I am a member of a private club where the dues are $500 per year but you pay a trail fee when you play, walk or ride. We have 200 members and the club needs more than the $100,000 a year they get in dues to survive. You guys who think you are walking for free are kidding yourselves. You don't really want to walk for free, you want to walk for less.
I think you just answered the question. 200 members? How in the hell is that economic?
Every decent metro club in australia has well north of 1200 members. Royal sydney has 6000 for heavens sake.
Actually allow people to join and the revenue issue vanishes
Anyone in the world can join the club. Our county where the club is located has 17,000 residents and we only have 200 golfers who can afford the $500 per year dues. I just don't see the problem with user fees. You use the club you pay a fee, it seems perfectly fair.
I'm sure you will be happy to know that cart riders pay more than walkers, walkers just don't get a free ride.
We are also lucky to supplement our revenue with slot machines which have just become legal in Illinois. We also drink a ton of beer and have revenue producing tournaments and leagues.
Our biggest drawback is our lack of cart revenue because most members own their own carts, including me. We pay a $200 per year fee for storage and the right to use the cart, plus a trail fee for each time we play.
It is a great club where rounds, even mine, come in under 3 hours for 18 holes. That is however a function of architecture and not culture.
Your anger is displaced.