The influx of wealthy New Yorkers and Californians who have moved to Florida en masse has driven up golf club membership prices, with some Miami-area locations charging six- and seven-figure membership fees.
Luxury golf clubs in South Florida have seen membership fees double or triple in some cases since the pandemic. According to the Financial Times.
A hedge fund investor who plays golf in the region told the magazine there is intense competition that has developed into an “arms race to access luxury golf.”
Of the more than 545,000 people who left New York state in 2022, more than 91,000 moved to Florida that year, many due to high taxes or strict coronavirus-era lockdowns, according to the data. I was trying to escape.
Many of them have cash to burn.
“The type of people who move there are used to having their way and having access to the best stuff,” said the hedge fund investor.
“Then you say to them, ‘Congratulations, you moved to Palm Beach. The waiting list is 10 years long, so you can’t be a member of the old club.'”
The soaring prices have coincided with an increase in demand for membership, which has led to backlogs of bookings and forced waits for A-list celebrities.
DJ Khaled is reportedly trying to get a membership to the exclusive La Gorse Country Club in Miami Beach, where the joining fee is $700,000, up from the pre-pandemic price of $200,000. There is.
But so far, the record producer and disc jockey, who already has a membership to Shelvey, a country club north of Miami Beach that charges $1.35 million in admission fees, has not been able to enter, the FT reported. Reported.
The report cites data that reveals golf club membership fees in Southeast Florida have increased more than four times the national rate.
The median cost to join one of these clubs rose from $120,000 in 2019 to $200,000 in 2023, according to data from Boston-based analytics firm Club Benchmarking. .
“Like many businesses, country clubs are experiencing a rise across South Florida. It’s a simple supply and demand relationship, and these institutions would be wise to take advantage of it,” he said in Miami. Filippo Incorvaia, founder of FI Real Estate, which is based there, told the Post.
“New Yorkers will pay to participate because it means exposure to the right people and it’s real competition.”
Incorvaia said similar moves are occurring “at marinas, private members’ clubs and even some restaurants.”
Witkoff, the New York City-based real estate development company that also owns Shelvey, plans to build Dutchman’s Pipe, the first new golf club in the Palm Beach area in 25 years, according to the FT.
Dutchman’s Pipe, which is expected to open later this year on the site of the former Banyan Cay Club, will charge membership fees in the range of $300,000 to $350,000, the FT reported.
Indian Creek — Miami Island is nicknamed the “Billionaire Bunker” thanks to its wealthy residents, including Jeff Bezos, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Ken Griffin, Tom Brady and Carl Icahn. private golf club — reportedly indicted for $500,000 for new members.
Before the pandemic, Indian Creek membership fees were less than half that amount, according to the FT.
The club is reportedly considering further increases in membership fees.
Breakers, an elite golf club in Palm Beach, charges new members $550,000 in dues. Before the coronavirus, the fee was nearly $300,000, the FT reported.
West Palm Beach’s Emerald Dunes reportedly has a waiting list of 100 applicants, and the cost to join is $700,000. That’s more than double its pre-pandemic price tag of about $300,000.
“It’s impossible to get into an old club,” an investor who plays for multiple clubs told the FT.
“The membership fees that people pay to secure a place to go to dinner or play golf are insane.”
Dutchman’s Pipe, Indian Creek, and Shell Bay are all invitation-only clubs, meaning you can only obtain membership if you know someone who is already a member.
The Post reached out to DJ Khaled, Shel Bey, Witkoff, Indian Creek, La Gorce, The Breakers and Emerald Dunes for comment.
