“In Naples, golf doesn’t start with a tee time. It starts at sunrise,” Joe says in Episode 2 of Cruising Naples, his series on life in Naples. He describes the clubs as “Private, immaculate, and intentionally understated.”

In Episode 2 of Cruising Naples, Joe Belz goes inside Naples private clubs, from sunrise course preparation to the caddies and members.

Three kinds of golf club in Naples

Joe’s golf resource sorts Naples clubs into three settings: Bundled, Golf Club and Country Club. The setting decides the order of your decisions. In a bundled community you buy the home and the golf comes with it. At a golf club you join, and the home is a separate choice. At a country club it can go either way, depending on the club.

Bundled: membership comes with the home

In a bundled community, your golf membership is included in the purchase of your home or condo. There are exceptions, with a few homes in a bundled community not offering golf, so confirm it for the specific address.

Bundled does not mean free. Eleven of the 13 bundled clubs list a one-time capital contribution, Naples Lakes lists a transfer fee for buyers new to the community, and Vasari says there is no separate initiation fee. TPC Treviso Bay and Vanderbilt Country Club collect theirs at closing on a resale. Annual dues follow. Bundled does not always mean residents only, either: Cypress Woods and Stonebridge sell annual memberships to non-residents. Spanish Wells is a different case: it is a semi-private club, listed with the country clubs below, and only its Cordova subdivision is bundled.

Golf Club: join the club, mostly no homes

A Golf Club centers on the golf, mostly in a setting with no residences bordering the course. You join the club and, in most cases, live somewhere else. There are no homes at Olde Florida, and Naples National Golf Club lists no residency requirement.

Joe belongs to Olde Florida and Jozef Maston is a member of Hideout, and Joe describes both as “golf clubs, not communities.” Joe is also a past member at Golf Club of the Everglades and at Naples Grande, now CAVU Golf Club. Jozef Maston, a former golf pro, is on the Apex Team.

The Lantern Club belongs in this group, but it is planned, not open. As of October 2026, the public Hibiscus Golf Club on the site says it will remain open until April 2027. Construction of The Lantern Club is tentatively anticipated to begin after that, and Gulfshore Business reported in March 2026 that the club is expected to be operational by late 2028 if permitting is in place. The Lantern Club’s figures in the table are expectations, not current fees.

Country Club: golf plus full amenities

A Country Club is golf within a community, with full clubhouse activities. Amenities can include tennis, pickleball, a restaurant, a pool and more. “Grey Oaks is a golf and country club community,” Joe says, and Grey Oaks Country Club shows how the category works: 54 holes on three courses, single-family homes, villas and condominiums, and no requirement to live there to join, though a draft club guide posted in July 2025 said new property owners must buy at least a Sports Membership at closing. Quail West Golf and Country Club and The Club at Mediterra sit in the same category with a different rule: Quail West currently reserves membership for residents, and Mediterra requires you to own property in its community.

Equity and non-equity: who owns the club

Bundled, Golf Club and Country Club describe the setting. Equity and non-equity describe ownership. “In an equity membership, you buy an ownership interest in the club,” the Private Club Journal explained in June 2026. “In a non-equity membership, you buy access, not ownership.” In a non-equity club, the same article adds, the fee “usually stays with the club.”

An ownership interest usually shows up in the paperwork. A September 2023 white paper from the accounting firm RSM lists the typical signs in a member-owned club: a membership certificate, a right to vote on club matters, in some cases a liquidation right if the club dissolves, and in some cases a refund of the initiation fee on leaving.

A Florida example shows why the word alone is not enough. In a 2013 advisement on one member-owned Florida club, the Florida Department of Revenue described a club where only equity members could vote on club matters, where they would elect the board once the developer turned over control, and where they could share in liquidating distributions if the club dissolved. Certain founding members there had a right to a payment on resignation. Memberships issued later might not. Equity is ownership. It is not, on its own, a promise of a refund.

Among the clubs compared here, Grey Oaks, Naples National, Olde Florida, Mediterra and The Moorings Golf and Country Club are equity clubs. The Club at Olde Cypress describes itself as non-equity and privately owned.

