[John Kavanaugh]

Love means lying to your boss.

[Scott Szabo]

I wonder how long you guys would stick around if your club got cancer.  I think you would bail on the first dues increase.

Not sure if I want to tackle this, but what the heck.

We have gone through a few years of dues increases, assessments, etc. in order to keep up with the increasing costs of maintaining our beloved club.  Yes, we have lost a few members in the process, but those who truly LOVE the club are still here, and will be.

As a matter of keeping our club alive and well, we are looking at restructuring the operations of the club.  Many members are being asked to kick in quite a bit of money to save the place.  Some who don't have it are making financial arrangements to get it.  If that's not love for one's club, I don't know what is.

[John Kavanaugh]

I wonder how long you guys would stick around if your club got cancer.  I think you would bail on the first dues increase.

Not sure if I want to tackle this, but what the heck.

We have gone through a few years of dues increases, assessments, etc. in order to keep up with the increasing costs of maintaining our beloved club.  Yes, we have lost a few members in the process, but those who truly LOVE the club are still here, and will be.

As a matter of keeping our club alive and well, we are looking at restructuring the operations of the club.  Many members are being asked to kick in quite a bit of money to save the place.  Some who don't have it are making financial arrangements to get it.  If that's not love for one's club, I don't know what is.

Thanks Scott for the beacon of hope. 

[Kalen Braley]

J/K

Not all of us are wealthy, globe (USA) trotting, Road mavens such as yourself with oodles of cash lying around burning a hole in your pocket.

While I can say that I love Bandon, I love my kids and family more and as such they are the priority.  This is inclusive of keeping my job which helps support said family and all that goes along with that.

But I shouldn't expect rational statements from a guy like you, because I've been here just long enough to know better.

[John Kavanaugh]

I think love causes you to make tough choices.  An example would be between leather seats in your car or a summer trip to Bandon.  I recently did the math figuring that if I bought a Prius the money I would save on gas could be spent on a membership at Dismal River.  I went ahead and bought another SUV and skipped the membership...so do I love golf more than comfort?  I guess not.  Once you can name ten things that you love more than golf you are just fooling yourself.

[Tom Huckaby]

Here is a perfect real world example of why this type of thread gets my goat.  Look at this ten day forecast for Bandon with a perfect midweek coming up. http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USOR0023?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared Yesterday I suffered through hearing how expensive Bandon is becoming and how it is now for the corporate golfer.  If you love Bandon you make time and go next week.  If you don't send Huck a box of candy and have a conference call.

I have never met a bunch of privileged golfers like this bunch who bitch about every little thing that is not to their exact specifications and needs.  Love, I don't think so.

Now why in God's name do I get mentioned here?

John, it's like this:  when I first went to Bandon - in summer - it was $70 for one round, $35 for replay.  Now here we are 6 years later and the prices have tripled.  I do love the golf courses there, but I also think it's a drag it's tripled in price.   I also have noticed a distinct change in clientele there over the years, and I am not alone in this.

In general I do still love Bandon.  I just loved it more before... and I don't find that unreasonable, or bitching, or any of the other shit you've spewed.

Sure, it's reality for a lot of us to just drop everything and go to Bandon at a moment's notice - yeah, right.  Great for you that you can do that, John.  But I'd have to guess few of us have your freedom.  Real life does tend to intrude, no matter how much we might love a place.

So as I've asked you several times in here, depending on the issue:  get off my ass.  It's really very old.

Now as to the question at hand... sadly I don't have a home club, really.  I do belong to the Men's Golf Club at the many-times mentioned Santa Teresa, but I play so infrequently it's not all that much of a home.  I envy you all who do have true home clubs.  I will say this:  if  had one, it would be all about the people, not the dirt, as JK says.

TH

[Cory Lewis]

Is there something about your own course that causes you to love it flaws and all?

Absolutely.  The course I grew up on is 6250 from the tips, has tiny greens, a strange routing, and a hole where if you hook your tee shot, you can take out a truck on the interstate, but I still love it and will continue to judge it as one of my favorite courses.

[Phil Benedict]

Right now I am not so happy with my home club because it's going go get snowed on again tonight.  Usually I'm pretty fond of it.

It's interesting that Tommy asked about our feelings for our club rather than our course.  I'm not sure if that was intentional but there is a difference.

[Dan Herrmann]

Great post, Cory.

I still have a warm place in my soul for Brighton Park Muni in Tonawanda, NY.  It used sawed off bowling pins for tee markers, was adjacent to I-290, and cost $60 per year for an 18 year old to play.  Architecturally, it stunk.  But, boy, did I love it out there.

[Paul Stephenson]

Right now I am not so happy with my home club because it's going go get snowed on again tonight.  Usually I'm pretty fond of it.

It's interesting that Tommy asked about our feelings for our club rather than our course.  I'm not sure if that was intentional but there is a difference.

Club v course would tie into JK's people v dirt sentiment.

My club is the only one I've known.  I've been a member since I was allowed to join at age 11.  Before I was old enough to be a member I would ride on the back of my dad's pull cart and hit balls down the fairway when noone was around.  Started playing in the junior/senior at 6 (when non-member juniors would have a 9 hole tournament).

Worked in the back shop and pro shop for 7 summers during high school and university.

