When I lived in CT I was fortunate to live near a club like this. Good ol Homewood Acres.
It was a mid-length 9-hole course with 2 tees on each hole so you could play around twice with a slightly different layout. They also had 2 practice greens with about 200 yards of fairway between them, which was a dream for practicing. And it was all super well maintained.
The clubhouse was a small, un-manned shack with a vending machine, push carts to borrow, and a little notebook to sign in when you play. No starter, no tee times, no ranger, no restaurant. The only employees I ever saw were grounds crew. It was $1500 for a year, unlimited play. 100% private.
> No starter, no tee times, no ranger, no restaurant. The only employees I ever saw were grounds crew. It was $1500 for a year, unlimited play. 100% private.
No employees? So what's to stop randoms from just showing up and playing for free?
The owner lived in a house right next to the parking lot and membership was small enough that she probably knew every car. Probably just counted on most people not having the balls to sneak on and if a few got through it wasn't a big deal. But it would be hard to do regularly without someone noticing.
Definitely possible. I’m in Buffalo and right now the lowest imitation is like $1,000 but when clubs subs struggled they’ve ran $0 initiation deals. 100% private.
And for my club 25 miles outside boston no initiation and $5k a year for jr membership, fully private. Believe regular membership is $6500 a year. I believe an initiation may be implemented soon though
Yeah that about what I hear on OS--that's a top course nationally though and probably worth it. If it was logistically convenient for me I would have considered it. Those cabins are awesome.
Well, there are a lot of clubs in the area. This range typical as far as I've seen, though you can find some outside the range.
Edit: updated the top level comment from $65-$100k to $65k-$100k, as it was originally intended.
Depending on the area it can get down to 10k as well but the nicer clubs warrant the high cost from what I’ve been able to play. Keeps the balance in check so there’s no absolute terrors to the course out there having 6 hours rounds
For a 100% private club I joined here in Ohio the initiation fee is $7k. Membership itself is $5k a year, food and beverage minimum is $200 a month (easily reached with beer).
In-town Atlanta.
$120k+ w/ multi-year waiting lists.
This is for the top 5 clubs or so with golf, pool, tennis, fitness, child care, food & bev, etc.
$1k monthly dues.
North Fulton, $6K initiation, $465/mo, $35/mo F&B...just received word that monthly is going up in Aug; course has been getting a lot of TLC - owners are working hard to get it back to former GSGA championship-level status.
At first I thought you were talking about the indoor simulator member’s club “In Town” in Buckhead. Was like damn, it’s nice but definitely not that nice.
Jersey Shore. 10K on the very low end, 50-100K for the nice ones, 150K for the ridiculous. But virtually every one has a wait list. 5-7K per year to be a “social member” so you can be on the wait list at some places.
Fellow Twin Cities golfer here.
Yes, that's unfortunately the range nowadays. All the clubs are either full or filling up again, so they are taking advantage of new members. My club has raised its initiation almost 100% since I joined in 2022.
Since you're on the West side of town, if you don't mind a slightly longer drive look into Burl Oaks. Probably a 30 minute drive from downtown Minneapolis, but last time I checked they had an initiation that was under $10k.
You could also look into Lafayette Club, also probably 30 minutes from downtown. They are probably closer to $15-20k, but they have pool and other amenities.
What club do you belong to?
I am also in MN and have been looking at TPC Blaine, Dellwood and a few others. TPC seems to be the best bang for your buck for those under 40 years old. At least from what I’ve gathered.
The Club at Golden Valley (formerly known as Golden Valley Country Club; don't ask about the name change).
I was just focusing on West side clubs for OP, but there are also nice clubs around the rest of the city that have fees under $20k.
My brother in law is a member at Dellwood, and it's a nice course that has an owner who dumped millions into it recently. Great amenities for family members also. It's just way the hell out there. I never play TPC for the same reason, Blaine is just too far removed for my taste.
Southview and Mendakota on the St Paul side are also in the under $20k category still (I think). Both are golf only. Same as Midland Hills in Roseville. All have very different vibes depending on the membership.
I also just played Dellwood this morning! In laws are members and have been for decades. We got married there… though the other guy may have more insight into fees.
Look I'm biased, and unfortunately don't have insight into cost or direct comps to other clubs in the area, but I love it. Beautiful course and a lot of fun to play. They've put a lot of time, resources and money into the course the last decade or so and it's in great shape.
They have a great pool area with lazy river which was a blast for us and our kids. Bar and restaurant are quality. Seem to have decent programming. Fun/competitive men's league. Casual atmosphere, which was a nice change up after playing LACC two weeks ago and having to wear pants for an afternoon round and remember to take my hat off indoors.
Food is good to great (for our wedding it was fantastic).
I will say - the membership I've seen does skew older. But (a) that's true at a lot of country clubs, and (b) that may just be because I'm always going with my in-laws, who are older, and so they probably gravitate more towards folks around their age. There were a ton of kids there yesterday for junior golf camp, and the pool was packed with families on Sunday.
