Nobody outside the club can tell you what membership at Country Club of the South costs today. The club doesn't publish it, and neither does Arcis Golf, which bought it in June 2025. What you can find online are directory listings with initiation figures anywhere from about $10,000 to $150,000, no dates, and in one case the claim that this is not a gated community. It is.
If you're asking because you're thinking about buying a house here, there's a more useful answer. You don't have to join at all.
What the Club Will and Won't Tell You
Arcis lists three categories: Golf, Racquet and Social. The club's older site splits them further into Full Access Golf, Associate Golf (play from Sunday noon to Friday noon), Tennis and Social, each covering a primary member, a secondary member and dependents up to 23. Neither page gives a price. The last figures in print are from 2007, when the Daily Report put a full golf membership at a $22,000 initiation plus $520 a month, and tennis at $7,500 plus $299 a month. Treat those as history, not a quote. You get a current number by calling the membership office, and it's worth asking for the initiation, the monthly dues, any food minimum and whether an assessment is planned, because those four together are the real cost.
One thing has changed since Arcis arrived. It says golf members at The Manor can play here and at White Columns, subject to availability. Whether a membership bought here travels the other way isn't stated. Ask. Our breakdown of how north Atlanta club costs are built explains what to compare between clubs.
Living Here Without Joining
Membership was settled as optional long ago, and it was fought over. In 2007 the Daily Report covered a lawsuit by more than 100 homeowners over a plan for the association to take on the club's debt, which they said would effectively force membership. The covenants governing the homeowners association, the paper noted, made membership optional, and only about half of residents belonged. The club stayed separately owned, and ClubCorp bought it in 2010, a sale the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said didn't directly affect the homes.
The club doesn't rely on residents either. Its membership page puts it bluntly: you don't need to live here to play here. What every owner pays, member or not, is the association's annual fee for common areas and a 24-hour guarded gatehouse with patrols. The association doesn't post the amount and listings quote different figures, so take the number from the association's own documents.
The Catch: The Pool and Courts
Here is where buyers get caught out. Some listings say the association covers swim and tennis. The record says otherwise. The 2007 article listed the pool and tennis courts among the for-profit club's amenities, and when ClubCorp bought the club in 2010 its announcement counted the swim and tennis pavilion, 12 lighted courts and a junior Olympic pool among the club's facilities.
So a family that wants the pool should plan on at least a social or racquet membership. If a listing promises otherwise, ask the association to show you where its documents say so.
What Homes Sold For This Fall
Building started in 1984 on 899 acres, according to the Urban Land Institute, around a Jack Nicklaus Signature course finished in June 1987. ClubCorp later described it as 7,000 yards over 18 holes, and from 1991 to 1994 it hosted the Champions Tour's Nationwide Championship, won in turn by Mike Hill, Isao Aoki, Lee Trevino and Dave Stockton. The community had more than 700 homes by 2010, the AJC reported. Many carry Alpharetta mailing addresses.
Between August and October 2026, Redfin's record of sales from the local listing service shows homes closing between $1.0 million and $3.6 million. A 13,914-square-foot house went for $3.0 million, the median listing price was $2.4 million, and a lot of just under three-quarters of an acre sold for $827,500. The ULI described homes here as 3,500 to 12,000 square feet when they were new, and that spread is still visible. With houses built over four decades, an updated one and an original one of the same size can sell far apart.
Schools are Fulton County. Barnwell and Autrey Mill are among those named for the community, and Autrey Mill says it feeds Johns Creek High, though older sources name Chattahoochee High. Check the specific address with the district. Our Johns Creek guide covers the rest of the city.
Four Questions Worth Asking
- To the association: what are this year's dues, and do they include any access to the pool or courts?
- To the club: what does each category cost now, including initiation, dues and any minimum?
- To the club again: does a membership here include play at The Manor or White Columns?
- To the district: which schools serve this exact address?
Johns Creek's other large gated golf community, St Ives, runs on very different rules. For the wider picture, see our guide to Atlanta's gated communities.
The Short Version
- No published price. The fee figures online are undated and contradict each other.
- You can buy without joining. The association fee is mandatory; the club isn't.
- The pool and courts belong to the club, so skipping membership usually means skipping those too.
- Homes sold for $1.0 million to $3.6 million between August and October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the initiation fee at Country Club of the South?
The club doesn't publish a current one. The last figure in print, from a 2007 Daily Report article, was a $22,000 initiation plus $520 a month for full golf. Arcis Golf, which has owned the club since June 2025, lists Golf, Racquet and Social memberships with no prices. The initiation figures on directory sites are undated, they disagree with each other, and at least one of those sites wrongly describes the community as not gated. The membership office is the only reliable source for a current number.
Do you have to join the club to live in Country Club of the South?
No. The homeowners association's covenants make club membership optional, as the Daily Report described in 2007, when about half of residents belonged. Every homeowner does pay the association's annual fee, which covers the common areas and security.
Can non-residents join Country Club of the South?
Yes. The club's own membership page says you don't need to live in the community to play there. It remains private, open to members and their guests.
Does the HOA include the pool and tennis courts?
The published record says no. The Daily Report listed the pool and tennis courts among the for-profit club's amenities in 2007, and ClubCorp's 2010 announcement listed the swim and tennis pavilion and 12 lighted courts as club facilities. Some listings say otherwise, so check the association documents before you count on access.
Who owns Country Club of the South?
Arcis Golf, which bought it from Invited in June 2025 along with The Manor and White Columns. ClubCorp, Invited's former name, had bought it in 2010.
What have homes in Country Club of the South sold for recently?
Redfin's record of sales from the local listing service shows homes selling between August and October 2026 for $1.0 million to $3.6 million, with a median listing price of $2.4 million. A lot of just under three-quarters of an acre sold for $827,500 in the same stretch.
Disclaimer: The Luxury Realtor Group is not affiliated with The Country Club of the South, Arcis Golf, or the community's homeowners association. 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.
