Moving up

[Not a hacker]

After much consternation, I have decided that it's time to leave my hopeless goat track and go back to something that resembles a golf course. I will be going back to the track I was a member of prior to rejoining the goat track 2 years ago. My little one is now old enough to accompany me to the practice area, so the higher expense of the new club is worhtwhile as I now have the time to use the practice facilities. I am now in my 40's (I know that may seem hard to believe consideing the quality of my posts), and I figure I've got about 10 more years before the body starts to give out so I'd like to go back to playing a course I like while I can still play. Another thing is I get embarrassed every time I meet someone at another course and they ask where I play. I'm not a snob, but it's hard to call yourself a golfer being a member of a par 3 mickey mouse goat track.

The new course is still a short knockers course at about 6,050 yards and a par of 69, but it's well conditioned and a definite step up from my current abode.

[Kiwi Player]

Good for you NAH. It's always good to have a decent home track because that is where you play the majority of your golf.

In the long run it may work out cheaper as you'll probably fork out less in green fees going and playing better courses. I play at least 90% of my golf at the home course.

As for having only 10 years left, you should be a bit more optimistic than that. My Dad is in his late sixties and is still playing good golf and can still whip my butt. You may start to lose a little distance but if you keep yourself fit, strong and flexible I can't see any reason why you can't play good golf into your twilight years. The old short knockers I see usually didn't take up the game until too late in life and never learned to swing the club correctly due to their lack of fitness and flexibility. I know guys in their 70's that can shoot their age! Based on that you've got 30 years left mate, not 10.

Anyway congrats on your decision to move up in the world. It's a good decision you won't regret.

Cheers
Kiwi

[SoonerBS]

Good for you NAH. It's always good to have a decent home track because that is where you play the majority of your golf.

In the long run it may work out cheaper as you'll probably fork out less in green fees going and playing better courses. I play at least 90% of my golf at the home course.

As for having only 10 years left, you should be a bit more optimistic than that. My Dad is in his late sixties and is still playing good golf and can still whip my butt. You may start to lose a little distance but if you keep yourself fit, strong and flexible I can't see any reason why you can't play good golf into your twilight years. The old short knockers I see usually didn't take up the game until too late in life and never learned to swing the club correctly due to their lack of fitness and flexibility. I know guys in their 70's that can shoot their age! Based on that you've got 30 years left mate, not 10.

Anyway congrats on your decision to move up in the world. It's a good decision you won't regret.

Cheers
Kiwi

I ditto every part of this except the "dad playing golf" part because my dad does not play golf.

[Not a hacker]

I certainly hope you're right Kiwi. I'd like to think I will still be getting it out there into my 50s. You may be right too actually, as I have a buddy who is 56 and has been playing since a junior, and he hits it longer than he ever has now he is using modern equipment. His drives are actually longer than mine. It does seem that the short knockers I know are the late starters who have poor technique and don't have the years of using the muscles used in the golf swing, or the ones who were short knockers even when they were young. So maybe I've got 20 before the ravages of age start to have an effect.

You make some good points on the financial side of things too. Even though the fees are $400 more, I currently spend heaps of ash playing other courses twice a month. I jotted down a projected expenses for the next year for both options, and if I move it will only cost an extra $30 for the whole year, which is a small price to pay for teeing it up every Saturday on a course that actually gets you excited to play.

[oldplayer]

Geez Nah, only $400 a year. That's bloody cheap for a half decent track. I fork out $2000 a year but admittedly am lucky enough to be a member one of the top public access courses in Vic and even Aust. Two championship 18's both well up in national course ratings. I say this not to brag, but to reinforce what you are saying. I have only a certain amount of years where I can still play what I would like to think is good golf. I had the chance to join this club and took it as I figure why not play out my remaining years at the best track possible. I certainly have not regreted the decision.
As for still playing decent golf at an older age I agree 100% with Kiwi. You certainly start to loose distance as you get older, and full on strength shots, like pounding a ball out of long rough becomes pretty tough; but I am well on the wrong side of fifty and have managed to play between 6 and 8 on pretty tough courses. My best mate is 63 and still regularly shoots in the high 70's and is a genuine 8 capper.

