Eldorado Country Club
Indian Wells, Riverside County, California · Indian Wells golf market
- Access
- equity
- Holes
- 18
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Eldorado Country Club, built on a former fruit ranch and created by co-founders Johnny Dawson (a 2007 SCGA Hall of Fame inductee) and Jimmy Hines (a nine-time PGA Tour winner), hosted its first round of golf on November 22, 1957, with the course and clubhouse finished just in time to host the 13th Ryder Cup Matches on November 6-7, 1959 -- the U.S. team, captained by Sam Snead, defeated Great Britain 8.5 to 3.5. President Dwight D. Eisenhower first visited that same year and, after leaving the White House in 1961, accepted an invitation to spend winters at Eldorado as an honorary member, preferring to be addressed as 'General' by fellow members. Today the club is a fully private, equity, member-owned institution capped at 425 golf memberships, with sponsorship by a current member required to join.
**Entity-identity reconciliation (Rat Pack narrative):** This research brief's own framing described Eldorado as 'historic, Rat Pack-era,' and secondary real-estate/marketing copy about the Coachella Valley's historic desert clubs sometimes applies Rat Pack imagery broadly across the area's 1950s-60s clubs. Primary sourcing gathered this session does not support attaching that narrative to Eldorado specifically: Eldorado's own official history (eldoradocc.org) centers entirely on golf figures (co-founders Johnny Dawson and Jimmy Hines) and President Eisenhower, with no Rat Pack figures (Sinatra, Martin, Davis Jr., Lawford, Bishop) named in any Eldorado-specific source reached this session. By direct contrast, neighboring Indian Wells Country Club's own official history page explicitly documents Joey Bishop -- one of the five core Rat Pack members -- as one of its early celebrity members (alongside Bob Hope, Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, and Lawrence Welk), dating to that club's 1956 founding. Based on this primary-source comparison, the documented Rat Pack/celebrity-member connection in this market belongs to Indian Wells Country Club, not Eldorado -- see that anchor's record for the sourced detail. Eldorado's own verified historical identity is defined instead by its Ryder Cup host history and its Eisenhower connection, and this record does not repeat the 'Rat Pack-era' framing for Eldorado.
Golf & Course
Eldorado's 18-hole course opened for play on November 22, 1957 and was built in time to host the 1959 Ryder Cup, one of the earliest Ryder Cups played in the western United States. No specific architect of record or course name distinct from the club itself was confirmed by a primary source reached this session; co-founders Johnny Dawson and Jimmy Hines are credited with creating the club, but their exact design role (versus founding/financing role) was not clearly established this session and is left unattributed rather than guessed.
Membership & Access
Does buying a home here include club membership?
Eldorado is a private, equity, member-owned club. Membership requires sponsorship by a current member and is capped at 425 golf memberships. Whether homeowners in the surrounding 'Eldorado Country Club' real estate are required, expected, or merely permitted to seek membership was not confirmed this session.
Living in Eldorado Country Club
Homes are marketed under the 'Eldorado Country Club' name by area real estate brokerages, indicating a real, named residential neighborhood associated with the club, though the specific nature of any formal bundling (if any) between that real estate and club membership was not confirmed this session.
Location & Surrounding Area
Eldorado Country Club sits in Indian Wells, within the same small Coachella Valley cluster of historic and contemporary private clubs as The Vintage Club, Indian Wells Country Club, and Toscana Country Club.
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What Buyers Should Verify
- Confirm current initiation fee and annual dues directly with the club -- not publicly disclosed in any source reviewed this session.
- If a stronger, direct Eldorado-specific Rat Pack connection is claimed elsewhere, confirm it against Eldorado's own historical archives before republishing that framing -- this session's primary sourcing points to Indian Wells Country Club instead.
- Confirm gated status and the specific architect of record for the golf course.
- Confirm whether homes marketed under the 'Eldorado Country Club' name carry any formal bundled relationship to the club or are simply proximate real estate using the club's name.
Notable
- First round of golf played November 22, 1957, on a course built on a former fruit ranch by co-founders Johnny Dawson (2007 SCGA Hall of Fame inductee) and Jimmy Hines (nine-time PGA Tour winner).
- Hosted the 13th Ryder Cup Matches, November 6-7, 1959; the U.S. team, captained by Sam Snead, defeated Great Britain 8.5 to 3.5.
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower became an honorary member and winter resident at Eldorado after leaving office in 1961, preferring to be addressed as 'General' by fellow members.
- Membership is capped at 425 golf memberships and requires sponsorship by a current member.
- The 'Rat Pack-era' framing sometimes applied to Eldorado appears, per this session's primary sourcing, to actually belong to neighboring Indian Wells Country Club (documented Joey Bishop membership from its 1956 founding) rather than to Eldorado itself.
Nearby Golf Communities Worth Comparing
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US Golf Living provides independent real-estate research and can connect consumers with real-estate professionals. Golf membership, availability, fees and approval are determined independently by the applicable club.