What would you pay to play...

[Scott Szabo]

I didn't want to sabotage Mr. Huntley's topic on choosing between Augusta, Cypress and Pine Valley, but it lead me to a topic that comes up from time to time among some of my golfing acquaintances.

If you had the chance, what would you be willing to pay to play one of these great courses?

I've heard anything from "not more than $400 - $500" to "up to $5,000".  

Anybody else ever get into these types of discussions?

I know it's not realistic to think about ever getting on one of these true gems, but it is fun to think about it.

[Gary Slatter]

A few years ago, 1999, a major telecommunications company executive asked a friend of mine how much would it cost for a foursome at Cypress Point.   He said he could arrange it, but in multiples of 3 as a member had to play.  Eventually 6 "customers" played Cypress.  The bill was $100,000.00
He threw in dinner and a round at Pebble Beach.

My personal limit is whatever it costs at the Old Course.

[Kirk Gill]

The way golf is right now, I have enough trouble affording the local public courses. I have four kids who all want to play, and joining a private club isn't feasible at this point in time. I don't mean to whine, but that's the truth right now.  

What would I pay to play Pine Valley, the course of my dreams? In those same dreams money would be no object. Out here in the real world, where if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it........

I'd probably go with Gary and let TOC set the bar !

[Bob_Huntley]

Gary,

During the real estate boom in Japan some years ago three Japanese CEO's of music businesses had expressed a desire to play Cypress Point. A friend of mine relayed the message to me that they would make a charitable donation to the San Francisco Opera, if it could be arranged.

I spoke to another friend, Roger Lapham, son of one of the founders of the club and a former director of the Opera Company, if he could help. Help he did. We had lunch at his house, chef and butler at the ready and went off and played a fivesome. Surprisingly enough they could all play and damn well at that.

Drinks afterward and the two of us received presents.

The donation.....one million dollars.


Bob

[Ken Moum]

My personal limit is whatever it costs at the Old Course.

 A fair and reasonable solution. Although you do need to consider that for me, the ticket to Scotland last July was $1250. I can get to Augusta, N.J. or Monterey for ~$300....

Nevertheless, if offered the option of playing ANGC or The Old again... It's gotta be The Old.

Cypress Point or Pine Valley are probably another matter, however.

Ken

[Joel_Stewart]

You need to factor in all the costs.

A few years ago I asked a Pine Valley freind if he would host me and 5 others for a round at Pine Valley.  He agreed but we had to play 3 the first day and 3 the second day.  We arrived at noon and had lunch and then played the first day in the afternoon.  We then had a great dinner (with lots of drinks) and stayed on the facility.   We then ate breakfast, played the 2nd round and departed.

If you factor in the airfare, car, caddy fees and the merchandise we purchased, I would estimate the 2 day trip was well in excess of $5,000.

[wsmorrison]

Whatever the green fees are plus caddy fees for myself and my host.  For myself, I would never pay anything above and beyond that.  

However, I can understand why some would donate to a charitable cause.  Pine Valley did a wonderful thing opening their course up to raise money for victims of 9/11.  Bob's SF opera story is a good one and I'm sure the money was needed and gladly received.  I've heard stories where members of great clubs charged a premium for guests.  That is a loathsome enterprise.

[Mike_Young]

Whatever the green fees are plus caddy fees for myself and my host.  For myself, I would never pay anything above and beyond that.  

However, I can understand why some would donate to a charitable cause.  Pine Valley did a wonderful thing opening their course up to raise money for victims of 9/11.  Bob's SF opera story is a good one and I'm sure the money was needed and gladly received.  I've heard stories where members of great clubs charged a premium for guests.  That is a loathsome enterprise.

Wayne,
I also have hear the stories but they involve the member not being a member once they were foun out.....
Mike

[Craig Sweet]

$80 bucks....if I have to pay more for 18 holes than it costs to ski at the finest ski area in America, then it ain't worth it....regardless of "rating"....

[cary lichtenstein]

These are courses you get invited to play by members and you can't buy your way in

[Jerry Kluger]

Yes Cary, that is true, but if you play as an unaccompanied guest the fees for some courses can be $350 - which I've paid and would never ask a member to pay for me. On the other hand, if you are accompanied the rate is about $75 and for that, I would reciprocate at my club.  

[rjsimper]

Wasn't there a story about a member of Pine Valley (I think it was Pine Valley) who in the aftermath of some sort of disaster (either 9/11, the tsunami, Katrina, or something else) who put a foursome at the club on ebay with the express intent of donating the proceeds to the chosen cause?

I recall the auction being ended and the member being reprimanded...one of those situations where it's easy to see both sides I suppose.