[No_Idea]

As for having only 10 years left, you should be a bit more optimistic than that. My Dad is in his late sixties and is still playing good golf and can still whip my butt. You may start to lose a little distance but if you keep yourself fit, strong and flexible I can't see any reason why you can't play good golf into your twilight years. The old short knockers I see usually didn't take up the game until too late in life and never learned to swing the club correctly due to their lack of fitness and flexibility. I know guys in their 70's that can shoot their age! Based on that you've got 30 years left mate, not 10.

Anyway congrats on your decision to move up in the world. It's a good decision you won't regret.

Cheers
Kiwi

twilight years. this is scary. i remember watching the 'twilight zone'. will it be something like having a chit chat with larry on graphite shafts at a driving range on Sunday morning?

[rooboy]

You make some good points on the financial side of things too. Even though the fees are $400 more, I currently spend heaps of ash playing other courses twice a month. I jotted down a projected expenses for the next year for both options, and if I move it will only cost an extra $30 for the whole year, which is a small price to pay for teeing it up every Saturday on a course that actually gets you excited to play.

This makes sense Hacker, i pay probably $200 more for the course i play at than the other 3 good courses in L'ton because it is 5 minutes drive and if i get smashed at the bar i can walk home!! I also have two kids (8 and 10) who have started walking the course with me and by the end of next week will have their own putters so they can have some fun on the days that i just use the practise facilities - so to me its worth the extra money cause kepping kids occupied aint cheap.

So what course are you joining??

[Horseballs]

Damn, you guys in OZ/NZ have got it good. My course, which is one of the cheaper in my area is a fortune comparatively. Dues are over $400/month, plus about $1000/year in random crap like competition fees, handicap, locker, bag storage, etc.
And cost of living in Ohio is pretty cheap. I know that crappy CC's near my folks' condo in Florida are double mine in dues, plus initiation fees starting at $50000. The sh!t course they live on was $165,000 initiation when they bought the place in 2005. They obviously didn't become members.

[noshuz]

I am now in my 40's (I know that may seem hard to believe consideing the quality of my posts), and I figure I've got about 10 more years before the body starts to give out so I'd like to go back to playing a course I like while I can still play.

Good Gawd Man! You make it sound you have more yesterdays than tomorrows ahead of you! Print your post out and in ten or twenty years reread it and get a laugh!
Seriously though if you stay flexible you'll stay young.

[Kiwi Player]

Geez Nah, only $400 a year. That's bloody cheap for a half decent track.

I think NAH meant $400 EXTRA over and above the goat track he has been playing. Still money well spent in my book.

[Kiwi Player]

Damn, you guys in OZ/NZ have got it good. My course, which is one of the cheaper in my area is a fortune comparatively. Dues are over $400/month, plus about $1000/year in random crap like competition fees, handicap, locker, bag storage, etc.
And cost of living in Ohio is pretty cheap. I know that crappy CC's near my folks' condo in Florida are double mine in dues, plus initiation fees starting at $50000. The sh!t course they live on was $165,000 initiation when they bought the place in 2005. They obviously didn't become members.

My subs are about $1,000 per year for two 18 hole courses. Other comp fees etc wouldn't amount to more than a paltry few hundred bucks per year.

There is another really nice course nearby with a small membership and a waiting list. The Annual Fees are about $1,500 plus a joining fee of $3,500 meaning an initial outlay of $5,000 which I thought was a bit steep! LOL

It'd be a pleasure to play there regularly but I'd miss my home track and having two 18 hole courses is great for the variety it offers as they are very different courses. One is a decent championship track and the other is a short knockers goat track that is good for stroking the ego if your confidence is down.

