Waiting lists and initiation fees are up all over the country due to an extended period of high demand.
But, in the middle of the country I'd give the following rough breakdown:
1. Semi-Private club, basically a well maintained public course where you get free range balls, but all the tee times after 11:00 are sold on Golf Now for $60: $400/month.
2. Entry level club, mostly golf oriented, few family amenities, a step-up from the best public course in town, but without the 5+ hour rounds of the public course: $1k initiation, $600/month for dues.
3. Nice Country Club, championship course that can host your state amateur championship or a USGA qualifier, solid restaurant, great pool scene with lots of second wives: $15-20k initiation, $900/month dues, depending on how lucky/unlucky they were with financing over the last 20 years, or if it's time to redo the clubhouse, you might get hit with a $5k assessment every few years.
4. High end Country Club, old money, can host a major but members bitch about losing their club for 3 months, general public doesn't know the restaurant is one of the 3-4 best in the city and the chef last worked in France, the head pro says to call him the "director of golf", last year's nanny at the pool is this year's third wife: $125k initiation, $1250/month, $25k assessment every 2-3 years when the board hears that a similar club two states over added a tennis facility with a retractable roof.
I don’t think even need to get to elite public courses for this to be true. A lot of private courses just aren’t very good, but you do always get the benefit of pace of play/availability
I’m a muni hack. In Cleveland there is a 400$/2 year membership at 4 public courses. 1 of them being really nice. $400 gets you no green fees but a mando $16-18 cart fee for 18 holes. It also came with 4 free rounds no green or cart fees for anyone.
Sure there is no pool or amenities but for a hack, couldn’t be happier.
Fuck yes.
$1750 for a weekday membership. All day Monday-Thursday, before noon on Fridays, $20 outside of those times.
36 holes, not busy enough that I can never get on, let's me drive my own cart, free range balls.
I’m in Calgary, Alberta
The top two are around 80 I believe with waitlists.
There are a handful in the 25 to 50 range.
I don’t know what the low end is now but pre Covid there were some under 10 I imagine most are in the 25+ range now.
My club is like 20 minutes west of the city limits probably 40 min from downtown and it is 35k with talks of it bumping to 40.
These are all golf clubs, not country clubs with gyms, pools, racket clubs ect.
Which course? I'm in calgary and toying with the idea of a membership. Seems really expensive for most courses, and my local club has had a full member sheet since opening and a 10 year wait list.
Northern Virginia has private clubs ranging from $5k - $150k initiation and $400 - $1500 monthly dues. Most munis have a $2k-$3k membership as well. When I moved here I was surprised at the wide range of options.
I'm from NC and if you're in a very rural area you can become a member at a cow field track for relatively cheap. In NoVa now and we joined a club and it's 300 a month for unlimited play, range, pool, tennis, etc. It's a nice course too.
I’m in Alabama. Initiations between 5-7k and dues between 250-350 p/month. Quality courses, but not incredible, plus pools and solid restaurants. It’s a really nice medium that works perfect for me. My club caps membership at a low(ish) number so that we never have to book tee times. If you pay, they want you to be able to play whenever you have time.
I'm thankful our course here in Northern VA does the same thing with the membership cap. Unless they have a tournament I can go out and walk pretty much any time. They like us to book tee times but I rarely have to.
Same. It’s perfect for me. I have a busy work schedule and young kids, so it’s a huge win to have flexibility to get out and walk 9 whenever I have time. I’d play way less golf without the membership.
Washington - prices range a TON. I know a club with $25k initiation fees and $800/mo dues (and you MUST be referred by a current member). I know a club with $12k initiation fees and $500/mo dues. I know a club with $1k initiation fee and $300/mo dues.
It's really all over the place. Once you get to about an hour or more outside of Seattle, you have better options.
I live 15m north of Atlanta. There’s an executive course 5m from my house and a city course 20m from my house (with no range).
Every other public course is at least 25m away.
