When you think of a country club, you think of an exclusive often stuffy and extremely expensive proposition. In most cases, that is true. However, in the rare instance you find something different, it would be insane to not take advantage of it. That’s what I found in Whitmoor Country Club.

I am from what I would argue is the unquestionable golf capital of the United States: Pinehurst, North Carolina. (If St. Andrews didn’t exist, it would be the golf capital of the world.) As a kid, you don’t necessarily understand the finances of golf. I have been a member of two different clubs since I was kid — Old North State Club and National Golf Club (now Pinehurst No. 9). When I aged out of my parent’s memberships and especially when I moved out here I woke up to the rude reality of paying for your own golf. It can add up in a hurry.

I play a lot of golf. Way more than the average American and even way more than the average avid golfer. I’ve cracked the 100 round barrier multiple years including in 2020. Now there are ways to make it somewhat affordable. GolfNow is a godsend. You can make tee times for basically any public course from one easy-to-use app. Plus, they have exclusive crazy deals, and you can earn rewards that turn cheap rounds into basically stealing a golf round.

However, no matter how you slice it if you are going to play 100 rounds even playing the most frugal golf at the whims of the GolfNow app you are looking at $2,000+ for the year. That’s not even including any clubs, balls, gloves, clothes, etc. you need to buy when playing that much golf.
For some people that sum of money would be absurd to pay just to play golf. However, I would say people will spend that on one trip or on expensive wine for the year, or on going to the movies, or some other free time activity. It is a question of priorities. For me, golf is the priority. It’s my very favorite thing to do, and basically, the only thing I spend money on that is not a necessity.

So that brings us to the dilemma.

I thought about moving back to North Carolina this year. I have lived in St. Charles for nearly a decade (10 years in August). I miss North Carolina and all it offers. However, when I was pricing golf in the Wilmington area (where I was looking to move) it was a completely different proposition to what I have been living with.

For one, there are just way fewer public options. You would think a golfing mecca like North Carolina would have more public options, but generally speaking golf in North Carolina is a private affair. Even in Pinehurst which has nearly as many golf courses as people, most of them are private, semi-private with very expensive greens fees, or part of the resort you know as the true Pinehurst and are prohibitively expensive if you are going to pay to play every day. Out here you can pay $25 and play a pretty good course. That’s just not realistic there.

So I looked into joining the sister club in Wilmington to the course I grew up playing and whose emblem currently is on my bag.

Porter’s Neck is a private club owned by McConnell Golf (like Old North State Club). I had heard that clubs generally will have reduced rates for people my age (sub 30) because they are trying to freshen their memberships and in theory will have a dues-paying member for many more years. I reached out for information and got back the financials because clubs generally do not publish these things — too gauche.

It was a $13,500 non-refundable initiation fee. That is a non-equitable stake which means unlike in the old days (or still some of the most elite clubs today) I don’t own a piece of the club. That money just gives me the right to pay another 400 bucks a month to play there. Now, this is actually not a bad deal, and from what I can gather it is pretty standard for a club that nice in the area. However, they do also charge you $20 every time you go out with a cart. That is also pretty standard.

That means I would be paying about an extra $200 a month on top of the dues to play the same amount I am playing out here. Doesn’t seem like a wise financial decision.

If I was going to live there for a decade, the initiation fee wouldn’t be that big of a deal. This would mean I am setting up near-permanent roots in Wilmington, and I’m just not at that point in my life where I’m ready to make decisions like that.

For comparison’s sake, I decided to check the cost of joining a country club around here. Then like Daniel Plainview, I struck a gusher.

Whitmoor Country Club

Whitmoor is owned by a family, Whittaker, that also owns Links at Dardenne and Golf Club of Wentzville which I have played a lot and Missouri Bluffs which I have played a decent amount but is more expensive. I have always been impressed with how their courses are maintained and run. When they sent the financials back from there my jaw almost hit the floor. For just a $750 initiation fee and basically the same monthly I could play as much golf as I could stand for no added charge. No greens fee. No cart fee. Just a monthly payment. Plus I would get the last few months of the “Club Year” for free as my dues wouldn’t start until the new Club year in March. On top of all that, they have two full courses on-site, a pretty great practice facility with two putting greens, a short game area, and a driving range with both grass and turf tees. And on top of even all that, you have reciprocal rights at Whittaker’s public courses.

I contacted the club to set up a trial round. It was a pretty dreadful cold and bleak day. Thankfully it didn’t rain hard, but it definitely spit a little and was cart-restricted. If you were running a club and trying to woo potential members, this would be one of the worst kinds of days to showcase your course. It had the exact opposite effect on me.

I played the South Course, which is the longer and allegedly wider course. I immediately saw myself playing this course every day without getting bored. The elevation changes are kind of stunning for a course in the area. It opens with a Par 4 straight up a steep hill. Once you get to the green you notice maybe the most challenging part of the course. The greens are huge but almost all have at least two tiers and many like the 1st are triple-tiered.

I scraped it around and shot 84, but that didn’t really matter. I found a course that would make me better. This is a shot-makers course. There are hazards and or OB up the sides of every hole, so driving accuracy is vital. The greens are big, so your GIR might be inflated, but if you want to score you have to strike the hell out of your irons or putt the lights out, or you’re going to have a lot of 3-putts. There are 9 pin positions to cycle through, so the holes can play one or two clubs different from one day to the next. Both courses are less than 7,000 yards from the tips, but especially South has so many holes that play long, I would argue it is functionally one of the longer courses in the area.

I signed the paperwork without even playing the North Course and became a member of a private club for the first time on my own. Since joining on Oct. 23, I have played the North Course and shot a 74, so I think I like that one better. The greens are less severe and you take less than driver on many holes. It’s allegedly the “narrow” one, but it doesn’t play that way for me. Maybe it just suits my eye better.

I am excited for this journey. I can’t wait to play in the tournaments including the Club Championship. This is an exciting next step, and who knows I might hate it and be back to public golf next year because this is a year-to-year commitment. I have a sneaking suspicion that won’t be the case.