[dorkman53]

Golf is one of the few sports that can be enjoyed into later years. Obviously, distance and flexibility fall off with age, but I've still played many times with people in their 70's and 80's who still have a pretty good game, especially the short game.
I played regularly with my dad until his sudden passing at age 80.

[poe4soul]

Curious NAH, Kiwi,

Are these country club type memberships with pools and all of the amenities or are they golf clubs?

[edgey]

Curious NAH, Kiwi,

Are these country club type memberships with pools and all of the amenities or are they golf clubs?

Not sure about Oz and NZ but we dont really have those in the UK

You join a golf club to play golf. You join a gym to get fit. You go to Pool to swim. You go to the pub to get pissed.

Simple really

Edgey

[Kiwi Player]

Curious NAH, Kiwi,

Are these country club type memberships with pools and all of the amenities or are they golf clubs?

The ones I am talking about are just plain old golf clubs. There are a few CC style courses around but they are usually combined with property development and you need to buy property to become a member. Many of these concepts struggle to get going in little ol NZ. Just not enough wealth around, particularly with the current credit crunch/recession.

Here is a link to one of my local courses. No CC facilities like pools but great golf course, range, putting greens etc

http://www.wairakeigolfcourse.co.nz/PhotoGallery.asp

[Not a hacker]

This makes sense Hacker, i pay probably $200 more for the course i play at than the other 3 good courses in L'ton because it is 5 minutes drive and if i get smashed at the bar i can walk home!! I also have two kids (8 and 10) who have started walking the course with me and by the end of next week will have their own putters so they can have some fun on the days that i just use the practise facilities - so to me its worth the extra money cause kepping kids occupied aint cheap.

So what course are you joining??

The course I am thinking of joining is called Fox Hills GC. It's a semi private course in western Sydney about 5 minutes drive from my place. It's no great course, a bit tight and short, but it's in good condition most of the time as it has a good water supply, and it has enough genuine golf holes mixed in with the weaker ones to make it worth playing. It's also a good course for strategizing, as most holes have a risk/reward element to them. The club has a good membership with plenty of good players and actually won the major Sydney pennant a few years back against all the top private clubs who get all the best juniors as ring-ins, which is amazing for such a small club. And as opposed to my current track I won't be embarrassed to say I'm a member there. As Kiwi pointed out it's $400 more than I pay now, which makes it $870 a year (but that includes $100 in vouchers for the bar). $770 for a semi private course in a good location is a good deal IMO.

I do feel sorry for you poms and Yanks when it comes to golf subs. We have the high end prices here too, but they are for top shelf courses. There are plenty of genuine championship courses in western Sydney that are less than $1,500 a year.

[Kiwi Player]

As Kiwi pointed out it's $400 more than I pay now, which makes it $870 a year (but that includes $100 in vouchers for the bar). $770 for a semi private course in a good location is a good deal IMO.

Sounds good Hacker. Just make sure you do your due dligence and ensure they sell vegan grog.

[FreakOfNature]

The course I am thinking of joining is called Fox Hills GC. It's a semi private course in western Sydney about 5 minutes drive from my place. It's no great course, a bit tight and short, but it's in good condition most of the time as it has a good water supply, and it has enough genuine golf holes mixed in with the weaker ones to make it worth playing. It's also a good course for strategizing, as most holes have a risk/reward element to them. The club has a good membership with plenty of good players and actually won the major Sydney pennant a few years back against all the top private clubs who get all the best juniors as ring-ins, which is amazing for such a small club. And as opposed to my current track I won't be embarrassed to say I'm a member there. As Kiwi pointed out it's $400 more than I pay now, which makes it $870 a year (but that includes $100 in vouchers for the bar). $770 for a semi private course in a good location is a good deal IMO.

I do feel sorry for you poms and Yanks when it comes to golf subs. We have the high end prices here too, but they are for top shelf courses. There are plenty of genuine championship courses in western Sydney that are less than $1,500 a year.

