Sorry Rant on Entitled "Members"

[david.c.w]

On 7/26/2025 at 10:41 AM, goudok said:

I agree with that and again not complaining about my place, but i can see how some would. Just examples of how it can bring out Karen’s. 
My club has a board and my club states unlimited play at any time that is available. When someone purchases a membership and asks how many times there is league and are told once a week and 6 months later it’s 4? That’s not ok, they should’ve been told it’s one now but may increase. 
my place doubled in price for that exact reason to “service” the members better. Literally what they said to make it feel more elite. Bunch of members quit so now afternoon blocks are mostly empty. Good for me I thought but then went to 4 leagues a week. That’s 4 nights I can’t play. What if it goes from 8k to 12 or 16? At some point I will get upset too. What if your private course from some occasional Mondays to every Monday ? And then 2 times a week.

nobody knows the OP posts course membership agreement nobody knows anything other than there were a few baboons that went out during league but since there are multiple people that went out to play during league that’s more of a chance that the course is very poorly run and members don’t mean squat after they paid the yearly dues. We don’t know the yearly dues it might be very minimal but might be a lot and might have increased a lot in a small amount of time like mine and now that were close to being clowns became clowns. 
Not encouraging this behavior by any means but we don’t know anything other than the guy playing league got upset.  Just like you or someone said don’t join if you don’t like leagues well same thing can be said. Don’t play league on semi private courses if you don’t want this type of behavior.  I’m just stating how it goes both ways. I’ve witnessed numerous scraps at these leagues. 

So at the end of the day you will have clowns on all sides.  And it’s not just golf it’s anything in life. 
the only problem is that currently there are more people that want to play than courses so courses are getting away with stuff they didn’t 6 years ago. 
 

 

 

I am getting the impression that you are acting entitled yourself.   While not explicitly stated, your posts read like, "I am a paid member so I should get to play anytime I want to no matter what".  Every course, public, semi-private, or private has times that are blocked off for various leagues or organizations or events.  In fact at our full private club the under 50 male has the least amount of tee time availability of any group.  Tuesday mornings are senior men.  Wednesday morning is ladies 9 , Thursday morning is ladies 18, Friday morning in the summer is juniors.  There are one day tournaments on Saturdays.  There are 2 day member/member and member/guest tournaments.  There are 3 day club championship and sr. club championships.  There are USGA sectional qualifiers.   There are state PGA tournaments.  We just hosted the 3 day state women's amateur, which included another 1/2 day of practice rounds.  

 

Golf courses are not there just for you.  They are there for the golfing community.

 

All things considered, I was able to play north of 75 rounds last year.  Yes there are limitations, but I am not short on golf.

 

Of course there are entitled people in the golf world, but I would say that there are not more entitled golfers than anywhere else.  Look at your neighborhood, your HOA, your church, your workplace, your local grocery store parking lot, your airport boarding process.   Entitled people everywhere, all the time.

[betarhoalphadelta]

10 minutes ago, david.c.w said:

 

I am getting the impression that you are acting entitled yourself.   While not explicitly stated, your posts read like, "I am a paid member so I should get to play anytime I want to no matter what".  Every course, public, semi-private, or private has times that are blocked off for various leagues or organizations or events.

 

I took it differently. I think @goudok is more referring to what he perceives as a "bait & switch" from the club selling him a membership based on certain expectations, and then reducing the available services over time (increasing league conflicts from 1/wk to 4/wk), while also apparently doubling the membership price. 

 

I can see how that would be frustrating, particularly if his preferred availability for play (afternoon/evening on work days) are the times that are most affected, given a lot of these leagues commonly are... Weekday after-work leagues.

 

I'd normally criticize and say that the answer isn't to complain online, it's to evaluate the price and services and if they're not meeting his needs, to cancel his membership. However as he was NOT the OP and just offering his own perspective, I see it more as venting from the point of view as a member fighting leagues for access to tee times. 

[rogolf]

Just for clarity and understanding, what are "leagues"?  Are the players in these "leagues" members, non-members (member's guests) or what?  Who organizes them?

 

Edited July 28 by rogolf

[Johnny Biarritz]

On 7/26/2025 at 3:49 AM, SNIPERBBB said:

Unlimited golf just means the number of times you can play without paying greens is unlimited. It does not mean unlimited access.

 

You're not always going to be able to get on. They have events and leagues. Even on fully private courses. Even if there's not an event, the tee sheet might be so full there's not openings.

The limit for every person with a membership to play every day of the year is about 180 members. That's with zero guests, ever. With guests allowed it drops to about 45 members. And that's never playing more than 18 in a day. Unlimited golf, as in play as much as you want, whenever you want, every day, isn't a thing. But people think it is.

[WesternRacing]

2 hours ago, rogolf said:

Just for clarity and understanding, what are "leagues"?  Are the players in these "leagues" members, non-members (member's guests) or what?  Who organizes them?

