RBSC or Polo Club?

[thaibook]

I would like the views, especially of any RBSC or RBSC Polo Club members, about the benefits of joining the senior club.  I am a member of the RBSC Polo Club and am being invited to join the RBSC. 

 

Until now I have stayed in Thailand only a few months a year but we are likely to stay longer from next year.  Golf is not a major attraction as I have not played for several years and was never much good although my wife says she will take lessons to brush up her play (she was better at the game than me).  I expect I would be able to see the annual 7s competition.

 

I am told that during the week the RBSC is mainly populated by elderly and teenagers whereas the Polo has a wide range of age groups.  The food is better at the Polo.  One of the main arguments I have heard for RBSC membership is that the land was granted by the Crown so membership is for life whereas the Polo Club only has a lease on its grounds after which it may be dissolved. 

 

 

 

[jayboy]

I'm a member of RBSC which also gives me membership of the Polo Club.Doesn't work the other way round as you know.

 

I don't think I am aware of anyone who is a member of the Polo Club applying for RBSC membership - but it must happen from time to time.As a matter of interest how much are you expected to pay given you have already paid a significant joining fee at the Polo Club?

 

I think your information on the RBSC is broadly correct, very much the domain of oldsters during the day.Can't say I've ever noticed many teenagers.But it's a wider age range in the evening - though still mainly middle aged.

 

The food isn't brilliant at either but the RBSC has more outlets.Frankly it's a mystery why there aren't higher food standards at both.

 

The slightly weary cliche is that RBSC is old money and Polo Club is new money.Grain of truth here and the Thai elites will be members of the RBSC not the Polo Club - the former upper class and the latter middle class.Not quite sure whether these stereotypes apply these days.

 

I like the Polo Club - compact and pleasant atmosphere.RBSC is much bigger though a bit of a mess with the appalling newish Sports Complex (I'd be interested to know the history of that particular contract) - but the views are superb.

 

My advice would probably be to stick to the Polo Club.If you and your wife are interested in joining in activities RBSC might be better however and it has more social cachet.

 

Whatever you decide I hope you enjoy either or both of these fine clubs.

[smutcakes]

Personally i put the membership into the bracket of nice to have rather than necessity. I have all the facilities available at the Polo Club close to where i live, and there are many other sports clubs available with those facilities. For the golf, i am a weekend player and want to play on proper courses, i don't consider the RBSC a proper course. In addition since most of my activity is in the early morning, evening or golf at the weekend, the last thing i want to be doing is traipsing into central BKK.

 

I think most sport clubs through the week are generally quiet in office hours so the people you tend to see will be those who are not at work which probably tends itself to be children and elderly. The key point for me when considering joining clubs is the membership and player ship numbers. I have looked at some fantastic clubs here in BKK which would lovely to join but in reality the most important part for me is the playership. My main weekday sports are badminton, tennis and squash- as such one of the important parts of joining is to assess the numbers of members who regularly participate in these sports. If there are strong numbers it makes it great as there will always be groups to join and people knocking around at all hours for a game. Its great joining a nice club but if there are limited players etc its difficult to get regular game time.

 

If you live in the area and having somewhere nice to relax and play a bit of gentle golf, swim a little and use it as a country club lifestyle choice then RBSC is probably the one to do. However for me for all round sport options there are better alternatives around.

 

I thought once you are a member of RBSC you automatically have access tot eh Polo Club anyway, so you would have the best of both worlds.

[thaibook]

I appreciate that the difficulty in reaching a club is a potential issue.  When in Bangkok I currently stay in Rattanakosin, near Democracy Monument so the time to either club is about the same, but still 30 minutes on a good day.

[Sure]

I'm an RBSC member but prefer to go to the Polo, seldom go to the main club apart from Family Day.  

[thaibook]

thank you

[blackcab]

My wife and I are Polo Club members. My wife's parents are Sports Club members. My wife and I are on the upgrade list with about 7 years left until we get upgraded to Sports Club membership.

 

The reason we chose to upgrade is because we have a young child, and as you know when your child turns 20 they have a right to apply for membership as the child of an existing member, as opposed to waiting to get in on their own merits.

 

We thought if we could pass on the entitlement to the Sports Club then why not? It will save our son having to wait years on the upgrade list and the right to membership for children of children carries on ad infinitum.

 

My wife's parents are avid golfers and they played at the Sports Club exactly once. They really didn't like the course at all.

 

Whoever told you about the situation with the land and leases, etc. got it slightly wrong. Both pieces of land are on 30 year leases from the CPB. The Polo Club lease expires on 14 December 2035 while the Sports Club lease expires on 26 February 2031.

