Private vs Public Course Membership

[LeftyKP]

I constantly try to answer the question, would I ever want to be a member of a private club, or am I content with a public course membership. I like the idea of belonging to a private club (I'm sure most everyone here does), but then I see the significant price difference between private and public memberships and I don't think I can justify it. Can someone try to convince me why belonging to a private club is worth the significant price difference over a decent public course? Or how about those who belong to a public course, why did you make that decision? Was it solely the price?

I am open minded in this debate, and really just want to know everyone's opinion. 

[MattF]

I have a membership to one of the best public courses in my area but it's just for that course.

The issue I have with that and with a private course membership is that you play the same course all the time, so you get to know the course and you should see your handicap come down, sometimes quite a lot, but in most cases, your game won't travel.

I can and have played really well at my home course, but my game else where is not as good.

My solution is I'm going to join another public course membership, but with the Metro Parks. They have 8 or so courses to choose from, all very different types from each other and I can rotate so I can get my travel game up to snuff. The price difference between what I have now and what I'll be doing might be $200 for the year and I'm comfortable with that.

Edited August 3 by MattF

[cnosil]

Why do you have to be a member of any course?   I just play golf with no membership.   

[rkj427]

14 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Why do you have to be a member of any course?   I just play golf with no membership.   

Like Chris, @cnosil I too am not a member anywhere and think or feel it is better for me to have a choice of where I play.

Makes me a more rounded player, as courses all have different characteristics which make them all unique.

Ironic, that I live in a subdivision built around a course, and when we moved in 15 years ago, they offered a membership which included all the range time/balls and a weekly weekday and weekend round for $1500.00 total. This is a high-end public course and that offer went away after the first year we moved here. Course rate is now $105.00 for weekend mornings, $85.00 for weekend afternoons after 2:00PM, so I have played it only once per year since, usually in the fall when rates drop, and weather turns colder. Rates then are $45.00.

Typically, I have a "metropark" pass and can get into the various parks around this area and play on the various courses there, or else we have a "Group Golfer" for Michigan where you can buy discounted rounds at other courses in the area.

More economical, and wider variety would be my reasoning.

[Josh Parker]

Private courses are typically in better shape around me but the pricing just doesn't make sense for me at this time with young kids.  My home course is public and isn't in the best shape, but its 5 min from the house and I can play daily or hit the range for 2k a year.  

I am with @rkj427 and @cnosil about playing different courses and it making you more rounded but playing almost 200 rounds a year, this is best way for me.  

 

[LeftyKP]

@cnosil @rkj427 I agree, and one of my favorite parts about golf is getting to play new courses. I am not saying you have to have a membership, but sometimes it may be a more economical thing to do if you play enough. The other reason I somewhat like the idea of a membership is when I am short on time, I could go out and play 5 holes and be done, or play 12 holes and walk off without feeling like I am losing money. 

Seems like a "group golfer" or a pass that has multiple courses like @MattF uses would be the most ideal solution, no such luck for my area though.

I have young kids so I currently cant justify a membership anywhere right now with how often I play, so just wanted to get everyone's take for when I am able to make the decision if I want one, and if so where. Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[Golf2Much]

In the last 1990's I lived in Upstate New York, most of our friend were from our respective jobs and when we got together, they wanted to talk work.   To expand our social reach, we decided to join a private club to meet new people.  We immersed ourselves into the Friday night scotches, met our monthly dining minimums and enjoyed playing golf there.  After about four or five years, we came to the realization that we didn't like the people we met at the club!  What we liked:  the course conditions, great practice facilities, having a dedicated locker and the way the staff treated the members.   However, the "clicks" and some of the pretentiousness made it difficult to establish any meaningful relationships.

Now I live in Key West.  We have one 18 hole golf course within 130 miles.   I joined the course purely as a financial decision.  Even with a local's discount, the cost per round (and I play about 160 rounds a year), joining makes sense.  In fact, I did the math once and found I spent more money on cart fees (required to take) than I did dividing my membership fee on a per round basis.   In general, the overall customer experience is not quite the same, rounds tend to be longer and the practice facilities are not up to par.  

Yes, @MattF is right that playing at one place can yield to a handicap that doesn't travel well.