Not sure where you're at, but we get there from Saint Paul. It's not next door, but as I live in Los Angeles the commute seems super easy to me (certainly easier than the commute we have to our club in LA, which we live a lot closer to lol).
I would struggle so hard playing at Dellwood knowing WBYC was just a pitching wedge away....is WBYC really that much more expensive than Dellwood?
I have played a LOT of really nice courses but I lay awake at night thinking about WBYC.
Also, how is Golden Valley with the renovation? Did it just open for member play last week?
Oh heck yes. WBYC is easily $50k initiation or more. Absolutely gorgeous course, but it's 3x or more compared to Dellwood.
Yes! We reopened as of last Thursday! I'm going out Thursday morning for my first round on the new grass; it looks amazing!
I have been lucky enough to play in a Golfers Journal event the last two years at WBYC. If I could possibly justify a national membership there I would jump on it. I love that place.
I bet they’ll let you finance that initiation fee over several years. My club is on the lower end of that zone and they only take 40% up front and new members pay the rest over a few years.
The 3 clubs I want to join close to me are now 100-125k. Precovid they were half that.
Royal Oaks, Lakewood, Bent Tree in Dallas.
Oh and a multi year wait list.
In Los Angeles the premier clubs (LACC, Bel Air, Brentwood, Hillcrest) will run you $250-300k initiation plus $2k+ monthly dues. Riviera is even steeper as they only want celebrities in there now and I’ve heard $500k+ and they still charge you for range balls and taking a guest out can run you $1k including caddies.
Not to mention the multi year highly selective process it takes to get in.
The alternative is playing the local munis but getting a tee time is miserable and 5+ hr rounds on the weekends behind a bunch of hacks! Covid made being an LA golfer tough!
Tip top clubs in LA (LACC, Brentwood, Riv, Bel Air) range from 125k to 400k.
Obviously there’s a wide range below that. A couple of clubs take junior members at closer to a 5k-25k range but some waitlists take years.
I’m pretty sure the four top ones you mentioned, plus Hillcrest, Wilshire, Palos Verdes, Sherwood and maybe others are all over $200k.
Even Mountain Gate is now close to $100k.
Any tips on those junior memberships? I’d love to join a club out here, but we’re stuck paying too much for a tennis club because none of the golf clubs are remotely affordable (and have terribly long wait lists or application processes anyway)
LACC's is considerably lower, but it's the hardest to get into.
I know for a fact Wilshire is far less than that (buddy just joined as full member).
I suspect you're right on the others.
Seems like the current market is crazy for juniors.
Advice: I've heard younger guys are having luck at Lakeside and Mountaingate, but not the clubs I mentioned.
Where are you getting your info on LACC? I played there a couple weeks ago with a friend who joined recently, and while we didn't talk initiation fee specifically, based on our conversations I was under the impression it was north of $200k. That's also what I see when I google it. And yes, he and his family were put through the ringer for 2 years during the application process lol.
Interesting on Wilshire. A former colleague who is a member, I need to hit him up to get out there.
Sounds like junior memberships. It's much more for clubs with equity and waiting lists. I don't think even in golf in California people understand how much money has been printed and how little 2 million is these days.
All of these clubs are restrictive socially. Just having the money isn't enough. I suppose that's the hardest part.
Raleigh, NC
Everything here varies between $40K-$100K+ initiation. It has shot up over the last 4 years (just like everywhere else).
The more obnoxious part is that 30 mins away in Durham, NC you can still find great private clubs for $2-10k initiation. Sadly 30 mins (before traffic) is just far enough that I wouldn’t be able to justify it.
Depending on age…. Last time I checked: Treyburn is $2k. I absolutely love the course but it’s so far out there. Croasdaile is $7k. Unsure what Hope Valley is at now.
In NYC area and belong to a club in northern NJ. Ya that’s about right. ~30k for the cheap ones. 50-80k for the mid-tier ones. 100k + for the nicer ones.
Dues are probably higher than what you are seeing as well (~15k-20k annually)
Just bought a house a five minute walk down the street from my eventual club once we get house stuff straightened out. Initiation for my age group currently $5500, $500 monthly dues, $75 f&b min. Allegedly initiation fees are going up at the end of July, but not sure to what. Hopefully things slow down just enough, would like to be able to walk to the course every day
I can’t believe the numbers quoted in here to join a course + yearly costs
In UK ours range from £1500-£2000 per year, most my local courses have scrapped joining fees
Good few places local to me in Ireland are bringing the joining fee back. There is a lot of members joining for a year or so and then heading off for whatever reason. By bringing the joining fees back they’re hoping to keep members long term. Suppose less likely to leave if you’re paying a joining fee
I’ve never understood how they make this work on such low dues. Is it because the club consists solely of a golf course and no amenities? If so, I wish we had more of this in the states
Yes, majority will be just a golf course, range and club house (serving food and booze). Most UK courses are owned and run by the membership. The top clubs are still very reasonable but they tend to just be more difficult to get into.
Retire, move to Cape Town, South Africa.
