Golf Club Membership?

Question

I was wondering how I would get membership of a golf club. I know a lot will depend on the waiting list and quality of the course, but I dont want to become a memeber of the Belfry!

Firstly, how much is membership on average. I know once again this will depend on the course. Does memebership enable you to play for free on the course, or just priority tee-times?

I have only recently taken up the game and was looking for some help.

Answer 1

Sometime the membership allows you to play free, other times you still have to pay for the cart. Membership cost depends on the club always.

Answer 2

Why do you want to limit yourself to one course as there are plenty of courses around that you can pay and play on. If you go down the route of membership you will get to play as often as you like depending on the membership fee you do a s there are two types of membership for a start Full and Half. If you have time during the week to play then you will only need the five day or half membership but if not then you will need the full membership 7days. This will allow you to play as often as you like for the fee of the club greenfees. Membership and green fees are not the same thing. You pay a membership or joing fee to join the club and then a GREEN fee to use the course, it is only the GREEN fee that is normally payable each year, the membership fee is normally a one off payment. However, paying and playing at different courses will no doubt cost you a lot less over the year and you get to play on different courses which will keep your interest up because you will want to beat the courses you play on. Having a membership does have some advantages though, you get to tee off before any of the pay and play people do so you jump the que and there may be parts of the club that are out of bounds to non members which is quite normal for some clubs. as they say on tv the choice is yours.

Answer 3

In the UK it used to be the case that if you wanted to play the game you had to be a club member. Now there are hundreds of clubs that welcome golfers on a "Pay and play" basis and membership really isn't necessary. However being a club member does give you a social group which you might enjoy and it will bring other privileges. If you want to join a "prestigious" club you will need to be a decent golfer and have plenty of loot. It could cost you upwards of £1500 a year, and you need to play a lot of golf to make this pay! Another option is to join one or more golf societies (there are hundreds) - these often play at lots of different courses and there is a social element as well. Subscriptions are usually nominal and green fees good value.

The traditional golf clubs can be very snobbish and not particularly welcoming to new members. Some even don't allow women members or segregate women in the clubhouse.

You pays your money and makes your choice. The atmosphere at some clubs is very good and if you enjoy competitions and are happy with familiar faces in the 19th hole then membership might be what you would like. If you just want to play the game from time to time there are other options these days.

Answer 4

There are no hard and fast rules to this one, and you're absolutely right that membership fees will depend on the quality of the course.

Typically, a management owned club will be easier to get into as they don't tend to place a restriction on members in terms of playing ability. A members club, on the other hand, can obviously pick and choose who they allow to join and some of these might restrict membership to those who have good, solid playing handicaps.

Membership of a club can cost anything upwards of £800, the average being about £1200. You may find there is also a joining fee which is usually a years subscription - so in the first year you might have to pay £2400.

Membership categories tend to fall into two areas. 7-day membership which allows you to play at any time, or 5-day which restricts you to Mon-Fri (but not Bank Holidays). Some clubs may also have a restricted 7-day membership which means you can only play in the afternoons at the weekends.

Once you're a member, the only things you would need to pay for are entry fees to any competitions you might enter and any buggy hire, if you decided to use one.

I hope this helps. Good luck and happy golfing.

Answer 5

Depends where you live and what golf courses you have nearby. It would probably best to contact them and enquire it directly with them. Some you might just need to put your name on a waiting list, others you may need written recommendations from other members.

Worth considering that if you join a golf course, you're not going to get as much variety as if you just play various courses.

Answer 6

Entirely depends on where you wanna play...if you've only just taken up the game you'd be best starting at local public couse ..lower membership and often no joining fees. Here in the north east, there are several such courses available from £350-£500p/a..you might expect to double that figure in the south east

Answer 7

Membership typically covers green fees but not the golf car. That you will have to pay for separately. Depending on the place you'l get priority times, locker..etc.

Answer 8

like you said, depends on the course but your looking at about £800 - £2000 a year, then usually you can play free whenever you go, although you may have to pay to enter some competitions they have. probably depends where about in the country you are aswell, things tend to be cheaper up here in the north

Answer 9

Our private club memberships go for $1000.00 plus dues which are
150.00 per month. membership is limited to 300 and must meet board approval. Carts are 20.00 per round but most members have their own carts. Cart storage is 500.00. No green fees. We live in the South (US) so I play all year.

Answer 10

Try a patron card at a local public or semi-private golf course. I belong to Rush Creek in Maple Grove, MN, which is an outstanding golf course and facility! Patrons pay approx. $300.00 per year to get 1/2 price green fees, priority tee times and a discount on merchandise purchased from the clubhouse or bar & restaurant.

It takes about 12 rounds of golf for my patron card to pay for itself, but it's a great value as compared to paying $5,000.00+ per year to be locked into playing only 1 golf course.

I also play about 1/2 of my rounds per year with other golf buddies, so the patron card is the way to go for me. Check into it and try it for a year. You can always go elsewhere!

Here's the Rush Creek Cardholder criteria from their website:

2006 Rush Creek Card
~ Discounted green fees & cart fees
~ Choice of USGA handicap or Rush Creek hat
~ 25%-off non-sale golf shop merchandise
~ Lesson discount
~ Food & Beverage discounts (excludes holidays and special events)
~ 7 day advance tee times vs. 14 days for general public
~ One complimentary cardholder event (green fee, cart, and prizes)

$325.00 (plus tax) or $425.00 (plus tax) including unlimited range privileges