So, depending on where you live and how many courses you have in the area, the positives for a private course can be:  faster overall rounds, often reduces the headaches of setting up tee times and typically a much better golfing customer experience.  The downside:  you got to love the course and at least tolerate the other members of the club, the overall added expense and being tied to one course.  

[Will A]

For my family, the decision to join was less about the golf economics and more about lifestyle choices.  I was a collegiate swimmer, but there aren't many public pools in my area (the ones that exist don't even have chairs).  We wanted our daughter to have a place to go to the pool, and several of our friends were already members.  Golf for me was a bonus.

I hate to parrot an annoying social media persona, but if you're thinking about it from a cost-per-round perspective, you're missing the point.  Tee times (if they exist) are obtainable on short notice, service quality is higher, round costs are baked in, range balls are abundant, etc., etc.  Like any luxury in life, it's about more than the utility.  It's like asking why drive a Porsche when a Chevy Cruze will get you where you need to go?

Our 6-year-old has been doing weekly golf clinics for three seasons.  Next season, she'll probably join the swim team and do tennis camps, as well.  Beyond the excuse to get my butt the range every week, how can I put a price on setting her up to enjoy the game for life?

Someone else mentioned home-course handicap concerns.  For me, it works in reverse.  Ours greens are some of the most challenging in the state.  When I travel (even to the Ocean Course in windy conditions), my handicap gives me an advantage.

[cnosil]

11 minutes ago, LeftyKP said:

@cnosil @rkj427 I agree, and one of my favorite parts about golf is getting to play new courses. I am not saying you have to have a membership, but sometimes it may be a more economical thing to do if you play enough. The other reason I somewhat like the idea of a membership is when I am short on time, I could go out and play 5 holes and be done, or play 12 holes and walk off without feeling like I am losing money. 

 Was more referring to a public membership. I guess it depends on what the perks of that are.   Most here just get you earlier access to tee times and a discounted rate.   If you play 5 holes you still pay for 9.    No cost rounds is probably more of a private course thing.  Semi-privates seem to give you some free rounds but still charge for a round.   
 

I guess you just have to look at the perks, see if they apply, and make a decision.  I think it generally boils down to price.   

[Hacker60521]

I agree with @Will A  Joining a private club just to play golf won’t pencil out any more than flying private or in first class. There are obvious benefits to playing on private courses, but at our club there is also tennis, swimming, paddle, and pickle for recreation, and of course the dining is great. Summer programs for kids, family events, etc.
 

That said, we’re lucky to have at least seven private clubs within a 15 min drive. So finding a club where you fit in with the membership is a bit easier. I also have friends at other clubs so we do a lot of member/guest golf where I host them at my course, and they reciprocate at theirs. So I still end up playing more than just my home course. 

[Nick_Chilelli]

There are pro’s and con’s to joining a private club. But the larger thought process is that you typically join a private club for a lifestyle choice, not strictly golf. The course I belonged to in Jersey had a pool, gym, restaurant, standalone bar, and a huge lounge/entertainment area. Not to mention the actual course and practice facilities. I grew up playing amateur tournaments there, and became friends with a number of guys who were members. It was easy for me to join, considering I was 23 at the time so my initial bond and monthly dues were well below their average cost, and I already had an in with the Pro, and a handful of members. Being a single guy, I spent most of my free time on property, and used it as a networking opportunity for me. It led to a new career path for me, that I may never have found if it wasn’t for the club. 
 

When I moved to Charleston I decided that I wouldn’t join a club around here, and I’ve been strictly playing public golf with the occasional invitation to play a private club. I miss the camaraderie that comes along with a private membership, but the actual act of playing golf is still the same. I play my local Muni more than anything else, and it’s at most $25 to walk on the weekends. It’s not the greatest course in the area, but it’s a hell of a lot tougher than 90% of them. 
 

With that being said, when my son gets a little older I will be joining a club again. If he wants to play golf, the benefits of a private club will always outweigh public golf. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I’m a member at a Private Course and a public course. The private course has the best conditions, you don’t need to make tee times. Show up and play. It has everything. Robert Trent Jones golf course, a simulator, indoor and outdoor putting area, pool, tennis courts, a play ground area, indoor kids room, full formal dining, pub and grill. It was a great place for the family. My kids grew up there. There was piece of mind knowing they were safe. Not that I lived in a bad area but rather they could do what they wanted with all the activities. You get all that for just under $350 a month. No initiation fee.

