Thanks to Covid, our club has now stopped accepting new members. The place went from being fairly empty to being full all the time even in poor weather. We are still semi-private, but it’s nearly impossible to get a tee time now without being a member.
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Club business is booming
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Just an example…
We finished a club house about a year ago (though there is still lingering construction)
So despite their still being work trucks, construction fence etc…
New member apps ahead of plan
Ran over 500k budget surplus last year so debt paydown is ahead of plan
Golf membership is full and now building waitlist
Initiation increasing again up to 50k because demand, usage, and waitlist… up from 17.5k 24 months ago
Austin is crazy these days
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Where are you at in Austin?
That is really crazy! Wow …
We plan to visit Austin (and San Antonio) in late July and hope to try out our reciprocal privileges at either Onion Creek or River Place – @papageorgio if you’re familiar with these courses do you have a suggestion of which one to pick over the other? Thx!
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River place is cool. Very much hill country golf (up and down hills)
The course is cut into a big valley
I have never played onion but hear good things. I think that is more of a traditional country club course
I would say river place. You get some great views of the hill country
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↑ Good to know … thx for that info!! River Place it is then👍
Try to make it to butler pitch and putt… it’s a fun little short 9 hole course.
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Cool, will put it on the trip list … thx for that!!
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Not a walking friendly golf course, beautiful for sure. Is it still belonging to the T.P.C. ?
I have friends who had left the area because of the weather in the winter is less than desirable; super windy and cold according to them. Some left because of the monthly due shows pressure to their lifestyle even if one could find time to golf but the commute is getting worse to and from the Cities.
Been there several times for the Boeing Classic, always enjoyed the experience, but it was in August.
My family had been considering private country clubs for many years and decided it’s not for us. Having kids going through higher education after their regular 4 year bachelor and the sunk cost of “initiation fee”, some are equity based but good luck if trying to break even after the sale later, waiting list and the club fees. Plus the commitment of the monthly dues with mandatory food/drink participation. Where on the public daily fee, we could choose to golf anytime or layoff for weeks. The monthly dues is up from the typical $450-$550/mo. many years ago to close to $900-$1100/mo. now. Plus one of the club spent over a million for a new renovated clubhouse about a decades ago and that meant $38,000 assessment to each of the member + a hefty increase in monthly.
I guess, value is in the eyes of the beholders. My family is not in position to join any closed by country clubs at the present time.
There is also a non-equity membership close by the house with 36 holes and a huge 40,000 club house, but it’s not walking friendly; in fact it’s not walkable even with the younger golfers. The developer built the site with the focus on housing development. Some of my friends joined it and quit a few years after, their initiation fee down the drain.
Joining a country club is where one decided to spend the budget, never an investment and often after the first few years will not make any sense of the convenience from proximity, amenity.
Perhaps, one day when we’re old and not able to travel, then, we would find a nice little golf course near our retirement for occasional golf. For now the life goes on. Laying down in a lounge chair by the poolside after a round of golf is a luxury to us.
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Sooo… I’d posted earlier that I’d taken the plunge this year into a private club - the course is nice, the practice area is nice, the facilities are nice, most of the people seem nice, …
But…
Only a few months in and I’m learning things I wish I’d been more aware of beforehand… I did ask a lot of questions going in.
For example - this club is not member owned but part of a chain run by an operating corporation … which I thought would be good … but now I’m starting to feel that my dues go to cover the facilities costs so they can constantly run catered private, non-member events (eg. weddings, charity lunches, etc.) … sometimes more than one at a time … and sometimes during those events there are no dining - nor bar! - options open to members…
Supposedly profits from those events get recycled back into the club, but again - there’s an operating Corp … ie. for-profit entity … running things…
Outings - initially I was told these were on Mondays … yet during the peak season June thru Sept there are several non-member outings scheduled other weekdays IN ADDITION TO MONDAYS … with the resulting loss in access to the course to members…
Walking - one of the big pluses for me at this place was it was one of the only private clubs in my area that told me they “love” walkers on the course, and you could walk / use a pushcart almost anytime. Wonderful!
Now I hear they’re considering introducing restrictions – laying the blame for slow play / course backups on walkers…
I call BS!!! because I’ve watched the way some people driving carts play while I’m standing and waiting behind them…
Ok rant over.
Just saying try to get really familiar with as much as you can about a club you’re considering joining before signing up and handing over your money.
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Sooo private don’t really be private 
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All of this except for walking is a fight at every club I know. I am a member at an equity club and we go through the same fight. Hopefully the walking doesn’t get killed and the positives out weigh the negatives.