It's almost as bad in Canada - at least in Nova Scotia. My membership is just under $1000 CDN for 27 holes of goat track, and that's actually a pretty good deal around here. It doesn't even have a full driving range, and only rudimentary practice facilities aside from that (small practice greens, no bunker practice areas, little room to practice much more than chipping around the practice greens). Factor in the fact that we also have a shorter golf season than the States and it becomes obvious that being a golfer in Canada kinda sucks exponentially more balls.

BTW - Fox Hills (yeah, I Googled it ) looks like a pretty decent track - albeit a little on the flat side. It should be a good match for a one-foot-in-the-grave old timer like you as you approach the golden years of your golf career. Wise choice. Easy ambulance access to the golf course is something you have to consider when you start getting up there. If those creaky old bones need some medical attention you don't want to be left hanging.



FON

[Kiwi Player]

FON makes a good point. Our subs may seem cheap but they are even cheaper when you factor in the fact that we can play for 12 months of the year versus what 6-9 months in parts of the US/Canada?

[FreakOfNature]

FON makes a good point. Our subs may seem cheap but they are even cheaper when you factor in the fact that we can play for 12 months of the year versus what 6-9 months in parts of the US/Canada?

In Nova Scotia, it's generally April-November, so every year we get this wonderful 5 month layoff where the best you can do is go to one of those indoor simulators just to sort of keep your swing fresh in your mind. That or go south for a vacation.

It really fuk'n sucks. You play your first month of the season rusty as hell, on goopy muddy courses that have just thawed out but have barely had a chance to dry out, then the next two months you spend swatting bloodthirsty little black flies which are only really bearable when the wind really gets up - so you end up playing a lot of rounds on the windiest days. Same goes for the next two months only it's mosquitoes this time which are less tolerant of the wind thus giving you slightly more opportunities to get out and play provided the heat and humidity aren't unbearable.

September is the best month for golf here, with relatively few mosquitoes and much more favorable temperatures and weather (we usually have very sunny Septembers). In October the leaves change color - and while this is the prettiest time of year to play golf in Nova Scotia, it is also a huge PITA because you have to pick so many fallen leaves off your line on every green in order to putt. By November the leaves are gone but it doesn't often get above 10C during the day so it can be a bit cold.

Then we pack it in and do it all over again the next year.



FON

[famousdavis]

After much consternation, I have decided that it's time to leave my hopeless goat track and go back to something that resembles a golf course. I will be going back to the track I was a member of prior to rejoining the goat track 2 years ago. My little one is now old enough to accompany me to the practice area, so the higher expense of the new club is worhtwhile as I now have the time to use the practice facilities. I am now in my 40's (I know that may seem hard to believe consideing the quality of my posts), and I figure I've got about 10 more years before the body starts to give out so I'd like to go back to playing a course I like while I can still play. Another thing is I get embarrassed every time I meet someone at another course and they ask where I play. I'm not a snob, but it's hard to call yourself a golfer being a member of a par 3 mickey mouse goat track.

The new course is still a short knockers course at about 6,050 yards and a par of 69, but it's well conditioned and a definite step up from my current abode.

May I strongly suggest joining a country club. With only 10 or so years left, you might as well spend the money on a quality course. There are so many benefits to belonging to a CC. First, you can tell all of your friends "I'm going to play a quick 9 at my club". They will be impressed and think of you differently. You will be a prominent member of society and shall be waited on by common folk. There is nothing better than arriving at your country club and yelling at one of the bag boys "where in the hell are my clubs!!". When he sheepishly brings them to you again you can yell "they're friggin' dirty!". It's well worth the extra money.

[rooboy]

My subs are around $900 a year for a course which has hosted State Opens and National Amatuer tourneys. We do have a pool and bbq facilities, 2 tennis courts,function room and bar etc. Comp fees are around $5 so its not too bad a deal. Best thing is where i live its only a 4hour trip around the island which gives access to heaps of courses - with at least 15 being of great quality (including Barnbougle Dunes!!)

