am lucky and that is justifiable at the £650.00 that I pay. If it were much more than that I would go back to playing friendly golf with my old group at Stoke Rochford and get signed in as a members guest when I needed a round.

It is a difficult position at the clubs near me because I do not use the facilities or benefit as much from being a member as I would like. There are no real organised swindles and the social functions are just of a type that do not appeal to me and certainly do not appeal to my wife. Perhaps this is the year to make more of an effort to be part of the social side.

I have to admit that I have often been tempted to join up at Sudbrooke Moore, the local 9 hole course. A couple of hundred quid a year, I can keep a handicap, play in comps and then go to Belton Park, Stoke Rochford or other places as a members guest if I feel lik a change.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

I'm going to make the wild assumption that you don't live anywhere me here on the Surrey\Berkshire\Hampshire border?

You can add Hertfordshire in there as I would love to only pay £1050.00 per annum.

 

[spongebob59]

3 of our regular swindle have joined one of the Pentland courses on the Silver option (£99 a year and discounted green fees).

Haven't seen them to ask how they're getting on.

 

[Duckster]

Completely agree.

Membership cannot be justified at £1050

Why not? What if you can manage to have a marital life, working life and still get out 2 or 3 times a week for a round? Would that not justify the membership expense?

 

[SteveBonners]

As the different posts show, everyone looks for different things out of their golf membership and I can understand why many feel paying £1000 + does not give them good value for money.

For many clubs the old 7/5 day membership no longer attracts sufficient numbers. A number of clubs locally have introduced flexible membership schemes e.g 6 day membership, Spring and summer membership or tee time credits. All these schemes enable you to keep your official handicap and I am sure that they will become more common, to bring in more golfers whose lifestyles don't meet the pattern of the established memberships.

As for only drinking tea after a round. I am "tee-total" and have no problem sitting with a pot of tea whilst others have a beer.

 

[pokerjoke]

Im with you James,if your not getting the best out of your membership why bother.
Maybe join a really cheap golf club,where you can just play and relax.
I would join you for a cuppa any time.
Maybe you could move closer to Taunton.

 

[Foxholer]

Exactly what put me off membership james, however my place launched an associate membership, basically the same as full member bar a few things... I cant enter board comps (well i can, but i cant win or get a prize) and i am limited to 20 free rounds a year, after that i pay a discounted green fee. apart from that i get the usual member stuff... for 40% of the cost of full membership!!!

This is the sort of thing more Clubs should be doing imo - though I do know of several that do.

So the entire £1k sub isn't lost by the Club and the Player actually gets Club Golf. Benefits by both parties!

 

[sawtooth]

Join a club with a points/credit payment system?

Pay for what you use and if you cannot play for whatever reason - illness, injury, course closure, playing rubbish, then you dont pay.

 

[Coatsy79]

I think clubs need to think about different ways to attract members

There's only 1 place near me who offer what they call a "yellow" membership

£117 a year then reduced green fees (£10 on weekdays £13 at weekends) and you get a county card, access to comps and a handicap

Everywhere else only offers 5/7 day memberships at £750-800 a year

People like me (with a young family etc) can't justify that kind of money knowing I might go a month without playing

Ultimately if I were to join said club at £117 I may end up paying almost what a yearly membership costs, but at least I won't feel like I HAVE to play to justify the cost

I agree with you JustOne, it's not the money it's the potential waste of money that puts me off joining somewhere full time

 

[JustOne]

It's not the cost, it's wasting it. I'd join East Sussex National for £1,800 if I lived only 5 minutes away from it, the club house is nice, the club integrates you in with other members, the course is pretty much as good as it gets and doesn't even have temp greens..... sauna, steam room and FREE range balls of which I could probably hit 1/2 million of the little blighters every year given the chance!!

Damn.... I should move house!!!! :angry:

 

[AmandaJR]

Exactly what put me off membership james, however my place launched an associate membership, basically the same as full member bar a few things... I cant enter board comps (well i can, but i cant win or get a prize) and i am limited to 20 free rounds a year, after that i pay a discounted green fee. apart from that i get the usual member stuff... for 40% of the cost of full membership!!!

Our club does similar and also an off peak option. I think clubs need to be more flexible in what they offer for sure.

 

[harpo_72]

My fees are £1335 a year, in summer I will go up virtually every evening and if I get a contract doing the same as I was the year before I will play 2 days a week and weekend comps, when not working. If I have to work full time I may pack it in.

 

[Break90]

I think it's a call that only you can make, based on your disposable income, family commitments etc.

is 1000+ per year too much? Depends on the above factors plus how much you will use it.

 

[Rooter]

I think it's a call that only you can make, based on your disposable income, family commitments etc.

is 1000+ per year too much? Depends on the above factors plus how much you will use it.

As JO said, its the not the fact its a grand, its the fact like me he may only play 10 times, so at £100 a round, its not good VALUE...

 

[Piece]

I want the flexibility to play where and when I want, thus my circumstances mean I can't justify full-time membership. Last time I was a full member was in 1986 at Guildford, and even that was student membership at £800pa. Gulp.

 

[Break90]

As JO said, its the not the fact its a grand, its the fact like me he may only play 10 times, so at £100 a round, its not good VALUE...

But one mans assessment of VALUE.... may be completely different to the next mans assessment of exactly the same thing, no?

 

[ColchesterFC]

Join a club with a points/credit payment system?

Pay for what you use and if you cannot play for whatever reason - illness, injury, course closure, playing rubbish, then you dont pay.

That's exactly why I chose to join the De Vere Club points system. I can't justify a full membership at a club as I work away for half the year. There's a course not far from me in Norwich and we go for a week to Belton Woods in Lincolnshire every year so I can play there as well. £295 for 100 points when I joined last year, £325 for 100 points this year and I get to have a handicap. Considering most of my golf is mid week I can get a game for 2 points (or £6-50) if I play midweek twilight. When I renewed this year I still had 42 points left over that I hadn't used so they carried over and with the bonus for rejoingin I've now got over 150 points to use. The added bonus is that when we go away I can use the points for HID to go for a massage or spa treatments. Makes it much easier to justify to her. And the added bonus is that I can put it through my company as a business expense which makes it even cheaper.

 

[G1BB0]

exactly why I gave up my membership this year James, looking around local I have some decent courses for 15-20 quid a round until March. As I work 2 out of 4 weekends and some months every weekend then for me it was a no brainer. Add to that comps changed to drawn and shotgun start every week meaining I could never play with my reg partners and that done it for me.

I noticed crown golf do similar to devere for £295 and that may be my way forward come the spring.

I'm always up for a meet up somewhere James, you will never be short of offers tbh :thup:

 

[In_The_Rough]

exactly why I gave up my membership this year James, looking around local I have some decent courses for 15-20 quid a round until March. As I work 2 out of 4 weekends and some months every weekend then for me it was a no brainer. Add to that comps changed to drawn and shotgun start every week meaining I could never play with my reg partners and that done it for me.

I noticed crown golf do similar to devere for £295 and that may be my way forward come the spring.

I'm always up for a meet up somewhere James, you will never be short of offers tbh :thup:

What was the thinking behind this? Can understand it occasionally but all the time!! Crown, De Vere and Marriott all do similar offers I think, I think this is going to be the future of golf membership in the UK in the not too distant future

 

[G1BB0]

its a 9 hole course but with 18 tee's and 10 greens, I know that sounds wierd but it works. Anyway membership was quite small then took off a bit this last year, they done away with timed starts so all finished at the same time, its pants imho. Most of the members (seniors) like it so its staying, not my cup of tea.