Joining a golf club: advice please

After being an itinerant golfer for the past 3 years playing at municipal courses and on good courses on the occasional society day, I've decided that I'd like to join a golf club. I'm too old to play contact sports anymore and having an empty Saturday will mean that the wife will have DIY plans for me. Hopefully I can play a bit more and maybe get into some competitions too.

Now, what I need to know is this; what are the most important points to consider when joining a club?

There are some issues like course length and cost that are fairly simple (I don't want to play pitch and putt golf and I'm not as rich as Bill Gates) but what are the other issues. Are practice grounds important? Will the social aspect be important to me? Teaching pros? Do I need to know if the halfway house makes good bacon butties?!

I live in an area which luckily has quite a few nice courses (Wimbledon in London, near the tennis, if anyone has personal experience of clubs in the area) and apart from visiting all of them, I have no idea how to compile a short list of clubs.

P.S. What are joining fees for? Does your large wad of cash entitle you to anything, or is it just a form of costly authorisation where the hoi polloi (like me!) are kept out if you can't afford it. It seems to be a hefty sum if it's just for the admin process of a new member joining. I'm pretty sure that you don't get it back but maybe you do.

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Cleveland Launcher 460 - Aldila NV 65 x-stiff
Callaway Big Bertha 3W - Aldila NV 75 x-stiff
TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP (16°, 19°) stiff
Mizuno MP-32 2-PW Rifle Flighted 6.0
Titleist Vokey Wedges 52°, 56°, 60°
Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #3 35/330

Hi Martin,

I would advise look for a club with a practice ground, this is a valuble asset, but mainly it will come down to money and availability, my golf course for instance is closed and we have a waiting list of about 2-3 years, then you have to pass an interview.

Fees usually range from upwards of £1000.00 joining fee and about £500.00+ per year after.

My course is quite selective and very old, over 100 years, but we have no weekend hackers aloud and only players with a h/capp can play, and only after 2.00pm on a Wednesday for around £45, so I think it's more of a deterent.

In return we have a very well manicured golf course and with all the old guys complaining all the time about how it used to be its always tidy.

The + point is that with so many older members the weekends are quite because they all play in the week.

The money will be worth it...............you can play when ever you want, even just turn up for 9 holes or less....


Hope this helps


Ian.

__________________
Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

Thanks for the reply Ian.

I've already done some checking so I know that all but one of the courses near me have a small number of vacancies for new members, but a good practise ground makes good sense.

As for the joining fee, I guess you're saying that it IS a form of costly authorisation where people have a vested interest in keeping the course in as good a state as possibly as they have so much invested in it. I've got no problem with that, it's more a curiousity on what it is for.

__________________
Cleveland Launcher 460 - Aldila NV 65 x-stiff
Callaway Big Bertha 3W - Aldila NV 75 x-stiff
TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP (16°, 19°) stiff
Mizuno MP-32 2-PW Rifle Flighted 6.0
Titleist Vokey Wedges 52°, 56°, 60°
Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #3 35/330

Martin,

You will be sent a complete set of account every year as a member, so you can see and of course if you attend the annual general meeting you can put forward anything you wish.

My point is that if you seek out an old course with a small membership, it may take time to get in but they do look after the course and that makes for great golf.

We even hold anually a europro tour event each September...........which is great, an they don't score as wellas you would think too.

Even without a practice ground it doesn't really matter as you can practice as much as you like on the course simply by playing more.


Ian.

__________________
Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

God I have nearly had a heart attack Ian a thou just to have a locker

Hi Martin,
I must agree with Ian that joining a course can be an intial expensive to join but the benifits outway the cost.
I use to be in the same boat as you, like playing once a week down my muni or where I could get in without a H/Capp certificate. That was until my mate told me to work out what I spend on green fees and sse if it warrents joining up to a club.
My figaure astonished me the way I was handing over brown notes I would be on course to going over £1200 per year. So after lots of research about clubs in my area I picked one and signed up My Joining fee was £350 which could be paided back to the club over 3 years and then an yearly cost of membership at £650. So I was onto a winner and actually spent a bit of my saving in getting me a new wedge.
Its great at my course as Saturday is members only and like ian said mine too is dead on the weekends.

Hope it helps plus have a look at this site for different club details in your area
www.uk-golfguide.com

Cheers
Mark

Thanks Mark.

All things considered, the promise of playing at a quiet course on the weekend sounds fantastic. I know that I'm going to join a club sooner or later, it's just that with such a big initial investment I don't want to make a mistake.

Great link too.

At my club, for an adult its 370 pounds each year and 200 pound joining fee plus it has driving range, short game area, putting green, pro shop, big clubhouse and the course is a championship course! But I suppose in London it costs ALOT MORE!

You're not wrong!

In London it appears to be more along the lines of: "Kindly donate one kidney or one first born child for entry"!

I guess the issue is with London property prices, the land itself is worth a mint so just paying for that is a fair amount let alone London wages.

IMO, the number one most important thing to consider is the course itself. Is this a course that will be interesting to play time and time again, over many years? Fortunately, I belong to just such a club. The course requires every club in the bag, and plays different depending on wind and weather. A few holes almost prohibit using driver...you might need a 200 yard tee shot and a 200 yard approach. Doglegs ....hills....water...fast, challenging, but fair greens. Make sure you won’t tire of the course and that it will continue to challenge you and test all facets of your game. Good luck.

Hi, one of my local courses is Muswell Hill Golf Course up north. My neighbour is a member there, and apparantly they have a scheme where you pay the joining fee in the first year and assuming you and the club get along you then start paying your subs from the second year on. It gives you the opportunity to leave after the first year, and works out cheaper than most courses. Not sure if it would be too far for you to travel from Winbledon though - probably take 45mins or so. Here's the interweb address http://www.uk-golfguide.com/england/26167.html for UK golf guide, the actual site is under construction.