What it costs: 62 Naples golf clubs compared

Fees last reviewed October 2026. Clubs change terms, so confirm with the membership office. The ranges use full golf figures dated 2025 or later, or undated on the Apex Team’s list. The ranges leave out expected fees, figures dated before 2025, schedules that have ended, spoken figures, public courses with no initiation, and the unsettled figures at Calusa Pines, Fiddler’s Creek, Grey Oaks, Kinsale, Quail Creek and Quail Village.

Bundled clubs (13)

One-time capital contribution from $9,000 to $17,500, with TPC Treviso Bay’s two contributions added together. Naples Lakes lists a transfer fee instead, and Vasari says there is no separate initiation fee. Annual dues or assessments on a golf home run from $7,417 to $17,600, and what they cover differs by club, so ask about neighborhood and master association fees.

Golf clubs (13)

Initiation from $90,000 to $400,000. Annual dues from $10,480 to $31,500. The Naples Daily News reported Kinsale at $450,000 in April 2025.

Country clubs (36)

Initiation from $25,000 to $350,000. Annual dues from $9,000 to $31,308. Arrowhead, Lely Resort and Valencia are open to the public, and Spanish Wells and Tiburon are semi-private.

What each fee covers

Two of the questions buyers ask Joe are “Is there a waitlist to join the club?” and “What are the fees to join the club?” The second has more than one answer. The Private Club Journal states the basic split plainly: “The initiation fee is a one-time charge to join. The annual dues are the recurring charge to stay.” A membership can also carry capital charges and a food minimum, and what comes back when you leave varies by club.

Initiation: a price that moves

Initiation is not fixed. The Club at Mediterra’s 2026-2027 fee sheet lists Golf at $350,000, up from $250,000 on its 2025-2026 sheet. The Lantern Club expects to start at $250,000, with pricing expected to increase as members join. Some figures carry older dates: Bay Colony’s fee schedule ended July 31, 2025, Bonita Bay Club’s dues figure is from 2024, Hideout’s initiation is from June 2023, and The Moorings’ figures are from November 2022. Ask for the current number at any club, and for the date it took effect.

Category changes the number too. Most clubs sell more than one membership, and some lower categories include golf on a calendar. The TwinEagles Club lists Sports initiation at $60,000, and the Apex Team lists unlimited golf for Sports members from May to October. The Apex Team lists Pelican Marsh’s Social Membership at $30,000 initiation, with six rounds per membership from November 1 to April 30 and unlimited golf from May 1 to October 31. CAVU’s Social dues are $12,600 as of September 2026, with unlimited golf May to October and a limit of 12 rounds November to April. These categories give the most golf in summer and the least in season, so they suit some schedules and not others.

Annual dues: the number that repeats

Dues are less uniform than a single figure suggests. They can change with residence: for 2027, Cypress Woods lists $11,270 for owners and $13,475 plus tax for an Individual non-resident. They can change with membership type: the Apex Team lists Royal Palm at $13,100 for Full Family and $10,480 for Full Single. The Club at The Strand prices dues by age band. And a lower category can be mandatory: the Apex Team lists The Club at Olde Cypress at $19,600 for Full Golf and $5,975 for Social, and the club says Social Membership is mandatory for residents of its community who do not hold a higher category.

Capital: the charge for the buildings and the course

Capital charges fund the club’s facilities rather than its daily operations. The Private Club Journal describes a capital assessment as “a recurring or periodic charge, segregated into a dedicated capital account to fund renovations, new amenities, and major projects.” The Colony Golf and Country Club shows what that can look like: its 2026 Membership Overview lists Golf capital dues of $3,400 and operating dues of $18,430, plus a renovation contribution of $285 a month.

In bundled communities, the comparable line is the capital or resale contribution in the Initiation column. Buyers already ask Joe about associations: “Are there any special assessments planned?” Ask a club the same question.

Food and beverage minimums

A food and beverage minimum is “a floor on member spending,” in the Private Club Journal’s words: the club sets an amount, and a member who does not spend it is “billed the difference anyway.” Among the clubs that list one dated 2025 or later, the amount runs from $500 at Naples Heritage to $1,500 at The TwinEagles Club, and $1,200 is the most common figure, at Mediterra, Palmira, Pelican Marsh, Quail West, Talis Park, The Colony, The Quarry, Vanderbilt Country Club, Wilderness and Wyndemere. LaPlaya, Vasari, Vineyards, The Club at Olde Cypress and The Club at The Strand say they have none. Ask what period it covers and what counts toward it.

