Anyone ever join a country club??

[JVL1018]

So... is there anything special about these swim clubs? We don't have swim clubs around here, at least not that I'm aware of. We have 6 town pools, they're nice and big with slides and stuff, plus usually a "quiet pool" for adults, concession stands, lockers & showers.. stuff like that. It's $4 to get in and swim for the day. If you buy a season pass (Memorial Day-Labor Day) it's $179 for a family or $87 for an individual pass. Just trying to see what is different between a swim club and our town pools.

No, it's just an Olympic sized pool and a baby pool and a snack bar and a big grassy area.
We don't have room for 6 town pools in this area, LOL. Most towns are a couple of miles square-no "planned" communities, no subdivisions.
ETA this is the town pool--there is no other pool available to the public. You join the swim club(town pool), have a pool in your yard or you don't go swimming. You can not go to the swim club just for the day unless a member brings you as their guest.

This is a picture of one of the swim clubs in the area and it's basically what they're all like-pools, grassy areas, snack bar:
http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDeta...>&imgSize=363569&hostName=oradellswimclub.com

 

[tar heel]

Country clubs here generally have a golf course, a pool, tennis courts and at least two restaurants (a golf club snack bar and a nice restaurant). They have five-figure initiation fees -- last I heard the local one was in the $20,000s. You have to be invited and approved by the membership to join. You then pay dues and are obligated to spend a minimum amount for services each quarter -- you are charged this amount whether you play that much golf or eat that many meals or not. Members also are sometimes assessed additional fees when membership is down or capital improvements are needed.

You don't pay an additional fee to go to the pool, but you pay greens fees, cart fees, etc. to golf. If you are not a member, you can only play on the golf course if you are the guest of a member (who will get your fees on his bill) or, in rare instances, if you are registered for a charity tournament the club is hosting -- then you play only that day/time.

You don't have to be a member of the club to rent its space for a wedding reception or other kind of party, though -- that kind of event is a major source of revenue.

We're not country club members -- never been in our budget or high on my priority list.

 

[MineMail]

We don't have any clubs like that in the NYC metro area - it's all big $. There are public courses, though.

Lots of public courses, I agree. Instead of golf-based country clubs, NYC has plenty of swim and tennis clubs, which require less land than a golf course. (Land is really expensive in NYC. Many of the public courses were purchased by the city from golf clubs that couldn't keep up with the upkeep and taxes.)

Most people from Queens join country clubs in Yonkers or Nassau county. Manhattan and the Bronx head up to Westchester. Brooklyn has mini golf at the Bushwick Country Club, lol. (I love it!) Serious golfers from Brooklyn and Staten Island can join two private country clubs: South Shore and Todt Hill.

Of course, the traditional migratory pattern is Bronx=>Yonkers; Yonkers=>Queens; Manhattan=>Queens;Queens=>Brooklyn; Brooklyn=>Staten Island; Staten Island=>New Jersey or Pennsylvania.

Plenty of country clubs in NJ and PA.

 

[AshleyW]

We don't have a town pool, but surrounding towns do. Swim or pool clubs tend to be nicer, and less crowded. The one we used to belong to in our town had all private tables and cabanas - they were yours for the season. Plus there are parties, swim club, crafts, bocce tournaments...

No, it's just an Olympic sized pool and a baby pool and a snack bar and a big grassy area.
We don't have room for 6 town pools in this area, LOL. Most towns are a couple of miles square-no "planned" communities, no subdivisions.
ETA this is the town pool--there is no other pool available to the public. You join the swim club(town pool), have a pool in your yard or you don't go swimming. You can not go to the swim club just for the day unless a member brings you as their guest.

This is a picture of one of the swim clubs in the area and it's basically what they're all like-pools, grassy areas, snack bar:
http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDeta...>&imgSize=363569&hostName=oradellswimclub.com

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. It's funny how things can vary so differently in various parts of the country.

Based on the picture and how you guys describe it, it's the same as our town pools, minus the reserved tables and cabanas. And to be fair, we have 6 because our city has around 125k people. Iowa City is about half the size of Cedar Rapids, and they have 1 outdoor pool and 2 aquatic centers with indoor pools.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

You don't pay an additional fee to go to the pool, but you pay greens fees, cart fees, etc. to golf. If you are not a member, you can only play on the golf course if you are the guest of a member (who will get your fees on his bill) or, in rare instances, if you are registered for a charity tournament the club is hosting -- then you play only that day/time.

Or, as in my case, you work for the Pro Shop. Every Monday the course was closed to members, but open to us lackeys for free. It's where I honed my golf skills, although, as I said in my PP I would never go back to be a member there.