Nate Tramdaks, Staff Writer
The decay of private golf in America marks the slow death of one of the country’s most distinctly American institutions, the country club.
For much of the past century, the private golf club occupied a unique place in American social life that, arguably, no longer exists. Membership was more than a means of access to a golf course. It was an attachment to a community–one whose identity had been shaped through generations of belonging. A community that was built around traditions set forth by those who came before. Traditions that then led to the identity of the club, making it unmistakable from another.
Historically, membership carried a certain responsibility with it to the club itself. Members were not customers simply paying to play a golf course upfront. They were stewards of the institution. Through member-elected boards and upholding customs, they helped shape the direction of their clubs while preserving their character and identity. A club is its members; the club is there for its members, but in turn, the members have the obligation to the club, and past members, to uphold its’ identity.
This relationship between a club and its members has become extremely transactional over the past decade, decade and a half. The member-driven club has been sold out to the corporate model with “sports groups” purchasing clubs, jacking up the dues and decreasing quality, strengthening the bottom line. When considering the direction of clubs, tradition and identity are no longer at the forefront of decision-making. Instead, clubs only concerns are centered around customer-acquisition (new members), expanding amenities, and in-turn, expanding revenue. The distinction between belonging to a club and paying to use amenities has all but vanished.
Compounding this corporate transformation is the obscene “Grow the Game” movement. What started out as a well-intentioned effort to introduce the game to a newer audience has become an excuse for companies to commercialize every aspect of the game. The over-corporatized slop that has invaded the golf world has bogged down something that is truly great. Now, every course in America is getting trampled on by people wearing ghastly micro-print polyester shirts driving golf carts blasting music and drinking High Noon Transfusions. The sport’s popularity is celebrated without much consideration for whether its culture is being preserved along the way.
This mentality has inevitably found its way into private clubs. The concern is no longer simply whether prospective members appreciate the institution they hope to join, but whether or not they are willing to pay the initiation fee. The result is a changing membership culture, where individuals may see the club primarily as a collection of amenities rather than a community to which they owe any responsibility. Herein lies the disconnect, those who do not have any regard for the culture of club golf, who did not grow up in it, and are not willing to learn or assimilate to club culture have no place in it.
The road back begins with a renewed understanding of what a private club is supposed to be. Clubs must once again place their members at the center of their identity, and give greater importance to the traditions and relationships. Prospective members should be encouraged to understand the history of the club they are joining and recognize that membership carries responsibilities as well as privileges.With that, the barrier to entry must be higher, every club must become invite-only. A club is its members, and only its members can decide who can be one of them.
For private golf to sustain in this country, it must resist the urge to become just another recreational profit center.