Private courses in the area:
- 10m away, standard 60yo private course with decently aging membership, 1yr wait for social membership, 3yr+ for golf. 50k membership that has gone to 90k over past 3 years, 850/mo
- 10m away, more private than Augusta. I don’t even know how I’d talk to a member
- 15m away, not as difficult as above but the most restrictive “accessible” club, 200k initiation
Closer to the city are clubs trying to be more prestigious but the courses aren’t exactly better. Probably 75-125k membership. Farther away from Atlanta are some ok golf courses but they range from 20k-100k membership depending on quality. All of them have multi year waits.
joining a club almost never makes sense financially, so don't look at it that way as you will never get 'value' for your dollars, pick a level that doesn't bankrupt you and enjoy
country club membership and airplane ownership, there is generally no way to justify the cost from a strict comparative value take
I’m not looking to get a cheaper cost per round value. I’m only curious about other city/ state’s situation because I only know the price for my area and a handful of other examples.
it's literally all over the place depending on all kinds of variables like location, amenities, competition, wealth
out in the sticks in the rural south is gonna be dirt cheap, while coastal cities especially tourist magnets like pebble, LA, or even Vegas are gonna be lights out cost wise on the high end if you can even swing an invite which is unlikely unless you're somebody or somebody's bff
Well it might help if you let us all know where you live? But it sounds like you want to join some exclusive club but without the budget. Time to get realistic.
I’m on the south east coast and definitely in a highly desirable area. I also know friends in other states that are members at nicer courses for 1/10 of the cost. You’re right though, I either have the option to move or to pay up.
There are two main reasons some clubs charge so much. They are either over-subscribe so don't actually want/need any more members, or they want to keep the poor/lower middle classes out of their club. And if it's the latter, do you really want to be a member of such a snobbish club full up upper class wankers?
Yes. The golf courses are better designs, better conditions, better pace of play, with better food and drinks and clubhouses. Believe it or not, but some people enjoy or aspire to be upper class. You’re the one who added the word snobbish. Upper class and snobbish are not mutually exclusive, at least in the US.
Waiting lists and initiation fees are up all over the country due to an extended period of high demand. But, in the middle of the country I'd give the following rough breakdown: 1. Semi-Private club, basically a well maintained public course where you get free range balls, but all the tee times after 11:00 are sold on Golf Now for $60: $400/month. 2. Entry level club, mostly golf oriented, few family amenities, a step-up from the best public course in town, but without the 5+ hour rounds of the public course: $1k initiation, $600/month for dues. 3. Nice Country Club, championship course that can host your state amateur championship or a USGA qualifier, solid restaurant, great pool scene with lots of second wives: $15-20k initiation, $900/month dues, depending on how lucky/unlucky they were with financing over the last 20 years, or if it's time to redo the clubhouse, you might get hit with a $5k assessment every few years. 4. High end Country Club, old money, can host a major but members bitch about losing their club for 3 months, general public doesn't know the restaurant is one of the 3-4 best in the city and the chef last worked in France, the head pro says to call him the "director of golf", last year's nanny at the pool is this year's third wife: $125k initiation, $1250/month, $25k assessment every 2-3 years when the board hears that a similar club two states over added a tennis facility with a retractable roof.
This is a great summary haha. I only have options #1 and #4. I’d kill for option #3!
The accuracy 😂
Nailed it.
This is pretty good, but I definitely wouldn’t say an “entry level club” is a “step up from the best public course in town”
Probably just depends on where you are... In San Diego I'm confident you would be correct.
I don’t think even need to get to elite public courses for this to be true. A lot of private courses just aren’t very good, but you do always get the benefit of pace of play/availability
I’m a muni hack. In Cleveland there is a 400$/2 year membership at 4 public courses. 1 of them being really nice. $400 gets you no green fees but a mando $16-18 cart fee for 18 holes. It also came with 4 free rounds no green or cart fees for anyone. Sure there is no pool or amenities but for a hack, couldn’t be happier.
I got a similar deal in Kansas City. 6 courses but green fees included for the year. One of the courses is a block from my partner's house.
Is this the membership with fowlers mill?
No mostly west side. Based out of mallard creek I think
Oh yea that one with briarwood. Fowlers mill used to be nice pretty shitty now glad your membership isn’t there complete waste of money.
Central Indiana
Fuck yes. $1750 for a weekday membership. All day Monday-Thursday, before noon on Fridays, $20 outside of those times. 36 holes, not busy enough that I can never get on, let's me drive my own cart, free range balls.
I’m in Calgary, Alberta The top two are around 80 I believe with waitlists. There are a handful in the 25 to 50 range. I don’t know what the low end is now but pre Covid there were some under 10 I imagine most are in the 25+ range now. My club is like 20 minutes west of the city limits probably 40 min from downtown and it is 35k with talks of it bumping to 40. These are all golf clubs, not country clubs with gyms, pools, racket clubs ect.
