I don't really know anything about Country Clubs, and would not have the money, connections, or desire to join one. I do know that Chevy Chase did not allow Jews to join in the 60s. Gross.

Can anyone discuss some of the member drives that clubs have had over the past year and which if any are still going on? For example I heard Lakewood reduced initiation and made it payable over several years. Thanks.

Nice club. But for the money, why not spend a few thousand more and join Columbia or Chevy Chase where you will have control over what your club does. Kenwood is run and owned by a for profit corporation - Columbia, Chevy Chase and Congressional are member owned. And while you may get hit (not so much at Congressional) with an assessment, it's not all that bad considering you have a say in how your club is run.


Are any of these clubs accepting new members now? For proximity alone I'd love Kenwood.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no social memberships at Congressional. You apply, become a social member until your full application for golf is accepted. Once it is, you must pay the full dues and fees.

Huh? "You apply, become a social member . . ." it appears there are social memberships at Congressional, albeit temporary.

The point is, it appears Columbia, Chevy and Congressional are doing okay while other clubs are reducing initiations, dues, etc. These three clubs are clearly the top.

Kenwood keeps raising their initiation and their dues too. It is a nice club, but c'mon!

Nice club. But for the money, why not spend a few thousand more and join Columbia or Chevy Chase where you will have control over what your club does. Kenwood is run and owned by a for profit corporation - Columbia, Chevy Chase and Congressional are member owned. And while you may get hit (not so much at Congressional) with an assessment, it's not all that bad considering you have a say in how your club is run.

We joined Kenwood because it is sooo close to our house -- we live in Wesley Heights. I knew we'd rarely use a club (e.g., Congressional and Columbia) that took more than 10 minutes to get to and from. We've been very happy there. Only complaint is the food. Sadly, the best food (and it is delicious) is served in the shack located off the 9th green.

River Bend is not cutting the initiation fee. It is increasing once the golf course is improved in June 2011.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no social memberships at Congressional. You apply, become a social member until your full application for golf is accepted. Once it is, you must pay the full dues and fees.

Huh? "You apply, become a social member . . ." it appears there are social memberships at Congressional, albeit temporary.

The point is, it appears Columbia, Chevy and Congressional are doing okay while other clubs are reducing initiations, dues, etc. These three clubs are clearly the top.

Kenwood keeps raising their initiation and their dues too. It is a nice club, but c'mon!

Nice club. But for the money, why not spend a few thousand more and join Columbia or Chevy Chase where you will have control over what your club does. Kenwood is run and owned by a for profit corporation - Columbia, Chevy Chase and Congressional are member owned. And while you may get hit (not so much at Congressional) with an assessment, it's not all that bad considering you have a say in how your club is run.

Kenwood is trying to keep pace, but they can't in the long run.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no social memberships at Congressional. You apply, become a social member until your full application for golf is accepted. Once it is, you must pay the full dues and fees.

Huh? "You apply, become a social member . . ." it appears there are social memberships at Congressional, albeit temporary.

The point is, it appears Columbia, Chevy and Congressional are doing okay while other clubs are reducing initiations, dues, etc. These three clubs are clearly the top.

Kenwood keeps raising their initiation and their dues too. It is a nice club, but c'mon!

Nice club. But for the money, why not spend a few thousand more and join Columbia or Chevy Chase where you will have control over what your club does. Kenwood is run and owned by a for profit corporation - Columbia, Chevy Chase and Congressional are member owned. And while you may get hit (not so much at Congressional) with an assessment, it's not all that bad considering you have a say in how your club is run.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no social memberships at Congressional. You apply, become a social member until your full application for golf is accepted. Once it is, you must pay the full dues and fees.

Huh? "You apply, become a social member . . ." it appears there are social memberships at Congressional, albeit temporary.

The point is, it appears Columbia, Chevy and Congressional are doing okay while other clubs are reducing initiations, dues, etc. These three clubs are clearly the top.

Kenwood keeps raising their initiation and their dues too. It is a nice club, but c'mon!

Anonymous wrote:We live very close to Kenwood and would love to join the club but we only know one family there. The application looks like extensive and you need multiple references. Does anyone have recent experience?

From what I know, it's not unusual for that one reference to help you find others. Everyone there seems to know folks within their groups through their schools or churches.

We live very close to Kenwood and would love to join the club but we only know one family there. The application looks like extensive and you need multiple references. Does anyone have recent experience?

Anonymous wrote:There are no social memberships at Congressional. You apply, become a social member until your full application for golf is accepted. Once it is, you must pay the full dues and fees.

Huh? "You apply, become a social member . . ." it appears there are social memberships at Congressional, albeit temporary.

The point is, it appears Columbia, Chevy and Congressional are doing okay while other clubs are reducing initiations, dues, etc. These three clubs are clearly the top.

There are no social memberships at Congressional. You apply, become a social member until your full application for golf is accepted. Once it is, you must pay the full dues and fees.

Anonymous wrote:i think every club inside the beltway has a waitlist for golf.

I don't believe that Kenwood has a waitlist for golf. I believe the point of the previous post was that Columbia, Chevy Chase and Congressional have a waitlist for non-golf memberships in addition to golf memberships (which is true).

i think every club inside the beltway has a waitlist for golf.

Anonymous wrote:Columbia's wait list is only for golf.

This is not true. While the wait list is longest for golf, there is still a wait for social and active non-golf memberships.