Most private golf clubs admit new members through a proposer and a seconder, an application form, and a decision by the club, often after a waiting period and a joining fee. The detail differs from club to club. The only reliable way to know is to ask the club's secretary or manager.
We are not affiliated with any club and cannot secure admission. Elected Golf is its own new club, founded in 2026, and nothing here is an introduction, a nomination or a promise of a place anywhere.
This page describes what clubs say on their own pages, read on 15 October 2026. It names the clubs so you can check them, and it describes only what we read. Where a page said nothing, we say so.
The common pattern
- Find the club's rules. The membership page, an application form or the club office will say what is required.
- Find a proposer and a seconder. These are existing members who put your name forward.
- Submit the application with the fee, if there is one, and letters of support where asked.
- Meet the club. Some clubs hold an interview or an information session.
- Wait for a vacancy and a decision. Many clubs are full and keep a waiting list.
- Pay the joining fee and the first subscription when your place is confirmed.
What clubs say, club by club
Thorndon Park Golf Club describes two routes. If you know two current members willing to propose and second you, the proposer gets an application form from the club, and the proposer and seconder must have been full members for at least three years. You return the form with letters of support from both to the club manager. If you know nobody, the page invites you to call the manager to arrange an informal chat and a visit. It says nothing about interviews beyond that chat, playing with members, a waiting list or fees.
Yarra Yarra Golf Club (Australia) asks for a proposer and a seconder who have been members for two years or more, a completed form with a non-refundable application fee of AUD $500 (deducted from the entrance fee or subscription if you are accepted), and two further referees, who may be members or anyone who knows you well. The membership committee invites the proposer and you to an interview and then tells the proposer whether the application is accepted. The page says timing is hard to estimate: when a place opens in your category you are invited to become a playing member and to an induction session.
Royal Canberra Golf Club (Australia) asks for a proposer, a seconder and three referees, all current members in an eligible category (a clubhouse membership needs only a proposer and a seconder). The nomination is posted on the notice board for 28 days. You then attend a new-member information session with committee members or the general manager, and pay the pro-rata subscription and the entrance fee or its first instalment. The page says your place is set by the date the steps are completed. It does not describe a vote.
Stanton-on-the-Wolds Golf Club says to fill in the application form and requires an application fee of £50, which makes you a social member and is credited against the joining fee if you move to full playing membership. The page mentions no proposer, seconder or interview.
Rookery Park Golf Club says it is currently full and runs a waiting list for all membership types, and asks you to contact the office. A joining fee of £250 applies to members over 35. The page mentions no proposer or seconder.
Chesterfield Golf Club lists a full adult joining fee of £1,200 (£400 for under 35s) for the season 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, and says the full fee can be spread over three years. The page we read mentioned no proposer, seconder or interview.
The lesson is that the same word, "joining", covers very different processes. A club that asks for sponsors and a committee decision sits beside one that takes an application and a fee.
Play-ins and introduction rounds
Some clubs ask applicants to play a round with existing members before a decision. None of the pages we read described this as a formal step, so we cannot say how common it is. If you are offered one, treat it as the club getting to know you: arrive early, keep pace, replace divots and rake bunkers, and keep your own score accurately. Our Club Book covers those codes.
Sponsors and how to find them
- Play where you want to belong. Visitor days, open competitions and society golf are normal ways to meet members, and a member who has played a round with you is better placed to put your name forward.
- Ask the club. Several pages above say to contact the manager or office, and one invites people with no member contacts to arrange an informal chat.
- Be patient. Sponsors often must have been members for years, and the club's rules usually say how long.
- Do not pay for an introduction. A club's own rules do not need an agent, and no outside party can secure admission. We cannot either.
Fees and waiting lists
Joining fees, subscriptions and affiliation fees are separate lines. They vary from a modest application fee to a joining fee of several times the subscription. Our membership cost page lists the published figures we have read, with dates and sources. A full club may also have a waiting list that runs for a long time, so apply early and ask where you stand.
What to prepare
- A short statement of your golf: how long you have played and how often.
- A handicap, if the club asks for one. See how to get a golf handicap.
- Two members willing to support you, where the club asks.
- The fee, as stated on the form.
- A good understanding of pace, dress and course care. See the golf etiquette guide.
Where Elected Golf fits
Elected Golf is a different thing: a club you enter by keeping the card. You apply, keep a 28-day Candidacy and are elected automatically if you meet the published criteria. It offers no route into any other club.