[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by Laker14

Have you played the courses? Can you report on conditions? What "community up north"? Are we not allowed to mention other communities on this forum?

Yes, I have played them. They vary in challenge. One of the three has about 4 dozen of my golf balls trapped in the various rough edges, unrecoverable to those without superhuman sight or skill.

These courses are in my friend's neighborhood outside Knoxville, TN called Tellico Village. You can google up "Tellico Village" or "Tellico Village Golf." Their courses are named Tanasi, Toqua, and Kahite (Tanasi was a Cherokee town that served as capital 1721-1730 and from which the state derives its name. Toqua is reportedly Cherokee for "Fish", and Kahite is reportedly Cherokee for "Run them off." Rhymes with Tahiti).

[Laker14]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

Yes, I have played them. They vary in challenge. One of the three has about 4 dozen of my golf balls trapped in the various rough edges, unrecoverable to those without superhuman sight or skill.

These courses are in my friend's neighborhood outside Knoxville, TN called Tellico Village. You can google up "Tellico Village" or "Tellico Village Golf." Their courses are named Tanasi, Toqua, and Kahite (Tanasi was a Cherokee town that served as capital 1721-1730 and from which the state derives its name. Toqua is reportedly Cherokee for "Fish", and Kahite is reportedly Cherokee for "Run them off." Rhymes with Tahiti).

I thought you were reporting on another Florida retirement community with golf amenities.

[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

Shaker Hills, Ayer, MA public course, not municipal.
Cart included

In-Season Golf Rates: May 6th - October 16th

Monday – Thursday (18 holes / 9 holes posted if available)

Open - 12:00 ($89 / $59)
12:00 - 2:00 ($79 / $55)
2:00 - 4:00 ($69 / $49)
4:00 - 5:00 ($59 / $49)
After 5:00 ($49)


Friday (18 holes / 9 holes available after 2:00PM)

Open - 1:00 ($105)
1:00 - 3:00 ($85 / $59 after 2:00pm)
3:00 - 4:00 ($75 / $55)
4:00 - 5:00 ($66 / $49)
After 5:00 ($49)


Saturday, Sunday & Holidays (18 holes / 9 holes available after 2:00PM)

Open - 11:00 ($119)
11:00 - 1:00 ($105)
1:00 - 3:00 ($90 / $59 after 2:00pm)
3:00 - 4:00 ($78 / $55)
4:00 - 5:00 ($66 / $49)
After 5:00 ($49)

Shaker Hills, Ayer, MA public course, not municipal.
Cart included.

Compare non municipal to non municipal for apples to apples.
and note that in season has different pricing by time, so everyone can argue about their ability to pay via income level.

Working stiffs have to play on weekends with everyone else who works. .

how are the conditions there this weekend?

[RaymondD]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

Lol, my last "neighborhood course," which is public, had green fees of $250 PER PERSON in a foursome. $60 doesn't sound so bad.

The cost seems to be about the same as the "county" courses I use to play on in NJ ($35 to $65 depending on the course), with a county membership, and that was three years ago. I guess it's all relative to what your used to paying to play a round of golf. I look at it as a per hour charge, $8.50 an hour .. for sport you enjoy. Anyone bowl .. it's about the same cost per hour. Of course there are free sports as well that maybe you should try, pool, table shuffleboard, bocci, etc. or try "golf now" .. for $35 to $45 outside the villages. The warning is that all the course I've played outside the villages .. leave something to be desired. Try paying for tickets to see a football game sometime .. the last time I went it was over $200 a ticket, if you could get one .. for 3 hrs .. now that's a lot when TV is free.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Laker14

I thought you were reporting on another Florida retirement community with golf amenities.

Seems that might have made more sense.

[thevillages2013]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

Okay $60... Happy now?

64+ tax on average

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Yes, we know you’re know it all.

Talking to yourself again?

See how that works?

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by thevillages2013

64+ tax on average

Apologies for using "round numbers"... I thought the math would be easier for some...

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by thevillages2013

64+ tax on average

Many crumbled up receipts in the console of my golf cart read $68.48.

[Laker14]

My breakdown: I'm here for 7 months, so I get a 6 month priority membership. My wife doesn't play so it's a single. Costs around $600. I play approximately 2x/ week. Figure $50 per round at the cash register, x approximately 52 rounds. $2600 at the cash register plus the 600 for the priority membership. 6 months of championship golf in TV costs me $3100. or approx. $517/ month.
That's not a steal by any means, especially for the conditions of the courses from October-May.
However, unlike the clubs I once belonged to up north, I don't have to continue to pay the monthly dues during the non-golf seasons. Also, I don't get charged "assessments" when the club decides to fix a worn out sprinkler system, or some clubhouse item. Also, since the bulk of that expense is "pay as you play", if the weather is bad, or I'm not playing for some reason, I'm not paying. At a typical private club you are going to pay your dues, and if you don't play, you still pay. There is no "clubhouse minimum" requiring me to spend a monthly amount of dollars on food and booze.
I could walk away from golf except for the camaraderie with my golf friends. I am fortunate to have been accepted into a group of 12-20 guys, someone else makes the tee times (which is why we are all Priority members), I show up, put in the $5 for the daily game, and we have a few laughs.
If saving money were the only priority, I could definitely do better by going off campus, or better yet, play at the "NOT FREE BUT ALREADY PAID FOR" executive courses.
I don't feel like it's a great bargain, but I feel it's a fair price for the convenience, quality, and variety.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

how are the conditions there this weekend?

