A second membership is the metro golfer's arbitrage: a home club for the weekly game and a second badge for trips, guests, and a different kind of golf. The market has more structures for it than most golfers know.
Our take: Local second memberships at Tier 3 clubs, out of market clubs with national categories, and resort memberships on the Hamptons and Florida routes are the three real options from New York.
Several metro area clubs offer limited or second club categories at reduced dues for golfers who hold a primary membership elsewhere, typically with weekday or round capped play. Availability changes by year and is rarely advertised. Ask the membership office directly, in January, with your primary club named.
Destination clubs in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest sell national memberships priced for golfers who visit a handful of times a year, often with initiation well below local full golf and dues in the mid four figures as reported estimates. For a New Yorker with a Florida or Hilton Head habit, one national badge can replace a decade of daily fees.
Resort memberships at places like the Crystal Springs system in New Jersey or Hamptons area clubs bundle multiple courses. Read the tee time and guest terms closely, since headline course counts and actual Saturday access are different numbers.
Second members are guests in someone else's club culture. Play fast, spend in the pro shop, tip the caddies properly, and never be the reason the category gets tightened next year.
Second club holders: what did you pick, and how many days a year do you actually use it?
Please cite a specific hole, a price, or a round you have played. Selected reader responses are featured in follow up coverage.
Are second memberships public information?
Rarely. Treat every structure mentioned here as a lead for a phone call, not a published offer.
Prices in this guide were checked in October 2026 against published course listings and recent reporting. Greens fees move by season, day, and residency, so confirm the exact rate when you book. Private clubs do not publish initiation fees or dues. Every private figure here is an estimate band based on public reporting, labeled as an estimate, and the only accurate number comes from a club's membership office.