GolfClubAtlas.com > Golf Course Architecture Discussion Group
What constitutes a "golf club"?
Carl Johnson:
--- Quote from: Ben Malach on March 30, 2025, 12:04:59 PM ---So in essence this thread is a bunch of old men mad at other old men for spending their money differently cool.
Great use of two pages and 3 days of time in earth.
--- End quote ---
Ben, usually I can tell from the title of the thread whether I'll be interested. If not, I just don't open it. Sometimes I make a mistake and look at something I think I'd be interested in, but it turns out I am not. So what I do then is exit out without comment and not return. The worst are those that put a teaser in the title but you have to open to find out what it's really about. I never bother with those.
Richard Fisher:
Very well said Carl. 100% agreement. To my earlier point there are plenty of places in the UK, all emphatically ‘golf clubs’, that have open licenses permitting the general public to eat and drink: this is often a financial necessity for survival. Harlech is one, Dunstanburgh is another, and I recall a sign at I think Goswick encouraging walkers on the coastal path to stop off for tea and cake. In no way does this devalue their ‘golf-ness’.
Ben Malach:
Carl:
Here is the thing: I do find this topic interesting, and I think there is a conversation to be had here.
However, this thread reads like a list of fuddy-duddy chaps looking for something to glout about.
I think golf clubs can exist without the need for property like the earlier golf clubs did. I also think there is a growth of these clubs, and that these new clubs are going to be very influential in the game.
I provided a list in my first post that was glossed over in favour of talking about if pools were important.
The one I have yet to mention, but it might be prudent to further discussion on this thread, is whether LinksDao is a golf club or an investment product. If it is a golf club, that means owning a digital token is a way to form a club.
If you want to talk about the future, I will be checking back in to see if you have gotten beyond minor pedantic matters.
Chris Hughes:
--- Quote from: Richard Fisher on March 30, 2025, 02:27:36 PM ---Very well said Carl. 100% agreement. To my earlier point there are plenty of places in the UK, all emphatically ‘golf clubs’, that have open licenses permitting the general public to eat and drink: this is often a financial necessity for survival. Harlech is one, Dunstanburgh is another, and I recall a sign at I think Goswick encouraging walkers on the coastal path to stop off for tea and cake. In no way does this devalue their ‘golf-ness’.
--- End quote ---
Makes a lot of sense.
Bethpage State Park has a "golf club" that has been in operation there for decades -- it is called the Nassau Players Club -- membership is limited and by invitation only. The "club" and the Park are completely separate entities but there is an element of cooperation between the two (or at least there used to be). This is an example of a "club" operating within the confines of a 100% public facility.
What you seem to be describing with Harlech et al. is private golf club (in control of the course) with a public dining operation attached. Seems they must make money on F&B if that part helps carry the operation.
My question centers around golf clubs that are truly private in how they are organized.
This is the prevalent model (in the U.S.) and it doesn't allow for any outside/drop-in F&B business, nor should it given most clubs (golf & country) lose money on every meal they serve!
A golf club that decides to emphasize growing the F&B ops is headed straight down the path to no longer being a "golf club".
Ben Malach:
Chris,
Thank you for that meaningful contribution to the discourse.
If your definition cannot answer the question, perhaps it is inadequate.
I agree that the Nassau Players Club sounds like an interesting organization, and I'm sure it's well-managed to maintain its relationship with the parks department.
However, I don't see why the presence of a restaurant or pool matters in determining whether or not it's a golf club. Also, why does it matter? If it fails, it might become a public course. That becomes home to the neoclassical model of golf club.
All that matters for a golf club to be a golf club is that it’s one of the central thing binding the group to each other is golf.
Beyond that, I think there are a lot of models that we can talk about how that affinity with the game is expressed.
like is an app that organizes leagues, games and handicaps like Sparkgolf and Fairgame. Golf clubs, or are they just facilitators?
So sorry, I have no opinion on if the quality of the chef's soup effects how I see a club or any other frivolity
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