As this thread has evolved, it reinforces my view that as in most areas, when considering services offered by clubs, one size does not fit all. Each club has to evaluate its culture, where it stands in its community and judge accordingly. I spent Saturday at a club leadership conference where I moderated a panel on maintenance issues on the golf course but I had a chance to discuss general issues with representatives from over 40 clubs in our area. Some are strong, some are weak and all of them are trying to find an approach that works. There are numerous approaches, none of which work for all of the clubs.
I can speak best to the issues raised by referencing our club. We are a full service family club with a Colt and Allison course on over 150 acres, a relatively modest clubhouse, pool, tennis, paddle tennis, small practice ground and a short game area. Lunch and dinner 6 days a week in season. We are not inexpensive but there are clubs that cost more in our area.
We have opted to split the difference between the no frills approach and the maximum service model. About 18 years ago we went to a "no tipping" policy. There were 2 reasons. First, members were uncomfortable with certain other members propensity to over tip, probably in an effort to buy favorable service, better caddies and the like. While there may be some violations, this rule is almost universally observed. The second, and better reason, was that by eliminating tipping, it insured that our guests would never feel obliged to "reach into their pockets". Our rule is that guest money doesn't work; that is why they are guests.
Our parking lot is small so valet parking is mandatory. With that comes help in putting one's bag in a simple rack to be picked up and brought to the first tee. Our caddy master acts as a starter on weekend mornings which coordinates with caddy assignments We have tee times with 2 per hour left open until the day of; nobody has a problem finding a game because our membership is reasonable in size.
We have a significant portion of our staff that has been with us for more than 10 years; we just retired a waitress after 47 years and our greenkeeper emeritus retired after 48 years. We strive for the family atmosphere suggested by others.
But please understand, I do not use our club as a model, it is our model which we evaluate on a regular basis. Clubs are organic institutions which are responsible to their members and which must react to societal and economic changes. Personally, I don't think they should react too quickly, otherwise they lose their identity by chasing every trend that comes along. But there is little doubt that the clubs that were built on a model based on society in the 1950's and 1960's are facing a different pattern of usage. The economic downturn late in the last decade increased the pressure on clubs. Changing demographics in certain geographic areas create new challenges. There is much more to consider and each club needs to evaluate its niche and try to provide the type and level of service that allows it to survive and with luck thrive. Each of us has his own preference and given some effort, we are likely to find a place that allows us to afford this game at a place that reflects those preferences. None of us should be foolish enough to believe that what works for one of us should serve as the model for everyone.