Golf 'Country Clubs' are suffering financially all around the country, as businesses stop paying for executive memberships, and the people who have the money to join and pay begin feeling that they are being abused by the management committees who maintain high monthly fees, etc., just to keep the lights on, when the fact is that golf - as a participant sport - is losing popularity every year.
Theoretically, one cannot just drive up and pay-to-play golf at a country club. You must be an invited guest of a member, or participating in some sort of an "event." Nevertheless I - a mediocre, cheap golfer - end up playing at an unfamiliar country club a couple times a year as a guest or whatever.
It is an irritating experience, golf-wise. The membership of most golf country clubs like to keep the courses (a) difficult, but (b) friendly to members. In other words, they want to set up the courses so that when a member brings a guest, the member will have an unfair advantage over the guest, so that the Member can beat him.
First of all, the greens are kept as "fast" as possible. People who normally play on public courses are used to greens that are either middle-fast or even slightly slow. On such greens, putting is challenging but once you have some skill it is a fair challenge. Country Club greens are so fast that a typical approach shot that lands on the green will roll off the back, usually into a bunker. And if your ball happens to come to rest at a spot above the level of the hole, then any missed putt will result in either a long second putt (as the ball rolls many feet past the hole), or even off the green as the ball rolls back down into the fairway. Chipping from the high side is near impossible, as the ball will invariably roll all the way across the hole and back into the fairway. Members become accustomed to the speed of the greens, and also get to know which ones MUST be approached from the low side (so that your first putt is up-hill), to avoid 3 and 4-putt greens. This alone gives members a 4-6 shot advantage playing against someone of equal skill who doesn't know the course intimately.
And the actual holes are laid out so that a member who knows what is coming on each hole can tailor his shots to avoid hidden trees, obstacles, hazards, or sloping areas where the ball will roll into the rough even if initially hit mid-fairway. Here in Western Pennsylvania that is a common situation. The unfamiliar golfer will often hit what s/he thinks is a good shot, only to come up on the ball and find that there is no open lane for an approach or second shot. So the non-member will have to choose between hitting a near-impossible recovery shot to avoid losing a stroke, or just "lay up" and accept the loss of a stroke. It is off-pissing, to be sure. And another 3-4 strokes minimum advantage to the Member.
So although I am a fairly avid golfer, I personally don't mourn the news that one country club or another has either closed down, or been forced to go "semi-private" to avoid closing down. To hell with 'em.
Theoretically, one cannot just drive up and pay-to-play golf at a country club. You must be an invited guest of a member, or participating in some sort of an "event." Nevertheless I - a mediocre, cheap golfer - end up playing at an unfamiliar country club a couple times a year as a guest or whatever.
It is an irritating experience, golf-wise. The membership of most golf country clubs like to keep the courses (a) difficult, but (b) friendly to members. In other words, they want to set up the courses so that when a member brings a guest, the member will have an unfair advantage over the guest, so that the Member can beat him.
First of all, the greens are kept as "fast" as possible. People who normally play on public courses are used to greens that are either middle-fast or even slightly slow. On such greens, putting is challenging but once you have some skill it is a fair challenge. Country Club greens are so fast that a typical approach shot that lands on the green will roll off the back, usually into a bunker. And if your ball happens to come to rest at a spot above the level of the hole, then any missed putt will result in either a long second putt (as the ball rolls many feet past the hole), or even off the green as the ball rolls back down into the fairway. Chipping from the high side is near impossible, as the ball will invariably roll all the way across the hole and back into the fairway. Members become accustomed to the speed of the greens, and also get to know which ones MUST be approached from the low side (so that your first putt is up-hill), to avoid 3 and 4-putt greens. This alone gives members a 4-6 shot advantage playing against someone of equal skill who doesn't know the course intimately.
And the actual holes are laid out so that a member who knows what is coming on each hole can tailor his shots to avoid hidden trees, obstacles, hazards, or sloping areas where the ball will roll into the rough even if initially hit mid-fairway. Here in Western Pennsylvania that is a common situation. The unfamiliar golfer will often hit what s/he thinks is a good shot, only to come up on the ball and find that there is no open lane for an approach or second shot. So the non-member will have to choose between hitting a near-impossible recovery shot to avoid losing a stroke, or just "lay up" and accept the loss of a stroke. It is off-pissing, to be sure. And another 3-4 strokes minimum advantage to the Member.
So although I am a fairly avid golfer, I personally don't mourn the news that one country club or another has either closed down, or been forced to go "semi-private" to avoid closing down. To hell with 'em.
