At what point does a membership become value for money?

[Oddsocks]

A flexi option is a club membership isn’t it?

Similar, it’s actually through play more golf

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Ok so based on that with a flexi option.

Comeradie - can access all swindles / club comps and inter club comps
Handicap - yup
Practice facilities - yup
Course condition - on par

Again the point of this post wasn’t to assess price per round, more to see at what point do people deem their own membership as non viable.

Ok and so specifically addressing the point…I would only consider my membership non-viable if other factors came into play that absolutely required my £2000/year subs (and that is still a possibility). The only way I can see VfM coming into consideration would be if I found myself 100% away from home for most of the summer months and I was not playing or otherwise using my club. I’d then be getting asked a serious question by my wife.

I‘ll note that when we moved from Bristol the children were 1 and 3, plus with house prices at least 33% higher than what we got for our lovely Victorian central Bristol home, we were pretty skint. And so, with a young and growing family and significant financial pressures, I didn’t join a club for over 7yrs.

 

[Deleted member 25172]

A membership becomes value for money when you stop asking yourself if it's worth it. If I was playing 10-20 times per year, there's not a chance in the world I'd be a member at a golf club, but I equally don't find it a "chore" or feel that I "have to" go to the club to play to justify the outlay. Golf is such an ingrained part of my life and I play it as often as I can, so unless anything unforeseen happens, I won't have to dwell on it any time soon.

 

[Orikoru]

Everyone has choices about how they spend their disposable income. My fees are £2K a year. If I was a football season ticket holder and went to away matches as well it would cost me much more. If I smoked 20 a day it would cost more. So would stopping at the pub for a couple of pints after work every day.
Everything considered to me personally my subs are excellent VFM but each to their own.

To use your football season ticket analogy - it would be like paying for a season ticket and only going to 5 games. The cost of buying 5 individual tickets would be less so you've wasted money then.

Income isn't disposable for everybody. Of course you can choose to waste your own money if you want. All I've said is, if you're doing that, you're either rich enough that you're not bothered, or you're not the sharpest sandwich at the picnic.

 

[Deleted member 23270]

To use your football season ticket analogy - it would be like paying for a season ticket and only going to 5 games. The cost of buying 5 individual tickets would be less so you've wasted money then.

Income isn't disposable for everybody. Of course you can choose to waste your own money if you want. All I've said is, if you're doing that, you're either rich enough that you're not bothered, or you're not the sharpest sandwich at the picnic.

I think you've missed the point. Pretty much everybody has disposable income to some degree, how much is a different matter. If I'm a member of a £2K per year club and play 5 times or 150 times it doesn't matter. The issue is the amount of enjoyment I get from those 5 or 150 rounds. I could have the best 5 days of my life at £400 a time and I would consider it money well spent. Likewise I could be on a real downer every one of the 150 visits I make to my club and be totally fed up with it. My other half has a penchant for an upmarket brand of boots. She has 3 pairs at over £400 a time. Just like any other boots to me but she loves them and considers them money well spent.

The answer to the OP's question........only he can decide. Each to their own.

 

[jim8flog]

Where I play you only have to play 15 times in a year to make being a member the cheaper option (plus you cannot play on a Saturday as visitor).

The other course close to me it would be 24 times a year

There are other benefits of being a member - range card discount and bar card and food discount. Buggy and club storage (but these cost extra) choice of how many holes you play on two courses sometimes I only play 4,6 or 7 holes.

The amount I play the cost is around £10 a round.

 

[Orikoru]

I think you've missed the point. Pretty much everybody has disposable income to some degree, how much is a different matter. If I'm a member of a £2K per year club and play 5 times or 150 times it doesn't matter. The issue is the amount of enjoyment I get from those 5 or 150 rounds. I could have the best 5 days of my life at £400 a time and I would consider it money well spent. Likewise I could be on a real downer every one of the 150 visits I make to my club and be totally fed up with it. My other half has a penchant for an upmarket brand of boots. She has 3 pairs at over £400 a time. Just like any other boots to me but she loves them and considers them money well spent.

The answer to the OP's question........only he can decide. Each to their own.

Of course it matters because you could have enjoyed 5 rounds for a cost of £200 instead of £2000 if you just paid it in green fees! So you've wasted £1800! It is quite simple, or am I talking Dutch? The only exception to this is if you've joined a private exclusive club that doesn't take green fees at all.

And the second argument is a different point, if you're not enjoying the course then no amount is going to feel like value for money so you'll surely stop paying it anyway?

 

[RichA]

I think you've missed the point. Pretty much everybody has disposable income to some degree, how much is a different matter. If I'm a member of a £2K per year club and play 5 times or 150 times it doesn't matter. The issue is the amount of enjoyment I get from those 5 or 150 rounds. I could have the best 5 days of my life at £400 a time and I would consider it money well spent. Likewise I could be on a real downer every one of the 150 visits I make to my club and be totally fed up with it. My other half has a penchant for an upmarket brand of boots. She has 3 pairs at over £400 a time. Just like any other boots to me but she loves them and considers them money well spent.

The answer to the OP's question........only he can decide. Each to their own.