Refunds and equity: what comes back

“There is no industry standard for refunds,” the Private Club Journal notes. Naples terms show how far apart clubs can be. Tiburon says a portion of its Medallion initiation fee is refundable, and the Apex Team lists 80 percent, while its Associate initiation fee is nonrefundable. Kensington’s July 2023 sheet says non-refundable equity members are not entitled to a refund of the membership contribution on resignation. The Apex Team lists Full Golf at The Classics at $100,000 non-transferable or $150,000 transferable. Hideout says it offers both refundable and non-refundable memberships. Kinsale’s FAQ, dated June 27, 2022, describes a refundable membership deposit. The Lantern Club expects Full Membership initiation fees to be non-refundable.

Some memberships are tied to the property. Memberships at The TwinEagles Club are deeded to the property, and at Glen Eagle membership status is attached to the unit, so it cannot be bought or sold separately.

How joining works, and why waitlists happen

Joe built the golf side of his site as a resource for clients, because of the challenges with joining clubs. “5 year + waitlists are common,” he says.

Waitlists follow from caps. Many clubs set a maximum number of memberships: 250 at Kinsale and The Old Collier, 265 at Naples National, 270 at The Moorings (undated), 275 at Olde Florida, 450 golf memberships at Mediterra, 500 Golf Memberships at Quail West and 1,045 club memberships at Royal Poinciana, the limit Naples City Council set on August 19, 2026. A draft Grey Oaks guide posted in July 2025 described Golf as full at approximately 780 dues-paying Members. When a capped club is full, a place usually opens when a member leaves. Several are there now. Mediterra says Golf and Limited Golf are at capacity: “The wait is significant, estimates cannot currently be provided.” Wyndemere’s Full Golf is at capacity. CAVU’s Full Golf is on a wait list as of September 2026, and The Moorings lists its Golf Membership as “WAITLISTED” as of October 2026. At The TwinEagles Club, club membership is required for all 717 homes, while golf membership is limited to 614.

Of the 62 clubs compared, 28 show a waitlist or a waiting category, and Wyndemere’s Full Golf is at capacity. The other 33 show none or do not say, so ask.

The ways in

• Join where there is no wait. The Apex Team lists no waitlist at The Classics, at Fiddler’s Creek or at Arrowhead, a public course. As of October 2026, The Club at Olde Cypress lists Full Golf as available, and Vineyards and The Strand say a limited number of Full Golf Memberships are available. The membership office can tell you what it takes to apply.
• Find a sponsor. At Naples National, you need a member sponsor to be placed on the list.
• Wait for an invitation. Hole-in-the-Wall, LaPlaya, Naples National, The Old Collier and Royal Poinciana are by invitation only, and the Apex Team lists Calusa Pines the same way. Olde Florida described itself as invitation-only in a March 2026 job posting, and membership at The Lantern Club is planned to be by invitation only.
• Buy the home that carries the path. In a bundled community, the membership comes with the purchase. Mediterra is not bundled, but a home buyer there may avoid the wait by purchasing a home from a resigning Golf Member, subject to the joining fee and approval. That route can remove the wait, not the cost.
• Join a waiting category. The Apex Team lists a Member in Waiting category at Golf Club of the Everglades, The Moorings lists a Golf in Waiting Membership, and Quail West has a Golf Member in Waiting program for owners. Palmira lists a Wait List for Golf Membership at $40,000, and all of it applies to Golf. The Quarry’s Equity Waiting List includes unlimited golf from May 1 to October 31. Waiting on Windstar members have unlimited golf from May through October. The Apex Team lists Royal Palm’s Golf Wait List at $25,000. At Grey Oaks and Mediterra the golf wait list runs through a sports category: the Grey Oaks 2026 guide offers it to Equity Sports Members only, and at Mediterra only Sports & Beach Members can join the Limited Golf wait list. Ask whether what you pay counts toward full initiation.

Olde Florida has no public website. For Royal Poinciana Golf Club, where no fees are listed, call the club at (239) 261-3968. At any club, the membership director has the current answer.

Choose the club first, then the house

Joe puts the club first. “We help people navigate which club and then where to live,” he says. The communities where he has done the most business are not golf communities, “but most of my clients are golfers,” he adds. “Live in the best locations and drive to a private golf club is what they do.”

