Would you rather play 100 or more rounds a year where 95% were at the same course or 50-75 rounds a year split evenly between 10 or more different courses?

[golfpractitioner5]

As the topic states, would your rather play 100 or more rounds a year where 95% were at the same course or 50-75 rounds a year split evenly between 10 or more courses?

 

This is the decision that I am finding myself in as my kids are getting older to where they will be in school soon, and I will have more time during the week to devote to golfing again instead of my current state of one round every couple weeks with the rest of the time in my golf simulator.

 

Basically, golf is expensive in my area and only going up in price.  I could join a golf club, but it'd put me near the top end of what I am wanting to spend on golf for a year.  I could play as much as my heart desires with a club membership, but this would be basically the only course I'd play outside the occasional round with a buddies elsewhere.  Or, I could just pay premium for rounds and spread my 50-75 rounds a year out over 10 or more public courses in my general area.

 

To add some context about the potential club memberships, there are only 2 clubs within 30 minutes of me that have a memberships for unlimited golf that are in my price range.  One is going completely private next year, but it is nothing special as it is currently public.  The other is semiprivate with a great layout but questionable conditions depending on the day.  Both deals are unlimited golf and range balls with cart included which doesn't matter to me as I usually walk.

 

I've done the math, and those clubs' membership fees for a year is somewhere between what 50-75 rounds of golf would cost me just going random all over my general area and playing a variety of courses.  Those 2 clubs are just golf.  They are not country clubs.  They do not have hidden fees or extras like you would see at the country clubs.  I do have a country club right next to my house, but I can play golf 75 rounds a year for 4 years before I'd even get close to what one year costs there.

 

Has anybody been stuck with the same decision?  If so, what did you choose?  What are the pros and cons of both decisions that you have seen?

[Pepperturbo]

I am fortunate, don't have to pick between those options.  I will, in the future, join another private country club, as my wife and I love the club and competitive culture.  That said, at our last two clubs, we owned homes on different fairways and still went to other courses with friends to enjoy golf.   We saw the extra golf costs as just part of our lifestyle.  And I should say, if the budget is so tight that that option isn't feasible, maybe club life isn't the best option.

 

Having been on the board of both clubs, and membership chair at one, I've seen what happens to some folks if financially, a member feels required to play that one course.  They feel limited or caged, and can't regularly play with non-club friends, they won't be happy. 

 

Part of it will be financial restrictions, the other part will be outside friends.  These people, in most cases, won't assimilate to club life and make new friends, thus eventually look for ways to quit.

Edited June 19 by Pepperturbo

[NDSwim]

I play 95% of my rounds at my Club.  It all comes down to playing with friends.  I do not have to bring my own game, can always find people to play with.  We occasionally go off campus, but again with friends from the Club.

 

I know money will make the decision, but beyond the golf, have you considered the country club for not golf but the whole family?  Yes, it will never make sense financially for cost per round.  However, being able to drop by after work for chipping or a quick 9.  What about a pool for the kids.  Maybe they will get the golf bug.  Not to mention maybe your spouse would enjoy. 
 

Are your two options memberships or annual passes?  How are the other members at each facility?

 

 

 

[JimMLINY]

I prefer to play multiple courses.

For a fraction of the cost of club membership near me I play in 26 charity outings ($275 to $900 for breakfast lunch and dinner) a year at some of the nicest and top rated private and public links in NY, CT, NJ and PA to support the causes while enjoying a round with a foursome I bring or playing with foursome assigned when i sign up as single.

[WesternRacing]

Easy answer for me.  No way would I ever go back to playing regularly on public courses.  I don’t care if it was free.  I’d quit playing golf before I’d deal with the challenges of getting good tee times, the awful pace of play, the lack of consistent access to good practice facilities, etc.  The advantages of private club golf are worth every penny IMO.  I have no problem playing public courses once in a while, but it’d drive me nuts on a regular basis.

[golfpractitioner5]

9 minutes ago, NDSwim said:

I play 95% of my rounds at my Club.  It all comes down to playing with friends.  I do not have to bring my own game, can always find people to play with.  We occasionally go off campus, but again with friends from the Club.

