Dokex Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 On 9/9/2021 at 10:06 AM, Gavwlee said: I recently signed up then cancelled my private club membership after 6 months when I realized members didn't care to repair divots, rake bunkers, destroy practice areas, and monopolize tee times (just in case they decided to play)...all to say, not a good experience. And the pace of play was not any better than any public course (5 - 6.5 hours when stuck behind the wrong group, thinking they're playing on tour). With that rant aside, where do you all play? Public vs Private? Same home course all the time? Rotation of courses in and around your neighborhood? With a club/consistent group of folks? I think that members at private clubs blame the less than ideal conditions on non-member outing play, instead of taking pride in the upkeep of the course. Gavwlee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godawgs Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I play golf at Edmunson Golf Coarse and Harvest Point Golf Coarse, Oskaloosa, Iowa. Both are public golf coarses. We also have Oskaloosa Golf that is also public but I’m not a member there. Great coarses Gavwlee 1 Quote Back in golf after a 25 year delay. Go Dawgs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Tango Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Public. Where I play most, great rates for seniors, especially walkers, but great even for 18 with a cart. garyt1957 and Gavwlee 2 Quote Ping G400 woods, hybrids, irons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavwlee Posted September 10, 2021 Author Share Posted September 10, 2021 2 minutes ago, Dokex said: I think that members at private clubs blame the less than ideal conditions on non-member outing play, instead of taking pride in the upkeep of the course. So true..but in this case, I’ve no doubt that the issue were the members. Lots of the members (definitely not all) were the bad apples that just didn’t care to repair divots, rake bunkers, etc. Maybe they thought their membership dues would take care of all that for them? Quote Mizuno ST-Z 220 9.5* Diamana D+ White 60S | Titleist 917F2 17* Diamana TB 70S | Titleist 913 Hybrid 19* Diamana White 92HY S | Mizuno JPX 921 Forged Nippon Modus Tour 115 S (4-GW) | Vokey SM5 52* (playing 53*) and 58* | Odyssey Black Series Tour Design No. 5 | Bridgestone Tour B XS | Mizuno BR-D4 6-Way California Blue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhillaz Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I mostly play at a private country club. I can get a round in less than 2 hours if playing by myself, if playing in a foursome normal play is just over 3 hours. If you play on weekends it can extend to 4 hours which seems like an eternity. I do play public courses as well just for the variety or when traveling. Whenever I go public, it is a real wakeup on the pace of play and the course conditions. I find public courses also have worse green conditions, especially in unrepaired or poorly repaired ball marks. Gavwlee and GaDawg 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavwlee Posted September 10, 2021 Author Share Posted September 10, 2021 40 minutes ago, 550025 said: I'm fortunate to have been a member of various private clubs since 1980. This year our club decided to increase our already hefty dues by another 30%. I moved over to a nearby semi private club (with 10 other members) and couldn't be happier. We kept most of our Saturday group together and saved a ton of $$$. The savings gave me a chance to take 2 bucket list golf trips and more are planned. I'll stay semi-private. I’ve actually been considering this recently as there is a highly rated semi-private within 20 minutes of where I live, but looks like they have a waitlist, so I might have to visit as a non-member for a while and scope it out more Glad your situation resulted in an optimal position for you and your group! Where were your bucket list trips? Quote Mizuno ST-Z 220 9.5* Diamana D+ White 60S | Titleist 917F2 17* Diamana TB 70S | Titleist 913 Hybrid 19* Diamana White 92HY S | Mizuno JPX 921 Forged Nippon Modus Tour 115 S (4-GW) | Vokey SM5 52* (playing 53*) and 58* | Odyssey Black Series Tour Design No. 5 | Bridgestone Tour B XS | Mizuno BR-D4 6-Way California Blue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavwlee Posted September 10, 2021 Author Share Posted September 10, 2021 1 hour ago, funkyjudge said: The vast majority of public-access and municipal golf courses in my area (Eastern PA and Central/Southern NJ) are well-maintained and provide a good challenge and test of golf, so I primarily play these courses. I occasionally get the opportunity to play private courses, and if they are good courses and the folks I will be playing with are cool, I play these courses maybe 6 to 8x per year. I will also travel up to 1.5-2 hours to play a great course, but I am fortunate