How Much Does a Southern Hills Country Club Membership Cost?

Updated on September 10, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 14 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

A Southern Hills Country Club Full Golf membership in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is best budgeted at about $100,000 to join plus $800 to $1,000 per month in dues, based on the strongest detailed public membership report.

That puts initiation plus one year of dues at about $109,600 to $112,000 before any current food minimum, capital assessment, guest-golf charge, lesson fee, tournament cost, or other member-account spending. Southern Hills does not publish a current public fee sheet, so the figures are reported prices rather than an official 2026 quote. The club is private and member-owned, with 27 holes, tennis, swimming, fitness, dining, and a championship record that now includes 10 USGA championships through 2024.

Article Highlights

• The strongest public Full Golf report places initiation at $100,000 (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 1.6 years of full-time work, before taxes).
• Reported monthly dues are $800 to $1,000, or $9,600 to $12,000 per year.
• The calculated first-year base is $109,600 to $112,000 before unverified or usage-based charges.
• A five-year fixed-cost scenario reaches $148,000 to $160,000 if dues stay unchanged.
• Southern Hills does not publish a current public membership fee schedule.
• The club has 27 holes and has hosted 10 USGA championships through the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

How Much Does a Southern Hills Country Club Membership Cost?

GOLF.com’s membership price report says its research found a $100,000 (about 1.6 years of full-time work at $30 per hour) initiation fee and monthly dues of $800 to $1,000. A current club database carries the same Full Golf figures as reported pricing effective in 2022. Southern Hills does not post initiation or dues publicly, so a 2026 applicant should use these numbers as a budget anchor rather than a guaranteed invoice.

The reported dues convert to $9,600 to $12,000 per year. Add the $100,000 initiation payment and the first-year fixed base becomes $109,600 to $112,000. Golf Monthly has published a wider reported initiation range of $30,000 to $130,000. The narrower $100,000 figure deserves more weight because GOLF.com described it as its own research. The actual fee can still differ by membership terms and timing.

Southern Hills cost item	Public figure	How to use it
Reported Full Golf initiation	$100,000	Best public planning benchmark, not a 2026 club quote
Reported monthly dues	$800 to $1,000	Public reported range
Calculated annual dues	$9,600 to $12,000	12 months of reported dues
Calculated first-year base	$109,600 to $112,000	Initiation plus one year of dues
Current public food minimum	Not disclosed	Do not reuse the old $125 to $225 claims without a current schedule
Current public amenity assessment	Not disclosed	Do not assume the old $150 per month figure still applies

Why the Public Prices Differ

Southern Hills is a good case study in why private-club prices need labels. The $100,000 (about 1.6 years of full-time work at $30 per hour) initiation figure is tied to a detailed golf publication report. The broader $30,000 to $130,000 range comes from another publication that says initiation is not disclosed. Those figures should not be averaged into a supposed current price. They may reflect different years, membership categories, applicant ages, or secondhand reports. Without a current club-issued schedule, the cleaner answer is to use the best-supported Full Golf figure and keep the uncertainty visible.

The former version of this article also divided old aggregate dues revenue by a member count to produce about $975 per month. That method is not reliable for a club with multiple membership classes and potentially different dues obligations.

Aggregate club revenue can also contain timing effects and charges that do not map evenly to every member. A current applicant needs the rate for the exact membership offered, not an average created by dividing one accounting line by a headcount. This distinction also matters when comparing Southern Hills with the broader country club membership market. A club with a lower initiation fee can still cost more over time if recurring dues, assessments, minimum spending, or golf-service charges are higher.

First-Year and Long-Term Cost

The first-year calculation can be built from the two reported Full Golf inputs without adding unsupported extras. At the lower dues figure, $100,000 + $800 × 12 = $109,600. At the higher dues figure, $100,000 + $1,000 × 12 = $112,000. This is the most defensible fixed-cost scenario available from public evidence. It excludes every fee that has not been verified for the current membership year. That exclusion matters because the old article added a monthly amenity fee and food minimum that could not be confirmed in current club material.

Time changes the cost structure. Five years of flat dues would add $48,000 to $60,000 to the initiation payment, producing a five-year fixed base of $148,000 to $160,000. Over ten years, dues would add $96,000 to $120,000, for a fixed total of $196,000 to $220,000. The ten-year annualized fixed cost is about $19,600 to $22,000 per year. That is a better comparison unit than dues alone because it spreads the one-time entry payment across the period of membership.

One practical scenario uses the midpoint dues figure of $900 per month. The first year is $100,000 + $10,800 = $110,800. Five years at the same dues level reaches $154,000. Ten years reaches $208,000. These totals are flat-rate illustrations, not forecasts of future dues. They also omit any current assessment, minimum spending, caddie cost, guest golf, private instruction, locker charge, tournament entry, or other usage-based amount.

What the IRS Filing Reveals

Southern Hills’ public finances provide a useful scale check without pretending to reveal an individual member invoice. The club’s 2024 Form 990 data shows total revenue of $22,995,985, total assets of $66,681,208, and net assets of $47,222,225. The filing also reports $3,663,422 in initiation fees and contributions. These figures describe the organization as a whole. They do not disclose the current Full Golf fee schedule or how many new members paid each type of initiation charge.

A useful check comes from comparing that $3,663,422 line with the reported $100,000 initiation benchmark. The club-wide figure equals about 36.6 full-fee equivalents at $100,000 each. That does not mean 36 or 37 people joined.

