What would you pay to play...

[Lawrence Largent]

If I would have known about the 9/11 event at PV I would have done it in a heartbeat. Think about it.  I have friends who are members at seasonal clubs.  If they pay Ten Thousand in dues each year and only play say Ten rounds, thats a Thousand a round.

Lawrence

[Kirk Gill]

I totally understand the notion of pricing a product at whatever cost the market will bear (see quote below). Given the amount of play that Pebble continues to receive, it's understandable that they charge the price that they charge.

Obviously, though, for the three courses in question the whole notion of a market price is moot, as there is not really a marketable item. Other than for charitable purposes, one doesn't tend to see member/guest rounds at private clubs available up for sale. Or am I missing something?

So perhaps the real question is, how important is playing one of these courses to me? How much would I personally sacrifice to play one of these hallowed grounds? It's entirely possible (though hard for me to grasp, intellectually) that the million dollars those gents put up to play CPC is the functional equivalent for them of the few hundred I'd be able to put together!

[Jay Flemma]

I don't think any golf course on earth should charge more than $200...that way ANYBODY with $200 has a shot to play it.

EGALITARIAN.  Never let that word be driven from golf.

[Tom Huckaby]

Jay - I'd agree with that principle... but when was golfer ever egalitarian, at least in this country?  Thus I don't see that being driven from golf... If you want it not to be driven out, it needs to be inserted first!

[Bob_Huntley]

It's entirely possible (though hard for me to grasp, intellectually) that the million dollars those gents put up to play CPC is the functional equivalent for them of the few hundred I'd be able to put together!

Kirk,

If you remember I wrote that the gentleman concerned were CEO's of major music companies, recording entities, component manufacturers and the like. This may well have come from corporate coffers, I have no idea, but it was paid.

Bob

[Kalen Braley]

I think Lawrence raised a really interesting point in his post that I would like to expand on a bit.

When you include your initation fee to join a private course, and then add in your annual dues and assessments.  How many rounds do you have to play before each round costs $200 or less?

I would suspect there are at least a few who are playing some very expensive golf at the moment.

[Sean Leary]

I have paid quite a bit to play some courses that have very limited access and I did so because I felt that the learning experience concerning great architecture was worth it.  
 

C'mon Jerry

You paid to experience playing the course, not the learning experience for the architecture. I'm not saying the learning wasn't part of it, but you paid to PLAY there. Would you have paid that much just to walk it and not play?
 
I guess for me, paying some extreme amount would sorta cheapen the experience.  I've been fortunate to play some great, exclusive places, and part of the thrill was getting the invite and the looking forward to it ahead of time before I got to play.

[Brent Hutto]

When you include your initation fee to join a private course, and then add in your annual dues and assessments.  How many rounds do you have to play before each round costs $200 or less?

About 20 rounds/year, assuming my initiation fee has been amortized over my membership to date. As I play about 75-80 rounds at our club that works out to about $50 each time, with some of those being 27 holes. My situation is aided greatly by being in a year-round golf climate and belonging to an established yet frugal club (no debt).

OTOH, I started the game playing at a semi-private course that was about $65/month (with a trivial one-time initiation fee) for all the golf I cared to play. For several years I was playing two 27-hole rounds almost every weekend for less than $10/round net cost. So in relative terms I'm paying five time as much for a better course, immaculate greens and more desirable pace of play and golf etiquette.

[Jerry Kluger]

I guess that playing the course was part of the experience but walking the course and viewing it from the player's perspective is sometimes even more revealing.  If I were to go to ANGC and watch the tournament, of course I would want to then play it, but from an architeture point of view, I think you lose a great deal by being restricted to outside the ropes.  Mind you, I have never been to ANGC.

I imagine that a credible argument could be made that under certain weather conditions, one might be better off simply observing the course than playing it.  If you have multiple opportunities to play the course then different weather conditions can certainly enhance the experience, but if it is limited to one time, playing under very tough conditions can certainly limit your ability to observe.

[Mark Arata]

I have played 2 courses as an unaccompanied guest, Riveria and Olympic Club. Both were in the 350-400 range, plus caddie at Olympic, and both were well worth it at the time IMO.

Tough to pay that on a daily basis, but to play the course of your dreams one time, I would think anything you could afford without putting your family at risk would be worth it.

(and thanks to some wonderful people on this site, it didnt cost nearly that to play the course of my dreams....or 16 holes of it anyway!  )

[Steve Burrows]

I once spoke with a former Assistant Superintendent at Pine Valley who told me a story about one time when he was eating a quiet dinner with his wife at a restaurant near Clementon when a complete stranger (who apparently knew what he did for a living) came up to his table and offered him $2000 to play.  

Naturally, he declined.