Country Club / Golf Membership

[philly17]

Curious to how many folks have a country club/golf membership. It is something I think I would enjoy in retirement but haven't joined in my working life as just wouldn't have been a priority over kids sports and activities.

I can afford it and my wife is encouraging me even though I haven't retired officially yet. It is a significant investment so curious how many folks have a membership and do you find that you use it as much as you thought in retirement.

The club is very close to our house and I'd play paddle tennis in winter golf in spring/summer/fall but it is $10K initiation and $1K per month.

I don't long for much but in my mind but this is one thing that I keep thinking I would enjoy.

 

[njhowie]

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Music Lover]

I used to golf 50 times a year or so and once considered a membership but decided not to get one for a few reasons:

1. I have friends that play other courses and if I wanted to play with them it would cost extra.

2. I like playing different courses and would probably get bored at the same course so often.

3. I'd feel obligated to play a lot to get my money's worth. I like golf but don't want to feel like I'm wasting my money if I take a week or two off.

 

[JoeWras]

Read the fine print. Does the club have minimums besides your monthly fee?

My BIL has belonged for 25 years. I've gone with him as a visitor. It is not my thing at all. But, it makes BIL happy. And when we visit, he's always treating us to dinner there so that he can make his food and drink minimum. I like that part.

 

[marko]

I don't long for much but in my mind but this is one thing that I keep thinking I would enjoy.

There's your answer. Life's too short.

 

[Aerides]

While I agree if you want it and can afford it, go for it, I'd say wait until you've actually been retired for 6 months, if not a year.

The things we imagine we'd do more of once retired are sometimes not what we actually do once we get there. The weekend escape/unwind activities aren't what we're drawn too when there is no longer a need to escape/unwind.

 

[athena53]

Read the fine print. Does the club have minimums besides your monthly fee?

My BIL has belonged for 25 years. I've gone with him as a visitor. It is not my thing at all. But, it makes BIL happy. And when we visit, he's always treating us to dinner there so that he can make his food and drink minimum. I like that part.

My parents enjoyed a cc membership for decades but they both loved to golf. Beware of the above, though. The "Have you soured on dining out?" thread recommends trying country clubs for meals, it can vary. In later years my parents complained that the food and the service deteriorated significantly. They still had a captive audience. It may be that with fewer people interested in memberships now (some have closed in my area) they're trying harder to get more revenue from outside.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We live in a Golf & CC Community, as we like the way they keep the community well-manicured and looking relatively upscale. Membership for residents is optional. It is a private CC that is also open to non-residents. We are not members, but some of my neighbors are. My next-door neighbor has been a member for over 5 years and is now considering dropping it. He usually complains that the food is subpar, the drinks are expensive, and all the people there only ever talk about politics, and he is getting fed up with it. It is not a cheap club to join, Mega Initiation Fees and Large Monthly dues with mandatory food and drink consumption. Not our cup of tea. Oh, and we do not play golf.

 

[steveark]

I had a free membership from my company for most of my career. They let me keep it when I retired although I am now responsible for the monthly fees. I'm not a golfer but I am a tennis player. It's a tiny cost and I partly stay a member to support our community since I could play tennis for free at another place.

 

[COcheesehead]

We live in a golf course community, but are not required to be members. We have access to the club house and can pay to use the pool or course. As the one of the posts above mentions, the community feels more put together and I think it helps property values.
We had a club membership when we first built. It was included with the lot. We played maybe 8-9 times. To renew is $4500 with a resident discount. It’s cheaper to pay the $80 per round for the few times we use it.

 

[aja8888]

I belonged to two private CC over the years, one in California and one in Texas. Both upscale with hefty initiation fees and monthly's including dining room minimums.

The one in Ca we used every week and DW used it weekdays with ladies golf, lunches, etc. Since I was working back then, I played mostly weekends.

Our two daughters used the pool and snack bar way too much! LOL

It was worth it, but only if you make it a continuous form of family activities. If it's only to play golf, you generally can't play enough to justify the cost.

In Texas, only I used the facilities (golf, dining room, etc) and as I got older, I used it less. The kids were gone, and DW gave up golf for physical reasons. So, the membership became a burden as costs didn't equal uses. We sold our Texas CC membership a few years ago.

