What a Round Costs, and When a Membership Starts Making Sense

If you're only playing a handful of rounds this year, you pay per round and that's the end of it. If you're playing all summer, the membership ladder is worth doing the math on. Here's what's actually on the rate sheet.

Green fees

• 9 holes, walking, daily: $20.00
• 9 holes, walking, weekend or holiday: $24.00
• 9 holes with a half cart, daily: $31.00
• 9 holes with a half cart, weekend or holiday: $35.00
• 18 holes, walking, daily: $28.00
• 18 holes, walking, weekend or holiday: $33.00
• 18 holes with a half cart, daily: $45.00
• 18 holes with a half cart, weekend or holiday: $50.00

Seniors 62 and up and military get $2.00 off any of those rates. If you've got kids who want to play, Youth on the Course is $5.00 for nine holes or $10.00 for eighteen, which is a real price for a family to work with.

The membership ladder

• Student membership (13 to 18): $325.00
• Young Adult membership (19 to 22): $480.00
• Adult / Single membership: $750.00
• Senior membership (62+): $650.00
• Senior Couple membership: $900.00
• Married / Couple membership: $1,000.00
• Family membership, including all children 18 and under: $1,350.00
• 16 Round Punch Card: $350.00
• 16 Round Punch Card with cart: $475.00

So when does it actually pay off

Do the simple version of the math. An Adult Single membership is $750.00. At $28.00 a weekday round of eighteen walking, that's about 27 rounds to break even, roughly one round a week for half a golf season in Minnesota. If you're the kind of golfer who plays most weekends from spring through fall, you'll clear that easily and every round after it is essentially free. If you're realistically getting out five or six times a season, the punch card or paying per round makes more sense than a full membership.

The 16 Round Punch Card is the middle ground worth knowing about. At $350.00 for 16 rounds, that works out to under $22.00 a round, cheaper than a single weekday walking rate, without committing to a full season membership. If you want a cart most of the time, the punch card with cart at $475.00 for 16 rounds still beats paying the daily half-cart rate sixteen separate times.

There's no wrong answer here, it depends entirely on how often you're actually going to show up. But if you've been paying per round all summer and you're already past round fifteen or twenty, it's worth pulling out a calculator before your next visit. The ladder is built so the people who play the most pay the least per round, which is exactly how it should work.