Golf 12 months of the year. Annual subs at great clubs are about $1k per year. Most clubs have no joining fee or it is less than $1k. Green fees about $20 per round.
Went there on business a few years back and was blown away by how cheap things are there. I was eating delicious steak dinner and drinks every night for $15. I can't even get McDonalds in the US for that.
I wouldn't live there though. The amount of security is insane. Seemed kinda scary outside the gated areas.
Spent 2 weeks over there in 2015. Most amazing trip of my life. 3 day safari, Great White shark diving, great time in Stellenbosch wine country, etc.
Played the Legend golf course, where they allow non lethal animals on the course. And the 19th is a Par 3 with the tee box on top of a 3,000 foot tall small, cylinder shaped mountain. You take a sweet, super fast helicopter ride prior. Then you try and hit the green. Hit 1 OB, then found the putting surface and 2 putted.
Of course, it's by far the most dangerous country I've been to. Could've died multiple times. Not joking.
I'm still planning on going back.
My initiation fees were only $1,500 but I got it back in 2021. I think they are now $2,500. One course is a destination course in our area and last I knew their initiation was $80K. They only have about 80 members though. I think the rest are below $2K.
When I lived in Orlando I joined a private club in June 2018 and the initiation was $3K. Now it's at $10K with a waiting list and from what I've been told they may be raising it to as much as $15K, soon.
We are looking to move to another area and the initiation fees are between $7K-$15K.
You have to understand that the golf course industry is about the dumbest industry I have ever been a part of or witnessed. I think the strip club industry is probably smarter fiscally and promotion wise than golf clubs are.
At the rate the economy is going, the first thing to go for many people will be golf. Then the courses will struggle to stay solvent and lower initiation fees to bring in new golfers. Then those golfers that paid $10K for initiation get pissed because new members are coming along at $5K initiation. And that just causes more golfers to quit the game in disgust.
Then they wonder why nobody is playing golf anymore.
Right now there's a lot of people playing a lot of golf right now, but mark my words...the golf course industry will drive these people away soon enough.
This is how it has always worked in golf. The industry you say will collapse that has done it this way for ever and is now so busy initiation rates keep going up. The only stupid thing here is people who would quit their club they payed an initiation for becuase someone later got a lower initiation.
No, it's stupid on golf courses parts particularly since golf courses have gone bankrupt and closed so much particularly int he past 25 years. If golf courses were growing across the US I would agree with you, but since they are not and they wonder why they go thru this the golf courses are really stupid.
And I can't imagine thinking that somebody is stupid when they pay a business 2x-3x more money to that business plus all of the other money they've paid as a loyal customer only to see other people come in and get the same product for far less. It's an insult to your loyal customer
No it’s not. The courses that are closing aren’t the ones that were raising initiation were they? Courses that raise initiation are doing great. Hence why they are raising rates. That’s how things work. It’s the basic law of economics and supply and demand.
I didn’t call someone stupid for seeing other people come in and pay less on imitation. I called people stupid who would quit their club they played a high initiation for becuase someone paid less later. That is stupid. Perhaps you should learn to read.
But again, this is how it’s worked for quite some time. Your whole post is ridiculous. You’ve clearly spent more time at stop clubs than high end private golf clubs.
The courses that are closing are often times the ones that WERE raising initiation fees. I lived in Atlanta from 2000-2010. A ton of courses had to close down or were bought out because they were about to close for good because when TigerMania happened they built the courses in response to it, charged outrageous initiation fees and monthly dues and continued to raise them and then when the economy went into the Great Recession they offered far cheaper initiation fees and monthly dues to attract new members because many of the old members couldn't afford the membership anymore. Then that pissed off the other old members when they paid $25K for initiation and new members were getting in for $1K. Those old members left in disgust and many of them didn't come back to the game.
I should know...I was one of the new members of those golf clubs and saw it happen first hand.
LOL. Those are only 2 indicators. Look at the Jobs report for the full time jobs...it's down. Unemployment is low because it is skewed by the 'gig economy.' Real median household income is down and continuing to drop. Yield curve is inverted (which is an excellent indicator of an upcoming recession) and debt-to-income ratio is at an all-time high. And inflation is still high (although it has dropped considerably from where it once was).
This economy is hanging on by a thread. And those bills have to be paid off in full sooner or later and when they don't, that's when companies start laying off people and then those people won't be able to borrow anymore and everything spirals out of control.
Sometimes you can avoid initiation fees if you buy a lot in the same neighborhood as the club. Good way to make it an investment rather than an expense. This may be rare but my dad's club did this.
It varies alot.
My local country club wants $50k and $3k a month. I've played there a few times and its not even close to worth it for the golf and dinners alone, especially since our muni is pretty decent. It seems like more of an exclusive business club. Its a very old money haves and have nots type of town.
I went to a wedding about 2 hours away at a country club, and they only wanted $7k for the buy in and $500 a month. The clubhouse was very nice and the course looked good as well (didn't get to play unfortunately).
Yeh I'm pretty sure you aren't paying to access the golf course. You are paying to access the people who go there. Or their money to be more specific.