Now I play golf weekly with friends my age (70's) and we play different courses as non members.

And one more thing that seems to be universal with CC dining is that the quality of food is not that great.

 

[Dtail]

Having played lots of golf over the years, I think you should give serious thought as to whether DH will mostly be satisfied playing the same course over and over.

 

[The Rodent]

Be sure you assess the social environment of the club before joining. You will be around these people ALOT! Be absolutely certain you WANT to be around your fellow members. From my experience this is far more important than the physical amenities of the club.


Ask about a "trial" membership for 2 or 3 months.


I was a member of a private country club for 10 years. This may sound like a cliche, but the best day was the day I joined and the day I submitted my resignation. After 4 years, I still don't regret the decision to leave the country club environment.

 

[Dtail]

Be sure you assess the social environment of the club before joining. You will be around these people ALOT! Be absolutely certain you WANT to be around your fellow members. From my experience this is far more important than the physical amenities of the club.


Ask about a "trial" membership for 2 or 3 months.


I was a member of a private country club for 10 years. This may sound like a cliche, but the best day was the day I joined and the day I submitted my resignation. After 4 years, I still don't regret the decision to leave the country club environment.

This is true and unfortunately lots of politics gets discussed.

 

[youbet]

Never belonged to a golf club. But as a teen, I did caddie at 2 different ritzy clubs outside of Chicago and made great money. Rode my bike to one, about 5 miles. For the other, I was picked up and driven both ways by the woman I caddied for. That club had no caddie facilities. This gal wanted to walk but not carry her bag or pull a cart, so she found me and provided transportation. With no other caddies there, I had it made. I was the only caddie in a foursome of 4 women, raked all the traps, watched everyone's ball, cleaned everyone's clubs, etc. Got great pay and a very generous tip from the woman whose bag I actually carried plus nice tips from the other three. Since there was no caddie shack, I got my lunch from the back door of the restaurant. It was a great gig!

Sorry to be off topic. Just relating the "blue-collar" view of country clubs.........

 

[harllee]

DH and I were members of a golf course country club for about 20 years and we loved it. We made great friends, loved the course and enjoyed the dining for the most part (they changed chefs frequently and some chefs were good, others not so much). If you want to meet a lot of people, a country club is good for that. It sort of made economic sense for us because both of us played golf ALOT. We lived on the course and during less busy times we could just walk out the door and start playing, we really enjoyed that. Once we retired we decided to move to a town that had better medical facilities and so we dropped our membership. We have not joined a country club in our new town because we are playing less golf as we get older (DH had to have knee replacement) so it does not make economic sense for us now.

 

[RetiredHappy]

We live in a golf club community, one is private and the other public, both Nicklaus courses. We belong to the private country club as national members in 2014 to 2016 and finally as full members in 2019 when we took up legal residence here in Nevada. Initiation fee which is non-refundable is $45K. Monthly dues is $1K and trail fee is $495 per quarter if you have your own golf cart, otherwise an additional $28 cart fee per round. Food minimum is only $1,200 per year and we run up about $4K in food a year because we have lunch there almost every day and go to some of their dinner events.

Because both of us play golf, averaging 4 times a week, the golf membership has been well worth it. We still travel about 3 months a year and play golf while travelling on land. I play golf with the ladies 3 times a week and on Sundays, with my husband. His arrangement is similar.

Having said all of these, when my husband is no longer able to play due to age or illness, I intend to drop the golf membership. I tend to be the frugal one at home. There are other activities which are alot cheaper.

 

[athena53]

Never belonged to a golf club. But as a teen, I did caddie at 2 different ritzy clubs outside of Chicago and made great money. !
<snip>
Sorry to be off topic. Just relating the "blue-collar" view of country clubs.........

Caddying was a great gig when I was a kid. I didn't do it- was female and not interested in golf at all- but it would have been a good way to meet potential employers, mentors, etc. Many clubs even had caddy scholarships.

That's mostly gone by the wayside- nearly everyone uses carts and some courses require it.

