Joining Fee.....why?

[chris661]

I paid £1500 plus £850 green fee for my first year at my club,i chose to join the club and that was what it cost,i see the joining fee as an incentive to stay at the club but also it boost the money the club has to maintain the course as members expect it to be,we also have a cap on how many members we have,unlike some local clubs who have no joining fee no cap on members and a pay monthly arrangement its horses for courses,the benefit of my club is we do not have a booking of tee times scheme you can turn up and play whenever you fancy a game and on occasions i have been in the only group on the course,to me that is what being a member of a private club is about,if i wanted to have a game next Thursday and had to book a week in advance and had to play behind a 5 ball dressed in football tops or playing out of 3 bags i would join a muni,by the way my green fees have gone up to £930 this year but that is a small price to pay for what we get.

My fees are around €480 with no joining fee and I get all that.........

 

[JezzE]

Loch Lomond (no, not the carrick) used to be an £80,000 bond in order to join - and you are only allowed to play 12 rounds per year

I believe the 12 rounds a year thing is an urban myth. It was certainly never mentioned to me when I handed over my £80,000...

 

[stevie_r]

I believe the 12 rounds a year thing is an urban myth. It was certainly never mentioned to me when I handed over my £80,000...

Very good Jezz, the 12 rounds is no urban myth and I'm assured once got a warning regarding overuse of the practise area

 

[GB72]

Simple reason for joining fees in my area, there appears to be a cartel going. All of the main clubs charge the same fees, the same joining fee etc and as long as this stays strong, joining fees will remain. If suspect that if one or more cuts fees or dropped the joining fee then there would be a mass migration.

 

[DaveM]

Only £930 green fees this year? So one of the cheaper clubs in the north west. Wish I could get it that cheap around Manchester.

 

[DaveM]

Several of the club in the Manchester area, charge joining fees. Its mainly as they are members clubs. Its pays for a share of the club. Not sure about all of them, but two of them return it if you leave the club later on down the line. As you no longer have a share of the club.

 

[Snelly]

Is there still a demand for those wishing to pay that sort of money for the privilege of paying another x'000 a year for subs?

I guess my sights are set a bit lower and clubs like Devils Dyke are desparately trying to attract new members by offering flexible membership schemes and the fact that there is no joining fee is a bonus.

I was just interested to understand whether these will soon become a thing of the past or, if required, gave some benefit to the member.

West Sussex annual subs are in fact roughly the same as the Dyke. In Craw's post, his badly judged attempt to have another dig quite remarkably contains something of substance.

A high joining fee means that only the relatively wealthy can join. West Sussex fees are pretty reasonable in my view, especially given that the joining fee can be spread over the first 3 years of annual subs if required.

There are many more clubs that cost significantly more. Woburn for example - £3000 per year. Not sure about the joining fee but I think a friend of mine mentioned it was in the £10K region.

I think these can of fees are here to stay as there are punters who are prepared to pay them - the demand is certainly there.

 

[Dodger]

I believe the 12 rounds a year thing is an urban myth. It was certainly never mentioned to me when I handed over my £80,000...

You beat me to it Jezz.

I have heard 4 times a week but have also heard that this whole 'you are only allowed so many rounds' is total bollox.

Surely GM could get the correct info and put it to bed either way??

 

[DCB]

Some clubs do, some don't, some are reduced, some are suspended....what is the reason for a joining fee and what benefit does it serve to the new member?

As folks have said, golf is no longer game where you joined your club and stayed there for the rest of your days. People chop & change on a yearly basis now. Partly because they can do as Clubs have little or no joining fee.

If a club does still operate a joining fee, then the churn of transient golfers will definitely be less each year.

 

[ADB]

When thinking about this topic I wondered how I would feel if after I had stumped up a joining fee a year or so down the line the policy changed and the fee was suspended - anyone had any experience of this?

 

[thecraw]

When thinking about this topic I wondered how I would feel if after I had stumped up a joining fee a year or so down the line the policy changed and the fee was suspended - anyone had any experience of this?

Yes I stumped up £1k to join at Ranfurly Castle, next year it was £500 and now its nil. Thankfully I took the hit on the chin and jumped ship to "the tradesmans course" across the road and I couldn't be happier. I simply write it off as a bad experience although I did make a few good friends at the Castle!

