Forest Lake Club
Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina · Columbia / Midlands golf market
- Access
- unknown
- Holes
- 18
- Architect(s)
- Maurice McCarthy (1927 original design), Ellis Maples (1959 redesign)
Thinking About Living in Forest Lake Club?
Get connected with a local real-estate specialist who understands Forest Lake Club and the surrounding Columbia / Midlands golf market.
Forest Lake Club is a long-established, member-owned private club in Columbia, founded in 1923 and commonly described in local and trade coverage as the premier country club in South Carolina's Midlands region. With roughly 1,140 members and a 44,000 square foot clubhouse, it offers golf, tennis, and pool amenities. For a golf-oriented buyer, its appeal is institutional prestige and depth of amenities rather than a bundled real-estate product -- the club is not the organizing feature of any single developer-built community.
Golf & Course
18-hole course, par 72, 6,385 yards. Originally designed by Maurice McCarthy (opened 1927, four years after the club's 1923 founding) and substantially redesigned in 1959 by noted regional architect Ellis Maples; some sources also mention Mike Beebe and Billy Fuller in connection with later work, which this session could not fully disentangle -- treat the architect list as reasonably confident but not fully reconciled.
Membership & Access
Does buying a home here include club membership?
Access is via paid private membership. A third-party aggregator reports a $34,000 initiation fee for regular membership (a reduced $24,000 Legacy tier also exists) and roughly $4,584 in annual dues for Participating membership, but this session could not confirm these figures against the club's own published materials.
Living in Forest Lake Club
Forest Lake Club is a freestanding, century-old institution rather than a single-developer bundled community; no formal residential-bundling relationship was found. The broader Forest Lake neighborhood around the club is a well-established Columbia address with home list prices roughly $150,000-$875,000 (average around $417,000), but this is general-area real estate context, not evidence of formal golf-membership bundling with any specific development.
Lifestyle & Amenities
A 44,000 sq ft clubhouse anchors dining and event space; amenities include a 10-court tennis program, a competitive swim/lap pool with diving plus a newer resort-style family pool complex, and a free-standing casual restaurant (The Lakeside Grille) next to the clubhouse and pool.
Location & Surrounding Area
Located in Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina's capital and the core city of the Columbia/Midlands market.
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$34,000
Regular/full membership initiation fee as reported by a third-party membership-cost aggregator (privateIQ), not the club's own published fee schedule. A separate Legacy-member tier is reported at $24,000. Confirm current figures directly with the club.
Annual dues
Historical$4,584
Reported as the 'Participating' member annual dues figure by the same third-party aggregator; not the club's own published schedule.
Interested in Homes in Forest Lake Club?
We can connect you with a local real-estate specialist who knows the community, nearby golf communities, and the Columbia / Midlands market.
What Buyers Should Verify
- Confirm the current initiation fee and dues directly with the club -- only a third-party aggregator figure was found this session.
- Fully reconcile the course's architect history (Maurice McCarthy original / Ellis Maples 1959 redesign vs. other names -- Mike Beebe, Billy Fuller -- that surfaced in some sources).
- Confirm whether the club is gated/access-controlled and its membership waitlist/transferability policies -- not researched this session.
Notable
- Founded in 1923, one of the oldest private clubs in the Columbia/Midlands market.
- Widely described locally as the premier country club in the Midlands.
- Roughly 1,140 members and a 44,000 sq ft clubhouse.
- 18-hole course, par 72, 6,385 yards; originally designed by Maurice McCarthy (1927), redesigned by Ellis Maples (1959).
- 10-court tennis program and two distinct pool facilities (lap/competitive pool plus a resort-style family pool complex).
Considering a Move to Forest Lake Club?
Whether you're comparing Forest Lake Club with another Columbia / Midlands 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.