Should We Join A Country Club?
 

My newly wed wife and I are considering joining a country club. Her parents and grandparents are long standing members, otherwise it wouldn't be a consideration at this point. We are fairly young to join a club like this, however there are advantages. They have a great golf course, good pool and brand new tennis facilities. We would get a great deal of usage out of it.

They currently offer a 40% discounted initiation fee for legacy members, which she would qualify us for. And we could split that over 10 years increments. No discount on the monthly fees, but they are doable and we could cut out our monthly gym fees and since I love golf and play as much as I can, it would be great to have a home course.

Does anyone have any experience and advice in this area? Are all memberships pretty similar, I am sure each club does things differently. What questions should I ask, what should I look out for?

I'm not a member of a country club, but my parents are a member of their golf club in Las Vegas. Here are some things I know of from their membership.

Ask if there are reciprocating clubs that you can visit when you travel. If there are discounts that you can get, or if visiting them and usage there applies to your home required usage if you have one.

Ask if you can "suspend" your dues in case you have to move away for work or extended periods of time.

I've worked in a few, and now that I work in Foodservice I have met dozens of Country Club owners. I will tell you that 90% of the reason to join a CC is connections. It is a social group that is otherwise nearly impossible to penetrate. Inside said club are business owners, movers, shakers, and community leaders. If you're not interesting in such a situation, it's much cheaper to join a Golf Club as opposed to a Country Club.

Being part of the CC you have access to them in a laid back environment which is always preferable than meeting in a business setting. From what I've witnessed, simple friendships develop between various people for the love of the game (and the love of drinking). At the time of the friendship start, they were in different business arenas so had nothing to gain from each other. One or the other would lose or leave a job, and the other would help find employment vouching for said person.

The fact that you love the game is even better. It is well known that if you are horrid at golf and you join you're there to gain from the other members (new members under 35ish are given a pass for the most part).

Do you like golf, swimming and tennis?

Country clubs are vital in the South for people to make connections. Not only that, but you have access to excellent facilities. The legacy aspect will ease the way towards new friendships. Go for it.

First of all, make sure they don't allow colored people:

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because they are usually noisy, and tend to leave a mess.


Second, it's best to follow Groucho Marx's example when he said "I refuse to belong to a country club that would have me as a member" :thumbsup:

I've always thought those Blue sons-a-bitches were bad news.

Find out first if there are any more major renovations in the near future that may cause your yearly fees to rise, if those costs get passed onto members. Usually a board member can provide that advice in detail.

Find out if yearly fees are all due at once or if they can be paid in increments. Usually those fees are lost by year end if not used up. If for some reason you can't use your time there, it may be wasted money.

You like golf so check the schedule for when you can play. This may sound weird but many clubs have events scheduled several days a week, so just pulling up expecting to play and not being able to may be a disappointment you can avoid.

That was the main reason I chose not to join a private club last year. When I found out their were men only days, women only days but women had to play tournament rules in randomly picked teams, certain times I could play provided I give 72 hours notice,...Yesh. So I dropped the idea, saved myself the 30k joining fee and all the extra nonsense, and play where I want, when I want.

One more. You are probably familiar with the membership but do you like them or what they represent. I ask because the other reason I bailed on a private membership was because the people thought they were the cat's ass of all refined living. Snotty, pompous wanna be elitist snobs who incidentally,..only get out when they go to the club.

Not really my type. If I wanted to spend time with posers, I would hang out in clothing stores with the mannequins. Probably more interesting (joke)

Good luck. Hope that helps

Just don't become a douche bag. I'm being very serious. Country clubs are a proving ground for douche baggery.

Huh... come to think of it, in all the circles I've moved in, I've never known anyone who's been a member of a country club. Timeshare condos, yes... but not a country club. I have no idea what kind of people join them, other than that they don't seem to be my kind of people (which matches with what the rest of you are saying). :D And a 30K joining fee?! Wow.

Do you want the networking aspect, or do you just want to play golf? I'd say it would be more worth it to join a golf club and the YMCA, if that's all you want.

Some of the coolest people 50+ I've ever met I met working in Country Clubs. If you like drinking, telling good stories, and talking sports while playing golf.... you'll be in good company.

It's because you're from a part of the country where country clubs aren't overly common, abaya. Golf clubs are more common here, I'd say--at least in Oregon, not so much in Washington. We have one here in Corvallis, but it's not at all a snobby affair; they offer summer memberships to the community at large for $600 with no joining fee. I've been there for a wedding and my SO had his work banquet there this year. I wouldn't join it myself, but that's because I'd rather join the athletic club across town. They have a better pool, and I'm not a golfer.

It really is all about what suits you and your needs best, ultimately.

One thing to consider is whether or not the club has a recent or current exclusionary policy with regard to membership. Look for diversity in the membership, because, if there isn't, your decision to become a member could come back to haunt you later in life, in ways you cannot predict now.

Are there single women or racial minority members of long standing in the club? If the club has no religious affiliation, are major religions represented in the membership? Remember the controversy in Augusta, over the exclusion of women at the club that sponsors the Augusta national tournament?

It may not matter much now, but if you ever move to another area of the country, your decision to join a club that intentionally avoids diversity could be a problem if you are seeking employment, and would be a problem if you received a political appointment to a position with any visibility.

Could be, actually. I think I know of one or two country clubs in the Seattle area, and both seemed extremely posh when I drove by (especially given Seattle culture--although I guess that might have changed quite a bit in the years that I've been gone). There was always a small golf course and some tennis courts attached, though not many people playing very often... and there was a lot of space for hosting social events, weddings, etc. so the networking thing makes sense.

Eh, let us know how it goes. Not my thing, but it may be yours, as Snowy said.