South Shore Village vs. Weekapaug Golf Club: Two Very Different Ways to Golf in South County

South Shore Village's golf course is physically and administratively part of the 303-home 55+ community that shares its name, but golf access itself is public/daily-fee with an optional separate membership — it is not included in the HOA fee, and nothing about buying a home there requires or guarantees golf access. Weekapaug Golf Club is the reverse: it is a private, member-owned club with real barriers to entry (2025 initiation fees of $30,000–$45,000 plus $4,610–$6,865 in annual dues), but it has no residential product tied to it at all — no HOA, no bundled homes, no developer relationship. Its connection to real estate is purely that it anchors the identity of Weekapaug, one of Westerly's most exclusive coastal villages.

New homes at South Shore Village are advertised starting around $748,400, with monthly HOA fees reported in the $340–$350 range (unconfirmed by the HOA directly) covering community amenities but not golf. A Weekapaug Golf Club membership alone runs $30,000–$45,000 in initiation fees plus several thousand dollars in annual dues and minimums — before factoring in the cost of a home in the Weekapaug village itself, where luxury listings carry a median price around $1.57 million.

South Shore Village suits an active-adult buyer who wants golf as a low-stakes, optional recreational amenity alongside pools, fitness, and a maintenance-free lifestyle, without needing to commit to club membership. Weekapaug Golf Club suits a buyer for whom exclusive private-club membership and a globally ranked nine-hole course are the priority, independent of any bundled housing product, in one of Rhode Island's most expensive and exclusive shoreline settings.