Have you cancelled membership early?

[Deleted member 18121]

Hi all

My course conditions have been pretty awful this year - even now its summer there are grass cuttings all over the course, the bunkers are in awful condition and don't even get me started on the greens. In the last couple of weeks my PP and I have both mentioned that it may have been a mistake re-joining the club in April.

Today I received a message via facebook from Sweetwoods golf club, with an unbelievable membership offer that I'd be stupid to ignore. So I now need to look into cancelling my current membership only 6 weeks into the new year.......has anyone else ever done it? Did your club let you leave without penalty/fuss?

Cheers all

Adam

 

[fundy]

Hi all

My course conditions have been pretty awful this year - even now its summer there are grass cuttings all over the course, the bunkers are in awful condition and don't even get me started on the greens. In the last couple of weeks my PP and I have both mentioned that it may have been a mistake re-joining the club in April.

Today I received a message via facebook from Sweetwoods golf club, with an unbelievable membership offer that I'd be stupid to ignore. So I now need to look into cancelling my current membership only 6 weeks into the new year.......has anyone else ever done it? Did your club let you leave without penalty/fuss?

Cheers all

Adam

Solely depends on the contract you have for you membership with your club. If you are on a rolling monthly payment with no commitment then you can leave, if youre on an agreement for the full 12 months then you're tied in until it runs out (unless you can afford 2 memberships)

 

[Alex1975]

Are you contracted for a year or is it just a rolling one month contract?

 

[guest100718]

My guess wouldbe youre tied for a year to your current place

 

[6inchcup]

unless it is a private members club ( even some of these) your contract is not with the club but a credit firm,you agree to pay monthly but in effect it is a loan with a third party ( read small print of contract) the club gets the money up front you pay the lender,i know some who stopped paying their monthly fees at ECCLESTON PARK a few years ago and they got letters from the bailiffs regarding court proceedings for non payment,my thinking is if you have a 12 month membership and bail out after 1 month you will have to pay 11 months of the remaining in a lump sum.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

You'd have to ask your club but I would be surprised if the contract let you leave without paying the full years subs.

 

[fundy]

unless it is a private members club ( even some of these) your contract is not with the club but a credit firm,you agree to pay monthly but in effect it is a loan with a third party ( read small print of contract) the club gets the money up front you pay the lender,i know some who stopped paying their monthly fees at ECCLESTON PARK a few years ago and they got letters from the bailiffs regarding court proceedings for non payment,my thinking is if you have a 12 month membership and bail out after 1 month you will have to pay 11 months of the remaining in a lump sum.

Not always true, ours isnt a private members club but I pay monthly membership on a rolling agreement direct to the club and can walk away as and when I choose (diff clubs do it diff ways, the only way OP will know the answer is to find his agreement with his club)

 

[DCB]

Just remember, the grass isn't always greener

Have you looked into why the other club are making an offer that's too good to refuse. My gut feeling would be to check that out first, it may be a bad sign of the health of the other club.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

I've just been through all my e-mails from a year ago when we joined and I cant find any evidence of a rolling month to month or annual agreement.

The only thing I can find is an e-mail from them asking as to setup a standing order to pay them every month, as they don't TAKE the money from you.

I guess I'll just have to ask them what the score is.

 

[DCB]

If you weren't paying by SO would you be expected to pay the full years subs by a given date at the start of the season ?

 

[Stuey01]

I'd be a bit surprise if you aren't tied in for a year. Some clubs let you out early under certain circumstances, such as moving house out of the area, but don't think jumping ship to another club down the road would qualify!
Good luck though, hope it works out for you.

 

[rosecott]

I've just been through all my e-mails from a year ago when we joined and I cant find any evidence of a rolling month to month or annual agreement.

The only thing I can find is an e-mail from them asking as to setup a standing order to pay them every month, as they don't TAKE the money from you.

I guess I'll just have to ask them what the score is.

I think the club website probably gives you the answer. The options are for a year's membership either in a lump sum or 0% interest monthly payments. Either choice would seem to be tying you in for a full year.

 

[DCB]

Had a look at the website for the 'new' club. Statement from the owner would scare me off before looking any further. Its not a members club, it's his club, so take that into account and all that that entails . He's out to turn a profit, so it'll be filling the start sheet with P&P at every opportunity. Not my cup of tea.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Had a look at the website for the 'new' club. Statement from the owner would scare me off before looking any further. Its not a members club, it's his club, so take that into account and all that that entails . He's out to turn a profit, so it'll be filling the start sheet with P&P at every opportunity. Not my cup of tea.

It is the finest course in all of Kent & Essex though

 

[davidy233]

It is the finest course in all of Kent & Essex though

I noticed that - bet it bothers Royal St Georges etc. - or maybe not

 

[Deleted member 18121]

To be fair Sweetwoods is (and always has been) a very high quality club - but guess they have been struggling of late as most clubs have been.

I too think that I'm probably tied in for a year - but await their confirmation. Its a bit galling that you could be tied in paying for something that isn't delivering its promises.

 

[DCB]

Time to express your concerns to your current club then. See if they want to lose members over the condition of their course, or, do they step up and address that issue and keep the course in better condition.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Is the problem due to a lack of funds available, a lack of equipment to get the course up to standard or just apathy from the owners and staff. Unless their is cash and a desire to make things better I doubt things are going to improve but you can bet your last penny they'll do whatever they can to make sure you are tied in for the full year.

 

[duncan mackie]

Just remember, the grass isn't always greener

Have you looked into why the other club are making an offer that's too good to refuse. My gut feeling would be to check that out first, it may be a bad sign of the health of the other club.

it's much more to do with competition in the area

although the full price memberships of most of the clubs are similar (members or propitiatory) and the actual financial models are also broadly similar with the members clubs increasingly taking more societies, there are ever increasing attempts to woe people in on the basis of a variety of membership deals at the moment - basically all the ones that people on here have been asking for when such threads run! In fact some of the propitiatory clubs manage to generate income through activities that have little, or no, impact on the members golf so that's even better!

they aren't all the same, the the ownership is a key factor, but it's really not hard to establish what's going on at any one of them by turning up for a drink at the bar on a Sat lunchtime.

the OP's current club is rumored to have lost most of it's membership and is up for sale (again) and the one he's mentioned has been steadily improving all round for the last few years. it's weakness is in practice/warm up facilities.

 

[DCB]

I suppose we're lucky in that most of our clubs are still members clubs. We do have proprietary clubs, but they are thin on the ground and do seen to target specific groups for their membership. A lot of transient golfers play through for a couple of years and move on. Visiting societies are still a big target for them as are P&P walk ons.

Just the way the game is evolving.