Hellobee Boards

When i lived in a bigger city, a lot of people i know belonged to clubs mainly for networking purposes.

I have a friend whose family belong to a "country club" and their much wealthier parents paid for their mid 5 figure initiation fee. They have babysitting for the kids, and the semester long swim/gymnastics/etc programs for the kids are like $10. It's still quite expensive per month but they like that there are tons of amenities available under one roof.

I personally don't see the appeal, but i can see why people choose to join especially if their families have always been part of a certain club.

We have never belonged to one because we cannot afford it it! I knew people growing up and have a few friends now that belong to one.

But, we did look into it at one point when my husband had his own business and was going to use it as networking tool to get new business. We ultimately didn't think the cost was worth it at that point in our lives, and they made you spend a certain amount in the restaurant which meant eating there more often than we wanted.

A pool would be a MUST for me personally as I don't play much golf! ha.

We belong to one, but we joined when they were struggling financially, so we got initiation waived and a deal on monthly dues for the first 3 years. Our main reason for joining is that my husband LOVES golf and plays frequently. He can play there quickly vs a public course where it takes 5+ hours. They also have a pool with free swimming lessons, yoga classes, tennis (which we don't play). We do have an annual minimum spend on food/alcohol. This is usually easy to hit because we eat/drink there while at the pool. Plus, they have really nice brunches for Easter, Mother's Day, etc so we'll take our families and that counts toward it too. It's definitely a large expense, but ours is much cheaper than most typical country clubs. We also have a lot of friends who belong to the same one. There's no way we'd even consider joining some of the more "elite" country clubs.

Similar to others we belong to a CC in the Northeast, I grew up nannying at one of the more elite clubs in the area (at least 6 figure initiations if you can get that far). My husband's family has been members at the one of the more moderate clubs which we now belong to. The initiation fee was waived as we essentially fall under the umbrella of his family's fee and just have dues. I never understood the lifestyle but now see the benefits and enjoy it.

For us, my husband has flexibility in his schedule and golfs a ton so that alone makes the monthly dues worthwhile. We do pay for all food while onsite but we dine out a lot generally speaking so for us it is a beautiful property to enjoy. Now with a toddler and a baby on the way, I actually really enjoy going there to dine, I can go down to the locker room to nurse and change the baby.

We know most people so they are understanding with the kids and our son can run around outside and really enjoy himself. We have access to golf, tennis, sailing, pool and the clubhouse itself. Many of our friends are members as well so for us socially it is nice. As others have said, the events are nice for mother's day, 4th of July, Halloween, etc.the Santa brunch is also our favorite.

Many clubs in the Northeast are offering significant discounts to gain membership, there is such competition for young members (under 40) so there are deals to be had. It all depends how much you are going to use the facilities, for us it is worth the cost.

I think in many ways, country clubs are status related - in that you choose to surround yourself with people who have similar lifestyles and habits and there's a sense of ease and security about that.

But its not really that different from living in a certain neighborhood, subdivision, community, etc.

I know people who pay a FORTUNE to live in a certain city or certain neighborhood and pay ridiculous taxes and fees, HOAs, and assessments - because overall, it just works for their lifestyle or interests or because the community is filled with people just like them. The place they live provides the amenities they want. I also know people who join exclusive clubs because their entire family is in it, their entire social network is in it, or, in one case, because it was so cheap for members to use it for weddings and special events, the entire family joined and had all of their special occasions there.

I also know middle class people who live in average, affordable areas who then have country club memberships because they would rather pay less in property taxes, fees, and community assessments and have more money to spend on the luxury items they want and/or be with the people they prefer. My boss, for example, lives in a modest home, but he chooses to have a country club membership, a Disney timeshare, and until recently, a luxury vehicle.

I think country clubs in the Midwest and South can often fit into that kind of mindset. Let's pay less taxes, let's fund less communal things, and instead directly pay for the amenities we want - country clubs, private schools, etc. Status, networking, and having people who live similarly then provides a level of comfort and advantage where you want to keep it up.

I'm not passing judgement one way or another. I think its just whatever works for your family. My inlaws live in Michigan and they raised their kids in a very small, middle class home in a very average middle class neighborhood, but in a jurisdiction that had a higher tax base because the city had excellent public schools, parks, and libraries, as well as an active YMCA. Once their kids were out of the house, my inlaws then moved to an unincorporated area with screaming low taxes, bad or no schools, but bought a pricier new construction home in new development on a golf course with a club and HOA dues. If you bought there, you got free access to the golf club and clubhouse, discounted lessons with the pro, etc etc. They golf almost every day, eat at the club at least twice a week, they can use the clubhouse facility for a song, the HOA handles all the maintenance, snow shoveling, outdoor lawn maintenance, etc - it ended up working out great for them. Everyone in their neighborhood is basically exactly like them.