[lorenzoinoc]

Anyone thinking their golf club's expensive should check into what they cost in So. Cal and they'd feel alot better.

It costs more to cover the cost of my 15 year old eating at the grill than it does to belong to The Mac (HB's club). At least mine plays golf. There's another kid that just goes there to eat and watch TV which, in fairness, are the two most popular pastimes in the U.S.

[lorenzoinoc]

After much consternation, I have decided that it's time to leave my hopeless goat track and go back to something that resembles a golf course. I will be going back to the track I was a member of prior to rejoining the goat track 2 years ago. My little one is now old enough to accompany me to the practice area, so the higher expense of the new club is worhtwhile as I now have the time to use the practice facilities. I am now in my 40's (I know that may seem hard to believe consideing the quality of my posts), and I figure I've got about 10 more years before the body starts to give out so I'd like to go back to playing a course I like while I can still play. Another thing is I get embarrassed every time I meet someone at another course and they ask where I play. I'm not a snob, but it's hard to call yourself a golfer being a member of a par 3 mickey mouse goat track.

The new course is still a short knockers course at about 6,050 yards and a par of 69, but it's well conditioned and a definite step up from my current abode.

I may be an ugly, greasy wop, but It's good to know you'll always be older than me.

Although I am 6'2".

[oldplayer]

Am i right in thinking that in the past golf has been an elitest sport in America. And does that translate into traditionally high membership costs?
This is not the case in Australia. Our tradition is more in the Scottish way, where any average joe can play and join a club if he wishes. Sure, there are exclusive, private clubs but they are not in the majority and mostly a more recent phenomenon.

[daveperkins]

twilight years. this is scary. i remember watching the 'twilight zone'. will it be something like having a chit chat with larry on graphite shafts at a driving range on Sunday morning?

ah, the twilight years.. when green fees are drastically reduced because it's late and you might not finish the round..

excellent metaphor!

I hope I die on the golf course... and one of you has to drag me in. :-))

As for the twilight ZONE, I have only one thing to say...

IT'S A COOKBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Horseballs]

Am i right in thinking that in the past golf has been an elitest sport in America. And does that translate into traditionally high membership costs?
This is not the case in Australia. Our tradition is more in the Scottish way, where any average joe can play and join a club if he wishes. Sure, there are exclusive, private clubs but they are not in the majority and mostly a more recent phenomenon.

We generally only have public, non-membership courses and private full-service clubs. Not much in between, though a few public tracks offer annual memberships where you get greens fees and driving range priveleges. But where I'm from, these types of memberships don't have any of the good things like competitions.
My family uses the club for a lot more than golf though. Most of the people I call friends are at the SPCC and we go to the pool, have lunch/dinner, go to a couple of blue-hair parties, etc. It has never and will never make sense financially, but it's fun.

[poe4soul]

I don't know if it's elitest but it is certainly the trend. You either have pay to play private/public courses or you have full-service clubs. We only have one course in the portland area that is a private golf club not a country club. There's not any facilities other than a bar/deli. It's no where near my house so it's not an option.

I've checked into some of the private country clubs and I can honestly say I don't think I would use half the amenities. I don't have children and the food at the places are way over priced and crappy food. All of them have monthly minimums for food. The fees are over the top expensive for just golf. Because of the high expense you get a very limited cross section of the populous, which is unfortunate.

I honestly wish we had more golf clubs in the states and less country clubs.

[oldplayer]

I don't know if it's elitest but it is certainly the trend. You either have pay to play private/public courses or you have full-service clubs. We only have one course in the portland area that is a private golf club not a country club. There's not any facilities other than a bar/deli. It's no where near my house so it's not an option.

I've checked into some of the private country clubs and I can honestly say I don't think I would use half the amenities. I don't have children and the food at the places are way over priced and crappy food. All of them have monthly minimums for food. The fees are over the top expensive for just golf. Because of the high expense you get a very limited cross section of the populous, which is unfortunate.

I honestly wish we had more golf clubs in the states and less country clubs.

