Club Membership vs. Bucket List Golf - Which is better?

Every golfer poses the question to themselves from time to time whether or not they should become a member of a private country club. Everything from the social comradery, the upscale facilities, and a well-managed pristinely manicured golf course would appeal to any golfer. Becoming a member of a country club is not cheap though, and for many it becomes more about a lifestyle change than it is about the golf.

I myself have never been a big proponent of the secular style in which private clubs operate. In the golfing community, how can one say they are a proponent of growing the game of golf when the very golfers that are needed to grow the game can't have access to your club? It's a hypocrisy that plagues the sport, and our counterparts across the pond do a much better job of managing the issue.

In the wake of the pandemic though, I find myself thinking more and more about joining a private club. The golf industry is experiencing one of the biggest golf booms in my lifetime, and as a golfer I am thrilled to see more people coming to the game. However, I can't get a tee time without booking a week in advance most of the time, and even then, as a single golfer, it could be a long shot. When I do get a tee time, I'm stuck with slow play, and golfers that nobody took the time to teach the most important part of the game - etiquette! It's enough to make a person want to drop a few extra thousand per year just to be able to enjoy a solid round of golf.

Recently though, I have started to find that public golf has different levels, and not all public golf is created equal. As it turns out there is such a thing as high-end public golf. While anyone and their mother can play high-end public golf, you won't run into the same issues I mentioned previously that you will run across in the lower-tier public golf courses. The biggest reason for this comes down to one simple thing - price!

The high-end public golf I am speaking of ranges from that $100 dollar and above price range for an 18-hole round. It seems that price mark is where a very distinct separation happens in the type of golfing experience one will encounter. You're not going to get the same experience level of golfers at this stage.

This golf season I set out to play more of these high-end public golf courses, but I had a totally different motive than just avoiding the mainstream public golf crowd. I wanted to start knocking off some bucket list courses that were on my list. Now bucket list golf means different things to many people. For me it means playing golf courses that perennially show up in the Golf Digest or Golf Magazine top 100 public courses you can play list.

As it turns out, you would be surprised to find that many of the best rated golf courses in the United States are public access golf courses. Many of which have hosted or still host annually PGA Tour events. The likes of TPC Sawgrass, Pebble Beach, and Pinehurst have always been known to be accessible to the public if you stay at their respective resorts. Yet, who can afford the price tags of $600 a round to play those? For a couple hundred dollars though, you can very easily obtain the likes of TPC Deere Run, TPC Scottsdale, Bethpage Black, and many other venues that have hosted PGA events. The list of these attainable delectable gems goes on and on, and to be honest there are far more of those than ones not available for the public to play.

Over the past couple of years, I have played several courses that fell within this high-end group. Just last week I found myself teeing off at Trump Links Ferry Point during a work trip to New York. From the moment I pulled in the parking lot there was only one thing that could describe the clubhouse and golf course - elegance. Every inch of this place screamed bucket list golf. Every hole was postcard worthy. The golden glow of the fescue made the emerald-green hues of the fairways and greens pop like a Picasso painting. Whatever side of the political spectrum you may be on, there's one thing nobody can dispute - Trump gets it right when it comes to his golf courses. However, I'm not going to lie, the price tag was a bit steep for my 18-hole round that I barely finished prior to sunset.

The round was perfect from start to finish though. The pace of play was good, the conditions and views were spectacular, and the two gentlemen I was paired with were an absolute blast. Maybe that's because they were golfers in every sense of the word, and that seemed to be the case for all playing the course that day. I could honestly go as far to say that my round at Trump Links Ferry Point might be one of my favorite rounds of golf played anywhere to date. With the moderately high price tag though I also realize it's not something I typically would do all the time. Which perhaps made the round that much more special. However, is it really something we can't afford more often than not?

When you look at the cost that it takes to join a private country club, one would be looking at prices in the area of three to five thousand dollars per year, and that's just for the membership. Many clubs have hidden fees such as clubhouse minimums, cart fees, or even range fees. That price point is for a modest club and could be double for some higher tier clubs such as a Club Corp. club. You would need to play at least 50 or more rounds per year in order to just break even in this scenario. For the bulk of weekend warrior golfers out there, that would be a steep ask given our work and family commitments. When you look at it from that lens, is a couple hundred dollars for a round of golf at a high-end course on the regular really that expensive given what you are getting?

The biggest difference I have found at these high-end public courses is the golfers. They are true golfers in every aspect of the word. You won't see the group of duffers that can barely dribble the ball 50 yards at a time down the fairway, you won't see the beer guzzling college kids with Bluetooth speakers blaring music like they were at a rave party, and you won't see a five-hour round of golf where you spend more time on the tee box than you do playing golf.

Based on my experiences over the past year, I personally feel that unless you play 50 or more rounds per year, it is far more advantageous for a serious amateur golfer to play high-end public golf courses. While the appeal of private clubs might be for some, I prefer the ability to see a variety of quality top tier courses instead of the same one every time I play. Looking at the price points for entry into a private club, you could play around 30 rounds per year at the high-end public level, and still be under what you would pay for a private country club membership. Most of these courses of which have far more professional golf history than say that new Club Corp. golf club up the street. You could even throw in one of those $600 destination courses every year if you wanted to (given one is close by) and still be under what you would pay for private club membership.

In an ever-changing world we have to question status quo and the debate over private country club membership over playing high-end public bucket list golf is one I think many are evaluating. I personally have made the decision to continue playing the high-end bucket list courses over joining a private club and have even made a list for myself of courses that I want to play in the coming years. So, feel free to share this blog post with the significant other to justify that next round that costs several hundred dollars. Go to Pebble, go play TPC Sawgrass, and the likes of the top-rated courses around the world.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think one is better than the other? Let me know what you think down in the comments section.

Til the next time, Yinz get out there and hit em straight, and keep on hacking!

-The Pittsburgh Golf Hack