The liveliest clubhouses

[Ally Mcintosh]

Common perception in Ireland is that “drink driving laws killed the craic in golf clubhouses”....


Aside from the fact that no-one is seriously arguing against drink-driving laws, the point has a lot of validity. Most of the remaining clubhouses that have any life about them are those for older courses that are in town and haven’t yet been sold up for housing development.


Which courses have clubhouses that are regularly alive and kicking in to the early hours?


(Inspired by Ira’s thread on whether good clubhouses attract members)

[John Kavanaugh]

At a course where I am a member the pro gets out the “drunkenator” when he wants to go home. It’s commonly known as a vacuum.

[Mark Chaplin]

I’d imagine the Cal Club can stay lively late into the evening.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I think Uber and Lyft would be a big, ah, Lyft to the clubhouse biz.


Seriously, times always change, at least in the US.  Clubhouse drinking reduced as we became less clubby.  Also, as dining options became more attractive. (When my family moved to Chicago in 1958, Dad actually joined several supper clubs because there wasn't any quality restaurants.  Many joined clubs for the same reason.)  Clubs that do well sponsor many theme nights where their members have some fun they can't have elsewhere.


Sorry to be OT.  I don't really stay out late drinking any more, so I have no opinion on the OP.

[Rob Marshall]

My club can get pretty lively on “men’s day”.

[Ira Fishman]

It has been a really long time, but Knollwood outside Chicago had a great bar scene. Packed and lively.


Ira

[John Kavanaugh]

I’d imagine the Cal Club can stay lively late into the evening.

I’ve stayed at Cal Club and can say that I’ve witnessed nothing but gentlemanly behavior of the highest caliber.

[Ally Mcintosh]

One thing that surprised me with many of the traditional English courses were that none of their clubhouses were even open past 7 in the evening. A very strange affair.


Whilst the clubhouse at my home club can hardly be called “alive and kicking”, at least our traditions tend to come with always changing and eating lunch / dinner with your group of the day after each round. Although Coronavirus is not helping with that.


Killarney was always renowned for its busy clubhouse in the evening. The old Dun Laoghaire in Dublin (Colt) was hugely busy because most of the members could walk there. Unfortunately they sold up 10 years ago and built a mega-complex in the middle of nowhere.


Ballyliffin always has a bit of life and Carne - by leasing out its catering - has become known as the best restaurant in Erris, so it has many non-club member diners in the evenings.... plus it’s a regular spot for sports watching.

[Thomas Dai]

Rarely see a more bored person than a barman in a UK golf clubhouse. Even during pre-Covid times unless there's an event on it seems to be hour after hour with hardly anyone to serve.
atb

[Jeff Johnston]

Having been a guest there a good few times going back 15/20 years, the Sunday lunchtime vibe at Rye was always on the exuberant side of humming (and great fun for it).


Around the corner from your home club Ally, on my one experIence of the bar at Sutton (random midweek summer evening a few years ago) a fair number of the members were settled in for the long haul; mind you the Guinness is very good there and if I had their view, I wouldn’t want to leave it either. And I suspect as well - following your point on the original Dun Laoghaire location - that a good chunk of the Sutton membership live close by.

[Lou_Duran]

Olympic Club where even a guest feels like he's stepped into Cheers.  Colonial CC men's grill where drink and discourse flow freely without pretenses of PC.

[Dan_Callahan]

The clubhouse of any public course in New England on league night is poppin’.

[John Emerson]

The clubhouse of any public course in New England on league night is poppin’.

Every club I have been to on league night has been a trip.  Club league night seems to bring out the wolves.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Do you all just drink and drive in the States then?


Or, like the rest of the world outside of Britain and Ireland, do you just know how to have a good time without alcohol?

[JMEvensky]

Olympic Club where even a guest feels like he's stepped into Cheers.  Colonial CC men's grill where drink and discourse flow freely without pretenses of PC.

Absolutely agree about OC--most welcoming club I've ever been a guest. The members,the staff,the Pro Shop--they couldn't have been nicer.


It's probably been 20 years but I still tell people I hope my club is as gracious to our guests.

[Kalen Braley]

Do you all just drink and drive in the States then?


Or, like the rest of the world outside of Britain and Ireland, do you just know how to have a good time without alcohol?

We have ubers and lyfts aplenty.  And they are more than willing to drive you 20-30 miles if needed...

[Greg Hohman]

Interesting subject, Ally, thanks. Where I play (publics around San Diego), the atmosphere in the clubhouses is woebegone. They are not “destinations.” They are one beer and done.
 

[Lou_Duran]

Do you all just drink and drive in the States then?


Or, like the rest of the world outside of Britain and Ireland, do you just know how to have a good time without alcohol?

Ha!  Not any country I've been in, even in Punjab, India.  MADD and other similar organizations have done a great job of forcing heavy drinkers into alternative sources of transportation.   

[David Wuthrich]

Champions in Houston has a great locker room featuring a u shaped bar.  Jimmy Demaret, one of the club founders along with Jackie Burke, used to "hold court" there into the wee hours of the morning, on a daily basis.  There is a plaque on the bar commemorating that fact!

[Jeff Schley]

I have to say I don't think this is a bad thing, clubhouse bars not being the heart of a man's ethos any longer. My dad had a period where he was closing up the clubhouse bar while working at the local public course. It officially closed at 9 pm, but rarely was he home before 10:30 or 11. Families have benefited from this pivot I would say and that is a good thing.

[Tal Oz]

Cal Club tops the list of liveliest clubhouse I've ever been to. Incredibly welcoming, drinks free flowing, and the option of crashing upstairs is a bonus. I can only imagine the bets exchanging hands rolling a golf ball around the U shaped bar produces.

[Rob Marshall]

Do you all just drink and drive in the States then?


Or, like the rest of the world outside of Britain and Ireland, do you just know how to have a good time without alcohol?

The US isn’t even in the top 10 in alcohol consumption. Neither is the UK according to this. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcohol-consumption-by-country

[CJames]

Cal Club is indeed welcoming and lively, priding itself on its ethos of treating guests as members-for-a-day.  However, it is definitely not a boozer’s haven.  The vast majority of evenings the bar is quiet and locking its doors at 7:00pm.  Of course, there’s always the occasional exception to this description, but I suspect it is far more subdued than many might presume.