The Westerfield Club vs Indian Hills Country Club for Golf Living
Tuscaloosa's private-club golf comes down to a choice between two very different settings: The Westerfield Club, an invitation-only lakefront club on Lake Tuscaloosa currently mid-rebrand from its longtime name, NorthRiver Yacht Club, with a large luxury-condo redevelopment underway on-site; and Indian Hills Country Club, an established, more conventional private club closer to downtown Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama, anchoring a custom-home golf subdivision.
Side by Side
How They Compare
Opened
The Westerfield Club
1978 (Gary Player design)
Indian Hills Country Club
1976 (Leon Howard design)
Current name / rebrand status
The Westerfield Club
Rebranding from 'NorthRiver Yacht Club' to 'The Westerfield Club' as of the 2026 research date.
Indian Hills Country Club
No name change; consistently 'Indian Hills Country Club.'
Membership process
The Westerfield Club
Invitation-only: member sponsorship plus committee review.
Indian Hills Country Club
Confirmed private; specific process not published.
Setting
The Westerfield Club
200 lakefront acres on Lake Tuscaloosa.
Indian Hills Country Club
Closer to downtown Tuscaloosa/Northport/University of Alabama.
Active residential development
The Westerfield Club
The Lakes at NorthRiver community ($550K-$2M+ homes) plus a $54M, ~30-unit luxury condo project under construction on-site.
Indian Hills Country Club
Established Indian Hills subdivision ($625K-$1.8M homes); no active large-scale new development found.
'Only private club' marketing claim
The Westerfield Club
Not the subject of the claim, but its existence as a currently-operating private club is what makes the claim inaccurate.
Indian Hills Country Club
Marketed by some sources as 'Tuscaloosa's only private club' — found to be inaccurate given Westerfield's status.
Resolving the 'Only Private Club' Claim
Some marketing and directory sources describe Indian Hills as 'Tuscaloosa's only private club.' This research pass found that claim does not hold as of 2026: The Westerfield Club (formerly NorthRiver Yacht Club) is also a currently-operating, invitation-only private club. A third historic candidate, the Country Club of Tuscaloosa (the city's oldest, founded 1920), is confirmed CLOSED and now redevelopment land — so it is not a live counterexample either way. The accurate picture as of this research date: at least two private clubs currently operate in Tuscaloosa, Indian Hills and The Westerfield Club, not one.
Membership Model
The Westerfield Club's membership is explicitly invitation-only, requiring sponsorship by a current member and committee review. Indian Hills' specific membership process (invitation-only, application-based, or otherwise) was not published in sources found this pass — both are confirmed private, but Westerfield's process is better-documented as more formally gatekept.
Setting and Residential Development
Westerfield sits on 200 lakefront acres and is the center of real, large-scale residential development: the Lakes at NorthRiver master-planned community (finished homes $550K-$2M+) and a $54M luxury-condo project (Hillhouse Residences, ~30 units) actively under construction on club property. Indian Hills anchors a smaller, established custom-home subdivision closer to downtown Tuscaloosa (homes $625K-$1.8M), without the same scale of active new residential development.
History and Ownership
Indian Hills was built in 1976 and has been redesigned twice (John LaFoy, 1997; Tripp Davis, 2021), with roughly half its buildings recently demolished and rebuilt. Westerfield/NorthRiver opened in 1978 (Gary Player design, later Bob Cupp redesigns) and changed hands in 2025, returning to local ownership under a group of Tuscaloosa investors while retaining Troon as its management partner.
What This Means for Your Search
A buyer drawn to a lakefront setting, boating/marina culture, and active new luxury-residential investment has more of that at The Westerfield Club. A buyer who wants a more traditional, closer-to-downtown country-club setting near the University of Alabama has more of that at Indian Hills. Confirm current membership terms, initiation fees, and dues directly with each club — neither publishes them openly.
Trying to Choose Between The Westerfield Club and Indian Hills 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.