@irene: hahaha. No way I'd be paying $60K just for an initiation! Some of the nicer, more exclusive ones around us have those kinds of fees, but we pay about $7-8K/yr for ours with nothing upfront. We're in the Midwest. As they struggled through the recession, their targeted audience became younger families vs the old money crowd it used to be. It's worked out nicely for us, but it will definitely be the first expense to go if we ever need to make cuts. Each year when we renew, it's a debate. It's worth it for now, but I doubt that will be the case as our kids get older and we aren't able to spend as much of our weekend up there.

The ones near us - metro Detroit - have varying "buy ins" ranging from 5K to over 100K, depending on 1) the club and 2) the deals they are offering. As @MACSUNSHINE: the clubs are competing for the younger crowds here. So our 30K was a 50% discount bc DH had joined as a junior member (before he was 30) and therefore could buy in at 50% off the normal 60K buy in. It was a good deal. They offer similar deals now...in some cases even better.

Some others touched on it but a pro is definitely networking. DH is an attorney in the field of white collar criminal defense. I'd say he easily lands enough business from his club relationships/network to pay for itself in a year. If networking is key for career or business building it is a perk to consider. Though some clubs do have rules regarding discussing business on the golf course.

In terms of the restaurant and required spending, this was what I was most nervous about - would we feel obligated to eat there. The answer truly is no. We have to spend $500 each Q2, Q3, Q4. Q2 and Q4 have major holidays (Easter and/or Mothers Day and Christmas) - we always take advantage of their brunches which wipes out about $200 (we invite our entirely immediate family so its 10-15 people) and our club allows guests to pay so we are not obligated to cover it. This almost always covers half of our minimum.

Generally speaking, that leaves us with $250 to spend. If DH and I go there with friends for dinner (4 of our closest couple friends are members) that is $100. Then I also get to count everytime DH has a sandwich and soda (or bloody) on the turn on the course. So we really easily hit it.

Last year we had a bad Fall for golf, and just were busy with life. So we were going to fall short by about $75 - I called up and ordered Thanksgiving dinner (which they do as a standard takeout option Thanksgiving morning). We picked it up on the way out to my moms...stashed it in the fridge and went home with awesome "leftovers" to munch on all weekend.

The set up I mentioned on the weekends is usually only one weekend day - though some weekends its Saturday & Sunday if our schedule permits. I WOH f/t so no mid week trips yet.

We are joining one this year- we’ll, my husband is. But it’s 98% for golf. He loves golf and does it as often as he can- which means he has to pay for every round and worry about tee times and slower groups in front of him. He’s looking forward to being able to play whenever, walk on and just play a few holes if he doesn’t have that much time, and meet other people interested in golf in our area (we moved here a rear and a half ago). He gets a break on initiation fees because he is under 39 but it’s still expensive. But he really loves golf and has always wanted to join a club. Apparently it’s all very family friendly. The food and bev minimum is pretty similar to what we would spend on eating out as a family at boring family friendly restaurants anyway so I feel ok about just planning to bring the kids there for when we want to eat out. He also hopes to use it for networking and for taking potential colleagues or clients out to play golf.

I don’t even think this club has a pool but our gym has one that we use anyway.

If it weren’t for golf I wouldn’t consider it but I’m fine with it as is. The one he wants to join isn’t crazy fancy or anything.

@codeitall: Implying that country club costs infer that golf is a "rich mans game" is a bit silly. Where I live there are golf courses at every budget...from $15/round all the way on up. We have plenty of city run courses here as well which are very reasonable, have leagues, tournaments, kids programs, everything. I understand that country clubs and golf generally go together - but to imply golf does not exist outside country clubs is flat wrong. Similarly, plenty of people belong to clubs for simply social or tennis (or hunt) reasons.

Cost aside, I think the main thing that turns me off (or let's be honest, means I can't join) is that in many instances, you need a referral from a current member to even be considered. It's one of those things that is a vestige from times past, it's a way to ensure that the membership remains a certain way. I am sure this isn't how it is at all country clubs, but the ones near where I live, it's for sure. And they're not struggling to find members.

Interestingly, in the Alps, you see a ton of private ski clubs, like a country club...but in the mountains.

Wow. It sounds like I need to open a country club.