LOL! most courses have an opening day this week or next for the professional wannabees!

Not denying that I would rather be in TV than up here. The earliest we can move permanently is Summer 2023, with Social Security benefits starting in Jan 2025, but i digress

Its about comparing high season to high season prices. . and the difficulty here is comparing a flat year round price to all sorts of variable prices, where people want to argue about a special rate versus a flat rate. This type of pricing comparisons reminds me of how after a certain size threshold TV becomes too big to manage in the same way as the original design. where over time growth becomes harder to please everyone, ie happiness doesn't scale linearly with growth

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by Laker14

I don't feel like it's a great bargain, but I feel it's a fair price for the convenience, quality, and variety.

Very well stated and analyzed.

If you golf by coupon or special rates, your reference point is discounted rates, and that is an unfortunate reference point for comparison. Golfing by coupon is severely limiting, and just a way for a high priced course to pull in the non regular customer to contribute to the annual sales on a course which is off demand hours. Not a regular business pricing.

I get it that price to value is dependent upon each individuals' skill and income as well. CoachK and I went to Scotland. There was no way i was paying $400 per person per round to play on the St Andrews old course. We did play on one of the younger, cheaper, regularly priced courses, which was great at like $100+ per person. (i got one par!) We also played on a British open qualifier course, which Colin Montgomery qualified for open the week prior. We picked it because it had a castle. . not because of the cost or quality we had no idea. . coldest wettest prettiest worst day of golfing as I couldn't finish due to the cold and wet and few balls remaining. (typical great scottish golfing day sucked for the fair weather golfers here)

So its kind of a waste of time arguing about people's opinions and feelings on here when the variables are so many and so intangible, and there will be no answer, just people spouting opinions with no common basis

[snbrafford]

I tried the priority fee one year and felt I still had to pay too much when I played a big course so we did not do it much and therefore it was definitely not cost effective. My wife and I play executive courses 3-5 times a week and find them as challenging as we want as you can pick courses with different difficulty rating. And if I want to feel like I'm on a championship course - I can move back to the black tees. I'm not a great golfer so exec's are fine for me. If we want to play big courses, there are "deals" in nearby off-campus golf courses.

[Joeint]

Originally Posted by thevillages2013

I was reading along and agreeing with you until you stated Continental was a nice course. It may have been in the 1960’s

I played Continental last Saturday, it was in much better condition than the championship courses. The greens were fast and rolled true, the fairways were green, the rough was sparse probably because of the difficulty growing grass under the trees. If you haven't been there recently give it a go $42 plus tax including cart.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

Shaker Hills, Ayer, MA public course, not municipal.
Cart included

In-Season Golf Rates: May 6th - October 16th

Monday – Thursday (18 holes / 9 holes posted if available)

Open - 12:00 ($89 / $59)
12:00 - 2:00 ($79 / $55)
2:00 - 4:00 ($69 / $49)
4:00 - 5:00 ($59 / $49)
After 5:00 ($49)


Friday (18 holes / 9 holes available after 2:00PM)

Open - 1:00 ($105)
1:00 - 3:00 ($85 / $59 after 2:00pm)
3:00 - 4:00 ($75 / $55)
4:00 - 5:00 ($66 / $49)
After 5:00 ($49)


Saturday, Sunday & Holidays (18 holes / 9 holes available after 2:00PM)

Open - 11:00 ($119)
11:00 - 1:00 ($105)
1:00 - 3:00 ($90 / $59 after 2:00pm)
3:00 - 4:00 ($78 / $55)
4:00 - 5:00 ($66 / $49)
After 5:00 ($49)

Shaker Hills, Ayer, MA public course, not municipal.
Cart included.

Compare non municipal to non municipal for apples to apples.
and note that in season has different pricing by time, so everyone can argue about their ability to pay via income level.

Working stiffs have to play on weekends with everyone else who works. .

Dam sports guy, I have played that course in a fund raising tournament a couple times and wasn’t aware of the rates as the tournament entry fee included everything. The course is OK, but not worth the price for me given other much closer, similar or better courses, that are less expensive. And the course is up north where folks our age aren’t the majority, so where are the senior citizen discount during weekdays? Travel a little west on the mass pike and play Westover, Chicopee, or Cold Springs, cheaper rates and nicer courses. If you want to travel further west and venture further off the pike, there are several other nice courses that offer great weekday “Hot Deals” on golf now. If I was going to pay the rates asked by Shaker Hills, I would rather spend the money playing Crumpin Fox or the Ranch. Golf on my friend : )