Golf!!!2!

[2ArmBands]

I would echo a lot of what Darklord is saying regarding membership.

I think it’s a lifestyle decision you make. Summer is short in Calgary and if you commit to a private club.... depending on what the money means to you I think you forego some other summer items.

For me it was either do the seasonal RV site thing or get a golf membership. Went with the membership and I don’t really ever see myself going back. It’s been great so far and Darklord pretty much mentioned all the reasons why. I have 2 kids that I am getting into the game as well and you can’t put a price on being able to just walk on with them and play a few holes without worrying about pace etc...Not to mention all the junior programs once they return etc...

It also makes for great networking and just a good way to meet new golf buddies in general. I’m in my mid 30s and it’s nearly impossible to get all of my buddies together to agree on a time and play once a week. It’s not an issue for me anymore as i have a decent network of players at the club that I can jump in with at any time.

I am not sure what trial membership you are considering but the ones I looked into gave you full member rights for a year so you could get the whole experience. I don’t see any advantage in committing to equity or entrance fees before finishing your trial. I think your completely safe on price increases at most courses for the next year or so...

Sorry long post but figure it’s decent feedback as this was my first year committing to a membership.

[Slava]

^ thanks! This is exactly the kind of feedback I need. It actually brings up one other concern; a lot of my friends that I generally play with aren’t doing this with me for one reason or another. I feel like I can just join other people and it should be fine. If anything I’ll just meet a bunch of players and have more guys to play with over time. Sounds like it shouldn’t be a big issue.

[Roughneck]

Piggybacking on the sentiments that a membership is the way to go if it's something you can afford and you might wonder how you ever did without.

There is the issue of 'will I play enough rounds to justify it' but the perk is that you'll play more holes of golf with one. As darklord mentioned, you'll be far more willing to risk marginal conditions without worry. It makes so many rounds worth it to play that you would be unlikely to pay for individually. Light rain days or 'imminent rain' days are some of the most enjoyable rounds. Course pretty much to yourself, play at your own pace, feel you're getting value. It's great. But how often would you fork over the money to go play in the rain normally?

This is a buyer's market for golf. As mentioned there isn't going to be any big changes to fees or anything, so take advantage of trials and annuals while you can if you're getting the perks. A big thing is figuring out what you want in a membership. The two biggest ones probably are:

Is it about tee access? When are the busiest times, how soon does the sheet fill up, how often can you head out and walk on? A big thing will be how long it takes you to get from work to the course.

Meeting new people and playing partners? That will depend a lot on the club's league setup. If this is your goal and you can't make the league nights work, it probably isn't the right move for you. Same goes for quality of golfer. Clubs have cliques, and most of it is tied to handicap. Clubs with good pros will have leagues that match people up well, and encourage mingling of people and welcoming new members. Would be quick to find out as an annual member if this is a place that works for you.



Or are you somebody who prefers playing alone and public courses don't have much opportunity to do that?


Other things to consider:

Are you a walker? How walkable is the club. In Calgary there aren't many places that aren't, but if you're looking at buying something long term, think about how long you want to be able to walk (into your 60s, 70s, beyond?), the additional cost of cart rental, etc.

Early morning speed rounds? Some clubs have minimum round times so that maintenance can do their thing, some have 'early morning access' where players who just want to get some holes in can go off the back 9 ahead of maintenance because they don't care about conditions. Is this something that would apply? Definitely worth finding out.

F&B/other service. Are you strictly a golfer. Bring your own coffee and sandwich kind of player who isn't looking to hang around? Maybe the odd beer or two after Men's Night or something. Or are you looking for your primary social spot where mingling after rounds is important, bringing the family, etc. For the former, you might want to shy away from F&B minimum places. For the latter, know what they offer and what the amenities are like.

Spouse/family/guest rates: this can be the game changer for some people. What is the spouse add-on fee and what privileges does it have? Some clubs have weekday only rates, weekend only rates, some basically act as a discounted guest rate, others make the spouse have booking privileges based on category, etc. Junior fees? Some clubs make it virtually free to add kids to the plan (good business model. Helps justify the membership, potentially creates future members and golfers). Others have good intermediate plans (18-25 typically) as well. Similar to the marginal conditions rounds, bringing kids to golf is also a lot less risky if you want or need to bail after a handful of holes playing with them. Trying to get them into golf? Play a few holes, screw around a bit, walk off, don't lose anything. That type of thing can be worth more than the regular green fee. None of these might apply to you, but worth noting all the same.



EDIT: to add to the above: if you had a regular group of people you golfed with before, what are the guest rates to bring them to your club? Most are pretty reasonable, so if your buddies want to pay, they're typically getting a better rate than they normally would get. And nowadays even the more restrictive private clubs tend to look the other way when it comes to the guest rounds (i.e. 'a guest can only play at most twice a month' might still be a rule in the roster leftover from the late 90s/early 00s, but not really enforced since a guest fee is a guest fee nowadays) so you can bring them quite often.


If your main driving force is getting the best $/round value you can, then it really comes down to whether or not a membership lets you get in the maximum number of holes. IIRC 40-45 rounds is the typical break even point for a lot of annual memberships. Were you playing over 40 rounds of golf before? If yes, then a membership is a no-brainer, you'll get better value than ever with paying for a membership. If not, what makes you think a membership will help get you there?



But also to consider is that if you're already playing 40+ rounds a year, how many of them are at the same course, and how many different courses are you playing? Can you handle settling down with one course?



Long post, but they're all things worth considering. Like the others have said, it's hard to go back once you experience member life. IMO it adds value to each round you play, so you don't need to play as many rounds to get the most out of your money as you'd think. And you're surrounded by people who like golf as much as you do, which also makes things better.

