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Industry News & Trends

What Private Clubs Pay: GM, Chef, Superintendent and Golf Pro Compensation From 1,062 Club Filings

Form 990 Part VII data on 4,120 club staff at 1,062 clubs: the median general manager reported $236,299, and pay at $20M-plus clubs runs 3.5 times the under-$5M median.

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Club Profiles

The $7.7 Billion Build-Out: What Five Years of Club Balance Sheets Show

1,447 member-owned clubs added $7.66 billion in assets between fiscal 2019 and 2024. Net assets, not liabilities, carried most of it. What the filings show, and what boards should take into 2027.

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Club Profiles

Before You Sign the 2027 Dues Letter: Club Costs Are Up 38% Since 2019

Form 990 filings from 1,382 clubs show expenses up 38.1% since 2019. Revenue kept pace, but costs outgrew revenue at nearly half of clubs last year.

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PCM News Wellness & Lifestyle

Before Fall Pricing Kicks In: Ikon, Epic and the Mountain Club Value Argument

As Ikon and Epic fall pricing approaches, prospects are already comparing mega-pass access against what a private ski club membership cost actually buys. From Palisades Tahoe’s new Apex Club to Windham, Hermitage, and Cimarron, this is the shoulder-season window mountain clubs should own before the pass companies frame the conversation.

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Industry News & Trends

Who Actually Runs America’s Private Clubs: A 2,272-Club Analysis of Board Filings

Private club membership rosters are secret, but board filings are not. We read the Form 990 of every club that files one — 2,272 clubs, 30,996 names — to find out who actually governs American private clubs.

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Industry News & Trends

The 15 Most Exclusive Private Clubs in America (2026)

From Augusta National’s invitation-only fairways to the Union League of Philadelphia’s peer-voted city club ranking, these are the 15 most exclusive private clubs in America for 2026 — and the admissions playbook every club marketer can borrow from them.

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Industry News & Trends

Labor Day in the Mountains: Telluride, Aspen and the Shoulder-Season Membership Window

The Telluride Film Festival and Jazz Aspen Snowmass turn Labor Day weekend into the single best mountain club membership fall window of the year. Here’s how Snowmass Mountain Club, Telluride’s Racquet Club, Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis, and AspenX are already capturing it.

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Industry News & Trends

Platinum Clubs of America 2026: How the Designation Actually Works

0 Of all U.S. private clubs earn Platinum 0 Total Platinum Clubs (2025–2026) 0 Selection criteria evaluated 0 Program founded by John R. Sibbald Country Clubs 150 Golf Clubs 50 City Clubs 50 Yacht Clubs 30 Athletic Clubs 20 300 clubs total, representing the top five percent of U.S. private clubs, according to Platinum Clubs […]

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Wellness & Lifestyle

The Four-Season Mountain Club: Turning a Winter Asset Into Year-Round Membership Value

Winter is only 120 days. The mountain clubs winning membership and retention are the ones selling the other 245 — summer programming, real estate, and belonging.

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Wellness & Lifestyle

Pre-Season Is Everything: Why Mountain Clubs Win or Lose Their Winter in August

Private ski and mountain clubs decide their winter in late summer. Here is how to run the pre-season acquisition window before the first chair spins.