 

 

He’s referring to interclub play or regional leagues.  Our club participates in interclub play every year, where we compete against five other clubs in the area in home and home team matches.  Our best players and one assistant pro also compete in a regional scratch league, that I believe is organized by our regional state golf association, but I can’t be sure on that.

[WesternRacing]

1 hour ago, Johnny Biarritz said:

The limit for every person with a membership to play every day of the year is about 180 members. That's with zero guests, ever. With guests allowed it drops to about 45 members. And that's never playing more than 18 in a day. Unlimited golf, as in play as much as you want, whenever you want, every day, isn't a thing. But people think it is.

 

Which is why I’ve always said that a max of 200 golfing members is the sweet spot for a private club.  I’d be happy if my club doubled my dues and Thanos’d half the membership.

[rogolf]

2 hours ago, WesternRacing said:

 

He’s referring to interclub play or regional leagues.  Our club participates in interclub play every year, where we compete against five other clubs in the area in home and home team matches.  Our best players and one assistant pro also compete in a regional scratch league, that I believe is organized by our regional state golf association, but I can’t be sure on that.

Thanks, but I would prefer to hear from him. 

Edited July 28 by rogolf

[golfortennis]

5 hours ago, WesternRacing said:

 

He’s referring to interclub play or regional leagues.  Our club participates in interclub play every year, where we compete against five other clubs in the area in home and home team matches.  Our best players and one assistant pro also compete in a regional scratch league, that I believe is organized by our regional state golf association, but I can’t be sure on that.

 

I would actually suspect that it's a "Tuesday night nine hole league" where there is some loose association between the participants.  i.e, Electricians, or Lions Club.  Highly doubt this is about what you are talking about.

[golfortennis]

You want to talk bait and switch, there is a course near me where people paid their annual pass money in January, buying "memberships" that allowed 7 day advance booking,  and 6 weeks later the course changed policies so that "public" players could book 6 months out.  So Joe who paid up in January has to wait till June 23rd to book July 1, whereas I could book it on Feb. 25th.

 

There was some serious backlash on that one.

[mshills]

11 minutes ago, golfortennis said:

 

I would actually suspect that it's a "Tuesday night nine hole league" where there is some loose association between the participants.  i.e, Electricians, or Lions Club.  Highly doubt this is about what you are talking about.

Illegal Tuesday Night Men’s League!

 

 

[WesternRacing]

1 hour ago, golfortennis said:

 

I would actually suspect that it's a "Tuesday night nine hole league" where there is some loose association between the participants.  i.e, Electricians, or Lions Club.  Highly doubt this is about what you are talking about.

 

That’s what I’m talking about when I say regional leagues.  There are all kinds of leagues, the common thread being they often involve non-members playing at private (or semi private) courses.  I’ve played in city run leagues (Thursday night league in Houston, Texas), GA leagues, and private club leagues.  All the same general idea and I often played at clubs where I wasn’t a member.  Honestly, the only issues I ever had with members behaving like basshats were a few of the guys that I was playing against from the club at which we were playing…

[Carolina Golfer 2]

On 7/25/2025 at 5:52 PM, goudok said:

Isn’t that the point of a membership? Being able to go out and play any given time ? 

 

No, not at a “semi private” you get things like advance booking window, shop credit and likely F&B and merchandise discounts.   Semi Privates still operate on Tee Times—at least all the ones my company do. 

[Warrior42111]

Answering  more questions I saw.

 

Yes it's a work / company league, we all work for the same company. Basically any course runs them you call and ask about rates, benefits. day / time availability for the season and we picked one for the year. 

 

On reflection it's not the members that irked me per se, but their actions. I get you paid money, but you still need to book a time that's the rule. I get you live on the course and I'd play a few holes too if I did, but I wouldn't hold up other paying persons doing so. 

 

[Greenie]

Anyone looking at a membership needs to look at the overall picture of what is going on at the club you are interested in before joining and determine if the plan is going to fit your needs.

 

There is a semi-private club I was interested in joining. The membership price and what that included appeared to be a good deal to me.

 

I found out the club has morning leagues blocked off from 8 am to 10 am during the week and evening leagues Mon-Thur. Those are the times I would be the most interested in booking. It didn't seem like such a good deal being stuck playing mid morning or in the afternoon going through the hottest part of the day in the summer.

 

 

[goudok]

On 7/28/2025 at 8:38 AM, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

I took it differently. I think @goudok is more referring to what he perceives as a "bait & switch" from the club selling him a membership based on certain expectations, and then reducing the available services over time (increasing league conflicts from 1/wk to 4/wk), while also apparently doubling the membership price. 

 

I can see how that would be frustrating, particularly if his preferred availability for play (afternoon/evening on work days) are the times that are most affected, given a lot of these leagues commonly are... Weekday after-work leagues.

