The Markers, a destination club for avid golfers, has formed recent partnerships to give its members access to new golf courses and new residences around the world.

The Golf Courses

The partnership with TOUR GCX offers "member-for-a-day" privileges at a wide selection of private golf clubs across the US. Once the member arrives at a club, they receive complete access to the course and all of its amenities.

The TOUR GCX course portfolio includes two former PGA Championship hosts and one past Ryder Cup site, as well as courses by noted designers Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Robert Trent Jones, and Jack Nicklaus. Members can play a given course up to 3 times in a season.

For TOUR GCX members, partnering with The Markers means the ability to reserve the clubs homes on a trial basis as special guests of Markers' members.

"Partnering with a company the caliber of The Markers is a no lose proposition," says Gary Rosenberg, Chief Marketing Officer, TOUR GCX. "Their package of residences and golf experiences is unique. We strive every day to provide our membership with other first-rate golf opportunities and our alliance with The Markers is no exception1."

Residence Partnerships

The Markers used to have a reciprocity partnership with fellow destination club BelleHavens, in which the two clubs allowed one another's members to reserve some of their homes. With BelleHavens being acquired by Abercrombie & Kent this partnership has not been renewed. However, The Markers has added several new exchange and affiliate properties for its members.

For die-hard golfers, the most impressive new exchange property is at No.9 The Links, overlooking the 18th green and 1st tee of The Old Course at St Andrews. As we reported last year, this rather unique property also has fractional ownerships available.

Other new exchange properties are in Deer Valley, UT; Flagstaff, AZ; and New Zealand's Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Kinloch Club at Lake Taupo.

"Our members loved the BelleHavens reciprocity agreement. We have replaced those homes with some stellar properties, including an amazing one on the 18th green of the Old Course in St. Andrews." said Mitch Brinton, co-founder and Executive Director at the Markers. "We are always looking for new opportunities for the Members."

Membership Levels

The Markers offers four levels of membership, two for individuals, one for four friends or business partners and one for corporate membership. Unlike most of the other clubs they haven't raised their initial fees over the last year and have only slightly raised the annual dues on most of the plans. The usage details for the plans are included on The Markers profile page, with outlines below.

• Links: $150,000 with annual dues of $9,500 ("for passionate golfers whose busy lives create leisure time constraints but still want a membership")
• Individual: $285,000 with annual dues of $16,500 ("designed for individuals and families")
• Partner: $325,000 with annual dues of $18,500 ("designed for four friends and/or business partners to collectively share privileges of The Markers")
• Corporate: $375,000 with annual dues of $20,500 ("allows business entities to entertain their top executives, clients or employees")

Resignation Terms

The Markers has slightly changed their resignation terms since we last reported on them, the new terms are:

• If a member resigns prior to the club selling out, they receive their deposit back 85% of their deposit.
• If the club is sold out, and the member resigns prior to the 5 year anniversary, they receive 100% of their deposit.
• If the club is sold out, and the member holds on to their membership at least five years, they receive current market value.

While The Markers doesn't disclose its number of members, Mitch hinted that they were about a third of the way to their target of 325 members. At this capacity, The Markers' plans to have a portfolio of 36 luxurious $2 million residences in some of golf's most legendary destinations.

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