 

I know money will make the decision, but beyond the golf, have you considered the country club for not golf but the whole family?  Yes, it will never make sense financially for cost per round.  However, being able to drop by after work for chipping or a quick 9.  What about a pool for the kids.  Maybe they will get the golf bug.  Not to mention maybe your spouse would enjoy. 
 

Are your two options memberships or annual passes?  How are the other members at each facility?

 

 

 

The Country Club avoidance isn't solely financially charged for me as much as it is the fact that I know my family as a whole would not take advantage of the other things that come with membership.

 

I should start by stating my wife has no interest in being part of a country club.  She has nothing against them, but she already belongs to several social groups and church affiliated programs that she just has no interest in something else.  Also, she does not care for sports at all.  She does enjoy riding or walking a course with me when it is at a state park though for the nature aspect and totally supports my golf habits 100% which is great.

 

Both of my kids are headed the soccer route, so their weekends will most likely be filled with that for years to come, so they will most likely not worry about the club that much especially considering we are in the process of getting a pool at the house soon.

 

As for me, I love golf, but I have no interest in playing in any leagues or regular money games.  90% of all my golf rounds are booked as a single.  I will talk with people I am grouped up with if they are chatty, but honestly, I am just as happy trucking along my round listening to a podcast.  I just love golf for the personal challenge it is to myself and the exercise I get from it as I walk most my rounds.  Also, I live for that perfect shot per round, LOL.

 

If I thought for a second my family and I would get value from all the other things the country club has to offer other than golf, I'd pay the $25k initiation and the $10k-$15k a year in dues and assessments.  I just know we would not capitalize on all the country club has to offer.  My job involves dealing a lot with the public, so outside of work, I really just prefer to be around my family and handful of close friends.  Even though I'd be playing golf at the club a lot, I'd probably come off as snooty because I'm just not very social.

 

As far as those 2 golf clubs go, one is semiprivate and is just annual pass.  I actually play it a good bit.  It is a nice neighborhood set up, but it gets pretty beat up from overplay and drainage issues.  I can book there if I ever want to play it even if not a member with their annual pass.  The other is public right now, and I have played it a lot over the years.  It is just flat and almost unplayable in the winter due to drainage issues, too.  No one is a member there yet as they do not go private until next January.  It will be strictly a private golf club.  I have not heard much on what all the membership will entail.  

[Bonneville85308]

I'd take the 100+ rounds per year with 95% on the same course. I've done that both as a member of a private club and an annual pass holder at a public course. Ultimately I just want to play as often as possible. These days I only demand "public course average" conditions or better, a course layout that isn't ridiculously goofy or that doesn't set up well for my game at all, and an ability to get early AM tee times without staying up to midnight and competing against bots.

 

Even as a private club member I'd still play a handful of rounds at different reciprocal courses when ours is closed for an event I'm not playing in, or with the public course annual pass I'd play elsewhere if it's closed for an outing or whatever. Plus rounds while away on vacation. So I would get in a bit of variety.

[mshills]

The variety is nice, but after a couple years at my club, I’m never going back. 
 

Play any time I want. 
Organized money games. 
Staff know me, my family, what I like to drink, etc. 

Events. Friends. On and on. 

 

I can see the analysis paralysis coming like a freight train in the above posts. Forget all that. Not needed.
 

Public golf in my area stinks. Semi private? No thanks. All that is is pre paid tee times — for what?
 

My club is my favorite check to stroke every month….it is a great way to spend money.

[NDSwim]

52 minutes ago, golfpractitioner5 said:

The Country Club avoidance isn't solely financially charged for me as much as it is the fact that I know my family as a whole would not take advantage of the other things that come with membership.

 

I should start by stating my wife has no interest in being part of a country club.  She has nothing against them, but she already belongs to several social groups and church affiliated programs that she just has no interest in something else.  Also, she does not care for sports at all.  She does enjoy riding or walking a course with me when it is at a state park though for the nature aspect and totally supports my golf habits 100% which is great.

