I joined my first private golf club at 23 years of age. It was a 9 hole course in a rural town in the South. I played after work when I could and on weekends with a great group of guys from every walk of life. I was the "Kid" and they were happy to welcome me into their world. I learned a lot about life and how to navigate it. It was not just a place to play golf. These are experiences you don't get by clicking GolfNow and changing your shoes in parking lot of the public course that is currently discounted.
It was tough financially in those early years, but I soon began to consider the cost of private golf to be a life necessity and not a luxury. I have never calculated what I was paying vs. rounds played or totaled up the lost equity and initiation fees. That is just dumb as golf was not all I was purchasing. When I hear that talk, I think about the saying that describes knowing the cost of everything and value of nothing.
Fourteen private clubs later, I am no longer the "Kid". Some of those clubs were great, some were not. If I could go back in time, I would change nothing.
When I hear someone say all they want is pure golf, golf at it's least expensive price point, nothing included that they don't like,,,,,,,,, I feel sorry for them.