MrsA also likes expensive boots; they have their own wardrobe. Not completely unrelated to my membership at the cheapest golf club in Hertfordshire.
It's not really most people's idea of "the golf club", but I've got great mates there and we play often. £749 per year, during which I'll probably play well over a hundred rounds. Always easy to get a tee time. In terms of value for money it's set a precedent that's going to be hard to follow in the future.

 

[Deleted member 23270]

Of course it matters because you could have enjoyed 5 rounds for a cost of £200 instead of £2000 if you just paid it in green fees! So you've wasted £1800! It is quite simple, or am I talking Dutch? The only exception to this is if you've joined a private exclusive club that doesn't take green fees at all.

And the second argument is a different point, if you're not enjoying the course then no amount is going to feel like value for money so you'll surely stop paying it anyway?

You're talking Dutch.

It's not a waste of money if the person feels they can justify it, like I said it is entirely down to the individual. Clearly to you it is a waste of money but maybe not to someone else. All sorts of other factors to include, what if the person goes to the club for lunch everyday which they couldn't do as a non member or attends lots of social functions. If those things are important then the cost per round becomes less so.

Also, not sure about your maths. GF at my club is £140 so 5 rounds would cost £700 not £200.

 

[PJ87]

You're talking Dutch.

It's not a waste of money if the person feels they can justify it, like I said it is entirely down to the individual. Clearly to you it is a waste of money but maybe not to someone else. All sorts of other factors to include, what if the person goes to the club for lunch everyday which they couldn't do as a non member or attends lots of social functions. If those things are important then the cost per round becomes less so.

Also, not sure about your maths. GF at my club is £140 so 5 rounds would cost £700 not £200.

So what your saying is your just tight at feeling the "need" to tip rather than on a tight budget.

I mean make your mind up man

 

[Deleted member 23270]

View attachment 50375

So what your saying is your just tight at feeling the "need" to tip rather than on a tight budget.

I mean make your mind up man

What has this got to do with VFM of golf club membership?

 

[PJ87]

What has this got to do with VFM of golf club membership?

Your very proud that you can lay £2000 of your budget to your golf club and get value for money

But not when it comes to tipping on a day out.

Meh so long as you can get on the committee and feel self important

 

[Orikoru]

You're talking Dutch.

It's not a waste of money if the person feels they can justify it, like I said it is entirely down to the individual. Clearly to you it is a waste of money but maybe not to someone else. All sorts of other factors to include, what if the person goes to the club for lunch everyday which they couldn't do as a non member or attends lots of social functions. If those things are important then the cost per round becomes less so.

Also, not sure about your maths. GF at my club is £140 so 5 rounds would cost £700 not £200.

You've honestly completely lost me with this. Paying £2000 for something you could have got for £700 is not a waste of money? Right-oh.

It's nothing to do with our opinions we are talking about straight financial facts here. You can't just say you haven't wasted money because you really, really enjoyed those five rounds. It would be a fact that you paid much more than they were worth.

 

[IanM]

Another "everyone is different" thread!

 

[Imurg]

Another "everyone is different" thread!

I'm not.........

 

[Deleted member 23270]

Your very proud that you can lay £2000 of your budget to your golf club and get value for money

But not when it comes to tipping on a day out.

Meh so long as you can get on the committee and feel self important

Very proud? I have enough disposable income to get very good VFM from my membership because I'm retired and can play as often as I want.

Please explain to me why I should tip someone to do something that A) I'm perfectly capable of doing for myself and B) I didn't ask them to do it for me in the first place? If I ask someone to get my clubs out my car or clean my shoes then I'll tip them.

Of all the stupid replies you have posted on this forum this one is up there with the very best of them

 

[Captain_Black.]

An interesting discussion & it only goes to prove we are all different.
I base my perceived vfm on 8 months as I don't like winter golf.
There is absolutely no question that I get great vfm even basing it on 8 months.
Although I'm retired & living off of a fixed low (ish) income I cut my costs in other area's.

The open comps costs have gone very high in my area compared to what they we're, so I've cut them out.
I now play much more team golf (about £20 a round inc food)
I use my County Card (cheaper than opens)
I use my clubs reciprocal deals with other clubs.
Plus I make savings in other areas like getting rid of cable TV, as that was getting silly expensive for poor quality programming & moving from contract to sim only phones.

 

[Deleted member 23270]

You've honestly completely lost me with this. Paying £2000 for something you could have got for £700 is not a waste of money? Right-oh.

It's nothing to do with our opinions we are talking about straight financial facts here. You can't just say you haven't wasted money because you really, really enjoyed those five rounds. It would be a fact that you paid much more than they were worth.

Yes I would have paid more than the individual green fees but I get a lot more for my money from being a member than just golf. It really isn't that difficult.

 

[PJ87]

Yes I would have paid more than the individual green fees but I get a lot more for my money from being a member than just golf. It really isn't that difficult.

It is when every single post is in a condescending tone

 

[sjw]

Straightforward enough calculation, isn't it? Take how often you'd like to play, work out how much that would cost you, and then see if a membership is less than that.