Country Clubs...I want facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, somewhere in the string someone mentioned networking at Country Clubs as a possible reason for joining. I am not sure if that was you or not but I thought I would respond. I grew up around here but was not a member of a club. I have nothing against CCs. Nonetheless, I do not believe that not joining a club impacted my parents professionally and I do not believe it has impacted me either. I think that networking opportunities exist in many places including country clubs but I don't think CC are necessary for networking. Maybe it is because DC was originally a Company town and the company was government. Maybe it is because there are a lot of clubs so there isn't "one" club that is the best. Some might say the best club is Congressional but probably not if you live in McLean and work in the IT sector in Virginia. If you are high brass military or associated with that in some way, it is probably Army-Navy. The point I am making is that whether you join a club or not, I would not justify the decision financially on the basis that you will make tons of important professional connections at the club. Again, not sure if that was OP's comment. FWIW, I will give my view point. Grew up in Bethesda and I am a second generation lawyer who has worked in top ten DC firms. In my childhood social circle and in my professional career, country club membership was not a must. I had more lunches at the Cosmos Club and University Club than at Country Clubs. Notably, my family is not into golf.

i cannot believe that the person who wrote this post is a college graduate, let alone a lawyer. Holy carp.

[Anonymous]

DH and I are often invited to play tennis at various CCs and I'm always left mystified by the appeal. There are plenty of good public tennis courts all over MoCo and bubble time is cheap and plentiful in the winter. Similarly, when our kids are invited to swim by friends who are members, the CCs are fine, but no more so than the many swim clubs with good facilities and a friendly vibe. As for the food it's adequate, though CC dining might have been more appealing 25 years ago when restaurant options were more limited. Finally, the social scene makes me cringe. Why live in such a diverse place if you want to socialize only with people just like you? I guess there's golf . . . but I always think of Caddyshack.

[Anonymous]

5:34 again -- forgot to add -- re schools and CCs -- our kids go to Sidwell and there are many families there who are CC members. Plenty of school pool parties and bar/bat mitzvahs at Woodmont; other families belong to BCC and Kenwood. Maybe not so many at Chevy, Congressional and and Columbia as at other schools. The folks we know at Chevy and Congo tend to have kids in at STA/NCS; Columbia -- Catholic schools. And, of course, all these clubs also have lots of public school families.

[Anonymous]

Our kids are in public school and we know a number of families that beling to country clubs, especially Congressional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, each CC has their own "feel" but all will require you to be "sponsored" by a current member and you will need letters of reference. Where you decide to apply really depends on your location preference as well as having some relationship with a current member.

Congressional's wait list for non-legacies is currently about 10-12 years, we paid about 80K initiation as a legacy about 6 years ago (don't remember exact amount but it was around that). I think it's around 120K now. Once you join, the wait for golf is 2-3 years. Of course there are monthly dues. I like Congressional but I grew up there so I'm biased.

I think Kenwood's initiation runs in the 60-70K range. Our neighbors are members and I recall them saying they pay about $600 per month. I don't think they have a waiting list at present. It is a kid friendly club and the PP was right, we've been guests of our neighbors there and everyone, members and staff, were very, very nice.

Burning Tree is indeed all male so I would cross that off the list since you seem to be looking for a family place.

Have to call this person out as a troll. Wait list 3- 5 years. Junior members (i.e. legacy) fee is 35 K which must be paid by age of 35. Current initiation fee for new members is 110K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a trial membership you can buy, to see if you like it?
Can one sell the membership if they no longer have use for it?

LOL

This made me laugh! Pretty soon you'll be able to hock your membership on Craigs List - if the stock market keeps crashing and the government starts cutting back on spending. And then home prices start plunging in and around DC.

[Anonymous]

My country club is the Wakefield Chapel Recreation Association. We have a beautiful pool, tennis courts and great social activies. No golf course but membership is a couple thousand dollars and annual dues are just over $400. The snack bar has ice cream sandwiches, and if when we ask Dominos to deliver to the pool, they they offer us a discount.

[Anonymous]

If I was to join a CC I would love to join Congressional. Not for the networking, exclusivity, swimming pool or food. The Golf course is legendary. What else matters, why else would you pay.

[Anonymous]

I've been a guest at most of these clubs and have no interest in paying that much for a pool and I don't like the exclusivity of it all. That said, I would like to join a pool that has a nice restaurant on site and nicer changing rooms.

[Anonymous]

Good luck finding that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been a guest at most of these clubs and have no interest in paying that much for a pool and I don't like the exclusivity of it all. That said, I would like to join a pool that has a nice restaurant on site and nicer changing rooms.

You can. They're called "country clubs."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a guest at most of these clubs and have no interest in paying that much for a pool and I don't like the exclusivity of it all. That said, I would like to join a pool that has a nice restaurant on site and nicer changing rooms.

You can. They're called "country clubs."

Exactly. And that's just how it starts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a guest at most of these clubs and have no interest in paying that much for a pool and I don't like the exclusivity of it all. That said, I would like to join a pool that has a nice restaurant on site and nicer changing rooms.

You can. They're called "country clubs."

Exactly. And that's just how it starts.

I've been invited to dine at a few country clubs and frankly the food was ok. These places are sought after clubs. Anyway, I can't imagine eating there that much to meet the minimum - we're also borderline country club income ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a guest at most of these clubs and have no interest in paying that much for a pool and I don't like the exclusivity of it all. That said, I would like to join a pool that has a nice restaurant on site and nicer changing rooms.

You can. They're called "country clubs."

Exactly. And that's just how it starts.

I've been invited to dine at a few country clubs and frankly the food was ok. These places are sought after clubs. Anyway, I can't imagine eating there that much to meet the minimum - we're also borderline country club income ...

But you can drink the miminum!

[Anonymous]

The minimum too!