# Have you joined, or considered joining, a country club? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947 "2010-08-30T01:45:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947/41 "2010-08-31T21:00:55Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I know this is somewhat prejudicial, but I would never even have thought that any country club would happily welcome a non-white woman. Never. I definitely could be wrong, but that is the first thing that popped into my head when I read the thread title. Based on experience, not mine, but other people’s. The club I belonged to had plenty of non-white women members. The country club my Dad belonged to for a few years did too. Not every country club is Augusta, and 1979 was 30 years ago already… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947/42 "2010-08-31T21:39:09Z")
Awhile back, Mrs. J. and I got a flyer in the mail from a country club that was soliciting members. I can’t begin to comprehend that level of desperation. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947/43 "2010-08-31T22:25:17Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > > [@Anaamika](#): > > > > I know this is somewhat prejudicial, but I would never even have thought that any country club would happily welcome a non-white woman. Never. I definitely could be wrong, but that is the first thing that popped into my head when I read the thread title. Based on experience, not mine, but other people’s. > > The club I belonged to had plenty of non-white women members. The country club my Dad belonged to for a few years did too. > > Not every country club is Augusta, and 1979 was 30 years ago already… Yeah, agree totally. I know of tons of country clubs, and they all let non-female whites in. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947/44 "2010-09-01T00:35:09Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Awhile back, Mrs. J. and I got a flyer in the mail from a country club that was soliciting members. > > I can’t begin to comprehend that level of desperation. Country clubs are having a hard time in this economy. They really rely on membership and dues in order to maintain themselves - generally their only other source of income is facility rental - and not all clubs do that. The golf club we were considering joining (and might eventually join) doesn’t do facilities rentals. They built their clubhouse during good times, and in one of those “we don’t want to be inconvenienced with rentals” sort of short sighted decisions, built a clubhouse too small for wedding receptions. So now, with a poor economy, they have issues meeting ends meet. They do, however, let non-white women join. And 40 years ago their membership was very upper class Jewish, so it isn’t a WASPy place. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947/45 "2010-09-01T03:29:32Z")
I don’t associate “country club” with swimming pools, but I reckon they do have them. I associate them more with golf courses and “upper crust” type people. The swimming pool thing seems to be a big draw for a lot of people. I certainly didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947/46 "2010-09-01T04:08:56Z")
Yes, but I wouldn’t join our town’s tight-assed, snooty, hoity toity country club that all the upper upper class kids are trying to get into. I’d join the funloving, run down middle upper class county club next door with the loveable losers and misfit pillars of the community, where they throw microbrewery small-batch keggers every weekend and drink 18 year single malt out of plastic cups while wearing their 700 thread count Egyptian cotton togas. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947/47 "2010-09-01T17:09:49Z")
My parents joined the local country club when I was in diapers and left when I was a junior or senior in high school. They joined because all of their colleagues belonged and it was the de facto way to drum up new business, and because it was the best food in town. Smaller reasons were because they thought they would golf (they did sparingly) and they had a pool (we the kids used it almost daily in the summers). By the time they’d been members for 17 or so years, the great chefs had left (no longer the best food in town) and lots of their friends were leaving, with already established business contacts in place. So there was no real point. I would join a club in a heartbeat once I was married/established if it had the best food in town, or to establish business contacts, but the clubs really no longer have the best food. I really see the country club model dwindling down. Sure, some clubs are snotty, and I’d never consider joining an anti-Semitic club or one that previously was, but overall they’re not bad, they’re just kinda old fashioned. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947/48 "2010-09-01T22:50:20Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Country clubs are having a hard time in this economy. They really rely on membership and dues in order to maintain themselves - generally their only other source of income is facility rental - and not all clubs do that. > > [snip] > > They do, however, let non-white women join. And 40 years ago their membership was very upper class Jewish, so it isn’t a WASPy place. The decline of country clubs began supposedly after membership dues could no longer considered as a business expense for tax purposes. Traditionally Jewish country clubs now seem to be a bit more desperate for new members, now that most clubs are open to those of all races and creeds. The traditionally Jewish club near me opened its restaurant to the public, dropped their initiation fees (clubs in the area usually have initiation fees of around $20,000-$30,000), and is actively recruiting members. Their Web site is also a lot more open than the members-only sites of the old money clubs in town, who aren’t actively recruiting members. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-joined-or-considered-joining-a-country-club/551947.md?page=2)