Golf is an extremely popular sport, but playing at the best, most exclusive clubs in the world comes with a price.
Whether it be business magnates like Bill Gates or celebrities like Sir Sean Connery, many of the rich-and-famous se are members of the most exclusive golf clubs around the world. Some memberships are by invite only, like Pine Valley in New Jersey (routinely ranked the No. 1 course in the United States), so it's difficult to know just what it takes to become a member.
However, the initiation fee to join some of the most exclusive golf clubs in the world has been made public over the years. Here is a list of the top 5 most expensive golf memberships.
The most expensive golf memberships in the world
2. Congressional Country Club - Maryland, USA
The D.C. area's preeminent club comes with a big price tag to join. The club has an enormous clubhouse, great facilities, two golf courses and a large membership. It takes a long time to get in line to become a member.
Initiation fee: $300,000
3. The Bridge - New York, USA
The Bridge is a club out on Long Island, out in the Hamptons with incredible views of Sag Harbor. It's also one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the world, designed to have a very small membership. The club is aggressively modern and different from most any country club on the planet. Membership, though, comes with a modern price tag.
Initiation fee: $1,000,000
2. La Gorce - Florida, USA
La Gorce is one of finest, longest-standing clubs in South Florida, with its course having opened in 1927. At the time, a massive 2 million cubic yards of Miami Beach’s Biscayne Bay was dredged to help create the facility. The club has been renovated several times in that century, and it now is an incredible piece of real estate with view of the Miami Beach skyline.
Initiation fee: $1,000,000
1. Shell Bay - Florida, USA
Shell Bay is one of several new, super high-end real estate developments in Florida, where condos start at $2 million. However, golfers can pay to join the exclusive golf club associated with the development for a modest discount over the condo cost. Still, the small clubs is only admitting players who also own property -- so you may as well pony up for the condo to get on the golf course.
Initiation fee: $1,400,000