to have plenty of quality public courses within a 20 to 30 minute drive from which I can choose, so I only travel those greater distances to play golf with buddies of mine who live nearer to courses that are further from me. I also play on a winter golf tour, and the mix of courses that we play on that tour are about 65% private (some very exclusive private courses) and 35% public. The opportunity to play some of these exclusive private courses is a major motivating factor that prompted me to join this winter tour a few years ago (and the prize money and skins potential doesn’t hurt, as well). Semper Fi, Brother Marine! I might have to come up to PA! Lol sounds like you have a ton of quality options up there! Quote Mizuno ST-Z 220 9.5* Diamana D+ White 60S | Titleist 917F2 17* Diamana TB 70S | Titleist 913 Hybrid 19* Diamana White 92HY S | Mizuno JPX 921 Forged Nippon Modus Tour 115 S (4-GW) | Vokey SM5 52* (playing 53*) and 58* | Odyssey Black Series Tour Design No. 5 | Bridgestone Tour B XS | Mizuno BR-D4 6-Way California Blue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albatrass Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I play all three. Living in The Villages FL. we have 13 Regulation (18 or 27 hole) courses and 42 executive (9 hole) courses. We still like to go to courses outside of the Villages too. Some are semi-private or public. Gavwlee and MDGolfHacker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDGolfHacker Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I tend to play whatever courses EA golf and tiger woods golf allows me to play . But seriously I tend to only play public courses, although with a busy family and work schedule the only course I play is the one where I do my nine-hole golf League lately. MDGolfHacker Gavwlee and toehold57 2 Quote TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag? Driver: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex Fairway Woods: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft Fairway Woods: Hybrid: TSR2 18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft Irons: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex Wedge: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot Putter: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75" Bag: Three 5 Ball: PRO V1 / Z*Star RangeFinder: In search of new range finder Social Media: Facebook: MD Golfhacker Twitter: @mdgolfhacker Instagram: mdgolfhacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubbly Pop Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I'm lucky in that the course I belong to in Pittman NJ (Running Deer) owns/operates 7 other (semi-private) courses within a 50 mile radius, and you can play any of them under the same membership. I still occasionally play 3-4 other area courses that either have interesting layouts, unique green complex's, or both. However, it's a good deal joining a course that is affiliated with other courses in order to regularly enjoy more variety for the same $'s. Gavwlee and MDGolfHacker 2 Quote G425 Driver - 10.5 degree Callaway EPIC MAX 3W Callaway Heavenwood 7W G425 4 Hybrid - 22 degree Takomo 201's - Nippon MODUS 105 shafts Phantom X 8 Putter - Original "Two Thumb" grip 54 and 58 degree V-Grind SMS wedges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler86 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Public cause im not baller enough to pay the 40k initiation fees. Minnesota is fortunate to have golf courses on every block it seems like. Tons of Public courses that are PGA quality. GaDawg and Gavwlee 2 Quote Mavrik Max Driver M2 5W 818 hybrids Steelhead XR Irons ZipCore wedges SeeMore PR M7X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorJimbo Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 24 minutes ago, Albatrass said: I play all three. Living in The Villages FL. we have 13 Regulation (18 or 27 hole) courses and 42 executive (9 hole) courses. We still like to go to courses outside of the Villages too. Some are semi-private or public. I’m so jealous. I live 90 minutes north of you in Alachua and we have so few courses, let alone quality courses. I enjoy the courses in your area. I play public courses here in the Gainesville area mainly because there’s nothing else. The university course is always in great shape. The one local private is too expensive and not my type (lots of condos, etc) Albatrass and Gavwlee 2 Quote Jimmy GS53 Max 9° Driver GS53 14° 3 Wood VKTR Hybrid 18° VKTR Hybrid 22° PTX Pro 5-7 Icon 8-PW EQ2 50,54,58 BH Bettinardi - The Hawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom33 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I play the Air Force Academy Courses here in Colorado Springs. Two great options and both are well maintained and offer a lot of value for the money. Albatrass and Gavwlee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toehold57 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 