Golf Club Costs (Membership)

I am bemused as to why and how some courses come up with what they deem to be a reasonable rate for FULL membership.

I am a member of Conwy GC, it's a links course off the whites of Par 72 and SSS of 74, It was used for final qualifying for the 2006 Open at Hoylake yet I pay

£459 for the year, no joining fee just £459, the daily green fee for non members who just turn up and play whether it's Midweek or Weekends is £50, and it's a quality course.

Local to where I live (nr Wigan) I have the following courses;

Haydock      £800 Joining Fee & £700 Membership

Hindley       £900 Joining Fee & £680 Membership

neither of these courses are as good as Conwy, however Haydock is a quality parkland but I still can't see how they come to £900 just to join it

Golf clubs charge what they can get. You are fortunate at Conwy because it is a little out of the way without a great population and will not have the traffic of many other courses.

All private clubs charged a joining fee in my days and probably still do, but times are changing and money rules the game now so there is always change happening.

Totally agree! Maybe its a Welsh thing? When I played a few courses in Wales last summer I was shocked at how much cheaper they were to join than clubs of a similar standard around Berkshire and Surrey. Nefyn was something like 400 quid a year, compared to some clubs round here of a similar standard that charge upwards of 2 grand and a joining fee or the same value.

I have just had renewal details for my club at Mapperley - an increase of £ 20 to £ 614 per year, which for the area is very good. For new members the joing fee has been waived for the exact reasons as what has stated above to try and encourage a further uptake in numbers.

A lot of local courses in Notts are letting the joining fee go in these harsh times but still their membership fees are quite high. One club Erewash Valley still have a joining fee of £1000 and green fees approaching £700. They have a huge waiting list. Don't think it will be a patch on Conwy.

From what I have seen at Conwy, £ 459 is daylight robbery on Wayne's part and just wish I lived closer also. Will probably confirm my opinion when I play there this weekend.

Just like he will probably rob me of a few quid then also !!!!!!

I took mine out in November at Close House in Northumberland.

Not the longest course at just over 6000 yds but still quite challenging and good condition with fantastic greens.

Membership is usually £575 with a £100 joining fee however I paid £275 this year as I am under 26, cant get a much better deal than that!

6000 yards can be long, Stephen, it depends on how the course is structured. Most of these so called long course monsters have four par fives of such ridiculous lengths that they alone take up 2200 yds of the total length.

A long course is one like St.Georges Hill, only two par fives, 8 par fours over 400 yds and a 180 yard carry on every hole over heather before one reaches the fairway.

You know the saying, size is not everything.

We have 2 par 5's @ around 500 - 530 yds, 4 par 3's between 140 - 170 yds and the rest are par 4's, some of which are over 400 yds. 1 par 4 is 276 with an island green right of the fairway, so i guess its still plays quite long.

Martin, that's pretty reasonable for Mapperley.  I've been told I've played there many, many moons ago but can't remember it to be honest - look forward to a round with you there in a couple of weeks - may even look at membership!

And £1700 to join Erewash?  Amazing.   

When I joined my new  home club Radyr 2yrs ago I had to pay 1st year £2340 combined joining fee and green fees, they have since halved the joining fee to £780.00. My 2nd club Parc is £540 no joining fee. This year my combined GF's are £1320  I recon I play them combined around  90 times/year this works out at about £14.60 a round. Value for money.............I will have to think about that.

What I do know if I lived anywhere near a Crown Group owned course  I would definately join. I feel jealous of JP and Wayne come to that , I would imagine that your GF's Wayne are reflected on how much monies they need to look after the course I suspect a good links course would not require as much maintainace as a parkland course?I maybe wrong.

I'm considering taking one of The Belfry's 'Sundowner' packages.  For £655 you get to play the Derby and PGA 7 days a week but you can only tee off after certain times (11:00 Nov to Mar, 13:00 Apr & Oct, 15:00 May to Sep).  There's no joining fee but membership runs April to March, meaning I could join at the end of the month for £110 and try it out.  You can play outside those times at the members rate of £25 for the Derby and £35 for the PGA. 

Given that I play most of my golf on Friday afternoons and was considering joining somewhere so I could play 9 holes after work in the summer, this would work very well for me.  Also get 10% off in the bar, restaurant and club shop and reduced rates for visitors playing with me.   

As John said, golf clubs will charge what they think people will pay, it's as simple as that!

Find yourself a golf club that hasn't got a joining (rip-off) fee and has a reasonable rate for the standard of the club.

I pay £1100 a year for a 7 day membership at Stapleford Abbotts, and there was no joining fee, I received 3 months extra membership free and can pay monthly by direct debit.  Along with the two 18 holes courses here I can play any of the other Crown courses for free midweek, and there are about 7 within a 30 minute drive of me.

Russ

Concentrate Philip, I see you have lost a shot. Come on you are far too good to allow that to happen. Happy New year to you and the family.

I think if you look around any area there are some decent memberships to be had.  I pay £450 for a five day membership at Oakmere Notts which has a decent but not spectacular 18 hole course and a reasonable 9 hole course for a bit of variety.  There is a £250 joining fee but that is usually waived at the moment.  There is also a reciprical deal with a Derbys and a Staffs club where we can go and play for free. 

Most of the other courses nearer to Nottingham City are £600 and upwards with joining fees. 

i am a member of the ping course at gainsborough,this yaer green fees were just short of £600 but we have 2 18 hole courses to play.when i first joinrd though there was a membership fee of £550.but good value after first year,play either course whenever you feel like a change 1 a pakland course the other is more american style water and larger greens

Jon,

Am amazed you have joined Oakmere at that price for a 5 day membership. I don't rate the course at all since they changed it and the 10th hole is just a joke in my opinion.

Maybe slightly biased here but fees at Mapperley this year are £614 for a seven day membership and I consider this to be a far greater test of golf than oakmere, and better value for money, but maybe I would say that !!!

See what you think when you play in a few weeks. I can guarentee you won't be disppointed.

Horses for courses Martin.  I have played Mapperley a few weeks ago albeit in a very frozen state and really enjoyed it. However as a course for playing regularly I think I would find it a little frustrating due to its undulating nature giving a lot of awkward lies for a high handicapper like me.  Probably suits you better as a more accomplished technical player.

The 9th, 10th and 16th holes at Oakmere which go up and down the escarpment are not everyones cup of tea but again for a high handicapper learning to play different types of hole they do provide a good training ground.  My main quibble about the course is the quantity and quality of the sand in the bunkers.

Looking forward to playing Mapperley in a couple of weeks hopefully in better weather conditions.