Dayton country club
When I still lived in Europe, I never noticed any popular country clubs. Well, me not noticing it absolutely does not mean there are no country clubs over there, but in the United states of America, every bigger city usually has not only one, but several country clubs!
And Dayton, Ohio, where I currently live, is not an exception. The closest country club to me is called Dayton country club, and since I visit it quite frequently and I see it as an interesting place, I decided to tell you more about it in the following entry.
How to get there?
Despite the name, Dayton country club is not situated in Dayton, but in the city of Oakwood, which is a suburb of Dayton. The Dayton country club is situated on 555 Kramer road, and to get there from Dayton, simply drive towards Kettering on Far hills avenue, then turn right on Rubicon road and immediately turn right again on Northview road.
At the end of the Northview road, turn left onto Kramer road. The Dayton country club will be on your right side. It has a pretty big parking lot, so you do not have to worry about not finding a parking spot.
Becoming a member
If you are not earning six figures a year, do not even think about joining the Dayton country club. First of all, you have to pay a one time joining fee of a few thousand dollars, and then you have to pay an additional five hundred dollars every month to maintain an active membership. And that is not everything at all - you are expected to spend five hundred dollars or more on dining and drinks every six months on top of your monthly membership.
Oh, and I almost forgot - at least two active Dayton country club members must vouch for you before joining. Sounds complicated? It is. So how do I afford being a member of the Dayton country club? Even better - how do I afford being a member of Dayton country club without having to pay a single penny for the membership?
The answer is simple - the family that I work for, put me on their family membership plan as one of many perks of my job as a nanny of a pretty rich family. The parents are both doctors, so they can easily afford that expense, but I do not think I could ever justify spending five hundred dollars per month for a country club membership.
As a member of the Dayton country club, you get a member number, which will get you everywhere inside, and you can also use it to ‘pay’ for things. For example, if you want to order something at the poolside bar, just tell them your number when they ask for it, and the price of your drink will be automatically billed together with your monthly membership at the end of each month.
The swimming pool
The best part of the Dayton country club's pool is definitely the diving board!
From mid June to end of August, the pool at Dayton country club opens, and that place is pretty amazing. Not only they actually have three different poolsthere, they also have a basketball court and a sand volleyball court.
The small pool and a place where you can put your belongings down while you are swimming.
The Dayton country club pool has plenty of shade and some pretty comfortable beach chairs. Once you walk through the gate, an employee will ask you for your member number. As a member, you get ten guest passes per year, meaning you can bring up to ten people with you. If you use all the passes, each guest that comes with you, costs ten dollars, and it is billed to your account.
There is a big pool, which has three parts - the deep end with the diving board (I know, I know, the best thing ever), the regular part and the shallow part for the little kids. Then, there is a small, kiddie pool, which is usually empty because all the kids simply go to the shallow part of the big pool. And there are at least three life guards on duty at all times.
You can also borrow some floaties and goggles from the life guards, and the pool has clean restrooms (which is a rarity), showers and changing rooms. Sunscreen and body lotion are providedin the changing rooms free of charge. Remember, you are in a fancy country club!
Even if the spring has barely started, I am already looking forward to the Dayon country club's pool to open!
What I find weird (but it actually makes sense) in every pool in the United states of America (and the pool at Dayton country club is not an exception) is that every hour is divided into adult time and kids time. During the first forty five minutes of every hour, both adult and kids can use the pool, but for the last fifteen minutes, the kids have to leave the pool and only adults can stay inside. And since there is usually a lot of kids at the pool at all times, I find this rule extremely useful.
If you feel like having some ice cream after all the swimming, you can get it at the snack bar. Do not skip the Dove ice cream (dove as in a chocolate brand, not the soap) and the Orange push ups. Water is provided for free, and it is ice cold. Even though it tastes too much like chlorine, it is still better than having to bring your own drinks to the pool, especially if you are going there with a lot of people.
Golf course
Dayton country club has an impressive, eighteen hole golf course. The first part of the golf course is open, and the second part is surrounded by a lush forest, which is a part of the Hills and dales metro park. Remember when I mentioned a golf course in the Hills and dales blog post, and the fact that you can walk (or run) all around it? This is the place!
The part of the golf course that you can see from the main road.
The Dayton country club’s golf course does not have any facilities (yeah, no restrooms, unfortunately), so make sure you use them before your game if you do not want to walk all the way back to the clubhouse. You can bring your own drinks with you, or buy some from employees who are selling them throughout the course. Like you probably guessed, it is cheaper to bring your own drinks. If you buy a drink at the golf course, a Gatorade will cost you six dollars.
