Any one here belong to a country club?

[luvmarypoppins]

We don't, but the 2 ds were just asked by some friends to go to one that their grandfather belongs to. They were disappointed because they have other plans. I just think that they are more "exclusive", than "inclusive", so I don't even know if I would encourage my ds to go.

I remember when we used to live in Texas and when I picked up ds from pre school some of the moms would talk about going to the "club". I know one of their dh's owned a business, one was a big bosss in a co., and then of course there were the doctors wives etc..

Just wondering what you think of them etc?

 

[HM]

If they are just going as guests, I don't see what the problem is. It's nice of their friend to ask them to join them.

The country club's around us are open to anyone who can pay the fees/dues. There are all kinds of people in them from what I can tell.

 

[wvjules]

What is wrong with being "exclusive"? (I'm not talking race, religion, gender, etc.) In general exclusivity isn't bad, IMO. What's wrong with having standards on clubs and memberships?

 

[dennis99ss]

Isn't that waht a cc is, exclusive rather than inclusive. Isn't that what you join for?

easier tee times, less people, etc.

i guess i don't understand the OP's question.

 

[ozarkmom]

We chose not to renew our membership this year because we just weren't using it. The club in our small town has the only golf course. Otherwise you have to drive 45 miles to the nearest public course. Our club has rules etc. but if you can pay the dues you can join.

 

[GeorgeG]

We have something unique here in The Villages. We have about ten country clubs (and counting) and every resident is automatically a member of all of them for as long as they live here - no fees. The bars and restaurants are open to the public as well, and it's pay-as-you-go. Golf is restricted to residents/members and their guests (with guest I.D.s).

 

[brerrabbit]

Having been on both sides of the fence so to speak I guess I can answer this one. Being a member of a country club is not that big of a deal, depending on which club it is. I live in the Houston area ans we have plenty. I was a member of one for a number of years. I joined primarily for the golf but they also had a pool, tennis courts, a resturant, and a more casual grill. It was not that expensive. $1,500 to join and $235 a month with no food and beverage minimums. Some people think if you are a member of a club it is a big deal. The reality is that anyone who can pay the dues, they will take in a heartbeat. Their survival depends on it. Now if you are a member of River Oaks CC in Houston it means you have money, rumored to be $50,000 to join and outragious monthly dues. Lochinvar is an exclusive CC where you have to be male to join and the price is similar to River Oaks. Houston CC is exclusive and it helps to be a third or fourth generation Houstonian to get in. Dues are pricey there as well. Other than those if you have the money generally you can get in. Due to financial reasons I gave my membership up. That and the fact that I like to play different courses other than the one all the time. For the monthly dues I could play five times a month on other course. I just did not make sense to continue. If your reason for belonging to one has anything to do with money then you should not join. It is the sense of belonging, getting to know the club pro and being treated a certain way by the staff that people join for. In many cases it is the status thing but in the end it is very seldom to save money.

As far as your sons going to one no problem, they will have fun and gush on about not having to pay for anything and people just sign for things (my kids thought that was cool and when they took friends they thought it was cool too) Explain that it's like WDW, you sign for things but in the end (check out at WDW) someone still has to pay.

The only thing you might ask is depending on what they are planning to do are there any dress requirements you need to know about. This would include dinning there or what type of cover ups they may need if they are going swimming and will be entering the club afterwards.

 

[disneystacy]

We are members of a country club. We had to pay a fee to join and monthly dues. We invite my kids friends as well as our friends to join us for certain things (pool, dinner etc). No one we know has a problem with it. It is like any other membership you need to pay for imo.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

I work at an exclusive golf club, and I don't see any problem with it. Members are basically paying the big bucks for the quality of the course, and the ability to play there whenever they want and not have to deal with people who are not serious about golf, etc. I don't know what the average dues of a country club is, but where I work is about $12k/year and that's the only thing that I find crazy about the entire situation.

 

[golfgal]

We belong to a club and do so because it is less expensive for us to golf that way. We have 4 regular golfers in our family-DS17 golfs on occasion. So far this summer, we just figured this out this past weekend, with what we have paid for our membership it comes to $7.50/round . If we paid green fees that would be at least $50/round. We golf probably 4 times/week each.

We bring friends a lot. We get courtesy rounds for that. We have a $70/month-April-Sept-food/beverage minimum but we easily spend that just getting a candy bar and water a couple times/round.

 

[themilesfamily]

We aren't members of our local country club, although we've been invited to events there -- dinners, etc. A country club doesn't hold a lot of appeal for us because we don't golf, we're not big swimmers, etc. We're readers and we love to travel, so we spend our money on trips and books.

I don't have any negative feelings toward people who join country clubs. I believe there are families who can get a lot of good use out of a country club -- and if that's where they choose to put their money, more power to them. The people I know who belong to a club don't act like they're better than others because of it, so I guess I don't perceive club membership as an exclusivity thing.