I used to think writing off golf on your taxes as a business expense was fraud. Now I think its genius.
I moved back into western PA last year and have been looking around at the clubs here. The less prestigious clubs were around 15k (with no wait list) for a family with the higher end clubs being 30-60k (and a 2+ year wait list). It's been quite the sticker shock for me.
In suburb of Indy, the club I looked at a couple years ago it was $40K "deposit" fully refundable or like $18K non or partially refundable. Monthly dues around $600-$700
Also I heard some clubs offer memberships for people not in the area. I guy I met in Ft Wayne joined Crooked Stick and just has to pay like $300/mo. If I were making regular trips to a certain city I would look at that in a heartbeat.
Geez and I thought ours was too much to spend. Our nice public course is $23 a round. Central Georgia per household $2,500 and then $290 per month. Golf, pool, tennis, restaurant and clubhouse with ballroom venue.
My club is just a thousand bucks for yr one just divided up over your first year's membership and they just added that this year. Before there weren't any. Suburban pittsburgh has a super low cost of living.
Seattle Area - I think we have one club that might be under $10k up front. The club closest to me is now up to $50k (non equity) and at least $1k/month for dues.
San Francisco/ Bay Area can be upwards of 350k with 10-20 year waiting lists and that’s if you’re even lucky enough to know the right person and have them vouch for you then go through a several year process of vetting to have the pleasure to pay the initiation fee. Some elite clubs have members who have kids and as soon as they’re born put them on the waiting list ie: Meadow Club, SF golf club etc. wild stuff.
In any city the clubs will vary drastically. In DFW the club I was at previously was $5k this one was 11k. There are definitely much more expensive clubs to join, and also clubs that I couldn't even get invited to join which is fine because I didn't even want to know what initiations are there. Wish clubs were more transparent and that some standard existed but this unfortunately isn't a meaningful question
No, not at all. I think I paid €80 this year (Finland).
You can't play without being a member somewhere, so there's quite a lot of competition. Memberships are offered on the cheap, and you can join any club (never have to even visit your "home club", just have to be a member somewhere, so just pick the cheapest).
I’ll add the Long Island perspective since I don’t see it here already.
Anything truly private is going to be minimum $100k in initiation alone. That’s the *floor* price for the lowest-cost membership type (generally juniors <18). You can use your imagination on how it stacks up for older joiners off their waitlists.
There are at least 2 clubs of which I’m personally aware where the initiation fee eclipsed $1M some time ago. There’s probably at least 1 or 2 more that are either there or on the cusp right now.
This isn’t accurate. Engineers, Inwood, Lake Success are all private and well below that. Sure, there are plenty of clubs out there with $100k plus initiation, but not “anything truly private”
North Shore of Chicago: $80k-$120k with $1500-$2000 monthly dues. Must be nice.
I’m in the western suburbs. The private clubs closest to me are Chicago Golf Club, Butler National and Medinah. I can’t afford it so I don’t ask. lol.
$200 at my club in Michigan
Which club, I am also in Michigan? Everything around me is 30k minimum and wait lists going on years. Pretty much a dead dream for me.
Doubt that is a 100% private club.
When I lived in CT I was fortunate to live near a club like this. Good ol Homewood Acres. It was a mid-length 9-hole course with 2 tees on each hole so you could play around twice with a slightly different layout. They also had 2 practice greens with about 200 yards of fairway between them, which was a dream for practicing. And it was all super well maintained. The clubhouse was a small, un-manned shack with a vending machine, push carts to borrow, and a little notebook to sign in when you play. No starter, no tee times, no ranger, no restaurant. The only employees I ever saw were grounds crew. It was $1500 for a year, unlimited play. 100% private.
> No starter, no tee times, no ranger, no restaurant. The only employees I ever saw were grounds crew. It was $1500 for a year, unlimited play. 100% private. No employees? So what's to stop randoms from just showing up and playing for free?
The owner lived in a house right next to the parking lot and membership was small enough that she probably knew every car. Probably just counted on most people not having the balls to sneak on and if a few got through it wasn't a big deal. But it would be hard to do regularly without someone noticing.
Definitely possible. I’m in Buffalo and right now the lowest imitation is like $1,000 but when clubs subs struggled they’ve ran $0 initiation deals. 100% private.
$65k-$100k is pretty typical in the Boston area.
And for my club 25 miles outside boston no initiation and $5k a year for jr membership, fully private. Believe regular membership is $6500 a year. I believe an initiation may be implemented soon though
South Shore there’s one or two that are lower. I think Marshfield is 22k. Old Sandwich must be in that 150k range or more.
Yeah that about what I hear on OS--that's a top course nationally though and probably worth it. If it was logistically convenient for me I would have considered it. Those cabins are awesome.
That's a pretty wide range.
Well, there are a lot of clubs in the area. This range typical as far as I've seen, though you can find some outside the range. Edit: updated the top level comment from $65-$100k to $65k-$100k, as it was originally intended.
