Membership or ???

[nokids]

The only issue I have is what if I leave club link before the 8200 initiation fee is all paid. Do I just have to pay the initiation fee per year and then can leave whenever.

you can leave anytime. think of it as renting a home.

[goliath]

so what if I were to join mid season like lets say now...do I pay the same and its good for 1 year from today or is that not possible.

Does the membership offer me unlimites access to the driving range and practice facility of my home course IE: would prob be greyhawk

[nokids]

so what if I were to join mid season like lets say now...do I pay the same and its good for 1 year from today or is that not possible.

Does the membership offer me unlimites access to the driving range and practice facility of my home course IE: would prob be greyhawk

if you join now, you'd probably pay around $500 for the rest of the season, it would be prorated.

yes, unlimited range, greyhawk has the best range too.

[Colby]

I definitely don't want to get into an argument with CL members, however, it is a fact that CL controls the operations at each of its golf clubs. In a private club, the Board is voted in by the members to make important decisions on behalf of the members. The membership decides on green fees, membership fees, course changes, etc. Moreover, a truly private club has only 350 to 1000 members, whereas CL is (in reality) one large club with a membership of 10000 members or more. In summary, my intent was only to say is that CL is not exactly the same as a traditional "private" golf club. Sorry if I upset anyone with my earlier posting.

No worries. It's true that CL controls the operations at each club, however the members have a lot of say. For instance, before the new clubhouse was built at Greyhawk, the plan was to retrofit the two existing buildings for approximately 2.4 million. The plan was extremely unpopular with the members and was dropped in favour of the new clubhouse which is great. The other nice part was that there was no assessment required from the members for the 5+ million that was used to build the new clubhouse which would have happened at a fully private club.

So even though there are 10,000+ clublink members, the 800 at Greyhawk have access to preferred tee times, are the only ones who can play at member events at Greyhawk and any other Clublink member is really a reciprocal player from another club. The atmosphere is a private club without the extra assessment fees and responsibilities (board politics, etc) of an equity club.

[Johnyc]

Not a CL member, buy playing Rocky Crest, Lake Joseph and Grandview in the Muskokas this week. Three of the toughest courses I have ever played. With the exception of Lake Joseph, the courses were in mint condition. So many blind shots! I'm a 6 and I shot 84, 86 and 81. I would encourage any CL member to take the drive, it will be worth your time playing either Rocky Crest or Grandview.

[triple-bogey]

FYI...from Clublink webpage: ''Aug. 20, 2010 - No annual dues for the balance of 2010 if you join ClubLink now!''

Hmmmmm...an offer hard to refuse! If I am seriously considering joining, would they let me play a trial round at one of their clubs, eg Hautes Plaines?

[Chambokl]

Pick the course closest to your house. You will be driving there ALOT and it makes it easier to go out on the spur of the moment and play 9, or 5 or 12 holes, or just hit the range or just go to the clubhouse for a meal or a beer.

I completely agree with you.

Definitely an important reason why you become a member...

It might rain today... should I still go -- YES
It is 6:30 PM I won't have time to finish -- doesn't matter
I only have 2 hours -- great, time for a quick 9 holes
I am waiting for a phone call for a meeting -- don't have to wait around the house...

Sometime I go after lunch... play 9 or 13 holes... go back home for supper... and back to the course for an evening round...

Believe me, you will probably play more (if you want)...

[Colby]

FYI...from Clublink webpage: ''Aug. 20, 2010 - No annual dues for the balance of 2010 if you join ClubLink now!''

Hmmmmm...an offer hard to refuse! If I am seriously considering joining, would they let me play a trial round at one of their clubs, eg Hautes Plaines?

Give Jon Bodden at Greyhawk a call, he will set you up.

[DenisO]

I inquired about this as well since I just joined and aid prorated rate of about $500 annual dues for the remainder of the season. As it turns out, you don't have to pay annual dues for the remainder of the season but there's a catch. In my case, I'm paying the membership fee over 14 years, and monthly. But with this promotion, I'd have to pay 1/8th of the membership fee upfront, and then annual payments instead of monthly ones for the remainder of the membership fee. In the end I chose to stick with the regular payment plan and skip the promotion.

Played for the first time today as a member of ClubLink though at Hautes Plaines. Didn't play very well but it felt nice that's for sure. We were about to play another 18 at Eagle Creek just now but the rain came down hard and some lightning as well so we couldn't.

FYI...from Clublink webpage: ''Aug. 20, 2010 - No annual dues for the balance of 2010 if you join ClubLink now!''

Hmmmmm...an offer hard to refuse! If I am seriously considering joining, would they let me play a trial round at one of their clubs, eg Hautes Plaines?

[triple-bogey]

Give Jon Bodden at Greyhawk a call, he will set you up.

I will do that. Thanks!

[fundonny]

When are you moving to Ottawa??????????????????

I completely agree with you.

Definitely an important reason why you become a member...