 

Both of my kids are headed the soccer route, so their weekends will most likely be filled with that for years to come, so they will most likely not worry about the club that much especially considering we are in the process of getting a pool at the house soon.

 

As for me, I love golf, but I have no interest in playing in any leagues or regular money games.  90% of all my golf rounds are booked as a single.  I will talk with people I am grouped up with if they are chatty, but honestly, I am just as happy trucking along my round listening to a podcast.  I just love golf for the personal challenge it is to myself and the exercise I get from it as I walk most my rounds.  Also, I live for that perfect shot per round, LOL.

 

If I thought for a second my family and I would get value from all the other things the country club has to offer other than golf, I'd pay the $25k initiation and the $10k-$15k a year in dues and assessments.  I just know we would not capitalize on all the country club has to offer.  My job involves dealing a lot with the public, so outside of work, I really just prefer to be around my family and handful of close friends.  Even though I'd be playing golf at the club a lot, I'd probably come off as snooty because I'm just not very social.

 

As far as those 2 golf clubs go, one is semiprivate and is just annual pass.  I actually play it a good bit.  It is a nice neighborhood set up, but it gets pretty beat up from overplay and drainage issues.  I can book there if I ever want to play it even if not a member with their annual pass.  The other is public right now, and I have played it a lot over the years.  It is just flat and almost unplayable in the winter due to drainage issues, too.  No one is a member there yet as they do not go private until next January.  It will be strictly a private golf club.  I have not heard much on what all the membership will entail.  

You obviously know your family better than strangers on the internet, so all good with the country club membership route.

 

If the one going private is going to be in better shape and faster play I’d lean that way, but you did mention something to keep In mind.  Again, as a stranger on the internet, not judging, but really think about the idea of playing alone and not with groups.  We have some guys at our club who do just that and they definitely come off as snooty.  I think joining a club is also about the camaraderie.  
 

good luck with your decision, bright side you are still playing.
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Johnny Biarritz]

Given the options, I'd rather play 100 rounds with 95 of them being at a single course. Just because it's more golf. If I had to option of 100 rounds with 75 of them being at a single course and the other 25 all being at different courses, I'd pick that one. 

 

To the real question at hand, which I believe is cost-value of joining a private club. There is virtually no way the math works out to make it cheaper per round at a private club. I've done the whole spectrum. I was a member of a club in Virginia from 2019 through 2021, dues were $330 a month, I believe. That was with their under-40 discount. I had to play 8 or 9 times a month to work the cost per round down to the same level as the public courses nearby; without the 25% under-40 discount, it would have been 10-11 times a month to break even on money. I never broke even. Eventually I would like to be at a point where that math works out, but it'll be a long time. Being a member of a club is its own thing. Do it because you want to be part of the club. 100 rounds in a year is likely not enough for the math to work out.

[Saijin]

100 rounds a year is A LOT.

 

I prefer 50 rounds and play well on variety of courses.

[Hollisticgolf]

Ideally, I would get a Troon membership and play around on all the different Troon courses. I'd get bored with playing the same course over and over again. 

[Johnny Biarritz]

1 hour ago, Hollisticgolf said:

Ideally, I would get a Troon membership and play around on all the different Troon courses. I'd get bored with playing the same course over and over again. 

You have to really want to do that. I was a member of a ClubCorp (now Invited Clubs or something) club and had the travel benefit. I used it 5 or 6 times in about 2.5 years. Not saying it’s bad but people likely won’t use it as much as they think they will.

[sabram]

I was a member of a club for 25+ years and even then played only about 50 % of my rounds there. I like to travel and play lots of different courses. I no longer belong to a club and am happy to play 30+ different courses each year.

 

[touch]

I'd find playing only one course extremely boring. I definitely would  take the 50-75 rounds on 10 different courses.

 

I do almost exactly that. I play 85-95 rounds a year and there are 9 courses in our groups regular rotation both in NC and SC. 

 

I say hold off for now with joining the club and drive around and play various courses and enjoy the change of scenery. 

 

 

 

 

[Saijin]

8 minutes ago, touch said:

I'd find playing only one course extremely boring. I definitely would  take the 50-75 rounds on 10 different courses.