As of October 2026, his Compass profile shows more than 300 closed sales, led by Olde Naples (46), the Moorings (25), Pelican Bay (18, including Bay Colony), Coquina Sands (13) and Park Shore (12), followed by Vanderbilt Beach (8), Royal Harbor (7), Aqualane Shores (6), Pine Ridge (2) and Port Royal (1).

When the club decides the neighborhood

If the club requires residency, the decision is made for you, and the home search happens inside the community. Beyond the bundled clubs that require it, Eagle Creek, Hunters Ridge, Talis Park, The TwinEagles Club, Wilderness and Wyndemere all tie golf membership to a home in the community. Quail West currently reserves membership for residents, and Mediterra requires you to own property in its community, though not to live there full time. At Collier’s Reserve, memberships were available to residents and non-residents as of February 2025, and the recorded covenants say a person or entity obtaining title to a parcel is required to become a member, with stated exceptions, so confirm how that applies with the club and your attorney. So settle the club question before you fall for a floor plan. A house inside a club community does not settle the membership on its own. Mediterra, for one, says Golf is at capacity, and its route through a home purchase can remove the wait, not the cost.

When you can live anywhere

If the club does not require residency, start with the part of town. “Figuring out what part of town you want to live in is critical,” Joe says. West of US 41, that means neighborhoods such as Olde Naples, Aqualane Shores, Port Royal, the Moorings, Coquina Sands and Park Shore. Joe’s golf resource also pairs the stand-alone clubs with a sample of homes close to those clubs and the beaches.

Some neighborhoods have a course inside them. “The Moorings has a short golf course and Pelican Bay has a great 27 hole golf course,” Joe says. The Moorings course belongs to a private club, and a home in the Moorings does not come with a membership. Grey Oaks Country Club has its own neighborhood guide, Grey Oaks and Estuary. Seven of the clubs compared have Bonita Springs addresses: Bonita Bay Club, The Colony, Hunters Ridge, The Nest, Palmira, Spanish Wells and Vasari. If that is where the club is and Naples is where you want to live, the drive becomes part of the decision. Test it yourself at the hours you would actually play.

For the rest of the home search, Joe’s buyer due diligence guide covers the questions to ask before an offer, and moving to Naples from Chicago covers the move itself.

The 17 questions that narrow the list

The fee tables only go so far, because the right club depends on how you play and how you want to live. The Apex Team Golf Club Quiz asks 17 questions, and the team follows up with guidance on the clubs and communities that may fit. Work through them before you call a membership office:

1. Do you prefer to walk or ride?
2. Is a caddie program important to you?
3. Do you want to live inside the club community, or just join?
4. What’s your budget for initiation/entry?
5. What annual dues are you comfortable with?
6. How many months a year will you be here?
7. Do you need a course that stays open in summer?
8. How often do you want to play in season?
9. What’s your handicap, or how challenging do you want the course?
10. Do you want one course or multiple?
11. How important are practice facilities?
12. Do you prefer lots of scheduled group play, or setting up your own games?
13. Does your spouse or partner golf, and do you want a couples or social scene?
14. Do you want amenities beyond golf, like tennis, pickleball, fitness, spa, or a beach club?
15. Will kids or grandkids use the club?
16. What atmosphere fits you: traditional and formal, or relaxed?
17. Where do you want to be: Naples, Bonita/Estero, or Marco, and how far will you drive?

Some of these remove clubs quickly. Take walking. Joe wrote this in October 2026, about The Lantern Club as planned: “The Lantern Club is new and many people request info on it. However, it will be walking only with a caddy in the mornings. If you don’t like to walk every time you play, or pay a caddy $150, it’s not for you.” The club has not published the hours or a caddie fee.

Caddies are available at Calusa Pines, CAVU, Golf Club of the Everglades, Hideout, Kinsale, Naples National, The Old Collier and Olde Florida, and on request at Tiburon. Summer matters too: the Apex Team lists Calusa Pines as closed June through September, and a January 2025 Naples National job posting says that club is open October 15 to Memorial Day. On courses, Grey Oaks has 54 holes on three courses, Mediterra and Quail West each have 36 holes on two, and The Moorings has one short course of 18 holes. On practice, nearly every club lists practice facilities, but the Apex Team lists no driving range at Quail Village. On amenities, Mediterra sells a Sports & Beach membership to owners only, and Windstar’s Social Members have access to a private beach.

Frequently asked questions