I have no intention of leaving at this stage despite the increases in dues and the assessments over the years.  It's the 50th anniversary of the club this year, and I'm pretty proud to say I've been there for more than half of them.  I do get some looks from new members when I tell them I've been a member for 27 years.

All that and I really like the course too.

[John Kavanaugh]

John, it's like this:  when I first went to Bandon - in summer - it was $70 for one round, $35 for replay.  Now here we are 6 years later and the prices have tripled.  I do love the golf courses there, but I also think it's a drag it's tripled in price.   I also have noticed a distinct change in clientele there over the years, and I am not alone in this.

Huck,

Maybe you need to take a look inside and decide how much you have changed in the last six years.  I'm not sure when you first vistied Bandon you were the power broker, altruistic, opinion changing and molding golfer you are today.  You just love golf more than the current "clientele".

[Jim Franklin]

I wonder how long you guys would stick around if your club got cancer.  I think you would bail on the first dues increase.

I love my club and have had dues increases EVERY year since I have been a member. My monthlies have probably tripled in a little more than 10 years. And you thought inflation was bad .

[John Kavanaugh]

I wonder how long you guys would stick around if your club got cancer.  I think you would bail on the first dues increase.

I love my club and have had dues increases EVERY year since I have been a member. My monthlies have probably tripled in a little more than 10 years. And you thought inflation was bad .

I remember you sticking with her when they slowed the greens down for a major tournament.

[Paul Carey]

Every good guy who loves his club should serve on the Board and then see how much he really still loves his club.  When you're on the Board, you are constantly reminded of the club's flaws and you hear nothing but the complaints.  It makes it hard to really love your club.  I've been on the Board of one club, very active on big committees at another, but my favorite is the Dunes Club.  No board, no restaurant, not much of anything except pure golf.

Terry,

Thank you for this reminder.  I am on the board of one of my clubs (actually Tommy is a member there as well) and it is easy to forget about how good the place is when all you hear is every minor complaint.  It is a great place.

Another club I belong to is ruled by a couple guys who put up the money, built the place and absolutely love golf.  Not always easy to find those clubs but they are a real joy.

Paul

[Brad Tufts]

Yes, absolutely.

A long history, classic architecture, fast greens, one of the best practice facilites in E. Mass., the ability to play 18 in 3 hrs. after work sometimes, a good group of guys to play against, good food...

What more could I want?  I even get to play at home in a MassGA tournament once in a while.

[Tom Huckaby]

John, it's like this:  when I first went to Bandon - in summer - it was $70 for one round, $35 for replay.  Now here we are 6 years later and the prices have tripled.  I do love the golf courses there, but I also think it's a drag it's tripled in price.   I also have noticed a distinct change in clientele there over the years, and I am not alone in this.

Huck,

Maybe you need to take a look inside and decide how much you have changed in the last six years.  I'm not sure when you first vistied Bandon you were the power broker, altruistic, opinion changing and molding golfer you are today.  You just love golf more than the current "clientele".

Well now that is an interesting way to look at this.  I sure as hell don't look at myself that way... I also don't think I am any different now than six years ago.  But you do have a way of freaking me out.

TH

[Doug Wright]

Tommy,

I'm a member at a small local club here in Sterling, Colorado, of which most on this site have never heard of.  It's not a long, difficult course by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a course with much character.  It has a great patio overlooking the 18th hole and much of the course down below in the valley. 

Every year we hold a tournament over Labor Day in which many great players have competed, including a few that made it on the PGA Tour.  Most of the members and their families find a way out to the patio and gather while the players all come in.  By the time the last group comes up the 18th, there are usually a few hundred gathered around.  I know it doesn't seem like much, for those of you who may be used to playing in front of thousands, but it is very special to all who are there.

Many of our youngers members, myself included, made it a point to return to our hometown after going off to college simply to return to the club at which we grew up on.  We are a very close knit group of guys and their families, who truly enjoy what we have. 

For a small town club that not many have heard of, it's truly a special place, at least in my mind.  It may not be a Merion or Pine Valley, but it is home to me.

Scott,

I've heard really good things about Sterling CC and the Labor Day tourney from a friend of mine who plays in it. Sounds like a great club.

I love my current club, but not as much as the club I grew up on, a limited amenities club with 9 holes in nowhere western NY where Friday night haddock fish fries at long tables in the dining room were a big deal. At least in my case, however, "you can't go home again" as the club is NLE and the course nearly so.

[Jason Hines]

Hi Doug, I hope things are going well.

I wish I could say yes, but I am trying to.  I loved my old club in my previous city even though it was over watered, full of yuppies and all golf carts after 10 am.  The joke was our club logo is a cart path scuff on a ball.  However, I had a great time there with our group of guys, who were absolutely nuts.  Especially after the club implemented a food minimum that included bar tabs from the men’s lounge.  That did not help things at home.

I joined my new club on a membership drive “deal” with a friend when I moved to KC.  When I was not able to get a tee time before 8am, I started figuring things out.  They had two tiers of membership.  I am a walker and a psycho like most on this board and of course you can imagine how that flies in at a country club as opposed to a golf club.  The pro is a good guy and has help get on a few courses for me with business.  I noticed however in their club goals they want to take over the public side next door and shoot for 800 members.

I need to be patient but miss where I was.

J.

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