The 17 Most Exclusive Golf Clubs You Will Probably Never Get To Play

The United States is home to the most exclusive golf clubs on earth. Some have existed since they days of robber barons and others have sprung up in recent decades. They all, however, have a single commonality: there’s virtually zero chance most of us will ever play any of the 17 most exclusive golf clubs on this list.

Golf is an extremely accessible sport for most adults, all things considered. If you don’t own clubs you can rent. There are nearly 3,000 municipal golf courses in the United States. But on the flip side, the most elite sector of golf is likely unattainable for most golfers regardless of how good they get at the game of golf.

Here, we take a look at the 17 most exclusive golf clubs in the country that 99.99% of golfers will never get to play.

1. Fishers Island Club, Fishers Island, New York

Fishers Island Club is so exclusive that most people outside of the Northeast have ever even heard of it. This golf club sits on Fishers Island which is just 8 miles long and 2 miles wide in the waters between Long Island and Connecticut.

Top100 ranks Fishers Island Club as the 6th best course in the Northeast and 10th in the country. With a membership fee said to be $250,000 and annual dues of $25K+, and a highly-exclusive limited membership that reportedly includes Oprah and Julia Roberts, membership to this club is not an option for most people. For anyone that dreams of playing Fishers Island Club, the best bet is befriending a ferry worker because they are rumored to get to play the course for one day each year and bring a guest.

2. Pine Valley Golf Club, Pine Valley, New Jersey

Pine Valley Golf Club has been the #1 ranked golf course in the country for decades by Golf Digest. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the golf world that doesn’t rank Pine Valley in the top 3 for any reason other than spite that they are unable to get on the course.

As far as private membership goes, Pine Valley GC is large with an estimated 930 wealthy members. I say ‘wealthy’ because membership fees at Pine Valley are rumored to be $200,000 to join with annual dues of $10,000. In order to even be considered for membership, candidates must be vetted by Pine Valley’s membership committee and they must fit the bill to a tee. Your best bet at ever playing this course is befriending a member because membership is cost-prohibitive for most of the world.

3. Seminole Golf Club, Juno Beach, Florida

Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida has received a lot of attention in recent years, notably in 2020 when Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff competed against each other there for charity, but this prestige of Seminole GC goes back generations. Golf Digest currently has it as the 10th ranked course in the country.
Famous past members of Seminole include Presidents John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford, industry titans Henry Ford II, Jack Chrysler, John Pillsbury, and Joseph P. Kennedy. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was an honorary member and current membership includes Tom Brady, Rob Manfred, Pete Dye, Michael Bloomberg and many others who compete in the famous annual Seminole GC Pro-Am.
Good luck ever getting on this course. I think we can leave it at that without bruising anyone’s ego any further.

4. Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach, California

Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach is, to me, arguably the most beautiful course in the country. Golf Digest ranks it #2 in the country, top100 ranks it 1 in the state of California, #1 in the United States, and #1 in the world… It is that good.

Cypress Point Club has a reported membership initiation fee of $250,000 but of course, like all these clubs, just because you can afford it that does not get your foot in the door. An application for membership requires an invitation from the club itself. They choose you.

Your best bet at ever getting on this course is spending once-in-a-lifetime money in a charity auction for a round with an existing member, or a similar route to that.

5. National Golf Links Of America, Southampton, New York

National Golf Links Of America, best known simply as ‘National,’ in Southampton is the magnum opus of golf course architect Charles Blair (C.B.) Macdonald. Top100 ranks National as the #4 course in the United States, Golf Digest ranks it 7th, and its membership is as exclusive as one would expect for a course in The Hamptons ranked as highly as it is.

Membership is reported to include a $150,000 initiation fee with annual dues of $10,000. Keep in mind, the course is not open year round due to winter weather. It is also neighbors to the next course on the list…

Everything in The Hamptons is exclusive but the #4-ranked golf course in the nation? Best of luck ever getting a tee time there!

6. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southhampton, New York

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton sits adjacent to National Golf Links Of America. It defies logic that two of the most exclusive and top-5 golf courses in the world would be next to one another but this is The Hamptons, the former playground of robber barons and home to the oil and steel magnates that built this country… So yeah, you’re never playing at Shinnecock Hills GC.

Your best bet to ever walk the grounds of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is to wait for a prestigious pro golf event.It hosted the 2018 U.S. Open. At least in those circumstances you would be able to walk the course.

As the #3 ranked course in the United States (top100), Shinnecock Hills Golf Club has a reported membership cost of $200,000 and a membership comprised of just 300 exclusive members.

7. Ohoopee Match Club, Cobbtown, Georgia

The Ohoopee Match Club in Cobbtown, Georgia is arguably the coolest golf club that most people who only follow mainstream golf have never heard of. It is, as the name implies, a club that offers strictly match play and not stroke play.

Ranked as the 3rd best golf club in Georgia by both Golf Digest and top100, only behind Augusta National and Peachtree, Ohoopee is as exclusive as it gets. Membership is reportedly limited to just 50 total members on the 3,500-acre former onion farm. It has a reported membership cost of $250,000 to join and annual dues of $5,000. Also, it is in the middle of nowhere in Georgia.

Getting on Ohoopee Match Club requires you (1) know a current member, (2) convince them to bring you out there, and (3) can actually find it. Best of luck!

8. Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club, Holyoke, Colorado

Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club flies somewhat under the radar compared to other exclusive courses on this list and that’s because it is in the middle of nowhere in Colorado. There are accommodations on site for 75 guests and the current number of members are unknown (some sites claim 130), presumably because it couldn’t accommodate all of the members at once.

Ballyneal GC has a reported membership initiation fee of $70,000 which isn’t as much as some other course but again, this exclusive golf course in northeast Colorado near the Nebraska border requires some travel to get there.

Once at Ballyneal, the golf is impeccable. Top100 has it ranked as the #27 course in the nation while Golf Digest ranks it at 36th. It has been the #1 ranked course in Colorado every year since 2007. While non-members used to be able to get on pre-2000, times have changed so good luck getting a tee time these days.

9. Sand Hills Golf Club, Mullen, Nebraska

Sand Hills Golf Club in Mullen, Nebraska currently ranks 8th in the country according to Golf Digest and #6 according to top100. There are fewer than 200 members at this highly exclusive golf club, members that can afford the $10K annual dues.

Sand Hills G.C. is a Ben Crenshaw x Bill Coore design, two of the finest golf course architects of the modern era. It is considered to be one of the most exclusive memberships in the United States so if anyone can get me a tee time, give me a call!

10. Peachtree Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia

Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia would be the #1 ranked course in the Peach State if it wasn’t for Augusta National Golf Club. Peachtree is ranked the 45th best course in the country by top100 and 25th by Golf Digest.

There are reportedly just 225 members at this exclusive private club in Atlanta. This course was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. along with Bobby Jones back in 1947 and it is accessible to anyone in Atlanta who can (1) pay the ~$200K initiation fee, (2) convince the club to let them apply for membership (good luck!), and/or (3) befriend a current member and convince them to bring you out for a round.

11. Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, Illinois

The Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois is currently ranked as the 13th best golf club in the country, only adding to its exclusivity. This is another course designed by architect C.B. Maconald (National Golf Links Of America, etc) and the ultra-exclusive membership is limited to just 120 members, a number they will never exceed.
If invited to be a member, the Chicago Golf Club carries a $150,000 membership fee and annual dues of $18,500. Getting on this course is a near impossibility for most people. It requires you knowing a member to take you out and there are only 120 of them in the world at all times.

