"Bad Members"

Since the Great Recession, there has been a growing concern among the Pine Valley/Bandon Dunes/St. Andrews-wearing logo’d paraphernalia crowd.  No, not that membership roles are down…but of the growing number of “bad members” amongst them.

The Grill (or is it Grille?) room is littered with evidence if you happen to walk within thirty feet:

“…they are nothing more than glorified trunk slammers”.

“…they think lunch is served on the 11th fairway…from their bags”.

“…if it’s not 50% off with Pro Shop credit, they won’t even glance at it”.

Sound familiar?

Just think if the Private Club world could rid itself of these nuances?  Why…the only people left would be those with Roman numerals after their names.  The club would be perfect!

Over the years I have played with a lot of these “bad members”.  Many are on fixed incomes.  Some have jobs that require long hours where they are often underpaid.  Others just aren’t enamored with ponying up 10 bucks for a burger named after the club + a $2.25 drink + tip to a person that never seems to remember their name.

What I have come to realize over the years is how overwhelmingly appreciative most “bad members” are just to be able to tee it up.  For many of these folks, a Private Club membership may be their only splurge.  And the thing is…without them, clubs would die a quick death.

Who are “bad members” in reality?

• The ones who expect recurring tee times each week and believe it is their right to not show up or call to cancel them ahead of time.
• They believe fivesomes should roam freely on the busiest of days.
• They litter the course with cigarette butts, paper, empty ball sleeve boxes…and believe it is the staffs job to sand divots.
• They loudly condemn other members in public.
• They verbally pick fights with fellow members.
• They freely park within ten yards of greens, tee boxes, and when you can’t see them, love to drive in the fairway on cart-path only days.
• After poor shots, they feel it is their duty to condemn God, themselves, and their clubs…from three fairways over.
• They believe spending lots of money getting drunk in the Grill (or is it Grille) room makes them invaluable.
• They grumble about playing with new people in weekly club events.
• They believe tenure at the club equates to special rights.

When too many of these “bad members” populate the club or worse…the board, intermittent squabbles ensue throughout the year as socially respectful members have to bite their tongue in favor of these de facto GM’s, who essentially run the club.  The result is often a membership threshold that rarely moves unless membership prices are severely reduced as few want to be members of a club where two sets of rules exist.

Understanding that few clubs make more than 20-30k in the Pro Shop per year, typically lose 30-80k in the restaurant, and are lucky to field more than 4 or 5 foursomes (or is it fivesomes?) in weekly club events, I have to ask aloud:

Who would you rather have?