Country Club
A country club is most often a private club that offers a variety of recreational sports facilities to its members. Two of the most common types of facilities are tennis and golf, although others sports such as Polo are seen as well. Country clubs are generally exclusive organizations, and at the more expensive clubs membership
dues can be upwards of $300,000. Many clubs have other requirements to join as well. For example, it is not uncommon to have a
private club for members of a particular housing community, or large company.
Social and Class Issues
Many argue that the purpose of the high membership cost imposed by country clubs is not, primarily, the maintenance of the
club. Rather, some people believe that high membership fees are intended to exclude "undesirables" from being able to join
without forcing the club to explicitly exclude anyone based on racial or other controversial critera.
A good example of this fight between freedom of association and equal access for disenfranchised groups can be
seen in the battle between the Augusta National
Golf Club, which hosts the Masters golf
tournament every year, and Martha Burk, head of the National Council of Women's Organizations. Augusta National currently has no
female members, and its membership represents some of the most powerful men in American business and politics. Burk has protested corporate sponsorship of the tournament up until 2004,
when Augusta National decided to drop all sponsorship and pay for the tournament through other means.
Country Clubs and American Business
The status of golf (and tennis, to a lesser extent) as the American "business sport" adds to the divisive nature of country
clubs. Since members tend to range from the upper-middle class to the very wealthy, country clubs are seen as a haven for the
business elite. The exclusion allows corporate dialogue and behavior to be concealed from the public and gives businessmen an
environment where they need not fear retrobution for offensive behavior. Indeed, if popular culture is to be believed, most business golfers either cheat at golf, if they are poor golfers, or play
under their ability, if they are good, since it is considered most advantageous to lose to one's superior, but within fewer than
6 strokes.
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