It might rain today... should I still go -- YES
It is 6:30 PM I won't have time to finish -- doesn't matter
I only have 2 hours -- great, time for a quick 9 holes
I am waiting for a phone call for a meeting -- don't have to wait around the house...

Sometime I go after lunch... play 9 or 13 holes... go back home for supper... and back to the course for an evening round...

Believe me, you will probably play more (if you want)...

[triple-bogey]

I inquired about this as well since I just joined and aid prorated rate of about $500 annual dues for the remainder of the season. As it turns out, you don't have to pay annual dues for the remainder of the season but there's a catch. In my case, I'm paying the membership fee over 14 years, and monthly. But with this promotion, I'd have to pay 1/8th of the membership fee upfront, and then annual payments instead of monthly ones for the remainder of the membership fee. In the end I chose to stick with the regular payment plan and skip the promotion.

Played for the first time today as a member of ClubLink though at Hautes Plaines. Didn't play very well but it felt nice that's for sure. We were about to play another 18 at Eagle Creek just now but the rain came down hard and some lightning as well so we couldn't.

Ok, that's good to know. Thanks for the head's up. Since I am an ''old fart'' (43 yo ), I am pretty sure I will not get 14 years to pay off the initiation fee (probably more like 6 or 7). As suggested by Colby, I will check with Jon Bodden to get the fine print.

DenisO, you have played many courses in the area. Any public courses compare in quality to Hautes Plaines?

[fundonny]

The Dome wasn't one of the upper echelon courses in the ottawa area, so I'd have to say yes absolutely.

[nokids]

HP and Le Sorcier are similar, but the greens at HP are much faster.

[Chambokl]

When are you moving to Ottawa??????????????????

One more year before retirement... then who knows... both kids at Ottawa U....

[goliath]

FYI...from Clublink webpage: ''Aug. 20, 2010 - No annual dues for the balance of 2010 if you join ClubLink now!''

Hmmmmm...an offer hard to refuse! If I am seriously considering joining, would they let me play a trial round at one of their clubs, eg Hautes Plaines?

That is interesting indeed. Might have to look into this a little further.

Does this mean you pay the full price for your home course that you chose or would that be pro rated considering the time left in the year?

This is looking more and more like a possibility even if it is just for the end of this year.

[habsfan]

That is interesting indeed. Might have to look into this a little further.

Does this mean you pay the full price for your home course that you chose or would that be pro rated considering the time left in the year?

This is looking more and more like a possibility even if it is just for the end of this year.

prorated, play Eagle Creek, Le Maitre, and go to the Muskoka's for a weekend your $600 will pay for itself very quickly. Hautes lPlaines is probably the toughest 6000yds you'll ever play in Ottawa.

[Colby]

The Dome wasn't one of the upper echelon courses in the ottawa area, so I'd have to say yes absolutely.

Donny,

If you haven't played it recently, you should give it a chance. A few holes have been redone and the conditioning is almost always excellent.

[fundonny]

Donny,

If you haven't played it recently, you should give it a chance. A few holes have been redone and the conditioning is almost always excellent.

Oh I liked it when I played it, especially this one hole that you drove down a valley almost, can't for the life of me remember the hole number but with roll you get serious length. Just saying it wasn't talked about with eagle creek and the likes. The proximity to downtown was the biggest draw imo, only 10 minutes from the peace tower.

[XTOUR]

Interesting. I thought the annual dues were much more! Congrats Denis on your new membership.

[Colby]

Oh I liked it when I played it, especially this one hole that you drove down a valley almost, can't for the life of me remember the hole number but with roll you get serious length. Just saying it wasn't talked about with eagle creek and the likes. The proximity to downtown was the biggest draw imo, only 10 minutes from the peace tower.

It's not going to compare with Eagle Creek (Top 100 course in Canada), however it stands up really well against most of the courses in the Ottawa area, especially for its price point of $55 for guests in prime time (no cart required).

Meadows - $44
Mont Cascades - $44
Le Sorcier - $70 (includes power cart)
Greensmere - $46
Emerald Links - $54

[DenisO]

Thanks! Pablo and I planned 72 holes over Sat and Sun but were only able to get in 54 due to the downpour Saturday afternoon (too bad because it was at Eagle Creek and I really wanted to play there). Either way it was a good start to my ClubLink membership, I'm already thinking about all the money I'll be saving and better conditions I'll be playing in lol.

Interesting. I thought the annual dues were much more! Congrats Denis on your new membership.

[goliath]

How is club links for a single golfer. I passed on club links for this year. Kind of ** out it now but whatever.

Next year I plan to be playing most of the time alone. Ive never done that before so it seems a little weird.
How is it set up for club links places. Do they pair you up? Do you play alone? Is this a common thing?

[DenisO]

You probably can get paired up up or added to another 2-some or single, or just play by yourself. It's up to you really, and how busy the course is. I've seen plenty of singles playing on the course, nothing out of the ordinary.

[Colby]

You can't book ahead as just a single, they will always pair you up. However if you drop in during a slow time (late evening, things like that), you can always go out by yourself (I did so last Thursday morning)