Just recently moved to FW. Any advice as to which to join? Thinking Colonel due to proximity (Tanglewood) walking distance. Shady Oaks seems ridiculously priced if $30k more initiation fee than Colonel like I've heard. River Crest apparently similar to Colonel. Going there next week for drinks to check it out. Ridglea very financially friendly compared to all of the rest, but a hike.

All good IMO depending on what you are looking for with the exception of Rivercrest. Lots of trust funders and easily the worst golf course of the group. Not really even in the same conversation.

Love the course at Colonial but it's not nearly as exclusive as Shady Oaks and your course is trashed for about a month every year. So there is justification for the price difference. That being said I'd still go Colonial.

Shady Oaks just re-did their entire course last year. I haven't played it since the update, but I'm sure it's great.

That reminds me

slight thread jack, but anyone a memeber at Trohpy Club and can tell me what they did to Whitworth?

Rivercrest more of a social scene IMO. I still like the course but the others you listed are better for golf. Obviously Shady is legit. Colonial is nice as well, ton of members that golf. Have heard you cant just get any tee times you want, not sure if that's true. Covid may have changed everything in regards to what is going on at these places. Ridglea is the mid priced 2 course club. Probably best bang for buck.

I'm a member at Ridglea. I like having two courses to play and it's very reasonable price wise (but prices are going up beginning in Feb). It is also a great club for families if that's a selling point. It's not as exclusive as the others, but oh well. It fits our needs.

I think you just listed the options!

Dumb_Loggy said:

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I'm a member at Ridglea. I like having two courses to play and it's very reasonable price wise (but prices are going up beginning in Feb). It is also a great club for families if that's a selling point. It's not as exclusive as the others, but oh well. It fits our needs.

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Ridglea is awesome. Great club to be apart of.

Do they still have the men only course at Ridglea?

Not having any knowledge of these clubs whatsoever, I offer:
- that the course was just redone and there's a 30k premium is definitely something to consider. But probably not in the way you're thinking. These courses have a lifespan of about 20 years before they need a proactive remodel to maintain the quality you're signing up for. If you go w the cheaper option and the membership cares about the health and quality of the conditions, there's a decent chance you've got a 15-30k assessment coming up in the next few years. So if you can afford it, don't put too much weight on that.
- get a sense of the mga- even if you don't think you'll care about tournaments and trips, if you're like 90% of the high teens handicappers that join thinking "it's handy, I'm mostly interested in random quick 9s, or the once a month saturday rounds" you're going to quickly convert to a fiend. A good mga can make it 5x better than you thought.
- are the people cool? Like people you'd have to your house? That's probably the most important part. This will probably become the place you "go". So make sure you like the people that are out there.

Yes sir; the south course.

Shady Oaks is $100,000 AND there is a waiting list. Really good course just got better with the update work.

I'm a member at Ridglea and the family has really enjoyed it. Lots of different groups and you can always find a group to play with. I live in same area you just moved to. It's 5-10 minutes to ridglea men's course and about 10-15 to family course.

Each club has their own vibe. My experience has been that Rivercrest is the trustfunders about half of Colonial is pretty laid back but the other half really wants to tell you they are members at Colonial. I had a kid tell my daughter in 1st grade that they couldn't be friends because we weren't members at Colonial.

You will find tons of Colonial members near Tanglewood...just don't be the guy who quadruple gears it dropping your kids off with the Colonial hat, shirt, belt and styrofoam go cup from the night before.

Some people call Ridglea the YMCA of country clubs. May be true but they have just gone through a pretty large clubhouse remodel and finally made some much needed changes forcing the old head pro to "retire" and bringing in a legit GM.

If I still lived in Ft Worth I would join Ridglea for the two courses. I used to say that about Shady Oaks before I had kids, but now it would be Ridglea.

When I was a high school kid before cameras and anyone cared we used to sneak into the pool at night and swim. Ive played that course 50 times but probably spent more nights on it than days. Good times.


Colonial is awesome. Get a friend there and play it a couple of times a year. But don't deal with the tournament.

There is a reason a lot of old clubs across the country do not have regular PGA tour stops. It is very disruptive.

EOE said:

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You will find tons of Colonial members near Tanglewood...just don't be the guy who quadruple gears it dropping your kids off with the Colonial hat, shirt, belt and styrofoam go cup from the night before.

