New Golf Course Designed By Jack Nicklaus And Justin Thomas Has A Half-Million Dollar Initiation Fee

Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas teamed up to co-design a golf course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida called Panther National that officially opened in November 2023. The links-style golf course comes with everything you could imagine, including an initiation fee that may cause your jaw to hit the floor.

Panther National boasts a 55,000-square-foot clubhouse, a gym, pro shop, spa facilities, and four dining concepts, but members won't be able to enjoy the luxuries until fall 2026 for the facility to be debuted.

Speaking of members, if you'd like to become one, it will cost you an initiation fee of $500,000.

For anyone who may not be familiar with country club memberships and how they work, the initiation fee is exactly what it sounds like. You write the club a $500,000 check and in exchange you are now a member, but it covers nothing in terms of monthly dues, booze, food, etc.

The annual fee for Panther National is in the low $30,000, CEO Frank Weed told the New York Post. To be fair, for a club that has an initiation fee of half-a-million bucks, a yearly fee of $30,000 is relatively reasonable, all things considered. At the end of the day, a country club membership is nothing more than a luxury, no matter if it costs $200 per month or $4,000 per month.

There is a way to get a discount on the $500k initiation fee. All you have to do is buy one of the multi-million dollar homes inside the gates of Panther National and your initiation fee drops to $400,000.

Some rich folks seem to be taking advantage of the new development and its potential perks with Weed saying that 22 of the 30 homes in Phase 1 of the project have sold since the properties first hit the market in June 2022. Home prices at Panther National at the moment currently start at $4.5 million.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Panther National is that it is "intended to be a place of youth," with Weed being quoted saying "this is not your grandfather's golf club."

As someone in their 30s who considers themselves to still fit in the "youth" demographic, I don't know many fellow youths that can write a $500,000 check to join a country club. The only ones that can ironically get help from their grandfathers.