Are you happy at your current club?

[stevek1969]

The reason i ask this question is after 14 years of being a member at my current club i have become totally disillusioned with it.

Last year was the worst i'd seen the course with knee high rough and slow greens this year the greens are shocking after they put a treatment on them to kill certain grasses and they wont be good till September at the earliest.
Now with the fees being £630 this year and only getting higher next year (one of the most expensive in the area) i don't think the value is there, yes my southern friends its half what you pay but its shocking this year and the clubs attitude is poor.

I've seen some visitor reviews on various sites complaining they weren't told about how bad the greens were after handing over there £50 green fees and comments from the visitor book have been removed as the club didn't like what was written.

The thing for me is i like my golf in the winter and i can play here most of the time with no mats and full greens but is that enough to make me stay as the course is in such poor condition just now.

 

[DAVEYBOY]

I couldn't be any more happier than I am with my club at the moment. I'm getting an unbelievable deal on not one but two courses with 3 rounds on the Brabazon a year thrown in to the mix aswell. I would pay next years subs now if I could :thup:

 

[Robobum]

The reason i ask this question is after 14 years of being a member at my current club i have become totally disillusioned with it.

Last year was the worst i'd seen the course with knee high rough and slow greens this year the greens are shocking after they put a treatment on them to kill certain grasses and they wont be good till September at the earliest.
Now with the fees being £630 this year and only getting higher next year (one of the most expensive in the area) i don't think the value is there, yes my southern friends its half what you pay but its shocking this year and the clubs attitude is poor.

I've seen some visitor reviews on various sites complaining they weren't told about how bad the greens were after handing over there £50 green fees and comments from the visitor book have been removed as the club didn't like what was written.

The thing for me is i like my golf in the winter and i can play here most of the time with no mats and full greens but is that enough to make me stay as the course is in such poor condition just now.

I was in the same boat as you year before last. My £800 was paying for a course which was upto scratch between late June until course maintenance week in August!!! That just wasn't value for money so I left.

I'm now back at that club but, due to a change in my circumstances, only pay 1/4 of that sum as a country member. Now the numbers stack up.

 

[Fader]

In a word..... NO

to many reasons to state and i've only been there 6 months but looking to move already as is a fellow forumer.. the reasons are many and hopefully soon in the past.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Well I'm pretty happy with mine (except for idiotic pin position of 11th yesterday). And notwithstanding what you say about your subs and asking them not to be compared with ours in the SE England- well - I don;t thiknk you can takle money out of the equation. Maybe you should consider asking your club what improvements they could make overall if your subs were raised to say £800 a year (yes I know you'll say that everyone would leave - but that's not what I'm asking). Maybe your subs are being held artificially low and clubs and golfers outside of the SE England need to get realistic about the cost of maintaining a golf club and course these days. Just wondering mind...

All the above aside - you need your club to explain the state of the greens etc. Autumn of last year we had our head greenkeeper explain in a members forum how our greens are managed, his long term stratgey for the greens and hence why our greens are managed differently from those of other clubs in the area. Most of those critical of our greens back then are now fulsome in their praise for how they are at the moment.

A lot of member's criticism of their course is borne out of ignorance and prejudice (I'm not saying the OPs is)

 

[bluewolf]

I'm not happy with mine. It just doesn't feel like its a good fit for me. It spends too long on tee mats and fairway mats, and it also appears to prioritize certain groups to the detriment of others. I've already decided to leave in the winter for another local club where I feel I would be better served. I may be wrong, but sometimes you've got to take a chance...

 

[tsped83]

Very happy with my club. Like the course and the people! Plus, it's 10 minutes from home and only 5 minutes from work, I'm very fortunate really.

Played another local course recently for a charity event and whilst the course was great, really impressive and challenging, the atmosphere in the club house was not. Pretentious is the word I would use.

 

[Val]

I like the club but frustrated with the course and some of the manangement of the club, greens have went backwards this last 2 weeks and the head greenkeeper is beyond criticism but he does get it right more than wrong to be fair.

Fingers crossed he cuts them a bit lower this week and gets the hose on them.

Im 3 years at my current club but there is really only 1 I'd move to within acceptable travel time, it's got two courses but you'd need a new lung every time you play them, it's Dullatur GC. There are plenty better but im not prepared to travel 45 mins + for a bounce game, maybe I should just play summer golf in medals only and bounce games elsewhere throughout winter.

 

[fundy]

Played Scotscraig must be 10 years ago and it seems inconceivable that youre baulking at playing £600ish pa, remember it as a cracking course that was in superb condition and if local to us Id happily pay double that to be a member, sad to hear that its gone downhill

I play at a modernish course, pleasant enough without being a world beating championship course, but its run by people who care and who are always striving to improve the place, good crowd of lads and for £800pa its cracking value (for this area), the options are relatively limited though, its either newish courses or you move to a different pay category

If youre not happy, and in area with so many decent courses to choose from, then it seems a no brainer to move on and try somewhere else to me

 

[wonga]

I am totally happy with mine! Tricky first 5 holes that can ruin your card!! Excellent social scene. The course is in good condition & all those who plsy there comment likewise. Very popular.