I am a member at a public course. It has a pool, tennis courts that sit not maintained. They plan on redoing into pickle ball courts. No dining, no bar, a main building you can rent out for events and a basic pro shop. Members pay a flat rate of $150 a month. No initiation fee. Your first year was $110 a month. Members get preferred tee times but I have never had to make one. Walkers are allowed out an hour earlier than riders and the public. 

I also purchase a golf card. You can usually buy them in your area. These cards are about $180 to $200 bucks and gets you one round at 12 different courses in the area. Usually mid week. So it winds up $15 to $20 a round if you get to all of them.

You might be thinking “The Golf Nut” is nuts but I’m not. I joined the private one and two years later my wife was hired as the office manager. The job comes with family membership for free. After 18 years there we moved from TN to NC to be closer to family. I joined the closest course. Fast forward 1-1/2 years and my wife is now their office manager as of a couple weeks ago. She also remote works the TN club. 

Stop the I hate you comments. I can hear you. In reality I play a lot of golf as well as travel for work and play with customers. 
But most play is at my public membership course. It’s 7 minutes away. My first year worked out to be  $27.50 a week and I played twice a week so my rounds were costing $13.75. Where can you do that these days? 

This is a play golf year round area so there is no off season except for your rainy days. Every area of the country is different higher prices and high initiation fees. I admit I got lucky. But a lot of it was calculated planning. I get a home base and get to play other courses.

 

 

[Remo]

Either option is going to put you in situations where you’re with people you enjoy and with people you don’t.  I’ve been a member of both.  Private courses will inevitably reveal their “Bushwood Syndrome” characteristics while public courses will eventually show their “Git er done Factor.”  My experiences resulted in going the public route.  The better players in our area are at the public course, not to say that there aren’t some solid sticks at a couple of the private clubs.  At the end of the day I just prefer the blue collar guys to the HOA board members.  

[Josh Parker]

1 hour ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

But most play is at my public membership course. It’s 7 minutes away. My first year worked out to be  $27.50 a week and I played twice a week so my rounds were costing $13.75. Where can you do that these days? 

I'm right there with you.  I'm under $10 per round and that's not counting the hundreds I'm saving on range balls. 

[Swood1994]

Taking the financial side of it away, although a big part nonetheless. I feel everyone has touched on it enough and I think we all know most people can never make it work out where they come out ahead on value from just golf. My biggest point for private over public (around me) has always been conditions and amenities vs public courses. That coupled with relationship building and networking a membership at a private club makes sense to me vs public. If I’m playing a public course I don’t want to be tied to it as there are far more public courses that I can play than private. 

all in all if I’m joining a private club it’s because of the other things outside of golf. Restaurant, pool for the family, dart league, breakfast with Santa, Easter brunch, business props, ect.

[LeftyKP]

2 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I’m a member at a Private Course and a public course. The private course has the best conditions, you don’t need to make tee times. Show up and play. It has everything. Robert Trent Jones golf course, a simulator, indoor and outdoor putting area, pool, tennis courts, a play ground area, indoor kids room, full formal dining, pub and grill. It was a great place for the family. My kids grew up there. There was piece of mind knowing they were safe. Not that I lived in a bad area but rather they could do what they wanted with all the activities. You get all that for just under $350 a month. No initiation fee.

I am a member at a public course. It has a pool, tennis courts that sit not maintained. They plan on redoing into pickle ball courts. No dining, no bar, a main building you can rent out for events and a basic pro shop. Members pay a flat rate of $150 a month. No initiation fee. Your first year was $110 a month. Members get preferred tee times but I have never had to make one. Walkers are allowed out an hour earlier than riders and the public. 

I also purchase a golf card. You can usually buy them in your area. These cards are about $180 to $200 bucks and gets you one round at 12 different courses in the area. Usually mid week. So it winds up $15 to $20 a round if you get to all of them.