Depending on the area it can get down to 10k as well but the nicer clubs warrant the high cost from what I’ve been able to play. Keeps the balance in check so there’s no absolute terrors to the course out there having 6 hours rounds
What’s $10k in the Boston area?
Last time I checked Indian ridge was around there and haverhill cc. Not greater Boston but not far if you’re north
Good to know thanks
Depending on your age, Vesper CC is north of Boston, and can have pretty low initiation fees.
For a 100% private club I joined here in Ohio the initiation fee is $7k. Membership itself is $5k a year, food and beverage minimum is $200 a month (easily reached with beer).
In-town Atlanta. $120k+ w/ multi-year waiting lists. This is for the top 5 clubs or so with golf, pool, tennis, fitness, child care, food & bev, etc. $1k monthly dues.
North metro Atlanta, 10-15k initiation, ~350/mo. Down the street it's 50k, with a waiting list and they're considering 100k, probably similar monthly.
North Fulton, $6K initiation, $465/mo, $35/mo F&B...just received word that monthly is going up in Aug; course has been getting a lot of TLC - owners are working hard to get it back to former GSGA championship-level status.
At first I thought you were talking about the indoor simulator member’s club “In Town” in Buckhead. Was like damn, it’s nice but definitely not that nice.
Jersey Shore. 10K on the very low end, 50-100K for the nice ones, 150K for the ridiculous. But virtually every one has a wait list. 5-7K per year to be a “social member” so you can be on the wait list at some places.
Where in Jersey Shore, PA are there 150k initiation clubs?
Not sure whether to downvote or upvote
Not sure what people have against Jersey Shore, it's actually beautiful and Hunter S Thompson used to live here!
Haha not sure if serious or still joking
Fellow Twin Cities golfer here. Yes, that's unfortunately the range nowadays. All the clubs are either full or filling up again, so they are taking advantage of new members. My club has raised its initiation almost 100% since I joined in 2022. Since you're on the West side of town, if you don't mind a slightly longer drive look into Burl Oaks. Probably a 30 minute drive from downtown Minneapolis, but last time I checked they had an initiation that was under $10k. You could also look into Lafayette Club, also probably 30 minutes from downtown. They are probably closer to $15-20k, but they have pool and other amenities.
What club do you belong to? I am also in MN and have been looking at TPC Blaine, Dellwood and a few others. TPC seems to be the best bang for your buck for those under 40 years old. At least from what I’ve gathered.
The Club at Golden Valley (formerly known as Golden Valley Country Club; don't ask about the name change). I was just focusing on West side clubs for OP, but there are also nice clubs around the rest of the city that have fees under $20k. My brother in law is a member at Dellwood, and it's a nice course that has an owner who dumped millions into it recently. Great amenities for family members also. It's just way the hell out there. I never play TPC for the same reason, Blaine is just too far removed for my taste. Southview and Mendakota on the St Paul side are also in the under $20k category still (I think). Both are golf only. Same as Midland Hills in Roseville. All have very different vibes depending on the membership.
Mind if I dm you? Have some questions on Dellwood
Happy to tell you anything I know
I also just played Dellwood this morning! In laws are members and have been for decades. We got married there… though the other guy may have more insight into fees.
How is it? My in laws are members at North Oaks. I was looking into memberships at Dellwood, but have heard mixed reviews on it.
Look I'm biased, and unfortunately don't have insight into cost or direct comps to other clubs in the area, but I love it. Beautiful course and a lot of fun to play. They've put a lot of time, resources and money into the course the last decade or so and it's in great shape. They have a great pool area with lazy river which was a blast for us and our kids. Bar and restaurant are quality. Seem to have decent programming. Fun/competitive men's league. Casual atmosphere, which was a nice change up after playing LACC two weeks ago and having to wear pants for an afternoon round and remember to take my hat off indoors. Food is good to great (for our wedding it was fantastic). I will say - the membership I've seen does skew older. But (a) that's true at a lot of country clubs, and (b) that may just be because I'm always going with my in-laws, who are older, and so they probably gravitate more towards folks around their age. There were a ton of kids there yesterday for junior golf camp, and the pool was packed with families on Sunday. Not sure where you're at, but we get there from Saint Paul. It's not next door, but as I live in Los Angeles the commute seems super easy to me (certainly easier than the commute we have to our club in LA, which we live a lot closer to lol).
I would struggle so hard playing at Dellwood knowing WBYC was just a pitching wedge away....is WBYC really that much more expensive than Dellwood? I have played a LOT of really nice courses but I lay awake at night thinking about WBYC. Also, how is Golden Valley with the renovation? Did it just open for member play last week?
Oh heck yes. WBYC is easily $50k initiation or more. Absolutely gorgeous course, but it's 3x or more compared to Dellwood. Yes! We reopened as of last Thursday! I'm going out Thursday morning for my first round on the new grass; it looks amazing!
I have been lucky enough to play in a Golfers Journal event the last two years at WBYC. If I could possibly justify a national membership there I would jump on it. I love that place.