12. Merion Golf Club, Haverford Township, Pennsylvania

Of all the courses on this list, I’d give you all the best chance of getting on Merion Golf Club (host of 2023 U.S. Open) at some point. And that’s only because there are reportedly over 1,000 members at Merion. The initiation fee of $70,000 and annual dues of $6,000 is relatively affordable compared to some courses on this list, but Merion GC is on here for a reason.
Top100 Has Merion Golf Club ranked as the 7th best in the country (15th in the world) and Golf Digest ranks it 6th in the United States. With 1,000+ members who all live and breathe golf, this is an extremely tough tee time to get even for the existing members!

13. Los Angeles Country Club, Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Country Club in LA is the most exclusive club in one of the most exclusive cities on the planet. Los Angeles is all about ‘see and be seen.’ Initiation fees here *start* at $250,000 with annual dues of up to $30K. It also hosted the 2023 U.S. Open and has added clout from that.

Famous former and current LACC members include former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Rams owner Stan Kroenke, Will Ferrell, Jack Nicholson, Justin Timberlake, Mark Wahlberg, Will Smith, Tom Brady, Jason Bateman, and the list goes on and on.

Membership at LACC requires a LOT more than just the money to pay for membership, you have to come with cultural cachet. So good luck getting on unless you know a member!

14. Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Membership at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma (2022 PGA host) is so exclusive the actual number of members has never even leaked to the public. But the cost to join, a rumored $100K + $12K annual dues, floats around Google.

This is the 28th ranked course in the country at the moment, an absolute masterpiece from course architects Perry Maxwell, Gil Hanse, and Jim Wagner. Southern Gills CC hosted the 2022 PGA Championship and unfortunately, that was most golfer’s only chance to ever step foot on the grass there. Getting a tee time at Southern Hills requires knowing a member.

Of all the courses on this list of ultra-exclusive clubs, Southern Hills holds the distinction of being the only course where a famous murder occurred. Mobster White Bulger reportedly ordered the hit of Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler in 1981 who was killed in the parking lot.

15. Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

This list would not be complete without Augusta National Golf Club, the site of The Masters. Golf Digest ranks it at #2, top100 ranks it #8 in the USA, but Augusta National is arguably the only course on this list you could ask someone who doesn’t golf to name a famous golf course and they would be able to tell you this course’s name because of The Masters.

Augusta National GC has under 300 members, including former government leaders (Condoleezza Rice), Fortune 500 CEOs (Bill Gates, Warren Buffett), professional athletes (Peyton Manning, Lynn Swann, Jack Nicklaus) and the list goes on and on.

Just getting tickets to The Masters requires a near act of God. I went for the first time in my life this year and it far exceeded the hype. Being asked to apply for membership is an honor most people could never even dream of.

16. The Grove XXIII, Hobe Sound, Florida

The Grove XXIII in Hobe Sound, Florida is the first or second most exclusive club in Florida, depending on whether or not you are speaking to a member at Seminole. This is Michael Jordan’s course, hence the ‘XXIII’ name.

There are reportedly less than 80 members at The Grove XXIII but included among the membership are the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Ken Griffey Jr., Wayne Gretzky, John Elway, and other legends from the sporting world.

Just like the others, you’re going to need help from the heavens getting onto this course.

17. Bad Little 9 at Scottsdale National Golf Club, Scottsdale, Arizona

The ‘Bad Little 9’ at Scottsdale National Golf Club is somehow the only course on this list in Arizona. Scottsdale National Golf Club is an invitation-only membership. They choose you, not the other way around, and the Bad Little 9 from PXG owner/founder Bob Parsons, who made his initial fortune in GoDaddy, is one of the most exclusive 9-hole courses on earth.

As just a 9-hole course, Bad Little 9 doesn’t have a ranking like the other courses but Scottsdale National Golf Club is also home to ‘The Other Course’ which is the #1 ranked course in Arizona and the 92nd ranked course in the country, according to top100.

Membership at Scottsdale National Golf Club reportedly starts with a secretive initiation fee reported as at/over/around $1,000,000, and then on top of that there are annual dues of over $80,000. Good luck ever getting a tee time there!

Now…just for fun, guess how many of these golf courses I’ve played. The answer is not zero.