VFM: Country memberships and 'Open' competitions

With personal finances starting to become a wee bit tight for various reasons, I've been giving my golf memberships a long hard think this year. I'm due to renew my country membership for the club where I discovered the game 12 years ago, at the end of January, and my new home membership (for my 3rd season) in March. Current rates will be under £200, and approx £500 respectively. My home membership subs are due to start increasing as of next year (March 2013) for a couple of years before settling at approx £900+. For that reason I am a little uneasy about dropping my country membership, as its something of a backup membership if I decide to drop the home club. Dropping my home club membership might give me the option of doing an 'open circuit', where I wouldn't join a club in Edinburgh, but enter all the club open's in the area, thus getting a game most weekends at a different course for around £10-15. I'd do this until I found another affordable club to settle in, when our lifestyle settles down, and we've moved to our next place (hopefully within a reasonable vicinity of said 'affordable club'). I'm conscious that a lot of 'Scratch' golfers tend to play many open comps, but is this something that any of you are considering in the current 'climate' or are you getting good value for money where you are?

Many clubs - in fact all the clubs I know - have a rule that says country membership is only available if you are a member of another club somewhere.

That might influence your decision.

Think yourself lucky - if you live in the south of England you're looking at around £800 to £1,000-plus for one membership.

George - fortunately my away club isn't one of them!

LP, fair point, however wages in Scotland are significantly less inflated than down south - for example my starting salary after finishing uni would have been approx £4-5k more p/a if I was working in London, so it's not exactly a straightforward comparison.

Anyway, I'm not having a gripe is not about not having the funds to have full membership, I'm simply stating it as a factor in thinking about my future plans, and am interested to hear if anyone is managing to play regular golf in a less 'conventional' manner. The main reason for my quandry is partially due to our decision to start a family, and subsquent to us taking that step I was made redundant, so though golf is an important part of my lifestyle, I am looking for ways to reduce the cost, but still be able to enjoy playing some competitive golf.

As those following the find super a club thread golf membership is not cheap and bans payment of £900 will be for a “youth” category or under 30 category. So as ladyputt points our golf in the south is expensive but given the disparity in wages Edinburgh is not cheaper in comparison.


As to just playing opens I am not sure that would appeal to me as I enjoy getting in a few holes of practice late on a summers evening just as much as a full 18 on a Saturday. So not sure that system would work for me.

At £15 a round you could play

60 opens

Or

20 opens for £300 and spend the other £600 on 15 rounds on Kilspindie during the week.

OR

Any other combination you can think of, I would go for a few less opens.

Starts to look like an ok option if you can sacrifice


PS ban

I hope you take the opportunity to become a house husband, I am not joking when I say, this is my goal career wise. I would like to look after the kids and tend to a plot of land.

Wages in real times for most jobs are not much better in London due to the higher cost of living.

mac - thats the thing that would get me - missing out on the 'opportunity' for the odd 9 holes here and there of an evening - so this year will be a test of how much mid-week golf i'll actually get as a daddy - i'm thinking it will be a lot less than last season!!

competitively i think i'd probably aim to play around 10-15 opens and around 4 or 5 medals at my away course. hopefully i'd get plenty of invites to my current home club from guys i play with just now, and i know a couple of guys out at kilspindie who are usually looking for playing partners, so i'd get a few games there too. i'd probably think about the leisure card if i wasn't getting enough golf and found i had the time to justify it.

house husband wouldn't be too bad at all. i think i'd need to keep my hand in someway though, whether that be being self employed or working 3 day weeks for some company or other. i need to find something full time soon for when she's on her maternity leave though... stress!

its definitely not a straightforward comparison.

Ban

If you go up to the braids for a few holes after 8 on a summers evening I doubt you would ever get caught no having paid. There seem to be loads who dont at the moment anyway.

i'll need to check out the braids at some point in the summer to remind myself what its like - its been about 10 years since my only round and all i can remember is gorse and blind tee shots!!

Think I'll be doing a lot of sneaky ons this summer for practice, just like when I was a kid at StAdnrews

If you are talking about value for money, my fee is around £900 a year. I play I would guess in excess of 90 rounds a year so that's under £10 per round. Some of these rounds will be at other courses in club matches etc. Add to that the banter in the 19th hole and I would say I get pretty good VFM.

PS Can't believe that golfers are considering blagging free rounds - what next!!!

ban

im thinking of playing more opens this year. but as for membership im very lucky.

south ayrshire season ticket £340
golf club membership £55

and because my wife is a council employee she pays for the season ticket through her wages...and because i am on the handicap committee i receive an honoraria which is more than the club fees.......so my golf costs are £0.00

so VFM i would say 10/10

Lieger

Sounds like you've got it made!!

super_realist wrote:Wages in real times for most jobs are not much better in London due to the higher cost of living.

Quite agree, S-R. And not everyone who works in London is on a huge salary with massive bonuses. It's just that the large inflated slaries are the only ones you hear about. Golf in this part of the world is VERY expensive - and I've never been paid a bonus in all my working life.

liegerwoods wrote:ban

im thinking of playing more opens this year. but as for membership im very lucky.

south ayrshire season ticket £340
golf club membership £55

and because my wife is a council employee she pays for the season ticket through her wages...and because i am on the handicap committee i receive an honoraria which is more than the club fees.......so my golf costs are £0.00

so VFM i would say 10/10

Handicap committee....

Does that mean you have to log on to howdidido every week? That must be such hard work....

Quite a tough job Lieger, you can even get members returning cards from Open events that they did not play in eh''

Doon the Water wrote:Quite a tough job Lieger, you can even get members returning cards from Open events that they did not play in eh''

indeed it is doon. mr ronnie lamont , a 1 handicap golfer returned a score of 73 scr around southerness and he didnt even play in the event...infact the winning score on a very windy day was 78 !!

Is he still a member Lieger ?
I was gobsmacked when that happened, about 10 years ago.
I think he got a 12 month ban at the time.

George1507 wrote:

liegerwoods wrote:ban

im thinking of playing more opens this year. but as for membership im very lucky.

south ayrshire season ticket £340
golf club membership £55

and because my wife is a council employee she pays for the season ticket through her wages...and because i am on the handicap committee i receive an honoraria which is more than the club fees.......so my golf costs are £0.00

so VFM i would say 10/10

Handicap committee....

Does that mean you have to log on to howdidido every week? That must be such hard work....

Doon the Water wrote:Is he still a member Lieger ?
I was gobsmacked when that happened, about 10 years ago.
I think he got a 12 month ban at the time.

no doon he was given a two year ban if i remember. he does not play golf now and heard he is now the sec. of the battle of brittian society !