I bet they’ll let you finance that initiation fee over several years. My club is on the lower end of that zone and they only take 40% up front and new members pay the rest over a few years.
The 3 clubs I want to join close to me are now 100-125k. Precovid they were half that. Royal Oaks, Lakewood, Bent Tree in Dallas. Oh and a multi year wait list.
7k for the smaller clubs, 20-30k for older clubs, 50k for the 'exclusive' club with royal designation
$250k for a few in the Silicon Valley. Chump change for Nvidia folks, lol.
In Los Angeles the premier clubs (LACC, Bel Air, Brentwood, Hillcrest) will run you $250-300k initiation plus $2k+ monthly dues. Riviera is even steeper as they only want celebrities in there now and I’ve heard $500k+ and they still charge you for range balls and taking a guest out can run you $1k including caddies. Not to mention the multi year highly selective process it takes to get in. The alternative is playing the local munis but getting a tee time is miserable and 5+ hr rounds on the weekends behind a bunch of hacks! Covid made being an LA golfer tough!
Don’t forget Wilshire and Sherwood. Even PV is over $200k now I’ve heard. And El Caballero and isn’t far behind.
Tip top clubs in LA (LACC, Brentwood, Riv, Bel Air) range from 125k to 400k. Obviously there’s a wide range below that. A couple of clubs take junior members at closer to a 5k-25k range but some waitlists take years.
I’m pretty sure the four top ones you mentioned, plus Hillcrest, Wilshire, Palos Verdes, Sherwood and maybe others are all over $200k. Even Mountain Gate is now close to $100k. Any tips on those junior memberships? I’d love to join a club out here, but we’re stuck paying too much for a tennis club because none of the golf clubs are remotely affordable (and have terribly long wait lists or application processes anyway)
LACC's is considerably lower, but it's the hardest to get into. I know for a fact Wilshire is far less than that (buddy just joined as full member). I suspect you're right on the others. Seems like the current market is crazy for juniors. Advice: I've heard younger guys are having luck at Lakeside and Mountaingate, but not the clubs I mentioned.
Where are you getting your info on LACC? I played there a couple weeks ago with a friend who joined recently, and while we didn't talk initiation fee specifically, based on our conversations I was under the impression it was north of $200k. That's also what I see when I google it. And yes, he and his family were put through the ringer for 2 years during the application process lol. Interesting on Wilshire. A former colleague who is a member, I need to hit him up to get out there.
Sounds like junior memberships. It's much more for clubs with equity and waiting lists. I don't think even in golf in California people understand how much money has been printed and how little 2 million is these days. All of these clubs are restrictive socially. Just having the money isn't enough. I suppose that's the hardest part.
125k to 400k for junior? Those are for full equity initiations
Are you from 1994?  Your info is dated.
I'm a member at one of these clubs and have close friends at each.
Raleigh, NC Everything here varies between $40K-$100K+ initiation. It has shot up over the last 4 years (just like everywhere else). The more obnoxious part is that 30 mins away in Durham, NC you can still find great private clubs for $2-10k initiation. Sadly 30 mins (before traffic) is just far enough that I wouldn’t be able to justify it.
I agree on distance being key. You want to be able to just hop over and play a few holes or a quick 9, go to the range on lunch etc.
Which clubs are that cheap in Durham?
Depending on age…. Last time I checked: Treyburn is $2k. I absolutely love the course but it’s so far out there. Croasdaile is $7k. Unsure what Hope Valley is at now.
8k initiation here in CT for a decent club.
In NYC area and belong to a club in northern NJ. Ya that’s about right. ~30k for the cheap ones. 50-80k for the mid-tier ones. 100k + for the nicer ones. Dues are probably higher than what you are seeing as well (~15k-20k annually)
Outside of Chicago here. Some as low as 3-5k, others 50k+
Who’s are 3-5 k?
2020 they were around $18k. Now it's $30k and above.
Just bought a house a five minute walk down the street from my eventual club once we get house stuff straightened out. Initiation for my age group currently $5500, $500 monthly dues, $75 f&b min. Allegedly initiation fees are going up at the end of July, but not sure to what. Hopefully things slow down just enough, would like to be able to walk to the course every day
I can’t believe the numbers quoted in here to join a course + yearly costs In UK ours range from £1500-£2000 per year, most my local courses have scrapped joining fees
Good few places local to me in Ireland are bringing the joining fee back. There is a lot of members joining for a year or so and then heading off for whatever reason. By bringing the joining fees back they’re hoping to keep members long term. Suppose less likely to leave if you’re paying a joining fee
I’ve never understood how they make this work on such low dues. Is it because the club consists solely of a golf course and no amenities? If so, I wish we had more of this in the states
Yes, majority will be just a golf course, range and club house (serving food and booze). Most UK courses are owned and run by the membership. The top clubs are still very reasonable but they tend to just be more difficult to get into.
$10000-$30000 for top end clubs in Iowa.
Retire, move to Cape Town, South Africa. Golf 12 months of the year. Annual subs at great clubs are about $1k per year. Most clubs have no joining fee or it is less than $1k. Green fees about $20 per round.
