If you read this review and still decide to join this club, you have no one to blame but yourself. This club actively does as little for its members as possible.
It seems clear that their business model is turnover. By not providing any amenities (see review below) they can discourage renewal memberships in order to sign new members. You have to realize they make at least 3X the money annually on new members vs. return members.
Members have to watch their accounts closely because each month people have to call in to the club to have phantom charges removed from their accounts. Additionally, there is a 20% Country Club at Woodmoor tax applied to every dollar you spend.
Well maintained course that is nearly unplayable. On 16 of the 18 holes, there is OB within 15 yards of the fairway, often times on both sides of the narrow fairways. Tee shots down the middle of the fairway are more likely to go into unplayable rough or OB than remain in the fairway. There is no second-cut at Woodmoor. There is only fairway, hardpan, unplayable, or out of bounds. To put it bluntly, you are often penalized for playing good golf at this course.
No real practice area. There is a very small putting green and a driving range with between 8 and 10 spots to hit balls, but that is only enough for people to warm up before they tee off. The entire putting green is sloped so there is no possibility of practicing flat putts or non-breaking putts. With no chipping green, the putting green doubles for a chipping green and the small area only allows chips up to about 30 feet, which is hardly useful for practice.
On week days with a league (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), you can expect a 5 to 6 hour round. Additionally, each of these leagues will have maybe three or four groups of players but the club blocks off three hours of tee times for these groups, ultimately eliminating between 12 to 15 morning tee times every day (48-60 tee spots). This last weekend they had a two day tournament that had seven teams and they blocked off the first 15 tee times on Saturday and the first 20 tee times on Sunday.
No ball washers, no benches, few trash cans. The club refuses to provide any golf-friendly amenities to members. You will not find ball washers on the course, and while a large percent of members prefer to walk, there are no benches which means members have to stand around for 5 or 10 minutes on some holes on busy days. While most courses provide ample ways to dispose of their trash, Woodmoor only puts out a few trash cans on the course so walkers often have to carry their trash for a couple holes before they can throw their trash away. Not what you would expect at a private golf facility.
No cocktails until 11, no breakfast, no hot food at the turn, no easy to grab lunch options, no beverage cart. In spite of the large membership at Woodmoor, members are denied basic food and beverage options available at most private and public courses. Imagine you want to invite some friends to golf at Woodmoor, your ‘private country club.’ If you golf in the morning, you will not be able to get a cocktail or breakfast. You will not encounter a beverage cart on the course either. Regardless of when you make the turn, there is no option to grab some food at the turn because they don’t offer any quick food options. I’ve heard you can get a rubbery microwaved hot dog, but no one I know has ever tried that.
Between the high number of memberships, the 2-4 outside events each week during the summer, the junior programs, certain members getting preferred group times throughout the week, and most members reserving all four tee times for single golfers, there are very few tee times available to the remainder of members.
But you don’t have to believe me. Go ahead and join. They will be happy when you cancel your membership in a year or two.