Country Club Members, Is It Worth It?

[Anonymous]

My parents belong to a country club. This particular country club is definitely a family place. Most members have kids and use kids clubs, lessons, camps, etc. Check out your club and see if it's your cup of tea. Other than golf, our CC may not be appealing for folks without children.

[Anonymous]

What are the buy-ins and annual dues for the clubs in the close-in suburbs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Country clubs are for the socially insecure (don’t have and can’t make friends) or status conscious people.

Spoken like someone who hasn't actually belonged or been to one often. To me it is for people who enjoy the activities offered - golf, tennis and other racquet sports, fitness facilities, etc. and want to be able to use them often without big crowds or needing to wait.

While the dining isn't great compared to local restaurants, it is fine and so nice to just be able to pull in and not worry about parking or needing a reservation and running into your friends while eating out.

If you have kids, it is lots of activities for them and a great way to learn sports.

At least these are the reasons we belong to one. I doubt my friends who aren't members even know if our family belongs to a club or not.

Huh? So you don't socialize with anyone at your club?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Country clubs are for the socially insecure (don’t have and can’t make friends) or status conscious people.

Spoken like someone who hasn't actually belonged or been to one often. To me it is for people who enjoy the activities offered - golf, tennis and other racquet sports, fitness facilities, etc. and want to be able to use them often without big crowds or needing to wait.

While the dining isn't great compared to local restaurants, it is fine and so nice to just be able to pull in and not worry about parking or needing a reservation and running into your friends while eating out.

If you have kids, it is lots of activities for them and a great way to learn sports.

At least these are the reasons we belong to one. I doubt my friends who aren't members even know if our family belongs to a club or not.

Huh? So you don't socialize with anyone at your club?

OK, I did not phrase that particularly well. Apologies. What I meant is it is nice to have a place to go out to eat that you don't have to put a lot of planning into. You don't need to worry about parking or a reservation and as an added bonus, you run into friends without necessarily planning that ahead of time either.

[Anonymous]

If only one of you plays golf and you don’t have kids, i wouldn’t do it. It’s for golf, tennis, and swim team.

[Anonymous]

We are social members and use ours daily in the summer (pool and swim team). many of our friends are also members, and it is nice to sit around the pool with a drink and socialize while our kids play together.

I used to think it was such a hoity-toity thing because I grew up poor, but it basically replaces summer camps and is more affordable than camp after camp after camp actually.

We rarely eat there outside the pool grill. Usually 4th of July, Mother's Day, and then some random takeout to meet our minimums in fall/winter.

It's definitely a kids thing, though.

[Anonymous]

Is it worth it? Of course not if you mean moneywise. If you think about money or are concerned with expenses I would avoid a cc. Dues only goes in one direction -- up. Assessments will happen in the life of a club membership. There will be bad management that will cost money. Can't be helped. And to keep the club a place that new members want to go you can't pinch pennies.

Having said all that we love it. Golf, pool, fitness center, bar with friends, kids camp, swim team, golf and tennis lessons, food by the pool, casual dining, Mother's Day, Easter, etc. It is a lifestyle decision. You end up spending a lot of time there doing the stuff I just mentioned.

But go in with eyes open. It is expensive. And lots of the people are quite well to do. Most have second homes at the beach or mountains. Most will not bat an eye on cost. You need to be prepared for that.

[Anonymous]

This region is chock full of free public pools and awesome public golf courses. There is a cheap driving range at Haines Point, and the good public courses are 30-60 mins outside of DC.

I cannot in my wildest nightmares understand why someone would want to waste their time and money being chained to a single course with that financial commitment.

[Anonymous]

It's worth it for us. We joined it specifically for the golf.

DH golfs a lot, and my 11 year old is on the Jr. Golf team. We play at least 2 times a month as a family and DS has practice once a week and around 2 matches a month.

Our club is not even that close to us so we don't do a lot of the social aspects. We occasionally use the pool and we'll eat dinner when we're out there but only if we're playing golf.

But it's still worth it to us. It's not a financial sacrifice and we enjoy it. That's what makes it worth it to us.

[Anonymous]

I don't have a country club membership, but the only reason I could think of to do it is if it were useful professional networking (i.e. I could see if I were a partner at a firm and membership would give me the opportunity to develop personal relationships with other people who could potential send business my way). If membership didn't contribute to the bottom line, it seems like there are much more affordable ways to cobble together the services offered via country club membership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Country clubs are for the socially insecure (don’t have and can’t make friends) or status conscious people.

Spoken like someone who hasn't actually belonged or been to one often. To me it is for people who enjoy the activities offered - golf, tennis and other racquet sports, fitness facilities, etc. and want to be able to use them often without big crowds or needing to wait.

While the dining isn't great compared to local restaurants, it is fine and so nice to just be able to pull in and not worry about parking or needing a reservation and running into your friends while eating out.

If you have kids, it is lots of activities for them and a great way to learn sports.

At least these are the reasons we belong to one. I doubt my friends who aren't members even know if our family belongs to a club or not.

This. If we decide at the last minute we want to play golf we can generally get on the course with no problem. That would not happen at a public course. The pool is never crowded and we can always get a table at the restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Country clubs are for the socially insecure (don’t have and can’t make friends) or status conscious people.

You are the douchebag you’ve been waiting for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Country clubs just seem too much fraternities in college to me. Basically a lot of similar personalities and backgrounds. Fun if you fit in, maybe not as welcoming otherwise.

Trip and Buffy love it!

[Anonymous]

NP here. I’m curious about the golfing costs at a country club like Chevy chase. Would anyone mind explaining what the cost structure for golf is when you are a member? Like is there a nominal fee or are a certain number of sessions included in the membership fee? TIA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This region is chock full of free public pools and awesome public golf courses. There is a cheap driving range at Haines Point, and the good public courses are 30-60 mins outside of DC.

I cannot in my wildest nightmares understand why someone would want to waste their time and money being chained to a single course with that financial commitment.

As someone who often waited on hot, outdoor lines with my young kids to get into the Banneker pool in DC while waiting on 7+ year waitlists for pool clubs, I can definitely see the appeal of a country club. DH and I don't play golf and now our kids go to sleepaway camp so we will probably never join one, but the DC public pools are no match for a country club (they don't have shade, or allow food!).