11 minutes ago, Tom33 said: I play the Air Force Academy Courses here in Colorado Springs. Two great options and both are well maintained and offer a lot of value for the money. I’m hopefully playing one of the Academy courses in a couple of weeks, never played them & looking forward to it. Public courses for me, my playing partner likes to move around. Gavwlee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie T Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 A local semi-private club offered a “special 3-yr membership”, so the missus and I joined. It is struggling to make the course better. The benefits are if you walk 9, it’s free. To ride 9 or 18 it’s just the cart fee. I also play number of other semi-private courses in the area, some in super nice shape. Gavwlee 1 Quote WITB? Ping G400 SFT w/Aldila Mamba shaft R flex; Ping G410 3w; Ping G400 3h(19), 4h(22), 5h(26); TaylorMade SLDR 5i (interchanges w/5h)-PW -stock graphite shafts Rflex; INDI FLX-S wedges (50, 54, 58) w/Recoil graphite shafts -Rflex and Odyssey AI-One 7T BD Milled (aka Millie), ball choice tends to be Pro-V1 or simliar 3pc urethane balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thegolfdean7 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I guess mine is semi private, we have memberships, and greens fee players. I like it that way, I think it keeps our costs down. People should take care of where they play, no matter what type of course. But sounds like you need a nice course to play at. I like being in a place with members, tournaments, always someone you know to join in with when you just decide to go play on a whim. Gavwlee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmikecpa Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I am a member of a private club in NY and a member at semi private club in VA. I will say I enjoy the golf in VA a lot more than NY. Heck of a lot cheaper and the conditions are pretty good for what I pay per month. The course in VA is a lot of fun to play and a lot more challenging off the tips. Gavwlee 1 Quote WITB 2024 Driver: Qi10 LS 9* Ltd. HZRDUS RDX Smoke Blue 60 TX Fairway: BRNR Mini Driver Copper 13.5* Evenflow Black 75g 6.5 Fairway: Sim 19* HZRDUS Red 75g 6.5 Hybrid: 0317x 22* KBS Proto 95x Irons: X Forged CB 5 - PW MMT 105 TX Wedges: Jaws Raw 50*, 54* & 58* TTDG "OG" Spinner Putter: Toulon Madison BGT Fire 34.75" Ball: Z Star Diamond Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T McKinnon Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 I play the many different courses in the Northern Utah area. There are nice variety of courses to play. I love to play the mountain courses, the views are outstanding. The valley courses are also very nice with nice views of the mountains. I find that playing a variety of courses is a lot more fun and satisfying than play just a couple of courses! Kenny B and Gavwlee 2 Quote WITB - Mizuno driver and irons and EVNROLL putter or SEEMORE putter depending on the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajdegeno Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 I am a little different than most of you. I belonged to private club while working, now retired, I play mostly clubs that have season passes for members of that course as well as general public courses. Here in Vegas, I also word one day a week as a marshall at a public course and one day a week at a semi-private--passholder course. So I am on a golf course 7 days a week. I have a lot of fun doing it this way and I also receive very good benefits for me and my friends where I work. I pay $3400 a year for my pass to play at one course 5 days a week and get in at least 3 days of golf a week year around there. I play the courses I work at once a week for free and my guests get discounted rates...$50 less than local residents pay usually. So every week I get to play a links style course, a desert style course and a more traditional course with tree lined fairways. For those who were complaining about pace of play, I worked as a favor to another marshall today and kept the pace at 4:30 all day. I had a group fall 15 minutes behind before I got there at 7:00 this morning and in 6 holes had them back ahead of pace--they finished in 4:20. Slowest round of the day was 4:35. We have more out of town play at this time of year and will through thanksgiving but pace of play will be kept very close to 4:30. Tomorrow a regular work day for me, I will be off and playing at 6:20 first off. We will play in less than 4 hours and let everyone try to catch us. One last note--today we had 174 players and tomorrow we have 186. I told the other gentleman that I would check with him before I leave tomorrow to see if he needs help--if so, I will work one 9 and he will work the other 9. Gavwlee, MmmmmmBuddy and Kenny B 3 Quote Titleist TS 1 Driver Stiff graphite shaft Titleist TS2 16.5 degree 3 wood