Nice Set of Clubs

There are lots of reasons to join a private golf club.

Better manicured courses. No hoi polloi hackers in Hawaiian shirts. The staff in the pro shop, caddie shack and locker room know your name and at least pretend to like you. There are free cashews in the grill room. The list goes on.

But there are just as many reasons not to join a private golf club. It rarely makes any economic sense on a cost-per-round basis. You may well love the layout but loathe the old-goat members who have ruled the roost since the Great Depression.

And, well, it's like a marriage: One course, basically, till death do you part -- until another, sexier club catches your eye.

This is assuming the private club anoints you in the first place, and we all know Groucho Marx's thoughts on that: "I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member." ...