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by Slava

^ thanks! This is exactly the kind of feedback I need. It actually brings up one other concern; a lot of my friends that I generally play with aren’t doing this with me for one reason or another. I feel like I can just join other people and it should be fine. If anything I’ll just meet a bunch of players and have more guys to play with over time. Sounds like it shouldn’t be a big issue.

When you join a private club you'll soon see that there are many great people to golf with. Sign up for Men's night as a single and you'll meet lot's of people and start to make plans for other days in no time.
Price per round can be a problem if you only golf once a week though but there are other benefits, it's more of a lifestyle. Fun Tournaments, Easy Tee Time booking, Play five and walk away if you like, Play 36 in a day if you can get it, Practice facilities, Locker room, Sun Screen, Toiletries, Club Storage, Club Cleaning, etc.
I'll never quit my private membership.

[Roughneck]

Another thing I'd add which will significantly affect the value of a membership is the completion of the Ring Road. The whole '20 minute' rule is something clubs have really been obsessed with, in that it's a magic number for maximizing value for people being within 20 minutes of their home.



But with the completion of the SW Ring Road, it brings a lot of private clubs into that zone for people. Earl Grey, Pinebrook and The Glencoe pretty much become local for anybody in the south of the city. Priddis become far more accessible for anybody north of Anderson. Canyon Meadows opens up for everyone as well. But if courses with entrance fees aren't your thing, it will also add value to the courses in the south and southeast that have the annual memberships if you live in the SW.



It's a great time to be a golfer with some cash to spend, that's for sure.

[united]

I've been going through the same dilemma, specifically with Silver Springs.

- Closest course to my house.
- But almost certainly won't play more than 30 rounds...but the evening "four or five" sounds appealing.
- I also enjoy just hitting by myself at the range even if not playing, but that isn't the easiest or cheapest thing to do in Calgary without a membership, so this would probably benefit me more than many others as I would go a ton.
- Easily walkable which I prefer to riding.
- Know a few other members who really like it. 4 of the 6 moved from Earl Grey and all 4 say they wish they had sooner due to atmosphere/other members.
- Don't enjoy the song and dance of trying to book rounds at public courses, especially this year. Or trying to coordinate a group.
- Don't have an interest in club tournaments or anything like that but would be great to meet other golfers regardless of skill - have been paired with low or scratch golfers who were slow and dicks to play with and others who cleared 130 who were a blast and fast.
- Would likely end up with a significant F&B bill.
- Don't mind playing the same course and in fact would rather play a course I like over and over again.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

If you have a connection that can get you on Victoria Golf Club or Royal Colwood do that.

That would be slick, unfortunately we are visiting my Father in law who is the only person I know on the island.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by united

- Don't mind playing the same course and in fact would rather play a course I like over and over again.

Public players may think playing the same course is boring or an antitheist to golfing. I used to think that way but not anymore. I like Water Valley and Innisfail but doing those pack a lunch kind of commute is a chore. My club is only 10 minutes away and I just need to show up, my clubs and shoes are there. I don't need to wonder where the 1st hole or bathrooms are located.

Most courses in Calgary or AB are kind of the same quality. As long as they are not Fox Hollow, I find the offering between GlenEagles, Elbow Springs or Heritage Pointe etc. about the same.

My golf-around friends think I'm weird playing the same course again and again. To each their own.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Public players may think playing the same course is boring or an antitheist to golfing. I used to think that way but not anymore. I like Water Valley and Innisfail but doing those pack a lunch kind of commute is a chore. My club is only 10 minutes away and I just need to show up, my clubs and shoes are there. I don't need to wonder where the 1st hole or bathrooms are located.

Most courses in Calgary or AB are kind of the same quality. As long as they are not Fox Hollow, I find the offering between GlenEagles, Elbow Springs or Heritage Pointe etc. about the same.

My golf-around friends think I'm weird playing the same course again and again. To each their own.

What course you play at?

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by Weitz

What course you play at?

Country Hills.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Country Hills.

Nice, never gotten a chance to play there, but if I were to get a membership I think having more than 18 holes would be up there.


I've got 2 rounds booked for tomorrow... River spirit in the morning and Mickelson National in the afternoon. Going to be a long day!

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I've got 2 rounds booked for tomorrow... River spirit in the morning and Mickelson National in the afternoon. Going to be a long day!

Please let us know how Mickelson is. I would go there once their supposedly fancy club house is open as club house is an integral part of the whole golfing experience.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Please let us know how Mickelson is. I would go there once their supposedly fancy club house is open as club house is an integral part of the whole golfing experience.

Have they even broken ground on it yet?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Have they even broken ground on it yet?

It's done - you can book tee times now. I think they are kinda beta testing.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Nice, never gotten a chance to play there, but if I were to get a membership I think having more than 18 holes would be up there.


I've got 2 rounds booked for tomorrow... River spirit in the morning and Mickelson National in the afternoon. Going to be a long day!

My kid works at River Spirit. If he's on shift he might be in the ball collector on the range. Fire away!!

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It's done - you can book tee times now. I think they are kinda beta testing.

The clubhouse is done?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

The clubhouse is done?

I dunno about that. I just got an offer to book and it seemed like it was a preview kind of deal so probably not. Clubhouses often lag behind (River Spirit never got around to making a real one).

[dcbc]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

The clubhouse is done?

Ground is broken, yes. Construction is ongoing. Hopefully open later in summer.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I dunno about that. I just got an offer to book and it seemed like it was a preview kind of deal so probably not. Clubhouses often lag behind (River Spirit never got around to making a real one).

They are open to public and members. They claim this year and maybe next will be open to public then will be private after that. I'd be shocked if they will be private after the inevitable name change.

[jayswin]

Where's this name change rumour coming from?