Be good at the game, not the game of golf!
Pros
Private clubs are their own ecosystem. You’re not serving random guests; you’re building relationships with a community of members who return again and again. That creates: Familiar faces Personal connections A sense of belonging A shared pride in the property Even when leadership dynamics get complicated — as some reviews hint — the member community often becomes the anchor.
Cons
This is the part that hurts the most. Good people — committed, skilled, collaborative people — end up absorbing the dysfunction created above them. They get labeled as “not aligned,” “not fast enough,” or “not delivering,” when the truth is: No one can succeed inside a system that leadership refuses to fix. When senior management protects themselves, everyone else learns to do the same. Innovation dies. Honesty disappears. Turnover spikes. And the organization becomes a revolving door of burned‑out talent.