Parmo
Tour Winner
I've been looking at the previous threads on this. I thought maybe we could put together some advice for members on questions to ask, what to look for and so forth when looking to join a new club.
Advice on joining a new club
- Thread starter Parmo
- Start date
Lump
Tour Winner
Brilliant idea. Would have loved something along these lines when I first joined a club last year.
Parmo
Tour Winner
I brought it up as I am looking at the moment. I have read and got some good advice on the other threads but needs collating. Maybe the more experience club golfers and new members can express their thoughts and share advice on this.
Golfmmad
Tour Winner
My first thoughts would be, if wanting a sociable membership and to join in all things, is it a friendly club with drawn competitions. That way you get to meet a good mix of club members and integrate quickly.
Nothing worse than being at a club where there are cliques which leave you feeling very much the outsider!
Golfmmad.
Nothing worse than being at a club where there are cliques which leave you feeling very much the outsider!
Golfmmad.
Philm
Challenge Tour Pro
not so much a question to ask anyone but yourself, which is are you interested or able to play most saturday/sundays and if not do the club offer 5day/midweek membership?
i work close to my club but live an hour away therefore its not economic to play on saturdays and i am busy with church on sundays. so for me midweek membership was the only option worthwhile.
i can play 9holes 2 or 3 evenings every week from april to october and anytime the guys from work want a round they head up to my club after work and i can go along without worrying about the cost.
if i was playing whilst thinking about the money i wouldnt enjoy it!!
Phil
i work close to my club but live an hour away therefore its not economic to play on saturdays and i am busy with church on sundays. so for me midweek membership was the only option worthwhile.
i can play 9holes 2 or 3 evenings every week from april to october and anytime the guys from work want a round they head up to my club after work and i can go along without worrying about the cost.
if i was playing whilst thinking about the money i wouldnt enjoy it!!
Phil
TriggerTech
Head Pro
Good post, Im in the same boat - Want to join a club to get a proper handicap (rather than online calculation) and get playing every week, against better opponents to improve my game.
Only issue I had was membership fee vs value for money. I live in west Sussex but commute to Watford daily. I would need a 7 day membership, but based on my commute this would limit me to weekends only -not too cost effective if I wanted to play anywhere else a couple of times per month with mates.
Ive opted to join Hassocks gold club for the following reasons:
1) Offer a silver membership - £110 per annum, still pay a reduced green fee but all other member perks
2) Its 3 mins from where I live
3) From my visits there I couldnt have been made more welcome. - They dont believe in cliques and will generally put you with similar abilities, except stables but everyone supports each other. They also have a good social side, where people look after each other, ie mechanics, builders etc.
My only advise would be do your homework on the members, after all you could be spending up to 10 hours a week with them (including drinks)
Only issue I had was membership fee vs value for money. I live in west Sussex but commute to Watford daily. I would need a 7 day membership, but based on my commute this would limit me to weekends only -not too cost effective if I wanted to play anywhere else a couple of times per month with mates.
Ive opted to join Hassocks gold club for the following reasons:
1) Offer a silver membership - £110 per annum, still pay a reduced green fee but all other member perks
2) Its 3 mins from where I live
3) From my visits there I couldnt have been made more welcome. - They dont believe in cliques and will generally put you with similar abilities, except stables but everyone supports each other. They also have a good social side, where people look after each other, ie mechanics, builders etc.
My only advise would be do your homework on the members, after all you could be spending up to 10 hours a week with them (including drinks)
Oddsocks
Ryder Cup Winner
Like trigger tech I joined my local pay & play solely due to it's flexibility. For £60 per year our club has a swindle that benefits from
* 32 comps per year, these range from inter club, regional & national, winter singles & pairs knockouts, other knock out comps and 12 monthly medals
* we get pre reserved tee slots on Sunday 9am to 10am
* discounted green fees
* a weekly swindle roll up which is drawn and not pre selected. The cost to enter our swindle comp every Sunday is £5 extra per person, a percentage is kept for the stableford winner (normally £35-£40) and five nearest the pins ( normally £15-18 each hole)
* and finally a congu registered and maintained handicap
This suits me great as a 7 day membership in our area is £1000 for a decent club, if I play every other week with my club it free's me to play with friends at other clubs without feeling I'm losing value for money on my membership. Plus when courses are closed, you haven't wasted 2 months membership
* 32 comps per year, these range from inter club, regional & national, winter singles & pairs knockouts, other knock out comps and 12 monthly medals
* we get pre reserved tee slots on Sunday 9am to 10am
* discounted green fees
* a weekly swindle roll up which is drawn and not pre selected. The cost to enter our swindle comp every Sunday is £5 extra per person, a percentage is kept for the stableford winner (normally £35-£40) and five nearest the pins ( normally £15-18 each hole)
* and finally a congu registered and maintained handicap
This suits me great as a 7 day membership in our area is £1000 for a decent club, if I play every other week with my club it free's me to play with friends at other clubs without feeling I'm losing value for money on my membership. Plus when courses are closed, you haven't wasted 2 months membership
oleday
Hacker
One point to check if you are relatively new to the game is how many qualifying comps are stablefords.
