To allow members of Congress and Hill aides to attend their annual fundraising golf tournaments free of charge, Washington’s premier partisan clubs get ethics waivers from the House Ethics Committee, according to the clubs’ managers.

These clubs — the Capitol Hill Club and the National Democratic Club — are popular spots for political fundraisers and members, aides and lobbyists sit on their boards of directors.

A ticket to the Capitol Hill Club’s “Annual Republican Leadership Tournament,” held today at the Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria costs $3,000 for a foursome. On July 19, it’s the NDC’s turn to take the greens at Trump National Club, where a ticket costs twice as much for members and $8,000 for a team of non-members.

At the Capitol Hill Club, members and staffers are allowed to attend as guests, said Stan Lawson, general manager at the club.

Such a gift — golf and free meals — would not seem to be allowed, according to the 2008 House Ethics Manual. Members can accept meals and play in golf tournaments at charity fundraisers, a category which does not include social and recreational clubs.

Calls to the Ethics Committee to ask about the waiver were not returned as of Friday.

National Democratic Club operations manager Dana Ehlman declined to say how many members would play in the 32^nd Annual Tip O’Neill Golf Tournament at in Potomac Falls, Va.

“Two or three” members and the same number of staffers are expected to attend the Capitol Hill Club outing in Alexandria, fewer than usual, because of the event’s timing, right after the Independence Day recess, according to Lawson.

As non-profit, private clubs, the managers said the fundraisers are necessary to maintain their operations.

All year, members pay the clubs to host fundraisers for their campaigns and leadership PACs. This year there are over 500 invitations to Capitol Hill Club fundraisers and over 70 to the NDC and its next door townhouse in Party Time’s database of invitations.

The NDC has members, staffers, and lobbyists on its board of directors, according to its website. As of its 2008 tax return, the same was true for the Capitol Hill Club.

The exemption letter for the NDC is written specifically for the golf tournament, which is the only fundraiser by the club all year, Ehlman said. The Capitol Hill Club puts on three to six fundraisers per year and its exemption allows all of these events, Lawson said.

According to its website, the House Ethics Committee generally does not issue approvals for events but rather leaves the decision to attend to the member. The website says:

At times the Committee receives requests from outside organizations or individuals to ‘approve’ a particular event to which House Members or staff will be invited, or a particular gift. However, in general, the Committee does not grant such approval.

About 150 golfers are expected to compete in the Republican event while 250 are set to participate at Trump National, Lawson and Ehlman said.  At Trump National, teams can also host the event for $20,000 or become a platinum or gold sponsor for $15,000 or $10,000.

The Capitol Hill Club, only one block from the Capitol, is referred to as the “nation’s premier political club” on its website. Its mission is to “advocate and maintain the principles of republicanism as enunciated by the Republican Party while promoting social interaction for its members” according to tax forms. It’s unclear if non-members could play in the tournament; invitations were sent out for the event.

The NDC website says the club welcomes “all Democrats for partisan fraternity.” The only requirement for membership to the NDC is being a Democrat, Ehlman said.

Annual membership to the National Democratic Club costs $1,200, according to its website. Government and national Democratic Party committees employees are asked to pay $540 in annual dues.

The NDC board includes Reps. Mike Capuano, D-Mass., Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., Linda Sanchez, D-Cali, and William Lacy Clay, D-Mo.

As of 2008, Capitol Hill Club’s board included Reps. Ken Calvert, R-Cali., Tom Latham, R-Iowa, Jerry Lewis, R-Cali., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Jim Saxton, R-N.J., along with Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. and former Reps. Raymond McGrath and Robert Michel.

The Party Time database is made up of invitations received from anonymous lobbyist sources, and does not represent all fundraisers held. Party Time posts invitations as received, but does not double check to see if every event takes place as advertised. If we receive information that an event is canceled or postponed, we amend the database accordingly.

At Texas Democrat Solomon Ortiz’s annual “Appreciation Fundraising” golf tournament, there are plenty of creative ways to donate to his re-election campaign.

The invitation requests $1,000 from PACs (which pays for four players), a modest ask compared to other campaign golf outings, like Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s, D-Cali., $5,000 solicitation.

But there are other ways to chip in. $500 buys a large sign to sponsor a hole and $20 gets a team a mulligan (a do-over) to be used when someone on their squad inevitably hits one into the drink.

The outing also boasts appearances from “Golf Professionals from Around the World.” And before the shotgun start, professional instructor Nick Bradley will give a talk.

Here’s how the actual golfing will work. Since it’s a four-person Florida Scramble, all players tee-off. The best shot is selected but the player who hit it drops out for a stroke.  After the other three players shoot, the golfer with the best shot steps aside again. Then the other three players play his ball. And so on.

