From Worth Avenue to the Fairway: The Best Private Clubs in Palm Beach

In Palm Beach, the private club is not an amenity. It is the organizing structure of social life. The island’s most important relationships, its most significant philanthropic commitments, and its most enduring social rituals are all built and maintained inside a handful of invitation-only institutions whose membership rosters have been shaped by decades of careful, relationship-dependent selection. Getting in is the beginning of a process that takes time, the right introduction, and a genuine commitment to what the club stands for. Here is what you need to know about each of them.

Carriage House

Photo Credit: Carriage House

The newest and most intimate members-only social club on the island, and the one most worth knowing about for residents who want the experience of a private club without the multi-decade waiting process of the island’s most established institutions. Carriage House at 264 to 270 South County Road is an English-style social club housed in two landmarked buildings designed by Addison Mizner and Maurice Fatio, connected by an open-air courtyard. Membership fees start at approximately $400,000, placing it firmly in the same tier as the island’s most established clubs. Members dine on Mediterranean and Japanese cuisine in a setting with a carefully curated wine cellar, personalized concierge attention, and a social event calendar that has grown quickly since the club’s opening. For the Palm Beach resident seeking a more intimate social club experience alongside the island’s more storied institutions, Carriage House is the most considered new addition to the Palm Beach club landscape in recent years.

The Everglades Club

The most exclusive and most historically significant private club on the island, and the one that Palm Beach residents name first when asked to rank them. The Everglades Club on Worth Avenue was founded in 1919 by Paris Singer, heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune, and designed by Addison Mizner, the architect whose Mediterranean Revival style defined the visual identity of Palm Beach for the century that followed. Its commitment to privacy is total. The club has no website, no sign on the building, and no Wi-Fi. Cell phones are prohibited not just in the dining room but in club offices and on the golf course. The club actively discourages publication of any photos taken on the property and does not publicly disclose its membership roster, fees, or activities. Membership is strictly by invitation. There is no application. There is no path in that does not begin with an existing member who has known you long enough to stake their own reputation on the introduction. The waiting process is measured in years and sometimes in decades. Getting into the Everglades Club is widely considered the most reliable signal that a Palm Beach newcomer has genuinely arrived.

The Breakers

Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Breakers

The most storied club on the island and the one that serves as the gravitational center of Palm Beach’s social calendar. The Breakers, originally built by Henry Flagler in 1896 and inspired by Rome’s Villa Medici, operates both as a luxury resort and as a private membership club, with three distinct membership tiers that open different levels of access to its extraordinary amenity package. The Ocean Membership provides the most comprehensive access: two 18-hole championship golf courses, a private beach club with four pools and 25 poolside bungalows, 16 racquet courts spanning tennis, pickleball, and padel, an indoor-outdoor spa, a 6,000-square-foot fitness center, preferred accommodation rates, and exclusive dining and spa discounts. The Beach and Tennis Membership focuses on the oceanfront beach club and racquet program. The Golf and Tennis Membership covers 36 holes of championship golf and the full racquet facility. Initiation fees are not publicly disclosed but are estimated between $100,000 and $350,000 depending on membership tier, with annual dues ranging accordingly. More than sixty major galas and charity events take place at The Breakers each season, making its membership as much a social credential as a leisure one. For anyone serious about participating in Palm Beach season at its fullest, The Breakers is the most practical starting point.

The Bath and Tennis Club

The most socially active club on the island and the one most associated with the daily rhythms of Palm Beach life during season. The Bath and Tennis Club on the oceanfront has been the setting for some of the most consequential social interactions on the island since its founding, and its membership reflects the full cross-section of Palm Beach’s most established families. Like the Everglades, it is invitation-only with no published fees and a process that runs through existing member relationships. The beach, the tennis program, and the dining room are the club’s social anchors, and the dining room in particular is one of the most reliably occupied rooms on the island from October through April.

The Palm Beach Country Club

The oldest country club on the island and one of the most historically rooted institutions in Palm Beach County. Founded in 1896, the Palm Beach Country Club operates an 18-hole golf course alongside a full social program and dining facilities. It is invitation-only and relationship-dependent in the same manner as the Everglades and Bath and Tennis, and its membership has historically represented some of the oldest family connections to the island. For golfers who want a club with genuine historical weight alongside their round, the Palm Beach Country Club is the answer.

