The Membership Retirees Could Immediately Regret Joining

Building networks and pursuing fun social activities is key to a happy retirement. For some retirees with substantial savings, that might mean joining a country club. But Tom Balcom, a certified financial planner (CFP) and founder of 1650 Wealth Management in Lighthouse Point, Florida, told MoneyTalksNews that many of his clients don't end up getting the most out of their country club memberships. Instead, they spend most of their time traveling and visiting loved ones, and when they do play golf at the club, it's only a few times a month. 

Country club memberships are far from cheap. Prices vary, but you'll typically pay anywhere from $5,000 to $75,000 as a one-time fee for a mid-tier club or $80,000 to over $200,000 for a premier club. But that's just the one-time fee; there are still recurring dues that can range from $3,000 to well over $20,000 a year. "If an individual is paying $25,000 a year to be a member of a club, and they are only golfing two or three times per month, those are some hefty greens fees that they are paying," Balcom said. Instead of joining a country club and immediately regretting the eye-watering expenditure, a better strategy is to pay the guest rate and still get to play with all your old friends in the same club (or eslewhere).

Additionally, financial flexibility is an important part of maintaining wealth in retirement. It's best to spend in ways that allow you to make discretionary decisions instead of locking into one fixed, expensive option. 

If, after some introspection, you realize you really won't be playing much golf, a club membership is above your budget, or doing something different could help you build new social networks, there are alternatives to consider. The first option is community centers. They might not feel as exclusive or fancy, but senior and community centers offer a great way to get social participation, physical activity, and purpose without spending ludicrous amounts of money. Many senior centers charge between $25 and $75 annually. For example, the Newark Senior Center charges $35 per year or $300 for a lifetime membership, which gets you group meals, exercise classes, hobby groups, clubs, and many other things — all for the price of one country club guest round.

If community centers are not your style, and you'd still like to save as much money as you can, consider joining walking groups. Walking is free, and according to GeroScience (via the National Library of Medicine), it offers many benefits for seniors, including lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline, and boosting general longevity, with little to no side effects. A walking group gives all the health benefits of walking, but you also socialize. Plus, if you enjoy nature and scenery, you can go walking or hiking in a national park with a senior discount.

Apart from priority access to tee times and unlimited use of practice facilities, the core reasons many people pay for country clubs are networking and status. As a retiree, however, you don't need to put up with professional networking and the social fatigue that comes with it, since you're not making money professionally. But that doesn't mean you can't golf elsewhere without committing yourself to exorbitant membership fees. There are many fine municipal and public golf courses that can foster community without the heavy membership price tag. It may not come with that feeling of exclusivity and status, but it's still good golf. 

In fact, of the 14,000 golf facilities in the U.S., roughly 75% are open to the public (via National Golf Foundation 2025). Only 8% of golfers are private-club members, which means that over 90% of golfers are playing public or semi-private instead of behind a gate. So, from a realism standpoint, the normal way to play is to pay per round in a public course.

And, of course, the savings are substantial: Instead of paying over $10,000 a year in club dues and playing about 50 rounds annually, you can pay $2,000 (at a rate of $40 per round) for the same frequency and get the same physical and psychological gains. In fact, initiation fees and membership dues, when stacked over the course of a decade, can easily cost more than what it would take to move and buy a home in an affordable and golf-friendly retirement community, like Paris, Tennessee.