You might be thinking “The Golf Nut” is nuts but I’m not. I joined the private one and two years later my wife was hired as the office manager. The job comes with family membership for free. After 18 years there we moved from TN to NC to be closer to family. I joined the closest course. Fast forward 1-1/2 years and my wife is now their office manager as of a couple weeks ago. She also remote works the TN club. 

Stop the I hate you comments. I can hear you. In reality I play a lot of golf as well as travel for work and play with customers. 
But most play is at my public membership course. It’s 7 minutes away. My first year worked out to be  $27.50 a week and I played twice a week so my rounds were costing $13.75. Where can you do that these days? 

This is a play golf year round area so there is no off season except for your rainy days. Every area of the country is different higher prices and high initiation fees. I admit I got lucky. But a lot of it was calculated planning. I get a home base and get to play other courses.

 

 

The "I hate you" comment was definitely in my mind ha. Sounds like you play as much golf as I aspire to play. Thanks for the thorough comment.

[LeftyKP]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

 If you play 5 holes you still pay for 9.    No cost rounds is probably more of a private course thing.  Semi-privates seem to give you some free rounds but still charge for a round.   
   

For all of the memberships around here you play the initial fee (approx $1300-$1800) and can go whenever you want as much as you want. Just have to check in at the club house or some make a tee time. They don't charge per round. Some mornings I leave the house a bit late, so if I just wanted to do 5 holes and duck out I would be able to do that. That being said, I don't have a membership, I just like the hypothetical flexibility ha.

[KC Golf]

I think the biggest differences, I find is the ease of getting a tee time on a weekend, course conditions and 4 hour golf rounds are the reason that private club membership  is valuable. 

But in some resort areas, there are so many options that private membership isn’t necessary.  So I totally get just playing public courses.  If I had that option I would definitely do it.

[Shrek74]

I have a varied approach to your dilemma.

The community I live in has 5 golf courses (it's a resort/retirement area). As a homeowner, I get special rates that are nicely discounted over the public rates. So for me there is no need to join any other courses, private or otherwise. This is one way to go about your question - live in a community with courses.

I'm beginning to look at a future move for (pre) retirement, and investigating multiple locations. One of the thins I'm looking at is not only golf inside the community, but what's outside of it. I'm calling the courses and seeing what types of discounts they may offer for residents or if they have any type of golf pass. What I'm finding in most locations is that there is one or more passes/cards that you can buy that provide discounts to multiple courses along with other benefits. For example, in Phoenix there is an Arcis Card that gives discounts and benefits to any of 9 courses plus other monthly playing specials. In Mesquite, NV there is a Golf Pass that gives 1 free round to each of 3 courses and discounts up to $20 off per round to those courses.

I'm quite sure having multiple passes isn't uncommon to save more on more courses. That's likely what I will do when I move down the road.

[GolfSpy_KFT]

7 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I’m a member at a Private Course and a public course. The private course has the best conditions, you don’t need to make tee times. Show up and play. It has everything. Robert Trent Jones golf course, a simulator, indoor and outdoor putting area, pool, tennis courts, a play ground area, indoor kids room, full formal dining, pub and grill. It was a great place for the family. My kids grew up there. There was piece of mind knowing they were safe. Not that I lived in a bad area but rather they could do what they wanted with all the activities. You get all that for just under $350 a month. No initiation fee.

I am a member at a public course. It has a pool, tennis courts that sit not maintained. They plan on redoing into pickle ball courts. No dining, no bar, a main building you can rent out for events and a basic pro shop. Members pay a flat rate of $150 a month. No initiation fee. Your first year was $110 a month. Members get preferred tee times but I have never had to make one. Walkers are allowed out an hour earlier than riders and the public. 

I also purchase a golf card. You can usually buy them in your area. These cards are about $180 to $200 bucks and gets you one round at 12 different courses in the area. Usually mid week. So it winds up $15 to $20 a round if you get to all of them.

You might be thinking “The Golf Nut” is nuts but I’m not. I joined the private one and two years later my wife was hired as the office manager. The job comes with family membership for free. After 18 years there we moved from TN to NC to be closer to family. I joined the closest course. Fast forward 1-1/2 years and my wife is now their office manager as of a couple weeks ago. She also remote works the TN club. 