I'm sold. Except I can't retire for at least a decade.
See you in 2034 captain
Great. Except I'm sort of afraid of tigers ever since I saw that [documentary about South Africa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYC47DYLq2I)
That’s actually my dad
Went there on business a few years back and was blown away by how cheap things are there. I was eating delicious steak dinner and drinks every night for $15. I can't even get McDonalds in the US for that. I wouldn't live there though. The amount of security is insane. Seemed kinda scary outside the gated areas.
It’s a big culture shock for people from safer countries (like 90% of countries)
Spent 2 weeks over there in 2015. Most amazing trip of my life. 3 day safari, Great White shark diving, great time in Stellenbosch wine country, etc. Played the Legend golf course, where they allow non lethal animals on the course. And the 19th is a Par 3 with the tee box on top of a 3,000 foot tall small, cylinder shaped mountain. You take a sweet, super fast helicopter ride prior. Then you try and hit the green. Hit 1 OB, then found the putting surface and 2 putted. Of course, it's by far the most dangerous country I've been to. Could've died multiple times. Not joking. I'm still planning on going back.
Damn sounds fun. I didn't get to vacation much. I did get to see the Table Mountain. Took the gondola up there. Really interesting.
Courses there look great, couldn't pay me as a white person to go. Apartheid, but louder.
Dont let the propaganda hurt you
My initiation fees were only $1,500 but I got it back in 2021. I think they are now $2,500. One course is a destination course in our area and last I knew their initiation was $80K. They only have about 80 members though. I think the rest are below $2K. When I lived in Orlando I joined a private club in June 2018 and the initiation was $3K. Now it's at $10K with a waiting list and from what I've been told they may be raising it to as much as $15K, soon. We are looking to move to another area and the initiation fees are between $7K-$15K. You have to understand that the golf course industry is about the dumbest industry I have ever been a part of or witnessed. I think the strip club industry is probably smarter fiscally and promotion wise than golf clubs are. At the rate the economy is going, the first thing to go for many people will be golf. Then the courses will struggle to stay solvent and lower initiation fees to bring in new golfers. Then those golfers that paid $10K for initiation get pissed because new members are coming along at $5K initiation. And that just causes more golfers to quit the game in disgust. Then they wonder why nobody is playing golf anymore. Right now there's a lot of people playing a lot of golf right now, but mark my words...the golf course industry will drive these people away soon enough.
This is how it has always worked in golf. The industry you say will collapse that has done it this way for ever and is now so busy initiation rates keep going up. The only stupid thing here is people who would quit their club they payed an initiation for becuase someone later got a lower initiation.
No, it's stupid on golf courses parts particularly since golf courses have gone bankrupt and closed so much particularly int he past 25 years. If golf courses were growing across the US I would agree with you, but since they are not and they wonder why they go thru this the golf courses are really stupid. And I can't imagine thinking that somebody is stupid when they pay a business 2x-3x more money to that business plus all of the other money they've paid as a loyal customer only to see other people come in and get the same product for far less. It's an insult to your loyal customer
No it’s not. The courses that are closing aren’t the ones that were raising initiation were they? Courses that raise initiation are doing great. Hence why they are raising rates. That’s how things work. It’s the basic law of economics and supply and demand. I didn’t call someone stupid for seeing other people come in and pay less on imitation. I called people stupid who would quit their club they played a high initiation for becuase someone paid less later. That is stupid. Perhaps you should learn to read. But again, this is how it’s worked for quite some time. Your whole post is ridiculous. You’ve clearly spent more time at stop clubs than high end private golf clubs.
The courses that are closing are often times the ones that WERE raising initiation fees. I lived in Atlanta from 2000-2010. A ton of courses had to close down or were bought out because they were about to close for good because when TigerMania happened they built the courses in response to it, charged outrageous initiation fees and monthly dues and continued to raise them and then when the economy went into the Great Recession they offered far cheaper initiation fees and monthly dues to attract new members because many of the old members couldn't afford the membership anymore. Then that pissed off the other old members when they paid $25K for initiation and new members were getting in for $1K. Those old members left in disgust and many of them didn't come back to the game. I should know...I was one of the new members of those golf clubs and saw it happen first hand.
Each stock index is at all time highs and unemployment is as near as low as it has been in a decade. The economy is just fine.
LOL. Those are only 2 indicators. Look at the Jobs report for the full time jobs...it's down. Unemployment is low because it is skewed by the 'gig economy.' Real median household income is down and continuing to drop. Yield curve is inverted (which is an excellent indicator of an upcoming recession) and debt-to-income ratio is at an all-time high. And inflation is still high (although it has dropped considerably from where it once was). This economy is hanging on by a thread. And those bills have to be paid off in full sooner or later and when they don't, that's when companies start laying off people and then those people won't be able to borrow anymore and everything spirals out of control.
Sometimes you can avoid initiation fees if you buy a lot in the same neighborhood as the club. Good way to make it an investment rather than an expense. This may be rare but my dad's club did this.
