The Country Club Golf Course

Most country club golf courses allow golfers to pay a green fee and you need to consider how much golf you are going to be playing before deciding wether the membership fee is to be justified.

Lets say you only play once a week and the green fee is $25 for the round. That means your golf is costing you $1300 annually. If the membership is $2K a year, its not making much sense to join on the strength of the golf alone. If you play at least twice a week though then you would be saving money and it would be wise to join the country club even if you were only going to use the golf facilities.

While primarily considering joining the country club for its golf course, you will want to know if there is an in house league, how often competitions are held, is there a spa, swimming pool etc. If you are taking out a family membership you will want to know what facilities they have that will interest your partner and children while you are on the course.

For many people joining the local country club is all about status. These clubs can be important for making important business contacts etc. as the club house is usually the center of the social life. While some may be joining to perhaps get closer to potential customers for ther business others join so their teenage children can make new friends and contacts as they approach adult hood. The country club golf house is a great place for kids to learn correct etiquette.

For true golfers though, these are just added bonuses to being a member of what is hopefully a great golf course. As a golfer, what might be of interest is that many country club golf shops offer discounts to their members. These can range from 10% up to 20% and you could also be offered discount green fees to any none members who accompany you for a round of golf.

Some country clubs offer a monthly membership which can be a good idea if you are new to the area and want to try several golf courses before deciding on which country club you will be joining.

You can buy property that is within the borders of many country clubs. These homes are usually (but not always) aimed at active retirement couples and usually come with country club golf membership already in the price of the property. One such club is the Gaillardia Country Club in Oklahoma. The community is gated for security and the championship golf course was recently redesigned by Tom Kites. Not a bad place to retire!

These live in country club golf courses are very popular in Europe, in particular Portugal and Spain. Already tens of thousands have taken early retirement from northern European countries such as England and made a new life for themselves with a warmer climate and world class golf.