If you’re in the market for a starter home, look no further than Southampton.
Long Island City where US Open starts Thursday, ranks among the most expensive zip codes in the country, with median home prices around $2.5 million. Quadrupling this figure brings you closer to the beach.
This is a luxurious setting of fancy cars and private jets, although a cooler mode of transportation would be a time machine. Imagine if you had one. You can turn the clock back to the late 1800s when the organizer of this week’s national championship, Shinnecock Hillswas founded. Waterfront property was cheaper then. And Shinnecock owns a lot of it — nearly 300 acres, which were paid for long ago with money old enough to deserve the carbon dating.
Not that all riches come from the Mayflower. Michael Bloombergfor example, it has his name on a locker in Shinnecock.
How much would it cost you to get the same? Fair question.
If you have to ask, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t handle it. But if you have to ask for an invitation, you probably won’t get one. Bankrolls matter, but so do bloodlines. It’s not just what you have. It’s who knows.
As with many prestigious private clubs, Shinnecock keeps its inner workings quiet. Initiation fees are not listed on the website. And members aren’t keen to discuss dollar amounts.
GOLF consulted a dozen sources familiar with the club to arrive at an educated number. This figure? Priced at $175,000 on the low end, but rumored to go as high as $200,000.
For most people, that’s a lot of money. But it’s modest by the standards of Long Island’s private clubs, and a simple rounding error if you’ve managed to buy a mansion nearby.
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