Things to look at before joining a Golf Club/Country Club

if you play 1 round a week and don't work on your game I would say NO... I have found the main issue is breaking into a playing group is the most negative aspect. Be ready to go at it solo for a while and join ALL the scrambles and outings the club offers....good luck

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There's another course near me with pretty small initiation fee and reasonable monthly dues. But it's only 18 holes available and I think they are 490 members.

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200 members or 1000 members, the only number that matters is the amount of golfing members. Plenty of nice courses have a lot of members but many are just long time member or they are members just for the social aspect.

My biggest thing, outside of course conditions, was amount of golf played/traffic/course availability. One thing I love about my home course is there is no tee times and no outside tournaments other than college/minor tour tournaments, and even they aren't allowed an entre day.

I love just being able to show up and not have to worry at all, ever, if I'm not going to get to play when I want to. I can't many times I've ever seen more than 5 groups on the course at the same time. It's pretty glorious. Never have to worry about a free time or it being too crowded so you also virtually never have to worry about playing behind someone or letting groups have to play through. I can count on one hand in the past year and a half how many times I've had to play though or let someone play through. If I ever moved away and switched courses I'd almost have to make sure the next course i joined had this. I know I'm spoiled though.

Nothing wrong at all asking about the amount of rounds played. That's a pretty good indicator of how busy it will be. Even better than going to the course because right now most private courses will be relatively slow given it's getting cold. I think my course has 500 total members, but roughly 150 that actually play golf. Last year it only got 15,000 rounds played, which is about 10 foursomes a day. If it's a course that has a fairly expensive initiation fee then they should be pretty open about the details you're curious about.

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I know they have a yearly charge for the range ($150) and cart fees unless you buy the unlimited plan...any other hidden fees to look out for?

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As mentioned, if there is a food/drink minimum or course improvement charge. Also, if you are someone that's going to bring guests regular, might need to see if they have a limit to the number of times you can bring a guest.

Other fees include mandatory holiday bonuses and capital charges if the club wants to do any significant upgrades. having that many nearby probably mitigates against some of this though since they're competing for members.

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the main issue is breaking into a playing group

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A good head pro takes care of this. Mine did at our new club but some clubs (like MCC) are graduated high school clicks.

Went this afternoon. Range and practice area look nice. Not huge, but nice. Just redone with new mats which are used Mon thru Thursday, but there is a tee box with grass on the other side for lessons you may use any day if they aren't full with lessons.

10 minute drive from the house. I've got several closer, but they are the pricey clubs. She noted afternoons are usually very slow and showed on the tee sheet that basically nothing was taken Today, Wednesday, and Sunday afternoons. I have a flexible work schedule and can take advantage of that for a quick 9.

Layout is a loop back to the clubhouse at 9. Not conducive to mixing it up completely, but sounds like in the afternoon it's not hard to catch 1-9 or 10-18 in the afternoon.

May take them up on a trial round Saturday or Sunday afternoon with my son. If he is at all interested, will likely pull the trigger. Initiation is low enough that after a year, it wouldn't hurt to decide to cancel.

Mind saying what city you're in? I wouldn't be shocked if someone here is a member at the club(s) you're looking at and can give real insight.

Otherwise, you've got the basics in the thread:

1) Equity vs Corporate Owned - Assessments and annual increases are the biggest differences
2) F&B minimums
3) Are they closed on a day that doesn't work with your schedule
4) How likely are you to use any of the other amenities
5) How long are the rounds - I've gotten used to 3-3.5 hr foursomes even with a lot of guys on the course
6) Are the practice facilities nice enough to justify driving vs using your net
7) Cart fee, walking fee, etc. adds up quickly
8) How early does tee sheet open and is it immediately filled with regulars, are there cancellation charges if you miss?

Based on the two clubs it could be - My first issue would be one of them allows tournaments/corporate outings Im pretty sure, the second issue would be the traffic getting home - but I know options are slim up there.

Almost worth the TWCC cost just to not have to sit on 1488.

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Based on the two clubs it could be - My first issue would be one of them allows tournaments/corporate outings Im pretty sure, the second issue would be the traffic getting home - but I know options are slim up there.

Almost worth the TWCC cost just to not have to sit on 1488.

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The club is Lake Windcrest. I've timed the drive a few times because I know 1488 has been a pain for the past year or two, but construction is done. I have slight concern with the tournament/corporate event thing. Not sure how open/truthful they would be with me to say we have corporate events x times per month and the course is closed. Would suck to find out ~once per week a day I'd use isn't available.

The other clubs mentioned in the other post seem to be public/private which I worry about it being crowded. I've used the range at Augusta Pines for instance, and it always seems very busy. I could be overlooking another club I'm not aware of. As far as traffic, those other courses have just as bad a commute as I'd have with 1488 because of where I live.

I'd love to eventually join TWCC. Could damned near walk to one of the courses. If we really use this over the next two years, that's a real possibility. But I'm not jumping into a 20k-50k+ initiation at this point.

Lake Windcrest can be as little as $1500 initiation if I'm willing to play after 1pm. With my son, that is likely what I'd target anyway. Which to me is like paying a $125 per month premium on dues for your first year. Also not much more to upgrade to full access if/when we realize we use it a lot and would want that access. Not a huge deal to move on from that and join a "better" club if we see the family taking advantage.

Main things to consider IMO if you’re joining.

Condition of the course year round.

Convenient location. If it’s 5 minutes away instead of 30 is huge if you just feel like going to hit a few putts or some range time.

Tee time availability. If they have an app to go through, you can get a feel for how far out you need to schedule times.

I wouldn’t worry too much about finding people to play with if you don’t know anyone there. It’s been my experience (50+ years playing) that will work itself out.