Stop the I hate you comments. I can hear you. In reality I play a lot of golf as well as travel for work and play with customers. 
But most play is at my public membership course. It’s 7 minutes away. My first year worked out to be  $27.50 a week and I played twice a week so my rounds were costing $13.75. Where can you do that these days? 

This is a play golf year round area so there is no off season except for your rainy days. Every area of the country is different higher prices and high initiation fees. I admit I got lucky. But a lot of it was calculated planning. I get a home base and get to play other courses.

 

 

@Tom the Golf Nut I would KILL to have a private club near me that included all of that for $350 a month and no initiation fee, if that is current pricing. My membership at our public course is $2000 a year for just my single, and family is almost double that. No pool, no tennis courts, no simulator. Just the course and the restaurant. 

All the private clubs closest to me are an hour away, most have a large initiation fee and are all over $10k per year, so even if the money made sense the distance does not. 

At this point, I’ll never not have a membership at my home course, though, as we do love the pro and assistant pro there, they treat our family incredibly well, and my boys will most likely work there once they are old enough. The boys do at least play for free with my membership until they turn 12, and once they are old enough to play regularly, we will switch to a family membership so that my wife can play as much as she likes as well. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

@Tom the Golf Nut I would KILL to have a private club near me that included all of that for $350 a month and no initiation fee, if that is current pricing. My membership at our public course is $2000 a year for just my single, and family is almost double that. No pool, no tennis courts, no simulator. Just the course and the restaurant. 

All the private clubs closest to me are an hour away, most have a large initiation fee and are all over $10k per year, so even if the money made sense the distance does not. 

At this point, I’ll never not have a membership at my home course, though, as we do love the pro and assistant pro there, they treat our family incredibly well, and my boys will most likely work there once they are old enough. The boys do at least play for free with my membership until they turn 12, and once they are old enough to play regularly, we will switch to a family membership so that my wife can play as much as she likes as well. 

That is current pricing. The office manager sitting next to me confirmed. However although I'm still a member its 5 hours away now. The only time I play is when I have to go to my companies headquarters for quarterly meetings.

But at my club close to home. We all work there in some manner. My wife is the office manager, my son is on the grounds crew, my daughter works in the pro shop, and I'm on the board of directors now. Needless to say we are vested in bringing our experience  from our last club to this one. 

[Mike10487]

The cost of private golf in Florida has become a joke.  Florida private clubs now have an initiation fee over 10k at the cheapest, most are over 40k and some are just plain stupid. Most of them have a waiting list. I find it hard to justify this kind of cost to play the same course. Most of them are easy courses set up to allow members to "enjoy" their rounds. In my close proximity we probably have 10 private clubs, I have played all of them, and I would consider joining only 2. Condition would be the main attraction for me. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

13 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

That is current pricing. The office manager sitting next to me confirmed. However although I'm still a member its 5 hours away now. The only time I play is when I have to go to my companies headquarters for quarterly meetings.

But at my club close to home. We all work there in some manner. My wife is the office manager, my son is on the grounds crew, my daughter works in the pro shop, and I'm on the board of directors now. Needless to say we are vested in bringing our experience  from our last club to this one. 

That is awesome! Eventually I am going to run for the board at our course as well, probably when the kids get older. Looking forward to when they work there!

[fixyurdivot]

On 8/1/2024 at 10:06 PM, LeftyKP said:

I constantly try to answer the question, would I ever want to be a member of a private club, or am I content with a public course membership. I like the idea of belonging to a private club (I'm sure most everyone here does), but then I see the significant price difference between private and public memberships and I don't think I can justify it. Can someone try to convince me why belonging to a private club is worth the significant price difference over a decent public course? Or how about those who belong to a public course, why did you make that decision? Was it solely the price?

I am open minded in this debate, and really just want to know everyone's opinion. 

Some courses, like ours here in Sun City Grand, are semi-private and the green fees for community residents is very competitive with various public green fees here in the west.  With my annual pass, my resident green fees average $26/round playing 3-4x/week.  Moreover, since this is a residential community, it has a private course/member feel to it; particularly with Men's and Women's League's.

