Since this thread has turned toward the economics of private clubs, I'd be curious to hear about some of y'all's clubs' attitudes toward junior/"young executive" membership. Certainly only interested in generalities, because like Mr Solow says, there are all kinds. . . .
Tim, my
golf club has two levels of junior/young adult memberships. I'm not sure, but I think that if you go the junior route you do not have voting privileges until you upgrade to full resident. Otherwise, everything is the same. From my own standpoint, as a senior member, which I've aged and tenured into, my view is that the club is very welcoming to younger members -- I certainly am. Who wants a club with just a bunch of old guys. Our club's average age is around 48. Yes, clearly, clubs succeed in different ways, and I think our success (right now we have 500 members, a wait list and solid books, so to me that spells success) with this approach (and other things we do) has to do with differentiating ourselves in our market and from our competition. Here are the deals:
Junior Adult Membership (age 22 to 29) – Initiation Fee $10,000.
Down payment Due at Joining - $7,000
Amount Due end of Year 1, 2 and 3 - $1,000
Amount due at Age 30 - $7,500
Amount Due at Age 35 – $ 7,500
Monthly Dues: $ 311
Young Adult Membership (age 30 to 34) – Initiation Fee $17,500
Down payment Due at Joining - $7,000
Amount Due end of Year 1, 2, and 3 - $3,500
Amount Due at Age 35 – $ 7,500
Monthly Dues: $ 311
Note: regular dues are $367 and everyone pays the same food min. of $25/month. Going back to the title of this tread, we have
zero unique services (take that back -- the bartenders remember my preferred post-round beverage
). Come and play golf and that's it. If you want more stuff, there are other, more costly, clubs in our market you can join.