 

I'd normally criticize and say that the answer isn't to complain online, it's to evaluate the price and services and if they're not meeting his needs, to cancel his membership. However as he was NOT the OP and just offering his own perspective, I see it more as venting from the point of view as a member fighting leagues for access to tee times. 

That is correct

 

Like I said, or if not said, I'm not expecting to be able to show up and play any time I want.  If I show up and there aren't any tee times I do not expect myself to be able to go and play.  But I do expect myself to be able to play 3-5 times a week in the evening when you specifically ask the course before you pay 8K up front, how many leagues are there and the response is "we have 1 league a week for 2 months".  

I have already played 115 times this year (times not rounds, some of my rounds are 5 holes and some are 18 and anything in between).  I have a ton of connections in town where I can get on quite a few other courses.  So I really am fine with the amount of golf that I play, however I have seen this from both sides at my club as a "member" and other clubs as "league player".

I know an older gentleman who doesn't have millions, and 8K to him is quite a bit of money and he has gotten into arguments with the course (not the league members, even though it might seem like he is out there to take on league) where he is told 1 thing upon purchasing the membership and receiving a completely different experiences once the 8k left his account.  Again he IS NOT EXPECTING to play 7 days a week at night but expects to play it more than 3 and now he can't due these leagues.  

What goes around comes around, with money being squeezed out of the economy golf will experience a decline eventually, everything runs in cycles and then they will be begging for players like him to join and have that upfront cash flow.  

My club has a board and again reason they doubled in price is to have more open times for members, but with so many members dropping out they realized they have a lot more open slots in the evenings which was a selling point to some, which is now being filled by leagues.  

23 hours ago, rogolf said:

Just for clarity and understanding, what are "leagues"?  Are the players in these "leagues" members, non-members (member's guests) or what?  Who organizes them?

 

They could be members, but majority are not members, at least the ones that are hosted at my club.  These leagues are there to make money as well.  They buy out bulk tee times and resell them as "league", at the end of the day it is nothing but a wholesale price.  

[Pnwpingi210]

59 minutes ago, goudok said:

That is correct

 

Like I said, or if not said, I'm not expecting to be able to show up and play any time I want.  If I show up and there aren't any tee times I do not expect myself to be able to go and play.  But I do expect myself to be able to play 3-5 times a week in the evening when you specifically ask the course before you pay 8K up front, how many leagues are there and the response is "we have 1 league a week for 2 months".  

I have already played 115 times this year (times not rounds, some of my rounds are 5 holes and some are 18 and anything in between).  I have a ton of connections in town where I can get on quite a few other courses.  So I really am fine with the amount of golf that I play, however I have seen this from both sides at my club as a "member" and other clubs as "league player".

I know an older gentleman who doesn't have millions, and 8K to him is quite a bit of money and he has gotten into arguments with the course (not the league members, even though it might seem like he is out there to take on league) where he is told 1 thing upon purchasing the membership and receiving a completely different experiences once the 8k left his account.  Again he IS NOT EXPECTING to play 7 days a week at night but expects to play it more than 3 and now he can't due these leagues.  

What goes around comes around, with money being squeezed out of the economy golf will experience a decline eventually, everything runs in cycles and then they will be begging for players like him to join and have that upfront cash flow.  

My club has a board and again reason they doubled in price is to have more open times for members, but with so many members dropping out they realized they have a lot more open slots in the evenings which was a selling point to some, which is now being filled by leagues.  

They could be members, but majority are not members, at least the ones that are hosted at my club.  These leagues are there to make money as well.  They buy out bulk tee times and resell them as "league", at the end of the day it is nothing but a wholesale price.  

Yeah.  In all of these examples the “member” needs to go talk to the “membership” committee/board or whatever they called.  
 

most of those would hear out the angry member and gladly cancelled their member ship for them.  They wouldn’t want that attitude floating around the course….

Edited July 29 by Pnwpingi210

[goudok]

1 hour ago, Pnwpingi210 said:

Yeah.  In all of these examples the “member” needs to go talk to the “membership” committee/board or whatever they called.  
 

most of those would hear out the angry member and gladly cancelled their member ship for them.  They wouldn’t want that attitude floating around the course….

yup

[bobfoster]

On 7/25/2025 at 11:04 PM, st1800e said:

On 7/25/2025 at 11:22 AM, Bad9 said:

golfers suck as people.

And a lot of people suck as golfers….😉

🤣Now that's freaking hilarious.

[chippa13]

I think you need 7 more groups for this league. Put an A and B group on each tee at shotgun and there isn't anywhere for members to sneak in.

[rogolf]

4 hours ago, chippa13 said:

I think you need 7 more groups for this league. Put an A and B group on each tee at shotgun and there isn't anywhere for members to sneak in.

Just rent the whole course for the day, and pay the price!