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So here’s what I can tell you about Private V Public courses. Member owned V Corporate owned on the Non-Golf side of the business. A true private club in most states are limited by their Liquor Licenses. We were allowed, by law to have 4 events annually if they are drinking and that includes weddings and such. All other events usually have to be sponsored by current members and those days are drying up because of Liability Laws. You sponsor an event and someone gets hurt, it’s on the sponsor. Golf, in general, loses money, you have to have alot rounds going on to make any sense. Our muni for example in a good year does 50K rounds annually. One semi-private (but open to the public) did 65K in rounds one year when I was a member there. If your club has a Public License, well that opens the flood gates for them to generate cash. Some clubs can generate $5-$7M annually doing events with a Public Liquor License. These events can take home 30-35% of that revenue after all expenses… why do you think they make you pay monthly F&B if you don’t use the clubs facilities other than to play golf. Usually, the Pro gets the Pro Shop and pays a percentage back to the club and the Pro usually gets all his lesson cash (that’s how they supplement income) The pro and super usually split about $2 per cart rental annually, he rest goes to club, Range balls are the same way. Everyone else gets a salary. So, a member owned private course will be more expensive in dues and F&B than a corporate owned deal. The corporation is trying to turn a profit, without these ancillary outings and events you close up shop in todays world. It’s a lot to balance. That’s why I left the PGA ranks, it’s not all peaches and cream, it’s alot and I mean alot of grunt work, you have to split your lessons with the pro, you end up being cart boy, pro shop cashier, outing scorekeeper etc… It’s a tough business. Around my parts Ron Jaworski owns like 5 or 6 clubs… it’s tough to get public tee times because his courses are all semi-private…membership gets advance tee-times, they book alot of outings and weddings (actually beautiful venues) which in turn fills up your parking lot… The name of the game is making money and he does well! Oh yea and non member times can range in to the $150 a round range. I certainly can’t afford that.
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We always hear that BS about the walkers (of which I am one) at my club as well. Our course is difficult to walk (very hilly) and some holes do slow you down because you have to walk around water or gorges, but otherwise walkers keep up fine. I don’t think they will forces us into carts as most players are riding any way.
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Here’s what I will tell you as an avid walker and a former Club PGA asst professional and a former GM. You can walk all you want. You still gotta pay for the cart until 1pm. Those are the rules. My home course is a great walk and a good portion of the Golf Association members do walk. It’s an EZ walk like Augusta from Green to Tee box. The hills and valleys are bit of a challenge some have 60ft drops and what goes downhill…eventually comes uphill, but at least it’s Tee to FW to Green (not including woods ball searches sometimes) Some of these new courses it’s a long walk from the green to the tee box like hundreds of yards… In high heat… no way I would do that. The best part about walking is it gives you the opportunity to enjoy nature, think about your approach and you go directly to your ball. When the weather becomes inclement, cart path only rules really slow you down… sometimes you bring 4 stix with you and then you find you gotta go back and get that 5th stick. As a walker, I have all 14 in my quiver with me!
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That’s a great explanation of the economics, Mike. Thanks for that. Helps me understand the phenomenon of the “semi-private club” a little better. And why dues/initiation for exclusively private clubs are reputedly so damned expensive.
F&B revenues, and the dram shop litigation insurance and certification that goes hand in hand with them, aren’t slight amounts at all.
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Trump Philly is across the street from me… last I heard Initiation Fee : $12K, Annual Dues: $7K, $1000 a year F&B. Philly Cricket club will scare you if you’re not of means: Cost : Initiation fee $10,000 without golf, $36,000 with golf; annual dues $4,000 without golf, another $2,300 for golf; annual food minimum $780. That’s not the expensive one…LOL
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Wow golf is so expensive in America. I am only paying $2535 this year for 6 day membership. that includes a $200 f&b credit for the year. We have a bar and restaurant with 3 big rooms and a wide deck area. Downstairs are locker rooms with lockers, a bathroom and showers. No other activities. We have weddings and trade days plus partial course closures for pennant matches and anyone can come as a visitor subject to some time restrictions. Golf clubs over here tend to be stand alone operations. No swimming pools or tennis courts etc. Perfect if you just want to play golf and have the odd drink or sandwich to use up your f&b credit. Or take home as many wine bottles as goes into $200 as some do.
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Around here the cost varies. There is a club not too far from me and about $1700 gets you unlimited golf. The place is ok, but always packed so no rounds under 5 hours. Other courses (like mine) are about $3K and a bit nicer and many rounds under 4 hours. A few are $10-$20K or more to get in and with more bills to come. Gorgeous places that make the rest look like shacks. I can’t see paying that when our season is so short, but I am not in that tax bracket.
My FIL belongs to a course that was around $150K to join. Gorgeous clubhouse with everything you could want. There are nearby places that cost more than twice as much join. That’s Scottsdale though with year round golf and your club members are retired athletes, CEOS, etc. That’s another world.
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