Do you have a pretty flexible schedule?
Seems like a pretty good scenario - welcome to the community!
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I joined a semi-private club 3 years ago and really like it. I kept hesitating, but they offered a fairly low 2-year deal and I felt like I could almost play enough golf to justify it. For me I really like the following:
Better tee times. CT has relatively few courses compared to the # of golfers and weekend morning tee times were hard to get before Covid…now it’s nearly impossible to get any tee times
Shorter rounds. I typically finish in < 4 hours. At the public courses it might be 5 hours. This course is also fairly close to my house.
Great people. I knew a handful of people here already, but I’ve met a lot of great people. This place is not snobbish at all. Our clubhouse is kind of blue collar and there are no tennis courts or pool, but the course is in fantastic shape and it’s very challenging.
I’ve really come to love the tournaments. I never really considered myself a truly competitive golfer, but I like the variety of formats and friendly competition. The staff does a great job of setting them up.
I got bit of a deal for my 3rd year this year, but not sure if I will get one next year. Even so I think I will join again. I probably can’t play quite enough rounds to justify the price, but it’s close and I think the perks help make up for that. I do miss playing a variety of course, but we do go other places just not as often. Without the membership this year I would have had a hard time getting out as everyone “working from home” was out golfing.
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Played my first round today. Got there at 7am with a tee time of 7:30am expecting to warm up a bit first. Checked with the attendant and he told me to head on out if I was ready, so I did.
18 holes, 2 hours 34 minutes (walking). Yeah, I think I’ll enjoy being a member of a club. Went +2/+6 for a 78 total, honestly better than I thought I would do. Hit the driver more often and better (also a couple times luckier) than I thought I would, just got bit a couple times on the back 9 and the greens were much faster than I’m used to (the pro told me after that they are actually a bit slower than usual, ha).
Really fun little course and great exercise to walk it. If anyone in the Los Angeles area wants to come out as a guest, just let me know and I’d be happy to host you. La Canada-Flintridge CC
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Great feeling to get your “maiden voyage” at your new club. Enjoy!
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Eight over on your first round? Just wait until you become familiar with the course. Be sure to play in all of the club’s events your first year, including the weekly league night if you have one. That’s the best way to meet your fellow members. It will seem like home soon.
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I don’t know if you’re asking me, but, yes, I have a fairly flexible schedule. Self-employed, work mainly from home, so I can arrange my days as necessary.
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Yep. I think that’s the perfect setup to play a variety of muni s.
Also good to take the money you save on dues and take a golf trip!!
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Ayyyy congrats!!! You’ll never regret it. Hit em straight out there.
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That’s incredible … nice!
And great round, too - like someone else says, wait until you get more familiar with the course … eg. approach angles, green contours … look out course record 
How far would y’all be willing to travel to join a club? Here in LA are the clubs are pretty expensive but the further out you go, the more reasonable they become.
For example, I have two private clubs within 5 minutes of me but they are expensive to join (to me at least). If I am willing to travel 45-55 minutes in either direction there are 3 private clubs that are much more reasonable. Yet one of the benefits I keep hearing from others who are members is that proximity is a huge factor whether it’s rolling out for a quick nine, hitting the range, etc.
How much emphasis to you put on distance when choosing a club?
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Depends on your time and what else is around the club…
I’m walking distance from my club and it’s awesome. Having the ability to stop in and hit balls quickly is a huge benefit… but that’s not an option for you!
So, the question becomes, Will you be able to access your club enough to make it worth it? If you can get out there and have fun, it’s probably worth it.
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Isn’t that the best? We played in 3 hours this morning as a foursome. You’ll get used to it and you’ll have a hard time ever playing 4-5 hour rounds!
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I’m in La Crescenta, so my club is about 10 minutes from me and also is about the most reasonable I could find anywhere in LA county really, so I feel lucky for it. I wouldn’t have been interested if it was further away than the munis I used to play. What part of LA are you in?
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This morning’s round was a real snail’s pace, took 2:45
I played with 7 clubs in my Sunday bag and really that’s probably how I’ll generally do it going forward, just switch out the clubs so I wind up playing different shots. Made the walk “easy” relatively speaking (today I tracked it and walking 18 winds up with about 65 floors worth of elevation change).
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Hey Cory, I am up in Valencia. So I have VCC and the former TPC right here but I am just not sure if the value is there in either other than the 5 minute drive.
I would join Saticoy in a second but at 55 minutes with no traffic I feel like it is too far. Crystalaire might be the best value in SoCal but that is also a solid 55. I have been toying with Antelope Valley CC but haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Going down South, Porter Valley looks too residential, Oakmont is of interest especially with the reciprocal rights in the other Golden Era courses. Annadale is really under the radar but mandatory caddies.
So I am thinking either I overpay for closeness or I hit the road for value. Maybe?
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That’s right, you’d mentioned that to me before. Oakmont (not the famous one for anyone wondering) is probably even closer to me than the club I wound up joining, but they never got back to me when I submitted a membership inquiry. Struck me as definitely beyond my means though.
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Proximity was the most important thing for my decision (and cost… there is another club at a similar distance at 5x the initiation fee… that was quickly crossed off the list). It is a real luxury to be able to drive 5 minutes, hit balls for 40 mins, drive 5 mins home when I find a gap between work and kids.
Now if my work life obligations and net worth changed, there is a club outside of Austin that is prob 1 hr from my house. I would join in a heartbeat if I knew I could take 1/2 day off one or two days a week to go out there and use the facility.
With my current obligations, I would be lucky to get out there once a month. Different seasons of life 
… it’s on the 10 year life plan though
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I was a member of Keene Country Club here in NH for three years. It was a great place with no tee times, daily games with members and plenty of tournaments. I really do miss it and only left for not being able to get there enough. It is about 45 minutes away on a good day. I have young children and my wife works part time makes it tough to play enough to spend the monthly food minimums and yearly dues.
My other reasoning is that I am trying to play state level tournaments and be competitive. Statistically at this point I can’t keep up with the top amateurs or mid am’s but I am working on getting closer to their level. It doesn’t stop me from entering tournaments either! With that comes the need to be able to bring your game to all the different courses. So instead of playing the same place 100x per year I go everywhere I can. I do happen to play Bretwood Golf Course the most, and the Shattuck pretty regularly also because they are local, but I am also going other places regularly. But every hole kinda becomes the same each time you play the same course almost like you’re on repeat. Yes I know different conditions and tee boxes but the course is still the same. I feel the need to have variation in practice when I am playing tournaments all around the state.
When I am a member at a club I feel like I have to play there every time. And yes the rounds are so much faster at private places and I can’t speak enough to how awesome it was to just show up and play and have a great group of guys to play with. I just decided to branch out a little and that is where I am at today.
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Justifying the cost is a tough one. For me it has been great in all the ways that you folks have mentioned on this thread and for my business.
One point that Papageorgio made - proximity to the course - I totally agree with. My Dad used to say if you live further than 20 minutes from the course, you’ll never use it. I have always kept that in mind. I live 10 minutes from my course not and 15 minutes from my office. If I have time, I go there for lunch or skip lunch and go to the putting green or range. 9 holes after work is a breeze.
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