Joining a Country Club

What makes someone "snobby?"

You say they are full of snobby people, but how do you know?

Isn't that like me saying the local YMCA is full of thugs?

Keith Stone wrote:

So, by "safe" you mean "no black people".

So sure, go join country club because you are certainy the country club type.

Hmmm... No, that isn't what I meant.

I actually used the YMCA in our town last year, and can flat out tell you it is not a safe place to hang out. I had my wallet stolen once, my car broken into once and saw a fight break out in the weight room.

Three instances that made me cancel my membership. It is a shame too, b/c it was a block from my office and made running, lifting and showering very easy during the workday.

I let the staff know why I was leaving.

If it makes you feel any better, i don't believe the culprits in any of the three events were "black."

I certainly wouldn't want my kids hanging out there though, which is sad IMO.

In addition, our family friends do not hang out at the YMCA, so that is another reason why I don't want to spend all of my time there.

I understand people like you want to stereotype members of Clubs, but at least try not to be so obscenely racist when you do it. It is offensive, and it makes you look like a moron. Somewhere along the line someone from a club must have done something bad to you. Otherwise, you are just bitter.

Stone getz OWN3D

apologies, SbT. my comments weren't directed at you.

I've seen "Caddy Shack" and I gotta tell you, things seem a bit stuff and that Judge seems like a real hard ass.

SadbutTrue wrote:

I just find at LEAST in our area, the CC's are EXTREMELY full of snobby people and the funny thing is--we are in the same income category, we just like to be humble about our status, that's all.

Ours had (and still has) that reputation. And there are many members that are complete idiots in their snobbery. We didn't join for years because of that perception.

Once we joined, we found out that most members were normal people with normal values, a little more money than normal, and an appreciation for something nicer than the municipals had to offer.

Only regret? Letting the snob factor keep us away as long as it did.

Open Question wrote:

I understand people like you want to stereotype members of Clubs, but at least try not to be so obscenely racist when you do it. It is offensive, and it makes you look like a moron. Somewhere along the line someone from a club must have done something bad to you. Otherwise, you are just bitter.

Bitter, no, just pointing out the facts. Stereotypes just don't come of the blue. I've heard obscenely racist comments about the clientele of the YMCA more times than I can count and the people uttering those remarks often were members of country clubs. There's not much nuance in a statement like "I don't want my wife working out next to a big sweaty black man".

I was a member of such a club for a few years. Basically a country club without the golf course; gym, racket-ball, full size pool, bar, dining, etc. Nice place, and as lily white as they come. Nice people, but it was pretty clear the reason why many of them were there as opposed to cheaper and more convenient locations. When the couple that invited us to join left, so did we, and we joined the Y.

Call it what you want, but if you really look at it with your heart of hearts you're going to see the primary reason such clubs exist is for prestige and exclusivity. That's fine if that's what you seek, but don't kid yourself.

So stereotypes just don't come out of the blue... unless that stereotype involves a big sweaty black man...

Yeah, you make a lot of sense.

Wait...how do you even know what the guy that stole your wallet and broke into your car looked like? Did you catch both in the act?

ldp wrote:

Wait...how do you even know what the guy that stole your wallet and broke into your car looked like? Did you catch both in the act?

I don't know what they looked like. I said, I don't "think" they were black.

Open question - Bull Run Conservatory. There are others like it, too. If you have legal or business skills, helping outfits like this acquire more land is a great outside endeavor. Not an easy thing.

And I do play golf too - and occasionally find it fun. For someone who plays four or five times a year, a country club makes little sense - even playing expensive 250-500 buck a round courses is a cheaper endeavor than joining a club.

My close colleague and friend is a black guy who joined a pretty nice club to taste what it is like (a really good golfer, I might add). He has come to the same conclusions as I do about these clubs and is leaving his - but he is clear at the same time in stating there are some nice people at the club -- whom he likes as well as the inevitable set of snobs (and no, in 2009 no one makes an issue of his race). I think the key is staying grounded no matter what choice one makes, and that the temptation away from being grounded might be a bit more at these clubs than in other environments.

And oh brother - thanks for the compliment - I do indeed feel like a loser as I write those monthly tuition checks to the two Ivy League schools my kids attend. If I was really smart and not such a loser, I would have chosen a life of poverty so I could have qualified for aid for these two instead of being a full pay kind of guy. My wife of twenty five years likes the lifestyle, though, so in the end I am confident she would disagree with your uninformed conclusion.

Here in New England, I can tell you what I know about the country club in my neck of the woods. We are close to NYC. And, many of the members are men in their late 50's, 60's and 70's. Many of them have a wife they cheat on or have traded in that wife for a younger one.

First hand, I was told from the assistant golf pro that he "get's alot of action from the younger married women.."

That's not the life I want.

No thanks.

I'll just take my wife and go out to dinner, thank you. You can have that life.