 

If the Polo Club lease was not renewed then I suspect the outcome might be that Polo Club members might be allowed Sports Club membership on payment of the relevant fee. As you know, the quantity of Polo Club members is only about 15 per cent of the number of Sports Club members, so the Sports Club could probably handle the extra capacity.

 

Even if both leases were not renewed I am sure you are well aware that the financial health of the Club is such that somewhere or other could be purchased if the need arose.

[jayboy]

10 hours ago, blackcab said:

My wife and I are Polo Club members. My wife's parents are Sports Club members. My wife and I are on the upgrade list with about 7 years left until we get upgraded to Sports Club membership.

 

The reason we chose to upgrade is because we have a young child, and as you know when your child turns 20 they have a right to apply for membership as the child of an existing member, as opposed to waiting to get in on their own merits.

 

We thought if we could pass on the entitlement to the Sports Club then why not? It will save our son having to wait years on the upgrade list and the right to membership for children of children carries on ad infinitum.

 

My wife's parents are avid golfers and they played at the Sports Club exactly once. They really didn't like the course at all.

 

Whoever told you about the situation with the land and leases, etc. got it slightly wrong. Both pieces of land are on 30 year leases from the CPB. The Polo Club lease expires on 14 December 2035 while the Sports Club lease expires on 26 February 2031.

 

If the Polo Club lease was not renewed then I suspect the outcome might be that Polo Club members might be allowed Sports Club membership on payment of the relevant fee. As you know, the quantity of Polo Club members is only about 15 per cent of the number of Sports Club members, so the Sports Club could probably handle the extra capacity.

 

Even if both leases were not renewed I am sure you are well aware that the financial health of the Club is such that somewhere or other could be purchased if the need arose.

As you say the RBSC lease expires on 26 February 2031.However I understand there were 6 years remaining of the previous contract thus resulting in an expiry date in 2037.

 

In the past there was an unspoken assumption that since the membership included the highly influential "great and the good" and particularly since the Club was established under Royal Charter in 1901, the extension of the lease from time to time was merely a formality.The charter can be revoked however at any time and the original document makes reference to this contingency.

 

I would not be so confident now since the Club occupies a huge piece of central Bangkok prime real estate.In recent years the CPB has rightly taken a much more commercial - some would say ruthless - line to its property portfolio.

 

 

 

 

[blackcab]

1 hour ago, jayboy said:

As you say the RBSC lease expires on 26 February 2031.However I understand there were 6 years remaining of the previous contract thus resulting in an expiry date in 2037.

 

In the past there was an unspoken assumption that since the membership included the highly influential "great and the good" and particularly since the Club was established under Royal Charter in 1901, the extension of the lease from time to time was merely a formality.The charter can be revoked however at any time and the original document makes reference to this contingency.

 

I would not be so confident now since the Club occupies a huge piece of central Bangkok prime real estate.In recent years the CPB has rightly taken a much more commercial - some would say ruthless - line to its property portfolio.

 

As the lease is over 3 years it has to be registered on the land title. When the Land Office do this, they don't add any remaining value of the previous lease on to the length of the current lease. Instead the previous lease is extinguished and the new lease is created. It has to be this way as an ordinary lease cannot be longer than 30 years.

 

I think the Sports Club land is probably the biggest privately owned, undeveloped piece of land in the Sukhumvit area.  I don't know the size of the land, but I would guess about 200 rai.

[jayboy]

28 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

As the lease is over 3 years it has to be registered on the land title. When the Land Office do this, they don't add any remaining value of the previous lease on to the length of the current lease. Instead the previous lease is extinguished and the new lease is created. It has to be this way as an ordinary lease cannot be longer than 30 years.

 

Interesting.However the auditor's  notes to the RBSC Accounts say:

 

"On February 26 2001 the Club extended a land rental agreement for the Main Club with the Crown Property Bureau for another 30 years.This extension coupled with the remaining six years of the previous contract will expire in 2037."

[blackcab]

11 hours ago, jayboy said:

Interesting.However the auditor's  notes to the RBSC Accounts say:

 

"On February 26 2001 the Club extended a land rental agreement for the Main Club with the Crown Property Bureau for another 30 years.This extension coupled with the remaining six years of the previous contract will expire in 2037."

 

I am reading note 26.3 and I clearly see that you are correct. The note uses the word, "contract", so I can only assume for whatever reason that the lease wasn't registered.

[Neeranam]

On 11/23/2017 at 9:43 AM, jayboy said:

The food isn't brilliant at either but the RBSC has more outlets.Frankly it's a mystery why there aren

But it's cheap!