 

[stevek1969]

Played Scotscraig must be 10 years ago and it seems inconceivable that youre baulking at playing £600ish pa, remember it as a cracking course that was in superb condition and if local to us Id happily pay double that to be a member, sad to hear that its gone downhill

I play at a modernish course, pleasant enough without being a world beating championship course, but its run by people who care and who are always striving to improve the place, good crowd of lads and for £800pa its cracking value (for this area), the options are relatively limited though, its either newish courses or you move to a different pay category

If youre not happy, and in area with so many decent courses to choose from, then it seems a no brainer to move on and try somewhere else to me

Fundy when i joined it all those years ago it was a fantastic track but lately its went down hill ,the greenkeeper seems to be bullet proof just now and a managing secretary who ,well i'll not go there. I sat for 2 hours last season with him giving my points and the reply i got was where have you played this year thats better than here, i said where do you want me to start its was that bad.

The thing is hardly anyone is playing just now the Medals and sweeps are vastly undersrcibed so you would think they would take the hint but no there not. Was speaking with the lads i play with theres roughly 18 of us and most are thinking of jacking it next year ,there playing in all the local Opens just now just to get a game its that poor.

If i do move it would be Monifieth as i can play all year round with 2 courses and green fees of £430 a year and £80 club membership in the first year,there is some great course beside me like Alyth, Forfar ,Blairgowrie but winter golf there is out.

 

[fundy]

Fundy when i joined it all those years ago it was a fantastic track but lately its went down hill ,the greenkeeper seems to be bullet proof just now and a managing secretary who ,well i'll not go there. I sat for 2 hours last season with him giving my points and the reply i got was where have you played this year thats better than here, i said where do you want me to start its was that bad.

The thing is hardly anyone is playing just now the Medals and sweeps are vastly undersrcibed so you would think they would take the hint but no there not. Was speaking with the lads i play with theres roughly 18 of us and most are thinking of jacking it next year ,there playing in all the local Opens just now just to get a game its that poor.

If i do move it would be Monifieth as i can play all year round with 2 courses and green fees of £430 a year and £80 club membership in the first year,there is some great course beside me like Alyth, Forfar ,Blairgowrie but winter golf there is out.

Look at the positives mate, you have plenty of other cracking options to choose from. Remember Monifieth from the same trip and loved Blairgowrie. Seems you have done your best to help, to find out if the grass is greener

 

[bigslice]

i would go back to ure club if all 18 are in agreement and state your concerns. if they cant give you a plan of attack. LEAVE for pastures new

 

[patricks148]

I'm more than happy with the club its self, in the 4 years ive been a member i've met loads of great guys, played some excellent away matches for the club and fitted right in.

Sure there's the odd niggle about some aspects of the course, but its still the best members club within 50 miles.

 

[Wolfman]

I didn't like my last club, sadly paid 1/2 of my joining fee but then decided to leave and I did

Went back to my old club no joining fee, monthly fee of £54 easy in easy out and best atmosphere around

Course condition isn't as good but fun and enjoyment is 200% better for less money

Leave if not happy, do it quickly

 

[Birchy]

Couldnt be happier with my club. Course in fantastic condition and greens immaculate. Members joining us from clubs all around the area and ive not come across anywhere within a reasonable distance i would rather be a member at. Plenty of qualifying competitions and once you get your foot in the door theres loads of good lads to have a game with etc.

 

[BrizoH71]

I'm happy at my club, but the distance is a killer now that I've moved away and don't get down to the course as often as I would like; hence I'm grudgingly looking to move to a club closer to home in West Lothian.

If I still lived where I was when I took my membership, I would be happy to stay where I am, but I'm hopeful of still retaining a country membership at my current place once my full membership expires, but it'll depend not only on cost and whether the club would be flexible enough to grant me country membership as I'm 10 miles inside their 50 mile border to qualify.

The condition of the course will also be a factor, with a trimming of the groundstaff and the loss of the club pro. The guys at the club are brilliant though, really friendly and welcoming, and the food isn't bad either. The house lager is a particular favourite too.

 

[Deke]

I am super happy at Alyth Steve, as well you know! I agree with you that a move to the lovely Monifieth would be prudent, they have a a cracking pair of courses and I very nearly joined instead of Alyth. It seems you have been unhappy there for ages, vote with your feet mate! :thup:

 

[pbrown7582]

more than happy, course is great condition we did have a prolonged closure due to flooding but extra drainage work has been carried and and all pipe worked cleaned in a bit to ease issues this winter.
everything else fits my needs, only thing is the 20 min drive with several courses closer, but worth the extra travelling.

 

[Bigfoot]

I am totally happy with mine! Tricky first 5 holes that can ruin your card!! Excellent social scene. The course is in good condition & all those who plsy there comment likewise. Very popular.

Which course is that?