[Adam Clayman]

Scott, Not to come down on you, but... I find this question to be at the heart of what went wrong in golf.
 Starting with a snot nosed kid at Pebble Beach, who took advantage of the price elasticity there, bottomlines have been a focus rather than the golf.

[cary lichtenstein]

Yes Cary, that is true, but if you play as an unaccompanied guest the fees for some courses can be $350 - which I've paid and would never ask a member to pay for me. On the other hand, if you are accompanied the rate is about $75 and for that, I would reciprocate at my club.  

Ooops, you are correct

[Mike Benham]

.....one million dollars.

[Doug Siebert]

Doesn't this mostly depend on how wealthy one is?  If I'm willing to pay $10,000 for something and Bill Gates is willing to pay $10 million, it could be argued its more valuable to me because I'm willing to pay a larger portion of my net worth than Bill Gates is.

Anyway, I don't have much interest in paying over the odds for access to a particular course.  There are many many courses in the world I'd like to play, and even if I had a special gold card that gave me access to any of them with just a phone call, I'd still die without having played many of them.  So why would I want to spend $5000 to play a particular one, unless for some reason I had one course that I absolutely positively couldn't die without having played.  I already played TOC, and that's the only course in the world that belongs on such a list, IMHO.

[Scott Szabo]

Doesn't this mostly depend on how wealthy one is?  If I'm willing to pay $10,000 for something and Bill Gates is willing to pay $10 million, it could be argued its more valuable to me because I'm willing to pay a larger portion of my net worth than Bill Gates is.

I would certainly agree with your comment.  

Adam, I think what you're speaking about is fair value.  A course is only able to charge what the people are willing to play.  

At any rate, this is something that gets tossed around from time to time at my local club, and we're getting some very interesting answers, which is what I was after.

Augusta National is a very special place to many of us, and it was only magnified for me since I had my first visit a few weeks ago.  The topic came up again with the group I took.

I must say I'm surprised by the amounts that have been shared.  To me, that seems a bit over the top, paying $100,000 for a group and the $1,000,000 donation to play Cypress Point.  

Again, I think Doug's right, it may be easier for these genetlemen to pay these prices than it would be for some of us to come up with $ (name the price), but it may not be as meaningful to them as it would be to others.

Scott

[Brent Hutto]

I don't think I'm able to extract $500 worth of value from a round of golf. At most that represents the far upper limit assuming it is a great course in ideal condition on a perfect day playing with a group of good friends and I have some semblance of a golf game that day.

But I wouldn't be willing to commit to anything like $500 up front just to show up and play rain or shine in whatever conditions happen to obtain that particular day, especially if I might end up playing by myself. In other words, in the real world no way I pay anywhere close to $500 for a round of golf. So that probably means Pinehurst #2 and Pebble Beach are right out but so be it.

I think the roughly $200 I've paid for a round at the Ocean Course, a day at Deal, a day at Walton Heath or the slightly more than that I paid for a round at Spyglass Hill each represents the practical limit of my willingness to pay. I'd say a day with two rounds and a good lunch for $200 is not at all out of line if it's a fine course. Just a round of golf at that price would have to be a very occasional thing for me at best.

[tlavin]

It would irritate, rankle and annoy me to pay more than $500 for a round of golf, but I suspect that I would set that irritation, ranklement and annoyance aside in the case of these three untouchables and pay up to $1000, but it does piss one off.

[Dan_Callahan]

Well, I was just down in Pinehurst. The day I got there I walked out on #2 and thought it looked like a very fun place to play. However, over the next 5 days I played at Tobacco Road, Tot Hill, and a few others. My total greens fees over that week were probably close to what one round at #2 would have been. There are so many good moderately priced (under $100) places I have yet to play that there's no way I would fork over $300+ for 18 holes.

[Dan_Callahan]

Unfortunately, those same green rectangles that allow you to acquire that single "perfect" day are also used to obtain other good things like food, water, heat, and transportation. If you don't have lots and lots and lots of green rectangles, you might decide that many pretty good days is preferable to one great day followed by many crappy, hungry, cold days. Not to mention the wife's bitching . . .

[Mike Hendren]

I'm guessing my annual income falls in the first quartile on this site, but I'd drop a grand to play Augusta National Golf Club in a heartbeat.  

There appears to be a significant amount of posing and posturing taking place on this thread.  

Mike

[Rick Shefchik]

Short answer: whatever I could scrape up.

[Jerry Kluger]

I have a friend who played ANGC by paying a member who was later thrown out of the club.  It was probably 10 years ago and the member picked them up from the airport and the put the cash under the floormat in the car - I believe it was around $600 and it included the caddie and lunch.

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.  
Did it turn out to be worth it, definitely so for some, but not as much for others.  

[Jerry Kluger]

Just to clarify, it was $600 per player and he did it for anyone who was willing to pay the price - it cost him his membership at the club.