There is no standard path into a private club.
At Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind., someone can inquire directly about membership without an existing connection to the club. At Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., prospective members must own property in the community, but buying a home does not guarantee membership. At Addison Reserve Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla., the club and homeowners association are merged, tying residency and
membership together.
All three clubs have applications, vet prospective members and have an approval process.
But what those processes accomplish is very different.
Sycamore Hills starts with the conversation
At Sycamore Hills, candidates referred by existing members move through an expedited introductory process. Those already familiar with the club may not need a formal tour or introductory meal, and a sponsoring member can host a preview round.
Prospects who contact the club directly begin with a discovery call with General Manager/COO Christopher Hampton.
The conversation establishes what the person wants from a private club and whether Sycamore Hills offers it. The club focuses on golf and dining. Hampton says prospects looking for amenities such as tennis, pools or fitness are directed to local clubs that may be a better match.
Qualified prospects are invited for a private tour and meal. Hampton does not provide the fee structure until meeting with them in person, keeping the initial discussion focused on the club experience rather than price.
Hampton also considers immediate requests for complimentary golf a red flag. Prospects who want to play after touring can pay the standard unaccompanied guest rate, which is credited toward the initiation fee if they join.
Once an application is submitted, Sycamore Hills conducts criminal and credit background checks on adult applicants. Hampton contacts any member sponsors to discuss the candidate’s character and fit. The application then goes to the club’s four-person ownership group for a vote.
There is no Membership Committee or posting period. Hampton manages the process from inquiry through onboarding.
Approval typically takes five to seven business days, although background checks can extend that timeline. The club added background checks in 2019-20.
“I think what we do works really well for us, but I will admit it won’t work for all clubs,” Hampton says.
Desert Mountain requires pre-approval
Desert Mountain also ties membership to real estate, but differently A prospective member must own property within Desert Mountain to join.
Purchasing property, however, does not guarantee club membership.
Director of Membership Sales Melanie Halpert encourages prospective buyers to seek membership pre-approval before purchasing a home. Once approved by the Board, they can continue their real estate search knowing membership has been secured.
Before sending an application, Halpert meets with the prospective member.
The meeting allows her to explain the club and membership expectations while learning what the prospective member is looking for.
Applicants provide four personal references, who receive questionnaires about the candidate. The club also requests references from a previous or current club and an existing Desert Mountain member. Prospective members undergo background and social-media screening and an interview before Membership Committee review and Board approval.
Desert Mountain also shares prospective members’ names with the membership, allowing information about an applicant to surface before approval.
Approximately 90 people are waiting for golf membership, with Halpert estimating a four- to five-year wait. Those individuals already own property within Desert Mountain and can become Lifestyle members while they wait, providing access to non-golf amenities and the
club community.
The waitlist doesn’t eliminate the application process. Applicants still have to go through it.
Addison Reserve Connects Membership to the home
At Addison Reserve, the membership process begins with real estate.
The club has 717 homes and just over 1,300 individual members, and each property has an associated membership. A prospective buyer may tour the club before purchasing, but Membership/Marketing/Communications Manager Denise Saari cannot distribute the application until there is an executed contract for a home.
The package includes authorization for background and credit checks, along with information about assessments, club amenities and onboarding.
The Membership Committee reviews the completed application and makes a recommendation to the Board, which provides final approval as required by the club’s bylaws.
Because Addison Reserve’s club and homeowners association are merged, the process operates differently than at Sycamore Hills or Desert Mountain. Property ownership and club membership are connected, giving the club less discretion over admission once a home has been purchased. It retains financial safeguards, including the ability to require an additional deposit based on an applicant’s credit.
The structure also affects membership capacity.
Addison Reserve offers full and partial golf memberships, with the category associated with the property. Someone who purchases a partial golf membership and later wants full golf joins a waitlist.
At the time of the interview, 25 members were waiting to make that change, which Saari described as a multi-year conversion. Movement depends on full golf members choosing to step down, something that has become increasingly uncommon as full golf membership has added value to the associated real estate.
Saari said Addison Reserve had not completed a conversion since December 2024. The home someone purchases therefore helps determine both the path into the club and the membership privileges available once they arrive.
Three processes built for three clubs
The differences among the three clubs aren’t cosmetic.
Sycamore Hills can determine whether a prospect fits the club before a formal application reaches ownership.
Desert Mountain requires a connection to its real estate community while maintaining a separate process for determining whether a homeowner will become a member.
At Addison Reserve, the application process operates within a residential model in which property ownership and membership are closely connected.
Put the three processes side by side, and there is no obvious best practice to borrow wholesale. Each has been shaped by the club it serves.
What the comparison does offer is a reason for clubs to look more closely at their own process. What is each step meant to accomplish? Is it there to evaluate prospective members, educate them, manage demand, satisfy governance requirements or some combination of all four?
The answers will be different from club to club. What matters is knowing why each step is there.