Medals can be a bit intimidating to the more erratic/recent golfer.
Medals can be a bit intimidating to the more erratic/recent golfer.
drawboy
Tour Winner
Do you have at least 4 par 4's out of 9 I can reach off of the tee?
Parmo
Tour Winner
Got a look around at a club next Friday, the new website Sandmoor GC looks pretty good and they make a point of been friendly.
lucan
Club Champion
most important thing is to find out how many starting points on the course.
i joined fulwell golf club last year where you are allowed to start on the 1st or the tenth.
but every morning there is two groups who tee of on the sixth hole evry day at 8 am cutting in front of any group on the course and refusing to let anyone play through they are all retired and have all day to play golf but seem to do this every day as i am a shift worker the only time i can get out is early morning because of these morons i could never complete 18 holes.
have seen the club sec who was not intrested being a new joiner looks like you a whinger.
but after paying a 300 hundred pound joing fee i am extremely dissapointed this is not what i expected when joining a private club needles to say i will not rejoin next year as i am now paying for a membership i can not use
i joined fulwell golf club last year where you are allowed to start on the 1st or the tenth.
but every morning there is two groups who tee of on the sixth hole evry day at 8 am cutting in front of any group on the course and refusing to let anyone play through they are all retired and have all day to play golf but seem to do this every day as i am a shift worker the only time i can get out is early morning because of these morons i could never complete 18 holes.
have seen the club sec who was not intrested being a new joiner looks like you a whinger.
but after paying a 300 hundred pound joing fee i am extremely dissapointed this is not what i expected when joining a private club needles to say i will not rejoin next year as i am now paying for a membership i can not use
Oddsocks
Ryder Cup Winner
something i have never taken into account until raised now. both of the courses i was a member at had 1st/10th and 1st/11th as starting points, this comes in very handy in the summer when you want early tee offs. we would often kick off around 8:30am on the 11th and by the time we hit the 18th the 8:00-10:00 boom had cleared, we would normally catch them around 6/7th but only being held for 7th/8th/9th/10th wasnt as we would always be finished by 12:30 at the latest. if we had waiting to get a slot in the 1st tee, we may not have finished until 2:00 or later.
Swingalot
Challenge Tour Pro
Mate that is shocking!
Have you ever found out why this little group get special treatment?
Very poor form and I can see why you want out of the club.
Anyway, back to the topic here are some questions I would ask:
Ask them to provide the club diary, so you can see how many societys are playing the course and how often it is shut.
Is there a spike bar? (wish we had one!!!)
What is the dress code in the bar and do you have to shower before having a drink?
Number of members?
Is the membership full or close to being full? (if not, ask yourself why not!)
Any practise facilities.
Play the course and see how long it takes, if time is valuable. I can play my course in just over 3hrs as a 2 ball, which after work on a summers day is a great way to end the day. It is also an easy walk. There are other lovely courses around, but some I would not fancy playing after a tough day at work or could do becuase they are 4hr walks.
How much is a pint of beer?
Is the pro shop well stocked and do they have a PGA pro (lessons etc.)
Hope that helps for starters.
Are the competitions drawn (great way to meet lots of members and saves having to break into cliques). Do you have to book or can you roll up. What days are ladies day etc. How many societies do they have especially in summer. Can you play from more than one tee (if the 1st is rammed).
Also what about practice facilities, condition of the clubhouse and bar. Are food and drinks prices expensive. Can you get a locker (if you want one). What is the dress code. Is there a spikes bar.
However when all this is said and done, is it a club you'll feel comfy joining and will the course give you enough of a challenge and keep you interested. If the answer to one or either is no then I'd reconsider
Also what about practice facilities, condition of the clubhouse and bar. Are food and drinks prices expensive. Can you get a locker (if you want one). What is the dress code. Is there a spikes bar.
However when all this is said and done, is it a club you'll feel comfy joining and will the course give you enough of a challenge and keep you interested. If the answer to one or either is no then I'd reconsider
