The threshold for poor course conditions

Last spring, I pulled up to a local course that my buddies and I have played probably over a hundred times. It had been the first time I had gotten to play in about a week and half, and since one of my closest friends and cousins was in his residency at the time it had been even longer since i had gotten to play with him. As I was putting my on FootJoy’s in the parking lot, one of our foursome informed me that he had already been in the clubhouse and paid for everyone and I just needed to venmo him my end. I told him no problem and asked what the damage was. Then he told me I would be out 80 dollars for this round of golf. I have to say it took me by surprise because as I mentioned earlier, I had been on this course a number of times in the past and 80 bucks seemed a little ambitious. I thought to myself well it’s been a while maybe they’ve done a few updates and that’s the reason for the hike in price…wrong.

If you found yourself in a greenside bunker which regrettably is not out of the ordinary for me, you might as well hit the ball off the sidewalk, and the fringes around the green were the same height as the greens themselves. Dont get me started on the T-boxes.

It really got me thinking, what exactly is the threshold for at the very least decent conditions on the course? If you ask me i think anywhere above $60 and you should at least be able to hit out of a decent sand trap. This is why when you go play a municipal, pay 20 bucks, get a free beer and a dollar dog at the turn you don’t expect to go out there and be enamored with the majesty of the conditions around you. Really I’m just thinking out loud but it seems like a good place to embrace debate. At what price would you expect good course conditions?