Anonymous wrote:I live near Chicago and there are many CCs over 100 years old. There is no doubt that they were established to be exclusive for either race, religion, money or single sex. While the clubs are less discriminating than 100 years ago the legacy still exists such that a traditional Jewish club is still predominantly Jewish, same with old Catholic clubs. My club is very old and is very white Christian with a few AA members and a decent number of Jewish members. There are a couple of great mostly Jewish clubs in the area and that’s where most Jews apply. When you have to spend a lot of money to join you want to join where you will feel comfortable.

Anonymous wrote:The DC area doesn't have the water issues most of the American West does, which allows for more golf courses.

Anonymous wrote:We live in Arlington and there are no outdoor public pools, unless you count Upton Hills- one. There are no options unless you pay for a private pool.

Anonymous wrote:Cause there are a lot of cringe weirdos in DC

I swear people who join country clubs are the ones who are trying to look wealthier than they are. Or those obsessed with status. I went to a top private school and the wealthiest students were not part of a country club. We all had our own pools at home and vacationed in Europe instead. One kid in my grade even had tennis courts at his house

Anonymous wrote:Cause there are a lot of cringe weirdos in DC

I swear people who join country clubs are the ones who are trying to look wealthier than they are. Or those obsessed with status. I went to a top private school and the wealthiest students were not part of a country club. We all had our own pools at home and vacationed in Europe instead. One kid in my grade even had tennis courts at his house

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like OP, I also live in Bethesda and was genuinely surprised at the number of country clubs in our area. There are 5 country clubs just in Bethesda/Chevy Chase -- Kenwood, Chevy Chase Club, Columbia, Congressional, and Bethesda CC.

I grew up in the midwest where golf is very popular. But there are a lot of nice public courses in the midwest, where people can play. (And a lot of nice public pools.) And the country club dues are not absurdly-high. I was surprised by how few public golf courses in the Bethesda area, but I guess that, in a close-in suburb, the priority is to put housing rather than golf courses.

I really wish I belonged to a country club, as they seem awesome (golf, tennis, activities, pool, fitness center)! We can afford it, but my husband has a knee-jerk reaction against the idea of a country club, even though we know plenty of people who belong to them and who would probably be willing to write us a recommendation letter.

We do belong to a neighborhood pool club, and the only "criteria" is that you have to live in the neighborhood. There is a waiting list, but once you wait it out a few years, you can join. I wish that there were no waiting list, but the NIMBY's near the pool oppose any noise, and so hence the county limits the # of members. The pool creates a nice feel of community within the neighborhood (once you get off the wait list).

I honestly wish everyone had access to this kind of recreational amenity (like a country club). I wish counties and cities could make facilities like this more readily available to the public, as I believe it would enhance the quality of life. If I were on the Montgomery County Council, this would be my #1 priority, as I believe the quality of life is such an important goal.

Just for the record, the DMV has great public golf options, both municipal and upscale daily fee.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has way less older clubs than Philadelphia, Northern New Jersey, Westchester,Long Island and Boston. Even Baltimore prob has equal amount of clubs with less population. Golf craze took off early 20th century and these old close in clubs were built then. DC wasn’t an economically booming industrial area then like other Northeast cities. So you only had a small handful of these clubs built then. In contrast Philly probably has 20 old clubs and metro NYC probably 50 old clubs.

This entirely. DC had very little overall wealth until about 35 years ago. Some wealthy people had homes in DC but they were not their primary residences. Compared to the Northeast, DC so many less clubs which reflects this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw a social media post that said if you see some wacky real estate situation racism is probably the reason.

It might shock you to know there is more to life than racism. Blacks made up a very small percent of the population outside the South until the great migrations started in the 30s. Country clubs were mainly founded in the late 19th century into the 1920s, although a flurry of new clubs emerged in the post war years. Most country clubs were not founded because people were worried about blacks, who, in the first place, were so poor while simultaneously useful as servants for the clubs. If anything, they were more worried about the wrong white people. Immigrant heritage whites like Italians and Poles and worse, Catholics. But more than anything, they were founded as part of the inevitable suburbanization and embracing of a leisure based outdoors lifestyle made feasible by lower density suburbanization. Which is why even the discriminated Jews and Irish and other groups built their own clubs.

Anonymous wrote:
Ironically, you skipped Burning Tree.

Also, those community pools are about as segregated as can be.

Anonymous wrote:Like OP, I also live in Bethesda and was genuinely surprised at the number of country clubs in our area. There are 5 country clubs just in Bethesda/Chevy Chase -- Kenwood, Chevy Chase Club, Columbia, Congressional, and Bethesda CC.

I grew up in the midwest where golf is very popular. But there are a lot of nice public courses in the midwest, where people can play. (And a lot of nice public pools.) And the country club dues are not absurdly-high. I was surprised by how few public golf courses in the Bethesda area, but I guess that, in a close-in suburb, the priority is to put housing rather than golf courses.

I really wish I belonged to a country club, as they seem awesome (golf, tennis, activities, pool, fitness center)! We can afford it, but my husband has a knee-jerk reaction against the idea of a country club, even though we know plenty of people who belong to them and who would probably be willing to write us a recommendation letter.

We do belong to a neighborhood pool club, and the only "criteria" is that you have to live in the neighborhood. There is a waiting list, but once you wait it out a few years, you can join. I wish that there were no waiting list, but the NIMBY's near the pool oppose any noise, and so hence the county limits the # of members. The pool creates a nice feel of community within the neighborhood (once you get off the wait list).

I honestly wish everyone had access to this kind of recreational amenity (like a country club). I wish counties and cities could make facilities like this more readily available to the public, as I believe it would enhance the quality of life. If I were on the Montgomery County Council, this would be my #1 priority, as I believe the quality of life is such an important goal.