How many times a week should you really play to jutify your annual fee

billyhead

I joined a golf club last January and paid 1200 euro for the year. Now i don't get out on the course as much as I would like and I was wondering how many times do you reckon you should really play to justify that expense. I know its a hypothetical question. Also I usually when I do play a casul round on my own adn everytime I go out I have at least 4 players in front of m holding me up. What time do you think is the best time to tee off to avod this hassle?

G1032

Depends on how much the green fee is for a round at the club you're a member in.
Depends on whether or not you want a handicap

If you only play 20 rounds a year and the green fee is €30 and you don't care whether or not you have a valid handicap then paying 1200 for membership is lunacy.

If you play 50 rounds a year, play a few holes in the evening after work, socialise with other members on a Sunday after the round etc etc then €1200 is value for money.

€650 for membership in my home club. Great value.

Your question is only one that you can answer yourself. Like I said, it all depends on what you want.............

Zardoz

Good idea for a thread ,I was thinking about this exact topic just today.

My annual sub is just over 1000 euro and if I'm honest I dont think its worth it.
I was very reluctant to pay it this year.
I mostly play 9-14 holes after work .I rarely play in competitions as 18 holes is very time consuming and its tough on my back .
I'm off 5 ,I can play to it ,luckily enough my game can survive long layoffs and still be good ,thats probably a reason I dont play more often.

Green fees have never been cheaper ,most clubs in my area are around 20 euro for a green fee .I can get discounted green fees for my own club for 15 euro .There are open competitions on almost every day within a 30 mile radius.

I've also found it alot harder to get out for a casual game of golf over the last year.
I'm seeing alot of new members out on the course ,especially beginners .
The club are allocating alot of tee times to them in the evenings and there are competitions on 4-5 days too.
If I'm paying 1k a year I expect to be able to play golf any evening after 5pm something impossible now.

Considering the golf season is ~8-9 months long ,I guess I'd need to play golf an average of twice a week for my membership to be worth it.
I'll probably only play once a week on average ,35 times in the year at best .
This might be my last year being a member ,or else I will switch to a 5 day member.

soundsham

Twice

davo10

After another bad winter when no golf was played I considered this very point. Our renewel is April 1st and I reckon I can play golf til the end of October, maybe 30 weeks. Now if I were to play once a week and not have any interest in the winter league then if green fees were below €30 then it would not be worth it. But if during the summer months I play a few holes most evenings weather permitting then it is very much worth it. Also being a member allows me to use the chipping practice area/putting green/driving range when I want and to book a tee time during members times on Saturday and Sunday mornings when it suits me best to play. During the winter the pipes in my house froze solid for 3 weeks so I used the club showers quite a bit.

Zardoz are you aware of a ruling brought in by the GUI recently that to hold a valid handicap you had to be a member of a club and all open competitions now require that golfers have a valid handicap. In other words you can play but you cannot compete in these competitions and if you play on a team they will be disqualified. To play to your handicap you must play 18 holes consistantly, test yourself in competition where the ball must go in the hole and there are no "gimmies" or prefered lies and hand in your card each time even if you have a bad score. We can all play to our handicaps and better on a "good day", its the frequent not so good days that are the test.

hades

I've been having this arguement for a while with one of my buddies, his wife wants to play but he w'nt pay the membership for her. She only wants to play on a wednesday (ladies day) and with the season being so short, he can't justify paying the €1000 + a year for her to get around 20 - 25 games in. As he said, if she wants to play, she can just pay greens and battle on.

One of the frugal examples i heard about was a chap i played with a few weeks ago in an open. He has distance membership to one club which is around €200 a year, and he then joins the Fota Golf Academy for €200 a year. He mentioned he hates to play in the winter, so practices like a madman in Fota over that time period and once the scratch cups and opens start, he has his GUI card to enter all those.

There are cheaper ways to play.

Dr_Colossus

davo10 wrote: »

Zardoz are you aware of a ruling brought in by the GUI recently that to hold a valid handicap you had to be a member of a club and all open competitions now require that golfers have a valid handicap. In other words you can play but you cannot compete in these competitions and if you play on a team they will be disqualified.

Slightly off topic but relevant to the advantages of being a club member, what is the situation regarding open days/weeks in most clubs. Granted you need a valid handicap to compete but can you play and just not return your card and use the open competition as a form of green fee? Upon payment of your green fee/entry fee does the club not ask for your GUI card etc to confirm you're entitled to play or do you only use that when signing into the computer before and after your round?
Also could a non GUI member sign the card of a GUI member who's competing in the competition or would they be disqualified also, for instance say if you put your name down on the timesheet and you're paired up randomly with two people who're only in the open day for the benefit of cheaper green fees, would you be disqualified from the competition since you wouldn't have another GUI member to sign your card?

In relation to the OP's initial question and a valid point made by G1032, I wanted a handicap so this year joined a club with an annual sub of €1,000. The reasons for wanting a handicap were
1) To add an element of competition to my game thus improving focus and concentration and in turn heightening interest and enjoyment/frustration.
2) To have a defined level of player ability and something I can work on with defined goals in terms of improvement.
3) To be able to play and compete in open competitions and experience other clubs at a reduced fee.

Given my requirement to have a handicap and being based in Dublin I considered getting a distance membership for €200 and playing open competitions once in receipt of my handicap. The disadvantages of such were I was unlikely to play the course apart from the initial 3 rounds for handicap purposes. I wouldn't have a home club as such where I could go practice at the weekends, enter competitions and maybe get in a few holes midweek if the situation arose.
At present I get out at least once a week in my home club and regularly enter competitions. Over the summer I hope to get in a few 9 holes and use the practice facilities midweek therefore for me the €1,000 sub is relatively good value as standard weekend green fees are €40 with deals going for €30.
However one also has to factor in the cost of fuel in traveling to the course as it's over 35km from my door but without a club I'd probably frequent a driving range quite often which would also involve fuel costs plus an average of €9 for a bucket of balls and hitting balls in the driving range is no where near as enjoyable as playing a few holes or practicing specific areas of your game in familiar surroundings.

