TPC Southwind vs. Colonial Country Club: Comparing Memphis's Two Flagship Golf Clubs
TPC Southwind and Colonial Country Club are Memphis's two flagship golf anchors, and though they're often mentioned in the same breath -- both have hosted a Memphis PGA Tour stop, both are private clubs -- the actual golf-and-real-estate proposition at each is genuinely different. TPC Southwind's case rests on an active, ongoing national tournament (the FedEx St. Jude Championship, hosted continuously since 1989); Colonial's rests on a real historic PGA Tour pedigree that ended when the tournament moved to TPC Southwind, paired with an active, still-under-construction $400 million residential development on the club's own former golf course.
Side by Side
How They Compare
Qualification basis
TPC Southwind
Destination exception -- active FedEx Cup Playoffs host since 1989
Colonial Country Club
Residential integration -- active $400M development on former North Course
Access type
TPC Southwind
Non-equity, separately purchased membership
Colonial Country Club
Private membership; equity vs. non-equity structure not publicly confirmed
Current course count
TPC Southwind
1 course, 18 holes
Colonial Country Club
1 course, 18 holes (down from 2 courses historically after the North Course's 2022 redevelopment)
Neighboring residential development
TPC Southwind
Southwind (existing gated community, not purpose-built around the club)
Colonial Country Club
The Legacy at Colonial (built specifically on the club's former North Course, 2022-present)
Tournament pedigree
TPC Southwind
Active PGA Tour host: FedEx St. Jude Championship, continuously since 1989
Colonial Country Club
Historic PGA Tour host: 30+ events through 1989, including Al Geiberger's 1977 record 59
Ownership/operator
TPC Southwind
TPC Network (PGA Tour)
Colonial Country Club
Heritage Golf Group (national multi-club operator)
Tournament pedigree: active vs. historic
TPC Southwind is Memphis's active PGA Tour venue: it has hosted the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, every year since 1989, most recently in August 2026 following a 2024-25 green-complex renovation. Colonial Country Club's PGA Tour history is real but historic -- its South Course hosted more than 30 PGA Tour events, including the famous 1977 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic where Al Geiberger shot the Tour's first-ever 59, but that tournament relationship ended when the event moved to TPC Southwind in 1989. A buyer prioritizing an actively hosted national tournament today should weight TPC Southwind more heavily; a buyer drawn to deep, decades-spanning Memphis golf history should weight Colonial.
Residential relationship: existing gated community vs. purpose-built development
Both clubs sit beside real residential development, but the relationship differs. TPC Southwind sits inside Southwind, an existing gated community that predates the club's tournament fame and was not purpose-built around it in the same direct sense. Colonial Country Club's neighboring development, The Legacy at Colonial (also referenced in Memphis news coverage as The Legacy at Countrywood), was built specifically on the club's own former North Course footprint starting in 2022 -- a roughly $400 million, 541-single-family-lot project directly tied to the club's own real estate. In both cases, though, club membership itself is sold separately and is not included with a home purchase in either neighboring community.
Course count: TPC Southwind's single course vs. Colonial's reduced-from-two
TPC Southwind has always operated a single 18-hole course. Colonial Country Club historically operated two 18-hole courses (North and South, both by Joe Finger) but today operates only the South Course -- the North Course was closed and redeveloped as The Legacy at Colonial. Buyers researching Colonial should not assume the club still offers 36 holes.
Trying to Choose Between TPC Southwind and Colonial Country Club?
A local real-estate specialist can walk you through the tradeoffs and current availability at each.
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.