 

I do almost exactly that. I play 85-95 rounds a year and there are 9 courses in our groups regular rotation both in NC and SC. 

 

I say hold off for now with joining the club and drive around and play various courses and enjoy the change of scenery. 

 

 

 

 

oooooh you;re in NC and SC? that's golf haven.... and cheap too. Legends and Dunes in M.beach are favorites.

The weather though.... too humid

[Petethreeput]

For me, I would rather play 95% on the same course (if it is a good course) than fewer times on multiple courses.  I also played most all of my golf at that point as a single.

 

I joined when my son was 3 (he is the oldest) he's 30 now.

 

The pool was less crowded (I know you are about to put one in).

In the late afternoon we could go to the golf course and there was no pressure from folks who didn't know us.

The pros were great to the kids at all stages, and the restaurant was great as well.

Eventually I met golfers similar to me and began to play in games which are much more fun than playing by myself.

My wife caught the golf bug because she started to meet wives of my friends who were also hesitant to pick up the game.

[mshills]

I thought I would tire of playing the same course most of the time, but I’ve not found that to be a hang-up. 
 

If I lived somewhere with a broad variety of quality public golf I could see that, but I don’t. Public golf in the Pittsburgh area is not very good, and I’ve had no qualms at all about playing my place for 90% of my (non travel) rounds. 

[WesternRacing]

Obviously, the key to going private is finding the right club; good golf course, solid footing financially, good membership culture, etc.  It has to be a course that you would enjoy playing at least 1-2 times a week, without getting tired of it.  I’ve played at many private clubs that I would never want to be a member of, simply because the golf course would not be fun to play on a regular basis.

[Mullenboy]

There is no one easy answer to this... the variables are too many.  There are a few key points (which have been hit on, I am just trying to distill it):

 

1.  Nearly everywhere - and for sure in high cost areas - do not even try to justify cost of a private membership on a per-round basis.  The math rarely makes sense.  A great man once told me if you have to think about how much a private club will cost, you shouldn't do it.

 

2.  What one is paying for in a private club is CONVENIENCE.... easier tee times if they exist at all... ability to play as many or as few holes as one wants... and in most cases, camraderie/familiarity.  If this is important to you or is in any way an issue, than private club is the way to go.  If not... what are you really paying for?

 

3.  Obviously if variety is the spice of your golf life, do not play the same course constantly.

 

Seems simple.  Each person weighs what he wants.

 

For me... I found a local private club that is a lot of fun, in an area where public golf is overpriced and tee times are a royal pain in the a**.  I joined said club five years ago and have been very happy with it.  I have first group off 5 days per week.  Love it.  I also travel a bit on top of it.

 

But that's me.  Others might hate my club.

 

 

Edited June 20 by Mullenboy

[tucson5190]

I pretty much do both those things every year.  It's a good life.

[SnowbirdTom]

I paid for a local membership at my neighborhood course this year.  Two 18 hole courses that are as different as night/day. One tight/short and target golf, the other wide open and long. Also got on a senior league rotating between the two.  Still get out and play higher end local courses with the sons 2-3 times a month.  Scheduled to play several local and state tournaments too.

 

I'll end up playing 75-90 times on the member courses and probably 40-50 offsite rounds.

[Hawkeye77]

Been doing door number one for 25+ years so I'd say that's what I prefer. 😀

[caniac6]

I’m a member at a private, and every once in a while I start feeling bored with the same course and the same guys. We had a major renovation last year, and they did a lousy job. Even though the group gets a bit stale, it’s an overall good group, and that’s what keeps me there. I’m considering a move to a club with 36 holes, but very mediocre practice facilities. My current course has very good practice facilities, and I really enjoy practicing.

[Chanceman]

That’s why we go on golf trips - to have a break from the routine and experience something new. Or an occasional outing to a mates course. It’s never either/or. 

[NCgolf135]

I personally would go the club route, that's what I now. I wouldn't say 95% of my rounds are at the club, but I'd say 70% are. I don't play much around the area, besides in a few tournaments. Play on vacation and a few golf trips elsewhere to get that 30%, and I probably play 70-80 rounds a year, maybe. 