You can also rent golf equipment if you do not have your own, and a golf cart. Golf equipment price varies depending on your skill level, and a golf cart rental costs twenty dollars per game. This might seem a lot, but once you see how big the golf course is and how much walking you will have to do, you might want to reconsider renting that golf cart.
And that is not all - you can also hire a private caddy. A caddy is a person that will carry your golf equipment around for you and pass you golf balls and clubs. Not bad, right? And if you would like to learn how to play golf, you can hire a private golf instructor. The price is quite steep, but their instructors are very good, so you will get the best for your money.
Tennis and racketball courts
The Dayton country club has two tennis courts and two racketball courts. The racketball courts are heated, which means they are open in winter as well, meanwhile the tennis courts close during winter months. If you do not have your own tennis rackets, you can easily rent tennis equipment at the tennis shop, situated at the tennis court entrance. You can also get drinks there and sign up for tennis lessons.
The tennis balls are supplied at every court, and occasionally, you can find racketball rackets at the racketball courts, so you do not need to rent them.
I love playing tennis there in summer months, because the courts are usually empty. I think the reason is that people find it too hot for playing tennis during the summer heat. But if you are willing to sweat a little more, and have both tennis courts all for yourself, then you can simply go there on a hot summer day. Just make sure you are drinking enough water and frequently putting sunblock on your skin.
The gym
Dayton country club offers a modern gym, and you can also hire a personal trainer… for almost one hundred dollars per hour. All the equipment in the Dayton country club’s gym is modern, and they also offer some snacks and drinks in there. Free snacks and drinks include water, coffee and trail mix, but you do have to pay for bottled water, Gatorade and granola bars.
The equipment at the Dayton country club’s gym includes stair steppers, treadmills, rowing machines, an impressive set of weights and so on. They also have a professional scale, that can calculate your body fat percentage and so on. At this point, I would like to mention that not everything is in that number on the scale. You might realize you weigh more after frequently going to the gym, but that is just because you gained muscle and lost a lot of fat!
They also have showers on site, with supplied towels and toiletries. Whenever I go there, I am feeling very spoiled - I do not even need to bring anything with me and I feel like I am in a fancy hotel.
The clubhouse
The main part of the Dayton country club is the main clubhouse. Here, you can find a coat room, a dining room, and a fabulous lounge. There is some old and newer golf equipment displayed on the walls, and it is pretty interesting to see how everything evolved with time.
The lounge is a great place to sit down and relax before or after your golf game (or the gym). A relaxing piano music is played on the loudspeakers, and you can also, while relaxing, read one of many newspapers and golf magazines, provided there.
Sunday brunch
If you are tired from partying on a Saturday night and you do not feel like making breakfast or lunch when you wake up, Dayton country club has a perfect solution to your problem - their Sunday brunch. The brunch is buffet - style and it has a fixed price. You can choose from a variety of cured meats, waffles, eggs, fruits, and, last but not least, there is also a big dessert table.
As you probably guessed, I never skip the dessert table, regardless on how full I am. But I have a good reason - they have macaroons, red velvet cake, freshly baked cookies, a fudge cake and so on. How can one possibly resist trying one piece (well, at least one piece) of everything on the dessert table?
Please do not forget that this is a high - end country club and they do have a dress codethat is strictly enforced - they will not let you in if you are wearing sweatpants, jeans with holes (and sometimes jeans in general are not allowed) and sneakers.
Dayton country club also hosts an annual Thanksgiving buffet lunch.
Dinner murder mysteries
One of the newest events that Dayton country club only recently introduced to its members, are the so - called dinner murder mysteries. This is basically an acted out horror movie, and you will be a crucial part of it. The actors, which are usually just the Dayton country club’s employees, will invite people from the audience to participate, and it is just amazing.
Basically, this event is just like seeing a play in a theatre where they ask the audience to participate, but a big difference is that you are allowed (and encouraged) to eat food, which will never happen in a theatre. You have to buy the tickets for the dinner murder mysteries in advance, and they usually cost around fifty dollars.
That might seem expensive, but, first of all, the event is happening at the Dayton country club, and all the members have enough money not to care about these fifty dollars, secondly, a pretty amazing dinner is included in the price, and last but not least, participating in the dinner murder mystery is just so much fun.
If you are interested in going to one of these events, but you are not a Dayton country club member, do not lose all the hope. You can still go! But you have to go with one of the current club members, who will put you on the list as their guest. You will still have to pay that fee, but you will avoid paying five hundred dollars per month for the country club membership.
A few words for the end…
Being a member of a fancy country club is a brand new experience for me, and I am loving it. Well, all I can say is that I am more than glad that I do not have to pay for an expensive membership, thanks to my employer. And regardless on your interests, you will definitely find something to do at the Dayton country club, whether it is golf, fine dining, or just sweating at their amazing gym.