C.O.Y.B.I.B

Dr_Colossus wrote: »

In relation to the OP's initial question and a valid point made by G1032, I wanted a handicap so this year joined a club with an annual sub of €1,000. The reasons for wanting a handicap were
1) To add an element of competition to my game thus improving focus and concentration and in turn heightening interest and enjoyment/frustration.
2) To have a defined level of player ability and something I can work on with defined goals in terms of improvement.
3) To be able to play and compete in open competitions and experience other clubs at a reduced fee.

.

I wanted similar , as I play a few opens/team events every year and am in a society with 10 outings a year . So couple that with young family and I try to play my club 2-3 times a month. I joined Swords for €100 joining fee and €300 per year. its €10 midweek and €15 at weekend. I have a home club where I can play but its not costing me when I dont. Very friendly membership and because theres no Bar etc... everyone usually plays their rounds and goes home which means teeing off at 7.30 , im having breakfast at home by 11.30 -12.

JD Dublin

OP it appears to me that if you are considering all issues then you need to factor in:
Practise facilities - can you use them? ( €9 per session in the driving range )
Cheap fees for any pals - ( if you bring a guest, most courses give a good discount ) factor in a saving here
Social life / planning for retirement - it may seem like a long way off, but a lot of established clubs run Seniors competitions for the older players, great social scene. A lot of clubs have a bar and may have Sky sports etc, which is cheaper than getting it at home, and more comfortable than your local bar.
Travel time
Availability of weekday evening ''9 holes'' - most clubs are mad busy at the moment running off competitions, often running until 6 or 7, but it eases off after June when the schools are starting holidays.

You may not be able to reduce it all to Euros, but above is a list of other things to be considered.

Zardoz

davo10 wrote: »

Zardoz are you aware of a ruling brought in by the GUI recently that to hold a valid handicap you had to be a member of a club and all open competitions now require that golfers have a valid handicap. In other words you can play but you cannot compete in these competitions and if you play on a team they will be disqualified. To play to your handicap you must play 18 holes consistantly, test yourself in competition where the ball must go in the hole and there are no "gimmies" or prefered lies and hand in your card each time even if you have a bad score. We can all play to our handicaps and better on a "good day", its the frequent not so good days that are the test.

Not wanting to go off on a tangent but yes I was aware of that ruling.
Alot of people are availing of distance membership to counter this.
Competitions arent of great interest to me ,I just want to play my golf ,see a new course.
I still play in around 12 competitions a year ,so when I say playing to my handicap I am obviously referring to competition play .;)

minstrel_boy

Dr_Colossus wrote: »

Also could a non GUI member sign the card of a GUI member who's competing in the competition or would they be disqualified also, for instance say if you put your name down on the timesheet and you're paired up randomly with two people who're only in the open day for the benefit of cheaper green fees, would you be disqualified from the competition since you wouldn't have another GUI member to sign your card?

Can anyone answer this question? I play with a couple of lads that joined the same club as me on a beginners rate. They will not be getting a handicap due to the deal they signed up to.
Can they sign my card at an open comp or even at our local club comp?

ssbob

For me I have so far paid €300(€100 a month) with the 3rd month up at the end of May, and for that I have played 18 holes 5 times, 9 holes about 5 times and have played 6/7 holes about 10 times(evening), I have also got the use of a gym and pool which I have used about 10 times, I am definitely getting value for money at the moment, just not sure will it be value for money once the summer months come.

PhilipMarlowe

minstrel_boy wrote: »

Can anyone answer this question? I play with a couple of lads that joined the same club as me on a beginners rate. They will not be getting a handicap due to the deal they signed up to.
Can they sign my card at an open comp or even at our local club comp?

I guess it depends on the conditions of the competition but I'm not sure?

A marker is usually a fellow competitor so if their status (members but no handicap) means that they are not competing then they would have to be considered acceptable by the committee to be a marker. I doubt that's the case but who knows...

derra

Was going to join a club that was €1500 a year but decided against it as i didnt feel i wanted to justify that money by playing on that course all the time.

Ended up joining a 9 hole course that is €700, close enough to house and can always get out whereas the other place does be so busy it's not matter of throwing clubs in the car and just go out.

Was going to pay €1500 but now i like the feeling that i can spend money on other courses and competitions throughout the year and think this improves the game also, well should do in the long run.

Play my home course every Sunday, during the week at least 9 holes, couple hours hitting all sorts of shots and try and get another course in also.
Happy with the way my golf budget works out for the year anyway.

mike12

My membership is €690 a year and i play there about 30 times last year so just about value for money. Plus i get to play opens and inter club golf so it is probably worth it. I was thinking of joining another club for 1500 but i would have to play there 50 plus times to justify it and its not something i could do. There are plenty of courses around the greater Dublin area that have some sort of value membership which i think would be better that distance membership to a course you are never going to play.
Mike

minstrel_boy

Licksy wrote: »

I guess it depends on the conditions of the competition but I'm not sure?

A marker is usually a fellow competitor so if their status (members but no handicap) means that they are not competing then they would have to be considered acceptable by the committee to be a marker. I doubt that's the case but who knows...

Thanks for your reply licksy. It's still ambiguous, I guess the only way to find out for sure is to ask our comp secretary