 

[Midpack]

It really depends on you. I play 100+ rounds a year, and I'm on the waiting list for membership at the local muni (nicer than most). But I do NOT want to play the same course exclusively so I play "away" once a week, at one of over a dozen nearby courses, with people I've met at the muni. Works perfect for me. Some of the guys I play with who are members feel they have to justify their memberships by playing only that course, they feel guilty going anywhere else they have to pay anything.

Also depends on why you play golf, for the game alone? I enjoy golf, but I enjoy the camaraderie and just being outdoors just as much - I would not be happy without all three. I play with 20+ guys regularly along with a 60+ person league.

You can find golf clubs at almost any price range, some (much) lower than the OP - like the muni I play at is $4290/yr for seniors like me, some (much) higher. Whatever you're comfortable with, that you enjoy.

 

[pb4uski]

Curious to how many folks have a country club/golf membership. It is something I think I would enjoy in retirement but haven't joined in my working life as just wouldn't have been a priority over kids sports and activities.

I can afford it and my wife is encouraging me even though I haven't retired officially yet. It is a significant investment so curious how many folks have a membership and do you find that you use it as much as you thought in retirement.

The club is very close to our house and I'd play paddle tennis in winter golf in spring/summer/fall but it is $10K initiation and $1K per month.

I don't long for much but in my mind but this is one thing that I keep thinking I would enjoy.

I've belonged to two different country clubs. The first was my hometown course when DD was young, but I stopped after a few years because it took up so much time.

The second was when I retired... both DW and I belonged to a local club. We quit a few years ago but just pay greens fees instead. We don't play often enough to make a membership worthwhile financially.

I am a member of a group of retired guys that plays different courses within 1-1/2 hours of home base on Thursdays so that reduces the number of times that I would play at a course that I belong to to 1-2 a week since 2-3 times a week is plenty of golf for me.

I know a couple guys who play almost every day. What I'm not sure of is whether they play almost every day to justify to themselves and their spouse their pricey country club membership or whether they would play almost every day anyway and a country club membership makes golf more affordable for them.... but I suspect the former.

 

[Midpack]

I know a couple guys who play almost every day. What I'm not sure of is whether they play almost every day to justify to themselves and their spouse their pricey country club membership or whether they would play almost every day anyway and a country club membership makes golf more affordable for them.... but I suspect the former.

I know guys who feel trapped by their memberships, even to the extent their DWs second guess them if they want to play somewhere else they have to pay for. Sound like the OP might not have the latter issue, but asking about reciprocity might be a good question to ask.

 

[bltkmt]

For that price, I would join. Around here in CT, the initial fee is closer to $100k.

 

[JoeWras]

Caddying was a great gig when I was a kid. I didn't do it- was female and not interested in golf at all- but it would have been a good way to meet potential employers, mentors, etc. Many clubs even had caddy scholarships.

That's mostly gone by the wayside- nearly everyone uses carts and some courses require it.

My BIL's club has bag jockeys in the summer. Still a nice gig. The kids "caddy" the bags from car to start, and visa versa. They also have a place to hand wash and detail cars.

BIL got me drunk on the course and I agreed to tip the bag jockey and I gave him something like $40 (no car wash).

Alcohol flows, they do well.

 

[CardsFan]

Caddying was a great gig when I was a kid. I didn't do it- was female and not interested in golf at all- but it would have been a good way to meet potential employers, mentors, etc. Many clubs even had caddy scholarships.

That's mostly gone by the wayside- nearly everyone uses carts and some courses require it.

You reminded me of our friends daughter. Not a real golfer, but a go getter. She caddied at a local CC for several years in High School and got a full ride scholarship to the state university (MIZZOU - Go Tigers)

 

[zinger1457]

To the OP, sounds like money isn't an issue so give it a try, it won't be life ending if it doesn't work out.
I did have a country club membership at one time but just didn't feel it was worth the cost. I now have a golf membership at the local military golf course, just under $1400/year, and can play golf year-round. Meets most of my golf needs, travel maybe 6 weeks/year, often to other golf destinations. Before I retired I figured I could play golf 6 days a week no problem but the reality after retirement is 3 times a week is my max.