Come and visit Australia my friend. Golfers paradise. Thousands of non-private quality courses that you can play for not much, twelve months a year!

[Not a hacker]

I don't know how it is in NZ, but I think one of the reasons golf is so cheap here is that golf clubs are also registered clubs (at least in my part of Oz) and get all the privileges of registered clubs eg. a liquor licence, tax breaks, and most importantly poker machines (slot machines to you Americanos). Pokies are huge money spinners and bring in more profit than everything else combined at most clubs. I'd imagine that without pokies most golf clubs here would go broke within a couple of months.

[Kiwi Player]

I don't know how it is in NZ, but I think one of the reasons golf is so cheap here is that golf clubs are also registered clubs (at least in my part of Oz) and get all the privileges of registered clubs eg. a liquor licence, tax breaks, and most importantly poker machines (slot machines to you Americanos). Pokies are huge money spinners and bring in more profit than everything else combined at most clubs. I'd imagine that without pokies most golf clubs here would go broke within a couple of months.

Pokies are nowhere near as common in NZ. They are a relatively new thing here and are only really in Casinos and some pubs. I've never seen them in golf clubs. I can't believe how much money is poured intio those machines in OZ. When I have visited Queensland and NSW they are everywhere with all the massive casinos you have. I've also seen them in the Rugby & League clubs I've been to.

[Not a hacker]

Pokies are nowhere near as common in NZ. They are a relatively new thing here and are only really in Casinos and some pubs. I've never seen them in golf clubs. I can't believe how much money is poured intio those machines in OZ. When I have visited Queensland and NSW they are everywhere with all the massive casinos you have. I've also seen them in the Rugby & League clubs I've been to.

Personally, I think that pokies have made Australia morally bankrupt. Australia has 20% of the world's poker machines, but probably about 0.03% of the world's population. It was ok when they were only in clubs, and the profits would be passed onto the community in lower golf fees, cheap food and drinks etc, but about 10 years ago they let them into hotels, which means the profits (75,000 to 100,000 per machine profit after tax, and about 20 machines per pub) goes straight into the publican's pocket and has contirbuted to a massive rise in problem gamblers and the social impact that causes. Governments know they can't ban them now because they rely on the billions of tax dollars they bring in. IMO pokies are as insidious and destructive as smoking, but like smoking the governemnt chooses profit above doing what's morally and socially right.

[Kiwi Player]

Personally, I think that pokies have made Australia morally bankrupt. IMO pokies are as insidious and destructive as smoking, but like smoking the governemnt chooses profit above doing what's morally and socially right.

We are agreeing far too much for my liking lately.

I wonder if it is related to my GFF conversion?

[poe4soul]

I have an open invite to Melbourne. One of my old colleagues is on a work assignment for a couple of years there. He keeps sending me airline specials and begging me to visit. Room and board would be covered. If I could take off work for more than a week I would consider it. One of the disadvantages of being a small business owner. If I wait a few years maybe NAH will be at a proper club by then.

[Not a hacker]

I have an open invite to Melbourne. One of my old colleagues is on a work assignment for a couple of years there. He keeps sending me airline specials and begging me to visit. Room and board would be covered. If I could take off work for more than a week I would consider it. One of the disadvantages of being a small business owner. If I wait a few years maybe NAH will be at a proper club by then.

If that happened would it mean I'd have to start passing myself as a retired engineer, and start talking down to all the left wingers on this forum, telling them how I could buy and sell them? And start spewing anti Obama propoganda ad nauseum?

[oldplayer]

I have an open invite to Melbourne. One of my old colleagues is on a work assignment for a couple of years there. He keeps sending me airline specials and begging me to visit. Room and board would be covered. If I could take off work for more than a week I would consider it. One of the disadvantages of being a small business owner. If I wait a few years maybe NAH will be at a proper club by then.

I live one hour from Melbourne and already am a member at a proper, highly rated club.
You're welcome to look me up for a game, my treat.