Membership benefits??

[nmartyn]

Hi all....
i'm considering getting a membership to a local club but am torn over whether this would be a good idea.
can those of you who have memberships tell me the benefits over simply using 'pay and play' options and whether paying a yearly fee of around £1500 is cheaper in the long term (in your experience).

At the moment i spend (on average) £25 per round probably 3 times a month. so that would be approx £900pa.

so what added extras/benefits do you get from being a club member?

 

[krokodil]

£900 vs £1500 no debate as far as i'm concerned.

You may get a discount at the bar but is that gonna equate to £600?
I'd ask if there's some sort of intermediate membership where you pay a reduced fee per round and a flat membership fee.

 

[forefortheday]

Are you getting any extra facilities bar the use of the clubhouse?

Do they have a decent practice ground or driving range that you can use?

You will get a club handicap and the opportunity to play in regular comps and you should be able to get a tee time much easier than before.

If it's just membership and that's it then no for me!

 

[nmartyn]

i guess i should find out what the membership options include.... i assumed you pay the yearly fee and have free rounds plus the use of the club facilities....

 

[Parmo]

I too have been thinking about joining a private club, the issues I have at the moment are: -

- Comps are always played in the same groups not mixed
- Joining fee's
- Lockers, I need a locker as I don't drive yet but most have long, long, long and long waiting lists

Or I could get a season ticket for the municipal I play on weekends for about £370 April to April on a 9 hole course, then if I wanted I could pay £100 and become a club member and get in comps and a hcp. As a day visitor I can use the clubhouse after play and I'm not fussed about "official" handicap as I use an online one & the comps are always the same groups again so there is no incentive to become a club member.

So I am not sure what to do, join cobble hall

http://www.leedsgolfclub.co.uk/

for about £750 with no joining fee and hope I can find a group to play in or buy a season ticket from the local muni in April and just carry on playing alone but with the odd game hooking up with a group.

 

[nmartyn]

i guess another problem/draw back against joining a club is my friends who i usually play with won't be willing to join, so they'd still have to pay per round and we'd probably have to take the later tee off slots.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

For me the benefit of paying my membership is mainly the fact that I can roll up at any time and go out. No booking etc (although tees are obviously booked for monthly medals and club matches but even then you can get away from the 10th).

Also we have regular competitions (drawn so you are always playing with someone different), good practice facilities, a decent pro who will try and give you a good deal where possible and is a decent teacher, good facilities and I have my pwn locker which means I can leave my clubs there and commute from work to the club in summer without any problems.

My club is not cheap £1200 per annum but it is a new course which is maturing quickly and offers a decent challenge. That said I play both days at weekends and probably 3 times during the week in the summer. So lets say

45 weeks x 2 rounds = 90
3 weeks of high summer (Jun-Aug) = 3 rounds x 12 weeks = 36
Annual leave and flexi days = 10 (minimum)

That equals a minimum of 136 rounds (I've acutally played 141 so far this year - had a month off in the summer and played every day) so that works out at £8.82 per round which is not going to be bettered by many pay and plays (plus the hassle of booking, slow rounds, lack of competitions and defending your handicap)

 

[nmartyn]

do you play the same course every time? i'm new to golf in general but find nothing more exciting than a new course with unexpected challenges.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I tend to play my competitive golf at Ascot but I'll play away in club matches throughout the season. I also go away to other courses with my regular Saturday morning crowd two or three timesa year

 

[TWM]

"At the moment i spend (on average) £25 per round probably 3 times a month. so that would be approx £900pa."

You could make it 8 times a month and start saving.

 

[Parmo]

I think I would be living in a bedsit by now if I played 5 times a week in the summer let alone twice on a weekend.

What do you think £900 no joining fee, decent members and a good pro shop and clubhouse but poor pratice facilities (I don't practice much anyway and other local course are available to do so)?

 

[Smiffy]

The club I am thinking of joining in April (Highwoods in Bexhill) offers a fairly unusual membership category along with the more usual 5 day and full membership options. It's called "Fairway" membership and basically caters for those people who are in full time employment but for one reason or another can't get to the course as often as they'd like.
You pay an inital £250.00 followed by 9 monthly payments of £33.00 and for that you receive 25 pre-paid vouchers to play. You are able to enter club competitions (excluding trophies or cups) and there is no restriction on week-end play. This works out at roughly £22.00 per round. Bearing in mind the guests green fee (with a member) is £25.00 I don't think this is too bad at all. The other good thing with this membership category is that there is no "joining fee" (which is normally just over £800.00 too!). For every year you are a "fairway" member, 10% is taken off the joining fee if you do decide to move up to full membership.
From my point of view, I think this is a fantastic way to become a member, to get my handicap sorted out and play with different people. If I want to play more rounds than my alloted 25 in the year, I just buy a ticket at the pro shop for £25.00! I work a five and a half day week where I am, which includes every single Saturday, but to make life easy I will work a 6 day week one week, and a 5 day week the next. If I join Highwoods, I will revert back to taking a half day every week so at least I can get out one midweek afternoon every week. My two eldest kids live with their Mum but visit every fourth week-end and with my motorbiking habit on top of that it is difficult (and a little unfair on my wife) to expect to get out every Sunday, but if I could get out every third Sunday I think I would get my moneys worth!
Rob