2016 Colorado Private Club Guide: The Member Experience

2016 Colorado Private Club Guide: The Member Experience

Own it. That’s today’s mantra. We hear it all the time in reference to people taking responsibility for their behavior. You’ve got to own your actions.

We hear it in business, where proprietorship—acting “like a boss”—often trumps actual prosperity.

Ownership has also long enjoyed preeminence in the private-club world. Belonging to a member-owned club has traditionally meant holding an equity position and participating on boards and committees that direct the organization’s financial, social and operational activities. This setup mostly runs smoothly, but since everyone has a seat at the table, it also occasionally leads to disagreements, especially when talk of assessments arises.

And it seems to be arising often. Members continue to own the majority of Colorado’s private clubs, many of which are updating clubhouses, improving facilities and upgrading
programming to keep pace with other clubs, satisfy existing members and attract new ones.

Some clubs have drastically reduced initiations while increasing monthly dues. Though still “member-owned,” they no longer consider themselves “equity clubs” in the sense that they will automatically refund initiation fees to resigning members. A few have established two “initiations”—a “refundable” one that can cost twice the amount of a “nonrefundable” one.

Once considered deposits, these nonrefundable initiations basically provide the club with operating capital. Oh, and should you need or want to spread the cost of admission over time, installment plans remain an option—but unlike in recent years, you might pay a few
extra thousand for the convenience, depending on the term and the club.

That is, unless you were born after 1977. Looking to court younger members (including those elusive Millennials), just about every club out there offers reduced-cost junior memberships payable over as many as 10 years to people who haven’t reached their 40th birthday.

But what’s their commitment? With the demands of the post-recession workplace leaving less and less time to spend at the club, members may not want to pass that time in board meetings and fielding complaints about the overgrown tree on hole eight or the need for more elliptical machines. Even a prestigious club presidency can feel more like an onus than an honor. When it comes to clubs, membership may have its privileges, but ownership—maybe not so much.

Detailing the 2016 member experience at Colorado private clubs
The Arcis-owned Club at Pradera and The Pinery offer progams like wine clubs and lockering.

This isn’t to say that member-owned clubs like Rolling Hills, Lakewood and Perry Park don’t continue to deliver a top-notch experience. They do by continuing to reinvest in their product, improving programming, amenities and not deferring maintenance. Major capital projects are on the rise. Over the last few years, we’ve seen Valley give its course a major facelift; The Country Club at Castle Pines majestically expand its dining area and initiate a major course renovation; the members of Red Rocks debut a gloriously transformed clubhouse; and The Ranch commit to a spectacular $5.5 million clubhouse makeover. Columbine is currently spending $20 million on the construction of a new clubhouse and wellness center.

Some member-owned country clubs, like Fort Collins and Pueblo, have elected to contract golf management companies to handle operations. So have a number of privately owned clubs, among them Fox Hill (managed by OB Sports) and Cordillera (Troon).

Perhaps the most compelling trend is clubs owned and operated by companies such as ClubCorp, the industry giant that runs the popular Blackstone in Aurora and Black Bear in Parker, and Arcis, whose 76-course portfolio comprises 24 private clubs, including the Parker-based clubs of Pradera and The Pinery.

Arcis purchased the clubs, which lie less than five miles from each other, from BrightStar Golf in 2013.  The impact has been dramatic. Arcis’ deep pockets and decisively member-centric approach represents a major cultural shift, and it has resulted in upticks in the number of members and programs at both clubs. “We’re in a true partnership with our member advisors,” says Arcis’ Mark Lewicki, the membership and sales director.

“At most Colorado clubs, members pay 12 months of dues but only use the club seven or eight months,” he explains. “We have year-round programming now. We earn their business
every month. We give people reasons to use the membership they’re paying for.”

Those reasons include everything from fitness classes, family-night activities, indoor golf training and tennis programs, wine tastings, culinary experiences and a staggering number of social events. An additional $60 per month in dues affords Pinery members accessto Pradera facilities and vice-versa. It’s called a Summit Membership and it brings the monthly dues to $524 for Pinery members and $549 for Pradera members. That’s at least $120 less per month than comparable clubs charge—and none of those have 45 holes of spectacular golf on two distinctly different courses, 11 tennis courts, three pools, two fitness centers and two fine-dining restaurants.

Pradera and Pinery members don’t own their club but they do own their experiences—which, ultimately, is all any of us can truly claim equity in.


View the entire Clubbing Up Guide presented by Finlandia:


Related Links:

Colorado AvidGolfer Private Club Guide

Colorado AvidGolfer Private Club Guide: The Member Experience

Colorado AvidGolfer Private Club Guide: Denver Region

Colorado AvidGolfer Private Club Guide: Mountain Region

Colorado AvidGolfer Private Club Guide: Southern Region

Colorado AvidGolfer Private Club Guide: Club Directory

2016 CAGGYs: Private Club Winners

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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