Stiff graphite shaft Titleist TS2 18 degree 5 Wood Stiff graphite shaft Titliest TS2--21 degree Hybrid stiff light weight graphite shafts Titliest T200 regular multi-material graphite shafts 2 degrees flat 5 thru gap wedge Titliest Volkey wedges 54 and 58 stiff multi-material graphite shafts 2 degrees flat Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Trillium Te3 32" putter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuffalo Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 The only private courses I've ever been at were when I was working a PGA, LPGA or USGA tournament as a volunteer. I play muni courses 3 or 4 times a week, play ready golf and by our own agreed upon rules. I play for the fun and camaraderie with my friends and keep score for that round and trash the score cards at the end of the round. Our average time per round is in the neighborhood of 3 1/2 hours most days. Tom the Golf Nut and Gavwlee 2 Quote I have worked as a volunteer at several US Opens. The picture in my profile is from the 2011 Open at Congressional. This year I was supposed to work at the KPMG Women's LPGA tournament until Covid 19 changed that. If 2021 is more normal I'll be volunteering at it in June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlH Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 2 hours ago, Dokex said: I think that members at private clubs blame the less than ideal conditions on non-member outing play, instead of taking pride in the upkeep of the course. Since we (private clubs) have little non-member play, we have no one to blame but ourselves. I'm sometimes taken aback with the number of divots not repaired, pitch marks on the greens, and traps not raked. Yes, it's easy to blame the high school kids that we host for practice and play, the few outside tournaments we host, etc...but, in the end, it's our own members who fall into the trap of thinking the greens crew will fix it. GaDawg, DiscipleofPenick and Gavwlee 3 Quote Driver: Rogue ST Max (10.5* set at -1 and neutral) -- Mitsubishi Tensai Blue 55g R shaft Fairway: Rogue ST Max 3 wood (16.5*) and Heaven Wood (20*)-- Tensai Blue 55g R shaft Hybrids: Rogue ST Max 5H (23*)--Tensai Blue 55g R shaft Irons: Apex CF19 6-9, PW, AW -- KBS Tour Graphite TGI 70 shafts R +1/2 inch 3* upright Wedges: Edison 53* and 57* KBS PGI 80 Graphite +1/2 inch 2* upright Putter: L.A.B. DF 2.1 -- BGT Stability shaft Ball: Maxfli TourX...Golf Bag: Pioneer...Shoes: Hyperflex... Glove: Red Rooster Feather My Photography can be seen at Smugmug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bachman Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 I play at a nine hole private club. As much as I play it’s the right price and pretty easy going. I miss the 18 holes, but I play with a really nice group. I’ve also noticed that no matter where I play, public or private, unattended ball marks and divots are pretty much a given. Gavwlee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MmmmmmBuddy Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 4 hours ago, CarlH said: Congrats to him! Winning that is an accomplishment! I didn't play this year, but I did caddy for one of the players in the Seniors division. Will do. He was quite happy with the results. Back on topic: I play all over the section. Both public and Private. Most of my rounds are tournament rounds at this point. When I do get out on my own course (Semi-Private), I am typically working on shots or practicing short game situations or playing with membership. I suppose that there is a good fit out there for every player. It is really about finding a place that you have an enjoyable experience each time you tee it up. I don't mean shooting a career low each day, but being able to enjoy your time on the links. Gavwlee, CarlH, GaDawg and 1 other 4 Quote Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR Hybrid - ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S 2 Iron - ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S Irons - ZX7 MKII 4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat Wedges - RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat Putter - L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RATOUR7 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 I play public courses!!! Just barely able to afford that!!! Golf is getting too pricy !!! Gavwlee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny B Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 On 9/9/2021 at 5:55 PM, CarlH said: And, we know how cheap those courses are, even using GolfNow or other apps! It's a vacation, so WTH!! CarlH 1 Quote “We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikedb26 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Play public courses, but the issue is pitch marks. Here in mid east coast of Florida, no one seems to know what a divot tool is or how to use them if they actual own