Old Barnwell
Aiken, Aiken County, South Carolina · Aiken golf market
- Access
- invitation only
- Holes
- 18
- Architect(s)
- Brian Schneider, Blake Conant
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Old Barnwell opened in spring 2023 as a new, 575-acre private club on Aiken's eastern edge, part of a wave of nationally-attention-getting 'new golden age' private clubs (in the vein of Sand Valley, Kinloch, or Ohoopee Match Club) built around architecturally ambitious golf and a members/invited-guests lodging model rather than conventional residential real estate. A second course, 'The Gilroy,' is under development with an expected 2027 opening, which would make Old Barnwell a two-course destination.
Golf & Course
The course plays to roughly 7,095 yards and par 73, designed by Brian Schneider and Blake Conant. National golf trade press (The Fried Egg, Top100Golf) has covered the club as a notable example of the current wave of ambitious new private clubs.
Membership & Access
Does buying a home here include club membership?
Old Barnwell operates as a private, invitation/membership club with on-site lodging for members and their guests. The single documented public-access window is Masters week, when the club has reportedly opened for paying outside play at roughly $2,300 per foursome. No published initiation fee or dues figure was found by the discovery pass or this session.
Living in Old Barnwell
Unlike Woodside Plantation, Houndslake, or Cedar Creek, Old Barnwell does not appear (on current evidence) to be a residential real-estate community -- its lodging is club-owned accommodation for members and guests, not homes sold to the public. This should be confirmed directly, since some peer clubs in this category do eventually add limited real estate.
Lifestyle & Amenities
The club's on-site lodging and Masters-week public-access window position it as a golf-tourism and national-club destination first, an Aiken-specific residential amenity second.
Location & Surrounding Area
Located at the eastern edge of the Aiken market; exact address and precise coordinates were not independently confirmed this session.
Costs & Fees
Figures below are labeled Current only when the source itself frames them as presently accurate. Everything else is labeled Historical — a source checked today does not make an old fee a current one.
Golf membership initiation
Historical — as of 2022$12,800
Reported national-membership initiation fee at the club's 2022 founding/launch, per National Club Association coverage. This is a founding-era figure, not confirmed as the club's current 2026 rate -- Old Barnwell does not publish fees on its own site, and no more recent numeric initiation figure was found this session. Treat as historically informative, not as a current quote.
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What Buyers Should Verify
- Confirm current (2026) initiation fee and dues directly with the club -- this session found only press-reported 2022-era figures ($12,800 initiation) and a more recent age-tiered dues figure ($5,000/$4,100), neither independently confirmed against the club's own schedule.
- Confirm whether any residential real estate is or will be sold at Old Barnwell, or whether all accommodation remains club-owned lodging.
- Confirm exact address/coordinates -- this session's coordinates are a rough market-area estimate, not pin-verified.
- Confirm current status and timeline of The Gilroy second course.
- Confirm the exact county -- the club sits at Aiken's eastern edge and this session could not rule out a Barnwell County or Aiken/Barnwell county-line location; 'Aiken' is used here as the best available default per the discovery pass.
Notable
- Opened spring 2023 on 575 acres; designed by Brian Schneider and Blake Conant.
- Course plays to roughly 7,095 yards, par 73.
- Opens to the paying public only during Masters week, reportedly around $2,300 per foursome.
- A second course, 'The Gilroy,' is under development with an expected 2027 opening.
- Reported national-membership initiation fee of roughly $12,800 at the club's 2022 founding, with annual dues later reported around $4,000-$5,000/year on a two-tier age basis (40+ vs. under 40) -- press-reported figures, not the club's own published schedule.
Nearby Golf Communities Worth Comparing
Considering a Move to Old Barnwell?
Whether you're comparing Old Barnwell with another Aiken golf community or you're ready to start looking at homes, US Golf Living can connect you with a local real-estate specialist.
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.