Are Golf Club Memberships Value For Money?

There are a few different ways to play golf and one of them is to join a club and become a member.  As a member, you can play golf as much as you want and whenever you like.  That means you could get up to four or five rounds a week if you have the time and this makes the cost per round tiny.  But other times, if you can’t play that often, the cost per round goes flying up.  So how do you work out if it is good value for money?

Cost per round

One of the best ways to work out what is best for you is to look at the cost per round and how much you will be playing.  For example, if you only go out on the course ten times a year and you pay £100 for each time but can go to different courses, this is probably better value than paying £1000 for a year’s membership and only ever playing the same course.

But on the turn side, if you play every week, this will reduce the cost per round down dramatically.  That £1000 membership will only mean you are paying around £20 per round if you go out once a week.  If you pay more than this, the cost per round is even smaller.

Membership benefits

Another thing to consider is that there are more benefits to being a club member than just being able to play gold whenever you want.

For starters, a pay and play golfer doesn’t get an official handicap.  It also means you won’t get to meet other golfing companions, find new people to play with and even make new friends.  You also won’t be able to take part in weekly roll-ups, Monthly Medals, club championships or matches.  You may even miss out on trips to other clubs or to golfing events that are for members only.

You will also likely to get food and drink allowances and this is for more than a snack after the round.  Members often bring the family along for a meal each month to make sure they are getting the most from their food and drink allowance as a member.

It is worth remembering that there are some clubs you can’t always just join, no matter what you pay.  Some only accept members who have a particular handicap, have certain accomplishments within the game or some kind of semi-professional status.  So before looking at how much a club costs, make sure it isn’t one with specific rules.

Playing costs

Golf club membership costs can be very different and so can the cost of playing a round.  For some clubs, it may cost £40-50 to play a round but other clubs may work out at around £250 to play.  While you might want to play a special course that is more expensive once a year, most people won’t want to pay out that much money every month.  That’s why the cost of the membership should be analysed from the viewpoint of how much you can play.

Golf memberships are also evolving with more variations and options available to help everyone find a solution that works for them.  Flexible memberships and credit systems are two examples that might not work for the frequent player but for less frequent players, these could be ideal – somewhere between a full member and pay to play.

One example of a credit system was that you pated £500 for the membership but if you only played a few partial rounds, this wasn’t the best value compared with paying per round.  Again, how often you play is the key deciding factor.

Value for money?

For some players, paying £80-120 a month for a golf club membership that includes an official handicap, competitions, social events, food after you play, and roll-ups can be great value for money.  When you are playing regularly, that cost per round becomes less of an issue and you focus more on the value that the membership provides for you.

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