one. Especially when the season gets busy with the snowbird migration. Lucky for me to have friends that belong to private clubs that we play more than occasionally, and the conditions and pace of play are more than tolerable. Our weekly rounds, Saturday and Sunday, pace of play is usually under 4 hours, and that's the public course. Coming from up north, that was a welcome change. Don't know what the issue is up there, but we would be ecstatic if we finished in 5 hours. IMHO private is nice, I like to play different courses, but it felt as I HAD to play the private I used to belong to get my money out of it, so it was a one year deal. Like they say, barring marriage, variety is the spice of life! Gavwlee 1 Quote SRIXON ZX5 LS Mkll HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 6.0 SRIXON Z F85 13.5° 3W & SRIXON Z F85 PING G425 3 hybrid TAKOMO 101 4-pw (custom- Steelfiber 95s 4i-6i, 110s 7i-pw BB&F ferrules) PING Glide 2.0 50° & Cleveland RTX 4.0 Tour Raw 56° EVNROLL ER5 HATCHBACK SRIXON Z STAR Diamond & MaxFli TourX NEVR LOOZ Pro Clip cart bag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crodriguez Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Primarily private. The club I am at is member owned and golf is the priority. Divots and ball marks are repaired, as everyone has a vested interest in the quality of the course. There are, of course, some bad apples that do not fix their divots and ball marks, but they are a small minority and it is addressed. Anything more than 4 hours and you are hearing about it. No club is perfect, but the culture matters. I am thankful to be at a club that takes tremendous pride in its culture and pride in the faculty. I am also in an area with great a quality public golf system and get out to those courses as well. Gavwlee and GaDawg 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 Aces Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Living in the High Oregon Desert which is a golfer's playground, I'm surrounded by about 30 public and private courses. Fortunately, they're split about 2/3 public, 1/3 private. I play my public home course 80% of the time with an annual membership ($1,870 walking, $2,640 w/cart) the rest of my time paying daily fees among other public courses. The private courses are just too costly. Our men's club is good at policing themselves and generally keep it to 4 hours or less. Again, with all the visitors we get there's no escaping the un-raked bunkers, ball marks, divots, long rounds especially on weekends, etc. Found the same conditions at the private courses. Heaven forbid you should say something to anyone.... Gavwlee and GaDawg 2 Quote WIMB: Driver: PXG 0811 XF 10.5 set to 9 w/Tensei 50 R flex PXG 0317 X 3H 19 w/Mitsubishi Chemical 70 R flex Cleveland Launcher 4-PW XL Halo R flex irons Cobra Speed Zone GW R flex Cleveland 54 & 58 CBX R flex Cobra Supernova putter Maxfli Tour CG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Fahrney Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 I belong to a semi private course. We have similar issues but attempt to resolve them with a men's, women's and senior's associations to reduce all of the issues you have brought up. I have belonged to 3 other clubs in the past and it comes down to the club management and the members working together every time. We have different leagues and tournaments that attempt to engage all the members to come play with different members, guests and coed. The leagues and membership associations communicate to the membership about the issues you defined. We help the superintendent with divots by having the senior association meet once a month early in the morning and fill divots. We send out videos on slow play, why repair a divot (we have Bermuda fairways and rough) raking bunkers and how to repair a ball mark. Next time you join a club, ask in advance about leagues, associations and does the club have the staff to meet your standards. Some people think because they belong to a country club they think its Augusta National. Good luck. GaDawg 1 Quote Played golf for over 50 years until my health and business calendar reduced my time to less then 5 rounds a year. Then 4 years ago I retired, changed my diet and lifestyle, lost 100 pounds and got back on the course. Its been a struggle but things are getting better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhammer Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Public, but thinking about joining one of the semi-private clubs in town. Quote Driver: Speed Zone 9* HZRDUS Smoke Yellow Shaft 3 Wood: King Speedzone 13.5* HZRDUS Smoke Black Shaft 2 & 3 Hybrids: Speedzone Recoil 480 ESX Shaft Irons: Speedzone 5-GW Recoil 460 ESX Shafts Wedges: PM Grind 54* & 58* Putter: Dual Force Rossi II Ball: Whatever I find in the woods HCP:18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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