Most golf communities are built and then given a course. Brookhaven went the other way. In 1910 a group of investors bought the land for a golf club and the lots around it, laid out nine holes in 1911, and sold the surrounding streets as Brookhaven Estates. A local history of the neighborhood calls it the first community in Georgia, and probably in the Southeast, designed around a golf course from the start.
The Capital City Club, chartered in 1883 and one of the oldest private clubs in the South, leased that course in 1913 and bought it in 1915. A century later the club and the houses around it are still one place. Anyone pricing a home in Historic Brookhaven ends up asking about the club, and anyone asking about the club ends up looking at the houses.
What Membership Costs, and Why Nobody Online Agrees
The club does not publish its fees. Its membership page gives a contact in the membership office and nothing more, and when a local paper asked the general manager about the 2008 renovation, he declined to state the project cost, membership numbers or membership fees.
That silence has been filled by other people. Search for the cost and you will find initiation figures that start around $5,000 on one site and reach $200,000 on another, and a range that wide is not information. The most careful recent account is Buckhead.com's January 2026 piece on the area's private clubs, which cites current and former members describing initiation of roughly $50,000 to $200,000 and says plainly that the clubs did not confirm it.
Whatever the initiation turns out to be, it is one of four parts: initiation, dues, a food and beverage minimum, and the possibility of assessments. Our guide to how club costs are built walks through each, including why assessments are the line people forget.
One Club, Three Properties
The club operates three locations, according to its own directions page.
- The City Club, downtown. The club's earlier building on Harris Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
- Brookhaven. The country club at 53 West Brookhaven Drive, with a 1928 clubhouse by Burge and Stevens and the course Bob Cupp rerouted in a renovation that began in 2007. Golf Digest's Ron Whitten called it the best renovation he played that year.
- Crabapple, in Milton. A Tom Fazio course that opened in 2002. According to the USGA, it hosted the 2003 WGC-American Express Championship, won by Tiger Woods, and the 2013 NCAA men's championship.
Which properties a category can use is the club's decision. Ask, because it changes what you are paying for.
The Homes Around the Club
The club sits inside the Brookhaven Historic District, a district of about 300 acres listed on the National Register in 1986 with 202 contributing buildings. The first houses went up along Club Drive, Stovall, Winall Down, Vermont, Calvert Lane, Narmore and Bellaire, and the neighborhood's history counts 19 homes around the club by 1928. Today those streets mix early houses with newer construction on the larger lots.
Our Brookhaven guide puts typical luxury pricing at $1.5 million to $5 million and up, and the streets closest to the course sit toward the upper end. Buyers who want a Buckhead address near the club usually look at Peachtree Heights and Garden Hills, about three miles south. Lenox Square is under two miles away.
One thing buyers from other cities often miss: a National Register listing on its own generally does not restrict what you can do to a private home, but local rules can. If you are planning significant work on an older house, read our guide to what historic designation does and does not restrict before you write the offer.
Before You Buy for the Club
If the club is part of the reason you want Historic Brookhaven, settle these before the house, not after.
- Which membership categories are open now, and whether there is a wait for the one you want.
- Which of the three properties that category includes.
- The current fee schedule and the last ten years of assessments, in writing.
- How sponsorship works and who you would need to know.
- The club's finances. As a nonprofit social club it files an annual return with the IRS, and those returns are public through ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. Reserves and debt tell you more about future assessments than any brochure.
For the other clubs in the city, see our Atlanta country club communities guide.
The Short Version
- Cost is not published. Figures online run from $5,000 to $200,000. The spread is the tell.
- Three properties: the City Club downtown, the Brookhaven country club, and Crabapple in Milton.
- The neighborhood came with the course, but buying a house there does not make you a member.
- Ask the membership office for the current schedule in writing. That is the only number worth planning around.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to join the Capital City Club?
The club does not publish its initiation fee or dues; its membership page lists a contact in the membership office and nothing else. Figures online run from about $5,000 to $200,000, which tells you most of them are guesses. The most specific recent report, from Buckhead.com in January 2026, cites current and former members describing initiation of roughly $50,000 to $200,000 and notes that the clubs did not confirm it. Treat any number as unverified until the membership office gives you the current schedule in writing.
Does Capital City Club membership include all three locations?
The club operates three properties: the City Club downtown at 7 John Portman Boulevard, the Brookhaven country club at 53 West Brookhaven Drive, and Crabapple in Milton. Which of them a given membership category can use is set by the club, so ask which properties come with the category you are considering rather than assuming all three are included.
Who designed the Capital City Club Brookhaven course?
Herbert H. Barker laid out the original nine holes in 1911, and the course grew to 18 holes after the Capital City Club bought the Brookhaven club in 1915. Bob Cupp redesigned it in a renovation that began in 2007, rerouting all 18 holes. Golf Digest architecture critic Ron Whitten called it the best renovation he played that year.
Is the Capital City Club in Brookhaven or Buckhead?
The country club is in Brookhaven, inside the Brookhaven Historic District, north of Buckhead. Lenox Square is under two miles away by car. The City Club is downtown, and the Crabapple course is in Milton.
Can I buy a home in Historic Brookhaven without joining the club?
Yes. The neighborhood was laid out around the course, but owning a home there and holding a membership are separate, and many residents are not members. If membership is part of why you are buying, confirm which categories are open and whether there is a wait before you commit to a house.
What tournaments has the Capital City Club hosted?
According to the USGA, the Brookhaven course hosted the 1916 Georgia State Amateur, won by Bobby Jones, and five state amateurs in all. The Crabapple course hosted the 2003 WGC-American Express Championship, won by Tiger Woods, and the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship. The club hosted the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Disclaimer: The Luxury Realtor Group is not affiliated with the Capital City Club. Membership terms, fees, categories and waitlists are set by the club and change over time; confirm them directly with the club. History is drawn from the sources linked in the text. Home price ranges are general market observations, not appraisals.