Since golf and fly fishing are my favorite hobby/sport, when we decided to move from Montana I wanted to live in an age restricted, golf centric community.  There are many of these in the greater Phoenix area. 

Were we not living on a community like this, I would probably not pay the extra cost to belong to a private course.  For one, I'd get bored playing the same track over and over.  We have (4) 18 hole courses here and that keeps things fresh.  

Many of these communities allow all or a percentage of residents to be 45+.  Might be an option to consider.

[Bossfan]

I get to play the a local country club once a year as a guest. I can see the advantages. The excellent facilities and course. I could swing it but my wife doesn’t golf so it is a bit too rich for just my hobby. I belonged to a private course for a few years. Definitely not a country club but still had decent practice facilities and the course was comparable to an above average municipal course. It wasn’t a lot to join and there was a small greens fee each time you played. It was nice but went out of business. They just couldn’t get enough people to join. Now I belong to a very nice muni. It was a couple hundred dollars to join and $37 each time we play. Way below their normal greens fee. We also get a permanent tee time and discounts on everything else at the course including lessons. One nice advantage with the permanent tee time is if your are a member and miss there is no charge. Non members with a permanent tee time get charged unless they let the course I think it’s 48 hours ahead of time. We are 4 old guys with our ailments so not being charged is a nice perk. I definitely think what I’m doing now works great. I can play where I’m at now as much I want inexpensively but the up front cost is so small I can go and play somewhere else and not worry i wasted money joining a club like the first 2 options I mentioned.

[Kenny B]

On 8/2/2024 at 5:08 AM, cnosil said:

Why do you have to be a member of any course?   I just play golf with no membership.   

Well, to answer your question… Martha plays 4-5 times a week and I play 3 times a week.  If we didn’t have a membership, two months of playing without a cart would be more than our annual muni membership fee with cart and range balls.  

We do play a couple of other courses in the area occasionally, but they are about the same price and condition.  It’s not something we do often because a round for both of us is $100-150.  We also make golf trips in the PNW; headed to Central Oregon in September, and we annually spend two weeks in either Palm Springs or Phoenix area.  Then there was the Kingsmill trip times two!!!  If I added up all of our golf expenses for a typical year, I think I’d be shocked… so I don’t!!  

I’m actually looking for other membership options for next year, and we don’t have many to choose from.  I got an email this weekend that our #1 rated public course has new owners.  It’s also the most expensive non-private option, and we play it once a year.  I going to check out the new owners to see what their policies and fee structure looks like.

[cnosil]

11 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Well, to answer your question… Martha plays 4-5 times a week and I play 3 times a week.  If we didn’t have a membership, two months of playing without a cart would be more than our annual muni membership fee with cart and range balls.  

I've looked at the public course memberships in my area and while there is some savings, the amount I play really wouldn't make it worthwhile.   Once I retire and can play more frequently it may be more advantageous.   

[homedecoreto]

On 8/2/2024 at 6:20 PM, Will A said:

For my family, the decision to join was less about the golf economics and more about lifestyle choices.  I was a collegiate swimmer, but there aren't many public pools in my area (the ones that exist don't even have chairs).  We wanted our daughter to have a place to go to the pool, and several of our friends were already members.  Golf for me was a bonus.

I hate to parrot an annoying social media persona, but if you're thinking about it from a cost-per-round perspective, you're missing the point.  Tee times (if they exist) are obtainable on short notice, service quality is higher, round costs are baked in, range balls are abundant, etc., etc.  Like any luxury in life, it's about more than the utility.  It's like asking why drive a Porsche when a Chevy Cruze will get you where you need to go?

Our 6-year-old has been doing weekly golf clinics for three seasons.  Next season, she'll probably join the swim team and do tennis camps, as well.  Beyond the excuse to get my butt the range every week, how can I put a price on setting her up to enjoy the game for life?

Someone else mentioned home-course handicap concerns.  For me, it works in reverse.  Ours greens are some of the most challenging booths in the state.  When I travel (even to the Ocean Course in windy conditions), my handicap gives me an advantage.

Since golf and fly fishing are my favorite hobbies, when we decided to move from Montana, I wanted to find an age-restricted community centered around golf.