 

[richart]

One of the reasons I joined my club was because it didn't have a joining fee. It had a loan system, £250, which you got back when you left. When I joined I hadn't played for about ten years, and was not sure if I was going to enjoy playing again. On the basis that I only had to pay one years sub it was worth the gamble.

Enjoying the golf so much that I gave the Loan back to the club in return for 6 guest green fees. Surprisingly a few forum members snapped these up.

 

[ADB]

Several of the club in the Manchester area, charge joining fees. Its mainly as they are members clubs. Its pays for a share of the club. Not sure about all of them, but two of them return it if you leave the club later on down the line. As you no longer have a share of the club.

Dave, that is interesting and at least provides something tangible for the outlay.

 

[sweatysock41]

Our course had a joining fee when it first opened about 30 years ago. After the initial intake of members they were finding it difficult to attract new members and decided to axe the joining fee. As its a proprietory course the owner refunded the existing membership their joining fees by reducing their annual green fees by the equivalent of their joining fee over a 2 or 3 year period I believe.

I do notice that there is a steady turnover of members though with a hardore of around 400 diehards.

 

[PNWokingham]

You beat me to it Jezz.

I have heard 4 times a week but have also heard that this whole 'you are only allowed so many rounds' is total bollox.

Surely GM could get the correct info and put it to bed either way??

I played there a year ago when it was in administartion and asked a few questions. I believe that the 12-rounds-per-year was a sort of rule in the very early days but not for too long. I would hate to think what the fees are now for 7 months golf per year after the members have taken over the club with about £50m of debt - it was circa £4k per year but clearly didn't come close to covering costs - this place is only feasable for the ultra rich on an American scale! Although getting picked up from the airport in a fleet of 3 range rovers and staying in the lodge on the side of the 18th with help-yourself single malt from a cristal decantar is a great memory - and the course is not shabby either!

 

[Anders]

The trouble in my area is there are so many courses to choose from, so only a few can justify charging a joining fee.

The fact that the annual subs are so high compared to green fees, means unless you play more than once a week you are better off as a nomad anyway. Add a hefty joining fee into the mix, and membership looks less and less appealing.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Wasn't the joining fee really a way of the club trying to maintain the snobbish air of years gone by whereby new members were expected to be of certain means to get in. Then it became a way of getting extra revenue into the club as the doors opened to a wider golfing public especially while clubs were still having waiting lists. These days with greater choice between clubs it is more likely to detract a lot of members who will go elsewhere. Not sure whre my club stands these days. It was running a joining fee, deferred over two years, then it reduced the cost, and I'm not even sure it still has one

 

[Iaing]

I don't know if it's a nationwide trend or just local to me but the courses with lower annual subs still have joining fees but the more expensive ones don't.

There's no doubt that a joining fee will promote loyalty ( to a certain extent )

 

[stevek1969]

I don't know if it's a nationwide trend or just local to me but the courses with lower annual subs still have joining fees but the more expensive ones don't.

There's no doubt that a joining fee will promote loyalty ( to a certain extent )

Think Iain thats why some clubs have a joining fee ,mine does, its £500 paid over 5 years ,now after paying that your not going to leave after a few years nowadays. when i joined it was £500 upfront i think Downfield is £1200 joining fee which is shocking.

 

[Tommo21]

When thinking about this topic I wondered how I would feel if after I had stumped up a joining fee a year or so down the line the policy changed and the fee was suspended - anyone had any experience of this?

Here in East Lothian a few clubs have dropped the fee, especially over the last few years. I’ve been caught up in it, paid a joining fee at Royal Musselburgh 4 years ago for them to drop it the following year when they panicked after loosing a few members due to the recession. Dunbar, still a joining fee, but I’ve already got my moneys worth. Dunbar is loosing members as well but there seems to be enough new members, paying the fee, to make up for the loss.

Less people playing and more golf courses to choose from is the real problem here in East Lothian. I recon there are around 25 courses within a 30 min drive from my house. I genuinely think that one or two clubs could go under in the next few years.

If a club, golf course, is good enough they can demand a fee and still do.