It varies alot. My local country club wants $50k and $3k a month. I've played there a few times and its not even close to worth it for the golf and dinners alone, especially since our muni is pretty decent. It seems like more of an exclusive business club. Its a very old money haves and have nots type of town. I went to a wedding about 2 hours away at a country club, and they only wanted $7k for the buy in and $500 a month. The clubhouse was very nice and the course looked good as well (didn't get to play unfortunately).
$3k a month in dues is wild…
Yeh I'm pretty sure you aren't paying to access the golf course. You are paying to access the people who go there. Or their money to be more specific. I used to think writing off golf on your taxes as a business expense was fraud. Now I think its genius.
I’ve seen as low as $12k, and upwards of $20-40k in Oregon and SW Idaho
Southern CT (Fairfield County): Initiations in my area range anywhere from 35k-100k.
The majority are 2k-20k range, with a few that are 50k-100k+
$1000
I moved back into western PA last year and have been looking around at the clubs here. The less prestigious clubs were around 15k (with no wait list) for a family with the higher end clubs being 30-60k (and a 2+ year wait list). It's been quite the sticker shock for me.
Upstate NY, no initiation fee. $5800 per year for married couple over 45 years old.
In suburb of Indy, the club I looked at a couple years ago it was $40K "deposit" fully refundable or like $18K non or partially refundable. Monthly dues around $600-$700
Also I heard some clubs offer memberships for people not in the area. I guy I met in Ft Wayne joined Crooked Stick and just has to pay like $300/mo. If I were making regular trips to a certain city I would look at that in a heartbeat.
$0-$150,000+ in Maryland
Nice ones are $50-150k and $10-15k per year as well. In and around Toronto.
Wide variety in Cincinnati, from about $5k-75k.
Geez and I thought ours was too much to spend. Our nice public course is $23 a round. Central Georgia per household $2,500 and then $290 per month. Golf, pool, tennis, restaurant and clubhouse with ballroom venue.
My club is just a thousand bucks for yr one just divided up over your first year's membership and they just added that this year. Before there weren't any. Suburban pittsburgh has a super low cost of living.
10k for a club in north Denver.
Depends because they vary. The one I joined was 13k a few I was looking at were 35-40. The place use to caddy is 225k
20-75k initiation plus a monthly charge and usually 300-800 in food/shop purchases required each month.
100k+ in the DC area
Seattle Area - I think we have one club that might be under $10k up front. The club closest to me is now up to $50k (non equity) and at least $1k/month for dues.
I lucked out. No initiation at my club. Dues are $300 per month. Cart, range, learning center, and pool all included.
80 to 200k
$10K in Columbus GA. Two private clubs from which to choose.
San Francisco/ Bay Area can be upwards of 350k with 10-20 year waiting lists and that’s if you’re even lucky enough to know the right person and have them vouch for you then go through a several year process of vetting to have the pleasure to pay the initiation fee. Some elite clubs have members who have kids and as soon as they’re born put them on the waiting list ie: Meadow Club, SF golf club etc. wild stuff.
Olympic and Merced are substantially cheaper.
$80/month. Just got to pay to use the carts. $20 for 18 holes. Not the best course, but it’s pretty good.
The private club is 5 minutes from my house. The initiation fee is $0 and $220 a month for full membership cart fee is $550 for the year.
Don't have anything like that near me. 2k membership per year for a fairly nice public course
8k-150k in Wisconsin with total dues (capital improvement, building, and made up fees) at around 900-1300
In any city the clubs will vary drastically. In DFW the club I was at previously was $5k this one was 11k. There are definitely much more expensive clubs to join, and also clubs that I couldn't even get invited to join which is fine because I didn't even want to know what initiations are there. Wish clubs were more transparent and that some standard existed but this unfortunately isn't a meaningful question
Try the uk. At worst a couple of grand for anything bar wentworth or a trump property. My club doesn’t have any at the moment.
25K to 1 million
Buffalo - can be as low as $1,000 or can get close to $80,000 or so depending on age. Monthly dues typically like $450 - $1000
$45-$90K initiation with $500-$1K monthly dues, $3k annual cart fee
No, not at all. I think I paid €80 this year (Finland). You can't play without being a member somewhere, so there's quite a lot of competition. Memberships are offered on the cheap, and you can join any club (never have to even visit your "home club", just have to be a member somewhere, so just pick the cheapest).
I’ll add the Long Island perspective since I don’t see it here already. Anything truly private is going to be minimum $100k in initiation alone. That’s the *floor* price for the lowest-cost membership type (generally juniors <18). You can use your imagination on how it stacks up for older joiners off their waitlists. There are at least 2 clubs of which I’m personally aware where the initiation fee eclipsed $1M some time ago. There’s probably at least 1 or 2 more that are either there or on the cusp right now.
This isn’t accurate. Engineers, Inwood, Lake Success are all private and well below that. Sure, there are plenty of clubs out there with $100k plus initiation, but not “anything truly private”
Northern and central VA, those are about the same numbers I see with some going over $100k