 

HOWEVA, with how you described yourself and your family, I'd go the other route. You wont get the benefits of the club, besides maybe faster play. All the other benefits of tournaments, camraderie, games, family activities etc you don't seem to have any interest in. And you can play other places. 

[PeteNC]

On 6/19/2025 at 5:13 PM, golfpractitioner5 said:

The Country Club avoidance isn't solely financially charged for me as much as it is the fact that I know my family as a whole would not take advantage of the other things that come with membership.

 

I should start by stating my wife has no interest in being part of a country club.  She has nothing against them, but she already belongs to several social groups and church affiliated programs that she just has no interest in something else.  Also, she does not care for sports at all.  She does enjoy riding or walking a course with me when it is at a state park though for the nature aspect and totally supports my golf habits 100% which is great.

 

Both of my kids are headed the soccer route, so their weekends will most likely be filled with that for years to come, so they will most likely not worry about the club that much especially considering we are in the process of getting a pool at the house soon.

 

As for me, I love golf, but I have no interest in playing in any leagues or regular money games.  90% of all my golf rounds are booked as a single.  I will talk with people I am grouped up with if they are chatty, but honestly, I am just as happy trucking along my round listening to a podcast.  I just love golf for the personal challenge it is to myself and the exercise I get from it as I walk most my rounds.  Also, I live for that perfect shot per round, LOL.

 

If I thought for a second my family and I would get value from all the other things the country club has to offer other than golf, I'd pay the $25k initiation and the $10k-$15k a year in dues and assessments.  I just know we would not capitalize on all the country club has to offer.  My job involves dealing a lot with the public, so outside of work, I really just prefer to be around my family and handful of close friends.  Even though I'd be playing golf at the club a lot, I'd probably come off as snooty because I'm just not very social.

 

As far as those 2 golf clubs go, one is semiprivate and is just annual pass.  I actually play it a good bit.  It is a nice neighborhood set up, but it gets pretty beat up from overplay and drainage issues.  I can book there if I ever want to play it even if not a member with their annual pass.  The other is public right now, and I have played it a lot over the years.  It is just flat and almost unplayable in the winter due to drainage issues, too.  No one is a member there yet as they do not go private until next January.  It will be strictly a private golf club.  I have not heard much on what all the membership will entail.  

 

 

It sounds like you may be best doing what ever is the least commitment as your family schedule could adjust some in the coming years, and that would also give you the oppy to reassess continuously.  

You also stated you deal alot with the public so don't want to deal with people outside family and close friends - I'm not sure any of these options outside of an exclusive private club will allow for that as golf courses especially public tend to have packed tee sheets now.  

 

Personally, I find the private club scene to be best where i am in the SE even though it ends up costing 2-3x for golf.

 

All the best!

[smashdn]

My wife was really worried before we joined our club that I would get tired of playing our course in time and still end up playing other places 5-10 times per month.  In truth, I was afraid I would get bored as well.  That I would "learn" the greens and the allure of the course and challenge would grow cold.  I have been surprised that that has not happened as of yet.  

 

So, my answer is so long as the course is fairly interesting and you can get some interesting games going or matches or events or whatever, I can be fine with 95% of play at one course.

[Imp]

I play with an AM Tour here in New England that gets us on all different courses during the year. I can play 3-4 times a week with them if I so desired and it would be about the same as a private membership. Also, pay to play (greens + fee + side bets)..   The only difference is they take care of the booking of a block of tee times, I show up in the time they assign me. Which, may not be everyones cup of tea for those that need flexibie.

 

 

[Chanceman]

21 hours ago, Imp said:

I play with an AM Tour here in New England that gets us on all different courses during the year. I can play 3-4 times a week with them if I so desired and it would be about the same as a private membership. Also, pay to play (greens + fee + side bets)..   The only difference is they take care of the booking of a block of tee times, I show up in the time they assign me. Which, may not be everyones cup of tea for those that need flexibie.

 

 

What are the courses you play?