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God, you couldn't be more right. I've only been in Tanglewood a week now and see guys plastered with gear from Colonial. They should start making special logos that say "voting member" as I have a hunch a lot of those guys are social members and are more about the vanity of it.

Thanks all for the insights. Fort Worth is a great city and you can't really go wrong with any of the clubs from the sounds of it. That and everything is at most a 15 minute drive away.

Went to a wedding a little while back at Mira Vista. What's the story on that club?

My opinion (so take for what you paid for it) is that Mira Vista is a fun golf course to play a couple of times a year. Wouldn't want it for my everyday course. Lots of elevation changes and very unique to the area. Somewhat gimmicky in my opinion. They've been in and out of financial troubles and the facilities feel kinda stuck in the 80s. Membership has the reputation of not being terribly friendly.

That said some nice houses out there and a cool concept to have everything together inside a gated community. Just farther out and not my personal cup of tea.

grego said:

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My opinion (so take for what you paid for it) is that Mira Vista is a fun golf course to play a couple of times a year. Wouldn't want it for my everyday course. Lots of elevation changes and very unique to the area. Somewhat gimmicky in my opinion. They've been in and out of financial troubles and the facilities feel kinda stuck in the 80s. Membership has the reputation of not being terribly friendly.

That said some nice houses out there and a cool concept to have everything together inside a gated community. Just farther out and not my personal cup of tea.

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Exactly what he said

Ill add to that, one of the best ranges in Ft. Worth. The head pro Courtney is cool. Wouldn't join though. Bout all I got on that.

For what it's worth have a couple of friends who are members at River Crest and they really like it. I've played there a few times, and it's a fun course. Very tight, but fun. Never played the other two.

Man I'd love to just play any of those courses. If anyone wants to put me on, holler!

Be interested to put some names on the guys that are members at Ridglea.

grego said:

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All good IMO depending on what you are looking for with the exception of Rivercrest. Lots of trust funders and easily the worst golf course of the group. Not really even in the same conversation.

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River Crest is easily the best conditioned of the Ft. Worth Clubs and the least busy. Haven't scene the Shady reno yet, but their conditions were always pretty close to River Crest. River Crest is the hardest 6400 yards you will ever play and their Clubhouse is fantastic.

To each his own I guess. I think the conditioning is on par with the others, certainly not "easily the best" in my opinion. And I completely disagree with the clubhouse and I think most would share that sentiment. There is a reason this is the third major reno of it in the last couple of decades. The Shady clubhouse is light years better than any in town in my opinion.

grego said:

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To each his own I guess. I think the conditioning is on par with the others, certainly not "easily the best" in my opinion. And I completely disagree with the clubhouse and I think most would share that sentiment. There is a reason this is the third major reno of it in the last couple of decades. The Shady clubhouse is light years better than any in town in my opinion.

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I didn't say it had the best Clubhouse, but it is really nice.

I don't know how often you play the other courses in Ft. Worth - and I haven't played Shady post-renovation - but there are no better greens day in and day out in the entire DFW area than the bentgrass greens at River Crest. Vaquero, DCC, Northwood, and Lakewood are all very good all the time, but no better than River Crest. There are some great bermuda greens as well - Castle Hills and Gentle Creek come quickly to mind, but those are two different animals.

I understand that the layout is short, tight, and looks more "municipal" than any place else you could play, but the playing surfaces are absolutely superb all the time.

Shady is the best combination of course, conditions, and amenities, but it is price prohibitive.

I'm a member at one of them and have previously been a member at another. Have played all of them numerous times. Everything I said is my opinion and based on personal experiences.

Then and now. I was very interested to read the various opinions expressed in this thread. I grew up in Fort Worth and my parents belonged to River Crest, Ridglea, and Shady Oaks at one time or another. I played each numerous times before I left for Fish Camp at Junction in June 1963. They resigned from each and moved to Houston then. Lots of fond memories at each club, particularly regarding Hogan at Shady Oaks. Looking back, that was a great place to grow up.

Member of Ridglea, if you've got kids, it's a great place. Fully licensed child care so you can leave the club after you drop them off, huge plus. Two courses are great value for the price. Totally redone over the last couple of years and not much of a pretentious vibe at all. Good pool scene. And if RCC is a "hike" for you from Tanglewood, well that's your opinion, but I would disagree.