Rep. Ortiz, who sits on the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, is not in a close race, according to the Cook Political Report. He has raised about $550,000 this cycle, with his biggest contributions coming from the defense industry and labor, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) is raising cash for his leadership PAC at a golfing event this month, despite the fact he is retiring, according to a report (subscription required) by Roll Call reporter Matthew Murray, who obtained the invitation.

Murray reports that the event “appears to be a rare example of a lame-duck lawmaker hitting up lobbyists for campaign cash while he still can. Tanner’s pitch, according to downtown sources, is also seen as an attempt to seed his leadership political action committee — a political account that has very few spending restrictions — to further his expected K Street career once he leaves Capitol Hill in January.” (He also quotes me in the story.)

Murray uses the Party Time database to show that it’s rare for politicians to hold fundraising events once they’ve announced their retirement:

According to Sunlight Foundation records, only a handful of retiring Members this cycle have announced fundraisers once they’ve either bowed out or been ousted by voters. Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), who announced his retirement in January 2009, held an event for his leadership PAC four months later, Sunlight Foundation records show. As of April 1, Bond’s Kit PAC had raised $339,000 and spent $293,000 this cycle, including roughly $40,000 on lodging and catering expenses in Key West, Fla., according to MoneyLine.

All cycle, Bond’s leadership PAC has given only $50,000 to candidates, campaign finance records also show. His office did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

Sen. Bob Bennett, who was not renominated last month during the Utah GOP convention, is hosting a “Flies and Drives” golf and fly-fishing fundraiser Aug. 13-14 in Park City, Utah, according to Sunlight’s website. His office also did not respond to a request for comment.

Leadership PACs have far fewer spending restrictions than do personal campaign committees, and campaign finance experts and the Federal Election Commission have urged that these rules be strengthened.

Edited to add: Keen-eyed Party Time intern Keenan Steiner points out that Tanner has been helping fundraise for fellow Blue Dogs recently. Check out these events–four in 2010–where Rep. Tanner has been a host for Blue Dog coalition members who are in competitive races. This includes this breakfast for Roy Herron, who is running for Tanner’s seat in Tennessee. Leadership PAC 21, Tanner’s PAC, has given $10,000 to Herron. Other top recipients include Reps. Boyd Allen (D-Fla.), who has co-hosted fundraisers with Tanner, and Travis Childers (D-Miss.), Glenn Nye (D-Va.), and Baron Hill (D-Ind.), all of whom are in competitive races.

At least two lawmakers are hosting golfing events in their home states over the next week.

Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat from Wisconsin, is hosting a weekend benefiting his leadrership PAC, Badger PAC, at the Whistling Straits Golf Club and the “reknowned Kohler Waters Spa.” The spa “is conveniently located so you can drop in for a nourishing treatment, or step into a robe and experience all-day immersion,” according to the spa’s website. Cost for an individual is $2,500; for a PAC, $5,000.

Rep. Mike Conaway, Republican of Texas, meanwhile, is playing golf next Monday at the Ram Rock Golf Course in Horseshoe Bay. (You can see close ups of all the holes on the course right here.) While the invitation we have here at Party Time is a “save the date” notice, Leslie Sorrell, who works at the fundraising firm Magnolia Group, confirmed via voice mail not only that the event is on, but that there was also a pre-golf dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Last Tuesday, in the midst of bailout madness on Capitol Hill, Reps. James E. Clyburn and Sen. Saxby Chambliss were listed as the “invited guests” at a reception benefiting The First Tee of Washington, DC sponsored by Citi, Freddie Mac, and other corporate sponsors.

Freddie Mac has already gotten a government bailout in the housing bill passed last summer. Citi just announced an agreement to purchase the troubled Wachovia Corp.

The First Tee is a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing young people to golf, “primarily to serve those who have not had exposure to the game and its positive values.”

Considering how many congressional fundraising parties in D.C. involve golf, one wonders if the organization is preparing young folks in town for a career in lobbying.

In the “why not play some golf with lobbyists while we’re all here,” department, Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) played golf today with supporters at Colorado’s Buffalo Run Golf Course.

One of the hosts was Lyndon Boozer, a lobbyist for AT&T. Boozer and Baca are avid golf players. Golf Digest included them both in its 2008 list of the top 200 “senators, representatives, appointed officials, lobbyists and other power brokers [representing] a Washington golf scene still vibrant despite post-Abramoff limits on golf as entertainment.” (Baca likes to play golf while fundraising, thus this April fundraiser at a Miami golf resort.)

In 2006, Baca was one of 26 House Democrats who sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission “praising AT&T for its commitment” to win approval for the AT&T – Bellsouth merger, according to Technology Daily.

The group was scheduled to move on to a reception at the Oceanaire Seafood Room in downtown Denver from 5 to 7:30 p.m., ending just in time for folks to scoot over to the Blue Dog reception – Baca is a blue dog –at 8:00 pm sponsored in part by—AT&T.