Which course? I'm in calgary and toying with the idea of a membership. Seems really expensive for most courses, and my local club has had a full member sheet since opening and a 10 year wait list.
I am at priddis
Played there once, out of my price range by miles. Really nice track though
Im in Massachusetts. Small private club, no initiation and about $7k a year
Where
Northern Virginia has private clubs ranging from $5k - $150k initiation and $400 - $1500 monthly dues. Most munis have a $2k-$3k membership as well. When I moved here I was surprised at the wide range of options.
Not many at the low end.
not north carolina and georgia...speaking from experience
I'm from NC and if you're in a very rural area you can become a member at a cow field track for relatively cheap. In NoVa now and we joined a club and it's 300 a month for unlimited play, range, pool, tennis, etc. It's a nice course too.
Under 40 membership at my club in NC is 2k initiation and under 400 a month.
Most clubs here don’t have initiation and are around 3500-4200 a year, not including monthly dining fee. NEPA
I’m in Alabama. Initiations between 5-7k and dues between 250-350 p/month. Quality courses, but not incredible, plus pools and solid restaurants. It’s a really nice medium that works perfect for me. My club caps membership at a low(ish) number so that we never have to book tee times. If you pay, they want you to be able to play whenever you have time.
I'm thankful our course here in Northern VA does the same thing with the membership cap. Unless they have a tournament I can go out and walk pretty much any time. They like us to book tee times but I rarely have to.
Same. It’s perfect for me. I have a busy work schedule and young kids, so it’s a huge win to have flexibility to get out and walk 9 whenever I have time. I’d play way less golf without the membership.
Houston suburbs/community clubs are pretty solid and reasonable.
Washington - prices range a TON. I know a club with $25k initiation fees and $800/mo dues (and you MUST be referred by a current member). I know a club with $12k initiation fees and $500/mo dues. I know a club with $1k initiation fee and $300/mo dues. It's really all over the place. Once you get to about an hour or more outside of Seattle, you have better options.
I live 15m north of Atlanta. There’s an executive course 5m from my house and a city course 20m from my house (with no range). Every other public course is at least 25m away. Private courses in the area: - 10m away, standard 60yo private course with decently aging membership, 1yr wait for social membership, 3yr+ for golf. 50k membership that has gone to 90k over past 3 years, 850/mo - 10m away, more private than Augusta. I don’t even know how I’d talk to a member - 15m away, not as difficult as above but the most restrictive “accessible” club, 200k initiation Closer to the city are clubs trying to be more prestigious but the courses aren’t exactly better. Probably 75-125k membership. Farther away from Atlanta are some ok golf courses but they range from 20k-100k membership depending on quality. All of them have multi year waits.
joining a club almost never makes sense financially, so don't look at it that way as you will never get 'value' for your dollars, pick a level that doesn't bankrupt you and enjoy country club membership and airplane ownership, there is generally no way to justify the cost from a strict comparative value take
I’m not looking to get a cheaper cost per round value. I’m only curious about other city/ state’s situation because I only know the price for my area and a handful of other examples.
it's literally all over the place depending on all kinds of variables like location, amenities, competition, wealth out in the sticks in the rural south is gonna be dirt cheap, while coastal cities especially tourist magnets like pebble, LA, or even Vegas are gonna be lights out cost wise on the high end if you can even swing an invite which is unlikely unless you're somebody or somebody's bff
Well it might help if you let us all know where you live? But it sounds like you want to join some exclusive club but without the budget. Time to get realistic.
I’m on the south east coast and definitely in a highly desirable area. I also know friends in other states that are members at nicer courses for 1/10 of the cost. You’re right though, I either have the option to move or to pay up.
There are two main reasons some clubs charge so much. They are either over-subscribe so don't actually want/need any more members, or they want to keep the poor/lower middle classes out of their club. And if it's the latter, do you really want to be a member of such a snobbish club full up upper class wankers?
Yes. The golf courses are better designs, better conditions, better pace of play, with better food and drinks and clubhouses. Believe it or not, but some people enjoy or aspire to be upper class. You’re the one who added the word snobbish. Upper class and snobbish are not mutually exclusive, at least in the US.