The tax line combines initiation fees and contributions, and different membership classes may pay different entry amounts. The calculation matters for another reason: it shows why club-level financial statements are good for testing whether a price looks plausible but poor for reconstructing an individual bill. The old member-count division treated an aggregate number as though every member paid the same amount. The current rewrite avoids that mistake.

What Extra Costs Are Missing?

The reported $109,600 to $112,000 first-year base is not all-in. The club’s current guest rules say members may bring family and other guests for Sunday brunch, lunch, and dinner without a separate guest fee. The meals are still charged. Guests using golf, tennis, swimming, or Health & Wellness facilities must be registered by the accompanying member.

Public pages do not disclose a Full Golf food minimum, capital assessment, golf guest fee, cart charge, locker price, or caddie rate. The old article stated a $225 monthly food minimum for Full Membership, $125 monthly for other categories, and a possible $150 monthly amenity fee. Those numbers should not be rolled into a 2026 total without a current club document. Their removal lowers false precision, not the real possibility of extra spending.

The right written quote should separate initiation, recurring dues, any capital charge, minimum dining spend, golf-service charges, guest golf, lockers or storage, lessons, tournaments, and resignation terms. A member who uses instruction, events, dining, and guests heavily can spend more than the fixed dues model. A member who uses fewer paid services may stay closer to it. Readers comparing another high-entry club can see how Oakmont Country Club pricing also separates reported fixed membership cost from undisclosed usage charges.

What Membership Buys

Southern Hills was established in 1935 on land provided by Tulsa oilman Waite Phillips, and its current history says the golf course opened on May 23, 1936. Perry Maxwell designed the Championship Course. The club later added the West Nine in 1992, with Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw responsible for that design. Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner began a restoration of the Championship Course in 2018, rebuilding and reshaping features to recover Maxwell’s design ideas.

The current golf facilities page lists 27 holes, made up of the 18-hole Championship Course and the nine-hole West Nine. Golf Digest currently ranks Southern Hills No. 28 in America and No. 1 in Oklahoma. Those rankings help explain why the club sits in a different price tier from a local daily-fee golf pass.

The value question is broader than championship golf. A household paying a reported six-figure initiation also receives access to club dining and a family-oriented recreation program. Someone who uses only the Championship Course may judge the same fixed cost differently from a household using golf, tennis, swimming, fitness, dining, and social activities throughout the year. That wider use case is also why comparing Southern Hills only with public green fees produces a weak financial comparison.

Racquets, Pool, and Wellness

Southern Hills has substantial non-golf facilities. Its detailed current amenities page lists eight lighted outdoor hard tennis courts and four lighted indoor hard courts, along with a Tennis Pro Shop and private, group, junior, men’s, mixed, and ladies’ instruction. The old article’s two clay courts are not part of that current detailed listing. That correction matters because the previous court breakdown described a different facility mix.

The same amenities material lists a 25-meter lap pool, a dive tank with one-meter and three-meter boards, and a Fun Pool with a zero-entry side, two slides, and a basketball goal. The Fitness Center includes cardio and weight equipment, exercise and yoga classes, Pilates, massage therapy, physical therapy, and personal training. These services explain part of the recurring membership value, but they can also create optional spending when private instruction or treatments are billed separately.

A useful comparison is Wellesley Country Club membership, where a current club recruitment profile publishes $110,000 initiation and $20,185 annual dues before minimum use. Southern Hills’ public price report is lower on recurring dues, but its rate is older and private-club inclusions differ. The comparison works only as a fixed-fee reference, not proof that one club gives greater value.

Championship Record and Member Decision

The USGA says the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur was Southern Hills’ 10th USGA championship, with Rianne Malixi winning the title. Southern Hills has also hosted five PGA Championships. The PGA of America has selected it for a sixth PGA Championship in 2032, while future USGA events are scheduled for 2036, 2039, and 2044.

The tournament calendar does not change the membership math. The question remains whether a reported $100,000 initiation plus $9,600 to $12,000 in annual dues fits the access a household expects to use. Long tenure reduces the annualized effect of initiation, while a short stay concentrates that entry payment into fewer years.

Makes sense if

• You want long-term access to a 27-hole private club with major-championship golf.
• You can budget at least $109,600 to $112,000 for the reported fixed first year before unlisted charges.
• Your household expects to use golf, racquets, swimming, wellness, dining, and club events.
• You receive a current written fee schedule that fits your expected tenure and usage.

Does not make sense if

• You are relying on the old “over $70,000” first-year estimate.
• You need a fully public 2026 price before beginning the private membership process.
• You would use the property only for occasional golf and place little value on the wider club facilities.
• Your budget assumes the old food minimum or amenity fee is either still mandatory or definitely gone.

Answers to Common Questions

How much does Southern Hills Country Club cost to join?

The strongest public report places Full Golf initiation at about $100,000. Southern Hills does not publish a current 2026 fee sheet, so this is reported pricing.

How much are Southern Hills Country Club dues?

Reported dues are about $800 to $1,000 per month, or $9,600 to $12,000 per year. Confirm the exact membership-class rate before joining.

What is the estimated first-year cost?

Reported initiation plus one year of dues gives a fixed first-year base of about $109,600 to $112,000 before other charges.

Does Southern Hills publish a food minimum?

No current public club page reviewed lists the old $225 monthly, $125 monthly, or $150 monthly charges. Do not treat them as current without a club-issued schedule.

How many golf holes does Southern Hills have?

Southern Hills has 27 holes, with the 18-hole Perry Maxwell Championship Course and the nine-hole West Nine designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.