But that's just in our town. (I live in a small town in the Midwest.) Perhaps it's different in other parts of the country. Perhaps in other areas it's more of a status thing. I don't know.

 

[PinkRhombus]

We're looking at joining one next year. It is not a high end club. Rather it is a better than average golf course and it has a couple of pools and there is no monthly minimum. A lot of our friends joined there.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

We were members of an exclusive CC years ago. My DH was in the oil business and many big oil deals were made on the golf course. DH's company insisted we join when DH got out of school, and the oil company paid our membership and dues, and all expenses.

We were very young at the time, and most club members were much older than us, and very snobby. We were more the ages of their children and grandchildren. I enjoyed the club for the swimming, great food, and the second best golf course in the state (at that time). But we were really out of our element there and fit in better with the employees than the members. There were no other people our age at the club, except occasionally a few adult children of the older members might show up. The dues were so outrageous, most young people just couldn't afford them. There is no way we could've been able to afford them if they weren't part of DH's job benefits.

I think your sons should go to the club and have a great time. They'd probably really enjoy it. Do ask about the dress code though.

 

[shortbun]

What is wrong with being "exclusive"? (I'm not talking race, religion, gender, etc.) In general exclusivity isn't bad, IMO. What's wrong with having standards on clubs and memberships?

I grew up belonging to 'The Club.' My Dad belonged for the golf and the stag bar. There was definitely a black ball system of approving new members and I remember Dad talking about WHO was not welcome. 'The Club' still exists today and I'd bet a tidy sum that those unspoken prejudices were still in force with a few exceptions to diffute accusations. As a teen, I rarely went due to the lack of diversity. Once in a while, my parents insisted we have family meals there. I hated it.

 

[aprilgail2]

What is wrong with being "exclusive"? (I'm not talking race, religion, gender, etc.) In general exclusivity isn't bad, IMO. What's wrong with having standards on clubs and memberships?

 

[onelilspark]

IMO, it's important to encourage your children to be open to all experiences. Whether you think it's a "high brow" experience or not. If you expose them to experiences like this at a younger age, when they hit college and beyond (when you're not there to guide them) they'll know how to act if they are ever put in a situation of exclusivity. They won't feel like they don't belong because they've already been invited.

To me, it's just as important to treat those higher on the social ladder with dignity as it is those below you. It's just as easy to be a snob in middle class to those above you as it is to be a snob in upper class to those below you. Where as you might see going to the beach every year for a family vacation as the utmost importance, this family might see belonging to a Country Club for access to the pool, tennis courts, family activities, etc as the utmost importance to them. It's a choice that every family makes with their money and it doesn't imply that they are better than you, nor does it imply that you make better choices to spend your money on.

 

[Pakey]

We belong to one of those "exclusive clubs"; it's one of the oldest clubs in our state. We had to be approved, pay the initial fee and have been paying the monthly fees for years. The club is centered around the golf course; the reason we joined. My husband is an avid golfer; golfs 4-5 times per week. There are never any long waits on the course, the course is much more difficult than any of the public courses in our area, there are many great tournaments, etc.

My husband usually eats breakfast or lunch there when he's golfing and we will occasionally have dinner there. We don't use the other facilities (pools, tennis courts, card rooms) very much.

The other members that I have met are as nice and down to earth as anybody else I know; most of them are there because they love to golf.

 

[PaulaSue]

Sorry to hijack the thread but I have to ask someone....

I have been invited to an evening Wedding Reception at a Country Club, in Sept, in NJ (near NYC). One of the boys I nannied for got married a few weeks ago in Mexico. When I worked for the family they didn't belong so I have never been.

What to wear to "fit" in? I don't want to look like a poor country girl, even if I am. I am thinking I have to wear a little black dress or cocktail dress. Is this the usual?

I haven't seen my "family" in a few years and I want to impress.

TIA!!!

 

[Cool-Beans]

It's probably different in some places, but here it isn't exculusive. Anyone who can afford to join can join.

If they are actually excluding certain people based on their religion, skin color or whatnot, then I wouldn't go there nor would my kids. Other than that I see no reason not to let a kid go swim or whatever. And being a guest, you don't even have to think about whether or not you spent enough on food that month, lol.

 

[powellrj]

It's probably different in some places, but here it isn't exculusive. Anyone who can afford to join can join.

If they are actually excluding certain people based on their religion, skin color or whatnot, then I wouldn't go there nor would my kids. Other than that I see no reason not to let a kid go swim or whatever. And being a guest, you don't even have to think about whether or not you spent enough on food that month, lol.

Ours is like that too. I was invited to join this year! We had a huge laugh over that when the invitation arrived. I was teasing everyone about who I would invite to attend with me. I had to chose weather to send DS to college or join the country club. DS and college got picked over the country club, oh well, maybe next time!

Who was it that said they didn't want to belong to a club that would have them as a member? Thats how I felt about this.