Don't think of it as losing a country club but gaining a side hustle

[hybrid]

At the end of June I resigned from my country club after being an active member for more than eight years.  While I was a member I volunteered my IT services on numerous occasions, and I became the "go-to" guy for our club manager, a very decent guy who is working on a very tight budget.  Lots of us volunteer our various services that way for the club and I wasn't all that special, I just had a special skills set they needed that few could provide.

Fast forward two months, the club needs some IT work done and their very tight budget hasn't changed.  Rather than pay some company $100 an hour the club manager contacts me.  Of course I am no longer volunteering at this point, I have no skin in the game (for three years or so anyway, I would like to rejoin after achieving FI).  I recently did five hours of work for them at a rate of one hour for one greens fee.

So at the end of the day I get to keep golfing through the fall, and the club hasn't gone out of pocket for services rendered.  Total win-win for both parties! 

[oldtoyota]

Way to go!

[olivia]

Sweet deal!  I love hearing about barters...I need to get more skills worth bartering so I can do that.  :P

[sdeng87]

Fantastic! I need to figure out what skills I can trade for green fees since those are essentially the only hole in my budget at the moment.

[kkbmustang]

That is super creative bartering! Way to go!

[travelbug]

Good on you. That is a great deal.

[hybrid]

Fantastic! I need to figure out what skills I can trade for green fees since those are essentially the only hole in my budget at the moment.

If you don't mind a little part time work, I know some public courses will throw in rights to the facility if you are willing to work as a starter or ranger.  Golf courses tend to have very small staffs and no IT department, so I am already thinking about how I can parlay this into greens fees at other courses for barter work.  The golf industry is tight in my area, too many courses and not enough golfers.  Lots of places are trying to control costs, and bartering is a win-win for the course because they have unused capacity that is essentially free to exchange (my club typically doesn't have tee times past 1:30 or so in the afternoon most days, that is not atypical of many smaller clubs in my area).  If you have something you can bring to the table, talk to your local golf pro.

[vern]

Nice job!

In a similar vein, I have a friend who waxes skis at a resort in exchange for free XC skiing.

[imustachemystash]

That's so cool!  Do you appreciate your golfing even more now that you know how you earned it?

[hybrid]

That's so cool!  Do you appreciate your golfing even more now that you know how you earned it?

That's a great question - I'll alter it slightly to how do I feel about golf since adopting an MMM lifestyle (starting in May of this year)?  I think the reality is I enjoy golf a little less overall regardless of how I come by it.  It's still a very fun game, but the club is no longer a part of my life the way it used to be.  So it has been an adjustment.  I've had no shortage of ways to keep myself entertained this summer (strategy boardgaming, disc golf, canning, spending time with friends and family) but I've had an eight year routine changed and that has been an adjustment.  Going back to my club to golf (which is only five blocks away) is a reminder of a lifestyle I don't embrace today. So it doesn't "feel" quite right any more.  Joining the club back in '05 was all about making a decision.  We could be members there and afford it, but the costs were high.  There was a time when I was quite willing to trade some extra time at work for the opportunity to be a part of that, but today?  I've been there and I've done that (and I may do it again some day).  Today my goals are different, and breaking par isn't one of those goals.  I became quite good at golf compared to the average hacker, but I also reached a point where I was no longer improving either, not without really immersing myself in the game and I wasn't willing to go there.

In short, happy to have some free golf mostly because I am no longer willing to pay big bucks to play it like I used to.  Without the barter, I could (and probably would) mostly live without it, perhaps playing just a half dozen times a year instead of a half dozen times a month.

[MsGuided]

I've noticed a few other posts (in other areas of the forum) that express the same sentiment.... how adopting the MMM lifestyle has changed their perspective and, in some cases, the things one used to enjoy have lost a little of the former luster. 

Anyone out there experienced this?