Seminole Golf Club

Photo Credit: Seminole County Club

The most prestigious golf club in the region and, by many accounts, one of the greatest golf courses in the country. Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, approximately 12 miles north of Palm Beach island, was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1929. It consistently ranks among the top ten golf courses in the United States by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, and its membership is as tightly controlled as any club in Florida. Men only. Invitation only. No tee times available to the public under any circumstances. The course itself, a links-style design on the Atlantic coast that plays into the wind with a precision that rewards the most serious golfers, is the reason people spend years trying to get in. For the Palm Beach resident who takes golf at all seriously, a Seminole membership is the most coveted credential in the county.

The Mar-a-Lago Club

The most internationally recognized private club in Palm Beach and the one that operates most visibly at the intersection of social life and political access. Mar-a-Lago, the former Marjorie Merriweather Post estate designed by Marion Sims Wyeth with interiors by Joseph Urban and completed in 1927, was purchased by Donald Trump in 1985 and converted into a private members club in 1995. The membership initiation fee is reported at $1,000,000 as of 2024, making it among the most expensive club initiations in the country. The ballroom hosts major galas and charity events throughout the season, and the club’s guest list and social calendar reflect its role as a center of both Palm Beach social life and national political attention.

The Wanderers Club

Photo Credit: The Wanderers Club

The best option for Palm Beach area residents who want a multi-generational private club centered on golf, tennis, polo, and the equestrian lifestyle without the formality of the island’s most historic institutions. The Wanderers Club is located in Wellington, approximately 12 miles west of Palm Beach island in the heart of North America’s premier equestrian community, and draws a membership that reflects the specific culture of that community: family-oriented, sport-driven, and deeply connected to the polo season that runs from December through April. The 18-hole, par-72 golf course designed by Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design plays over 7,000 yards from the back tees, with challenging water hazards and undulating greens throughout. Six lighted Har-Tru tennis courts, four lighted pickleball courts with USPTA-certified instruction, a Junior Olympic-sized swimming pool and cabanas, and a social calendar anchored by the polo season round out a club that operates at the intersection of two of Palm Beach County’s most defining pursuits. For residents who spend time in Wellington during the winter months and want a private club that reflects that world, The Wanderers is the right address.

The Boca Raton Club

Photo Credit: The Boca Raton Club

The most storied private club in South Florida and the one that operates at the most complete scale of any on this list. The Boca Raton Club is the members-only experience within The Boca Raton, the iconic pink resort that has defined the city’s identity since Addison Mizner designed it in 1926. Membership provides access to a private beach and the reimagined Beach Club, eight pools including a 450-foot Floating River, water slides, and luxury cabanas, a Forbes Five-Star spa with 44 treatment rooms, a private marina, 18-plus restaurants and bars, and a golf program that draws players from across the county. The club operates across multiple membership tiers, making it one of the few on this list with a structured path in that does not require a decades-long waiting process. For residents of Boca Raton who want the breadth of amenities that most Palm Beach island clubs cannot match, The Boca Raton Club is the answer.

Panther National

Photo Credit: Panther National

The most anticipated private club opening in Palm Beach County in years, and the one already redefining what the phrase new money looks like in South Florida. Panther National in Palm Beach Gardens features an 18-hole championship course co-designed by Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas alongside a Jack Nicklaus Signature layout, and its 55,000-square-foot clubhouse is scheduled to open in fall 2026. The club is invitation-only with a reported initiation fee of $500,000 for non-residents, making it among the most expensive club initiations in the county. Travis Kelce leased a $20 million waterfront estate within the community in early 2025, with Taylor Swift in residence alongside him. Kevin James purchased a home for $17.15 million. The caliber of the membership already taking shape reflects what Panther National is becoming. Note that while the club and course are operational, the full clubhouse opening is scheduled for fall 2026, so prospective members should confirm current amenity availability directly with the club before committing.

For more of Haute Living’s Palm Beach coverage, see The Palm Beach Steakhouses Worth Booking Before Season Starts and Palm Beach Season is Officially Starting, and the Island Is About to Triple in Size.