newbie looking to join a club

[stevenk]

Hi all, just joined the forum. Been playing about 5 months stuck on 102 for a round. Looking to join a club either Gedney Hill, Thorney or Thorpe wood. Any advice would be good, wondering what roll ups they do and would people who have not broken be really accepted. Financially Gedney hill looks good at £370 a year but is it to cheap? Any one got any experience of any of these clubs please.

 

[pbrown7582]

hello and welcome aboard enjoy the fun

good questions to be asking about a club if there are no members on here ask the secs at clubs concerned?

 

[RollinThunder]

I imagine you'll get accepted anywhere, it's not really a question of being refused membership anymore, most clubs, including the most prestigious, want new members, and as long as your willing to pay, they'll have you. That's my experience anyway

Looking at Gedney Hill, on the website it says "Membership rates Weekends £8", so is the £370 just for a 5-day Mon-Fri subscription, and you have to pay £8 extra if you want to play on a weekend? If so, you need to consider when you'll play, because if you work all week, and only play at the weekends, it won't be economical. If you only play during the week, why not

Thorpe Wood (Nene Park) looks quite tidy, plus it has two courses, and the membership package is the same as my club, but just bear in mind the green fee to subscription ratio. If you play less than a certain amount of times per year, you'll lose money, and you'd be better off just getting the "Associate Member" package for £50, so you can play in comps, but not have to worry about playing very often to justify your subscription.

You might be like me and be teetering on subscription economy, but appreciate the perks that a subscription has to offer, such as just being able to have a round when you like, and just nip on after work for a practice 9-holes.

My advice is to join a club that you really like, and enjoy the course. I made the mistake of joining a club because it was cheap, but it was too far away, and the competitions were too busy, so I left and joined a more expensive club, that is local, and my favourite course, and I have the motivation to play it three times a week

 

[stevenk]

Gedney hill is £370 for 7 days membership. It is also the furthest from home at 15 miles away Thorney is my nearest at £625, I had wondered about the associate membership at nene park. I thought my best bet was to play 2 or 3 rounds at each and see what I enjoy most.

 

[Tarkus1212]

It's been a while since I played Thorpe Wood, a decent enough track but the greens were poor - but that was a few years ago. £370 for a 7 day membership is dirt cheap for the region, might be a marketing ploy to encourage new members? Of the courses up that way I always enjoyed Peterborough Milton and Elton Furze the most.

 

[SteveJay]

I would go for it. I have done just that recently, joined a local club on a discounted rate until March 31st. Can assess whether it is worth a full years subscription then. Being new to the area and not knowing any members isn't an issue, but I am loving the fact that I can just go whenever I want and play as many holes as I like without having to think about green fees.

Lately i I have played 6-9 holes in the evening (it's so quiet then!) and had a practice on the putting green and even stopped mid way round and used the practice area. I think that's better than visiting a range. Accept light will start to restrict my times but the freedom is a huge positive for me.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Welcome along. Why not contact each club you are interested in and ask to go along. Many places offer a trial round (or nine holes) and will show you around the place. Consider what you want from a club and see which tick the boxes

 

[RollinThunder]

You should definitely have a few rounds at each course to see if you could imagine yourself being a member there. Even if one is £370 for a year, the atmosphere and membership base could be poor, and you wouldn't have the motivation to play there, so it could be £370 wasted. You could pay £795 for the other club, love the atmosphere, the comps, and the other members, and enjoy every penny of it. It's your decision to make

I agree that being a member of a club has a certain something that you don't get from just paying green fees. I could easily cope with paying green fees and entering comps, but I really appreciate being able to have a quick 9 holes when I fancy it, or just a few holes for a practice, something that's only really doable with a subscription.