Dick Daley:
My own experience leaves me bit torn. As for playing at Sand Ridge, I rarely have the time to go during the week. You might say that occasionally I use the club for business during the week and my real "personal" use of the club is restricted to the weekends.
As for which day is most enjoyable, really what matters to me is playing with folks I enjoy whether that be guests or members.
I say I'm a bit torn because of my experience across the pond. The "European concept" of a club makes a lot of sense economically. The cost of membership on a per round basis is really attractive. At the same time, the feeling and atmosphere of a club - a place where like minded golf loving folks come together - is maintained despite significant outside use of the club.
In short, the Europeans probably have it all figured out better than we do: quality golf at an affordable price with all the joy of a meeting place for long time friends.
While the economics clearly make sense, it seems to me that the biggest challenge is creating a club or what I'll call the local watering hole, a "Cheers" like environment for members, a place you don't want to leave even when BMW comes out with its newest model.
When this developer bounced his idea off me my thoguths immediately turned to a friend of modest means, someone I'll call "blue collar" who loves golf and would love to belong to a club, but can't possibly afford it. CCFADs don't really interest him and his work schedule usually rules out playing during the week. What he wants is a club where he can go on weekends but without coming up with the equivalent of a down payment and mortgage payment every month.
That's what folks in Europe have.
Tommy N:
It sounds like things have changed in SoCal since I left there in 1995. Which CCFADs are pursuing the weekend membership approach? What kind of fees are they charging? Has this approach been successful?
Oh, and are you a member of Pelican Hill, your favorite local venue?