Today, leisure time and dollars are precious. You want to make the most of them by selecting an activity that provides maximum enjoyment for everyone involved. Here are some facts, ideas, and myth-busters on golf and how it fits into the leisure time matrix.

Golf as a leisure activity More...

• Golf is a gentle sport, one that can be enjoyed from an early age right through to your 80’s! It’s an individual sport that is endlessly challenging but enjoyable at all skill levels. It can help keep you fit, but you don’t have to be ultra fit to enjoy it – you decide what the sport will be for you, not the other way around.
• What other sport is equally enjoyable for a single, a couple or a family? For a single, golf is a good leisure activity, particularly in the private club setting, for meeting and spending time with friends. It’s easy to get a game, you don’t have to know people or spend time rounding up a foursome. Just book online. You know most of the members, so you always feel comfortable surrounded by people you enjoy. Maybe you just go out for 5 or 6 holes after work, then head in to the clubhouse for supper – there are sure to be friends there to join. For couples, it’s a pleasant time spent together, either just with each other or with other friends, and sometimes the gals play together and the guys play together, and you all meet up later in the clubhouse for drinks and dinner. Maybe it’s the regular Thursday evening “honey pot” event or maybe the Holiday Monday fun event. There is always so much going on, and it’s all about being with friends and having fun. There are all kinds of events and activities organized, just for you.
• For many, the golf club is their version of a summer cottage, except that it is more like a resort because you don’t have to cook! You don’t even have to pack up the car because your gear is stored at the club. For families, you can all hop in the car and head to the club and either play together or play with others and then join up afterwards for a meal in the dining room and share stories.

Don’t you have to be a good golfer to join and/or enjoy a club? More...

• This myth is worth busting. In many cases, people join clubs in order to spend time with friends and/or family, and then they fall in love with the game later. By contrast, it’s very difficult to fall in love with the game if all you do is go to a driving range or play with strangers at a public course.
• What’s more, learning golf in the private club environment is much easier, particularly at a course with a culture that is welcoming, friendly and supportive.
• Golf is an individual sport. You play against the course. Once past the initial few hurdles, golf is enjoyable at any skill level. Most of the activities and events at the club are designed to be fun for all levels of play.

Why introduce the kids to golf? More...

• Golf creates an opportunity to actually spend time enjoying an activity with your children, as opposed to just taxiing them around to their own activities. Four hours of walking around with them, with no TV, computer or cell phones; maybe play a friendly game of putting skins, and finish up with a nice meal together that nobody has to prepare or clean up after. It’s a time when everyone can relax and learn to enjoy each other’s company. Grandpa and grandson can have a perfectly even match despite a 50-year age difference. Mom and daughter can take on Dad. Mom and Dad can challenge two juniors. What’s more, your young adults can enjoy the club with other juniors and intermediates as they participate in the various organized programs.
• Introducing the kids to golf now gives them a gift of a skill that they can use for a lifetime – college or family may get in the way for a while, but the skills will never be lost. When they need to play golf with an important business client, they’ll be able to play a decent game and more importantly, already know the proper etiquette. When they get back to the game as an adult, it will be like riding a bicycle, they’ll have all the fundamentals down pat.
• It’s an excellent medium for them to learn valuable life skills such as perseverance, honesty, courtesy, and basics such as being on time and dressed properly.

Where do people find the time for golf? More...

• It’s also a myth that you have to play a lot of golf to make joining worthwhile. Typically the median number of rounds is 48; which means half the members play more than that and half play less; and in fact as many as a third play less than 20 rounds per year – to them it’s the quality of the overall experience, not the number of rounds that’s important. They simply don’t enjoy playing 5-hour rounds with strangers. And they want to have all kinds of golf activities organized on their behalf.
• At a private club, it doesn’t always have to be about 18 holes – there’s a quick nine on ladies night, just enough to justify the post-game food, wine and jocularity! After work, take in five or six holes in the calm of the evening– when you could well be the only one out there enjoying the peace. There’s Friday night nine-and-dine with your friends as guests. If you head out for a game and it rains, who cares, duck into the clubhouse and meet up with friends, it’s not like you need to worry about your green fee or battling to get a rain cheque.
• Think of all the time spent taxiing the kids around to their events – why not get in the car together and all go to the same destination – you can golf together or not, doesn’t matter, meet up in the clubhouse later for a meal, all drive home, no cooking or cleaning.
• Play early. Have some fun time for just you and your spouse or friends, and be home before the teens are even out of bed. You’ll still have the time and energy for afternoon lawn and garden chores and evening social commitments.
• Once you fall in love with the game, it seems so easy to make time for golf; it becomes your summer home away from home!

Why a private club versus playing a variety of public courses? More...

• The sense of community and a feeling of belonging are dominant reasons. At a private course, you are always around familiar faces and with people you enjoy being with. It’s all of the small things that are done for you and the personal services that just make the day so easy and pleasurable.
• Many people think it would be boring to play the same course all the time. In fact, it’s not boring, partly due to all the fun events, and partly due to the fact playing the same course lets you focus on beating the course as opposed to trying to figure out the location of the hole or next tee. People find their game really improves. What’s more, most members play quite a few rounds at other courses anyway – either in competitions or at one of the clubs reciprocal partner clubs or at other private clubs where our club pro has set up a tee time for you.
• What about those initiation fees? Truth is, no one particularly likes them when they join a club, but everyone recognizes how important they are for two reasons: they ensure the longevity and quality of your club; and they contribute to the important sense of community of the club in that people stick around for several years once they join.
• To get maximum enjoyment from your leisure activity, it has to be easy and uncomplicated to set up and access. On-line booking, organized leagues and events, locker, equipment storage, attentive help and service all add up to making it effortless to enjoy your golf and the club.
• Being around people who care makes a big difference. At a private club, people care about their course, about others, about etiquette, about pace of play, and they care about you.

Important considerations when selecting a private club. More...

• Fit – it’s important to understand what you are looking for because the cultures of the clubs differ widely. Are you interested in casual, relaxed clubs where it’s about the golf and the fun; or more formal, prestigious clubs where you can rub shoulders with the rich and famous? Are competition and the caliber of players important? Are you looking for family friendly or mostly business or a balanced male-female membership with appropriate playing privileges for you? Is there a sense of community that is appealing to you? Is the membership active and participative? Are there organized events and social activities?
• Ownership – ownership arrangements are important to fully understand because hopefully you are in it for the long run and want to have a say in what happens. Clubs can be: private for-profit; equity-based; & member-owned non-profit. Get specific details on how they all work, the arrangements can be very different club to club.
• Course style – since you will be playing the course a lot, you should like the overall style. Links-style courses are very open and undulating, with few trees (hence no shade). Traditional style courses have tree-lined fairways and tend to be less undulating. Hilly courses have nice vistas but could you walk the course and still have energy for other activities later in the day; and could you still walk the course ten years from now? Is the course even walkable or does the design encourage power cart rentals, something that adds expense and is less healthful?
• Stability over time – how has the club faired over the longer term? Has it been financially stable over the years? Has the management team been stable or has there been a lot of turnover?
• Total cost disclosure – All clubs publish basic annual dues and some publish initiation fees. It is also important to ask about other fees such as capital project fees, and the frequency and value of assessments, both recently and historically. How are the food and bar minimums billed? Are there extra charges for club storage and cleaning or locker room supplies?