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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - What will they think of next?
This is the thought I had while peering over one of the most impressive first-tee golfer's-tackle-boxes I had ever seen, at the ritzy Dutchman's Pipe Club, an exclusive private club open only to a small membership and a handful of guests of the tony, boutique Belgrove Hotel on site.
There weren't just plain white tees, scorecards and a few plastic ball markers. No way - this thing was packed with goodies. You want free ball markers? Dutchman's Pipe has magnetic metal ones, as well as sleek single-prong repair tools. Forgot to apply sunscreen? There's some Sun Bum for you (Banana Boat? For peasants). Forgot to mark your golf ball? Here's an array of different-colored Sharpies, plus a couple of plastic tracks for putting a long alignment line on your ball if you wish.
What about scorecards? Forget disheveled single stack - that's for your everyday facilities. Dutchman's Pipe has three: one blue, one white and one yellow. The yellow card is for golfers playing the course's shortest tees - it only displays the Blue (6,086 yards) and Red (5,013 yards) distances, plus a Blue/Red combo set. The blue and white scorecards list all tee yardages and are identical except for their orientation; the blue card presents the information from left to right, while the white card is vertically oriented. I've come to prefer vertical scorecards because as a lefty, I don't come away with a graphite-smudged hand as often. I had never seen both options presented at once until I played Dutchman's Pipe.
Surprise! There's a fourth card in the box: a green one. But rather than hole yardages, the green card is a stat-tracker, with boxes not just for typical items like fairways and greens in regulation, but approach and putt distances as well. The glossy side of the card lists PGA Tour leaders and averages in statistics like fairways, greens and proximity to the hole from various yardage ranges. Dutchman's Pipe's caddies are asked to keep stats during their loops, presumably to help inform and improve members' handicaps. I had never seen something like that prepared for a specific course before.
Here’s something I had never seen at a golf course before yesterday:
— Tim Gavrich (@TimGavrich) October 30, 2025
At Dutchman’s Pipe, caddies can keep stats for the players they loop for. I guess the staff is gathering the data in order to help guide player improvement? I could also see that data being useful when… pic.twitter.com/3HXShSdxZ1
Another conspicuous presence in Dutchman's Pipe's world-class starter box was four sacks of golf balls bearing the names of PGA Tour pros Xander Schauffele and Neal Shipley, as well as six-time LPGA Tour winner Jessica Korda and renowned instructor Chris Como (well-known to GolfPass members). The sacks contained their respective golfer's preferred brand and model. Going a step farther, Dutchman's Pipe extends this particular service to members, who can choose from eight different brands and models of range balls with which to warm up. I have heard of this tour-level amenity at a handful of other courses, but have only experienced it first-hand when I visited PGA Frisco in the fall of 2023.
And because I know you're wondering, the answer is yes: Dutchman's Pipe's comfort-station game is on point, too. Had I not eaten a big lunch elsewhere before my round, I would have been more adventurous than just grabbing a Diet Coke from the stations set up on each nine. But the next time I visit, there's a bag of Miss Vickie's chips with my name on it, plus a Clif bar (for health) at the very least. I might even grab a Dr. Brown's root beer - no doubt a delicious nod to the club's New York-snowbird members.
Is the golf experience in danger of being over-amenitized?
Far be it from me to tell private clubs where the line is when it comes to the services and other touches they offer - these extras all cost money, and if the membership is willing to bear the cost, bully for them. As a guest, I certainly felt a little extra-pampered by their presence. This over-the-top golfer-service approach has filtered down to high-end resort courses, too. On a summer visit to Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri, I was impressed by the complimentary buffalo dogs on offer at each course's snack station. The freebie bratwursts at Whistling Straits are a must-have, too. And at SentryWorld, just 45 minutes north of Sand Valley in central Wisconsin, a recent overall facility-wide upscale makeover has turned its comfort stations into all-inclusive snack hubs, too. This trend will continue as long as golf's economy keeps humming. In the next downturn, however, these extras will probably be the first to be pared back.
As features like comfort stations, choose-your-own range balls and other luxuries proliferate, I find myself wondering at what point the golf becomes secondary to the rest of the trappings of the experience. While I'll fully admit to loving certain clubs' signature snacks - the just-spicy-enough ginger snap cookies at Philadelphia Cricket Club and fresh, cold apples at The Olde Farm come to mind at this time of year - I also know that my very favorite golf experiences emanate first from the golf course and the company I shared it with. Besides, I can always grab a bag of chips on the way home.
