In Rancho Mirage, the HOA Bill Often Includes the Club Membership

The 2025–26 homeowner sheet at The Springs Club starts with two figures. One is a monthly fee of $1,826. The other is an "HOA replenishment fee" of $15,000. The sheet doesn't say who pays the $15,000 or when it's due. The club's real estate FAQ says every resident receives a Community Membership "with their initiation fee," and it doesn't give an amount or a payment date. A buyer can see the line item, but the published documents don't say whose obligation it is at closing. That's the first question to put in writing.

That unanswered line points to a larger pattern in Rancho Mirage. Across the city's country club communities, the monthly HOA figure often includes a club membership, and the size of the bill depends largely on whether the community bundles the club with the house or sells it separately. Two homes at similar prices can carry very different monthly costs for that reason alone.

The Springs puts the club on the assessment sheet

The Springs breaks its $1,826 monthly figure into three parts:

• Base assessment, $1,340. Covers exterior painting every six years, roof maintenance, 46 common saline pools and spas, common-area landscaping, gated access with patrols, home alarm monitoring, pest control, insurance on the structure, and reserves.
• Cable assessment, $67. A premium channel package, two DVR boxes, and internet.
• Social Club assessment, $419. The 7,400-square-foot fitness center, dining at the Clubhouse and The Oasis Cafe, social programming, full racquet privileges across 9 tennis and 12 pickleball courts plus bocce, and driving range and putting green access after 2 p.m.

The sheet says all of this is separate from golf membership dues. The club's own pages don't publish its golf initiation or dues. Undated figures from other sources do circulate, including a $17,500 golf initiation and a $15,000 social initiation described as mandatory for new buyers. Nothing published confirms whether they are current, or whether that $15,000 is the same charge as the HOA replenishment fee. The club's membership inquiry page sends prospects to a discovery call to discuss "Fees & Dues" and the "Initiation Process." So at The Springs, social membership comes with the house and golf is a separate purchase with its own unpublished price.

The $1,826 total looks steep next to the citywide figure. On September 15, 2026, NBC Palm Springs reported that the typical Coachella Valley HOA fee is about $394 a month and that the Rancho Mirage average is about $436. The same report named The Springs at roughly $1,826 a month in mandatory community and social charges before golf. The gap reflects services the city average doesn't include. At The Springs, $419 of each month buys club membership, and much of the $1,340 base covers exterior and security costs that an owner elsewhere would pay separately.

Sunrise has no initiation fee, so the club cost is in the dues

Sunrise Country Club takes a different approach. The club says that when you buy a home there, "you are automatically an equity member, no additional initiation fees apply." Without an initiation fee, the cost of membership shows up in the monthly bill. The club's 2026 schedule says every new home sale includes an equity membership and requires the buyer to pay both social and equity dues. In 2026 those are $133.02 and $246.79 a month.

Those dues come on top of an HOA assessment that varies by floor plan. As of January 1, 2026, it runs from $717.36 for the one-bedroom Majorca and Cabrillo to $847.23 for the three-bedroom Cordova and Madrid. The assessment covers a cable and internet package, trash, exterior care including the roof, common-area landscaping, and quarterly pest control. Adding the two mandatory dues lines gives a required monthly total of $1,097.17 to $1,227.04, or about $13,166 to $14,724 a year, before golf.

Golf is optional. The 2026 homeowner golf sheet prices an annual membership at $3,700 to $4,000 for a single and $5,700 to $6,450 for a couple. The higher figure in each range includes a club-owned cart. Owners who skip the membership can play up to 11 rounds a year at the guest rate of $75 for 18 holes or $45 for nine. For someone who plays occasionally, 11 full rounds come to $825 a year, well below the cheapest membership.

Here are the two bundled models side by side, using each club's own published figures:

The two clubs reach a similar result in different ways. Sunrise charges nothing up front and collects a little under $380 a month for club membership. The Springs charges an initiation of some kind and collects $419. In both communities, the buyer is paying for a club membership when they buy the house.

At Morningside and Thunderbird, membership is a separate decision

Some of Rancho Mirage's best-known clubs handle membership another way. Morningside offers two categories, Full Family Golf and Social/Sports, capped at 225 and 100 memberships. The club states that "property ownership within the community is not required for membership." It doesn't publish prices or say that homeowners must join.

Thunderbird Country Club says membership is by member invitation, and it directs prospective members to its member relations staff without listing fees. Member stories on the club's site describe one resident who moved into a Thunderbird neighborhood and then looked into a Social membership, and a Villa buyer who chose among several Valley clubs before joining Thunderbird. In those accounts, buying the home and joining the club were separate decisions.

Mission Hills Country Club and Tamarisk Country Club also leave pricing to an inquiry. Mission Hills lists Premier, Signature, and Weekender golf memberships along with Sports Club and Club Social categories, and asks interested buyers to inquire about initiation fees and monthly dues. Tamarisk offers a personal introduction and tour through its Membership Department.

This reverses the comparison. A home near one of these clubs may show a much lower HOA than a home at The Springs, but if the buyer wants club access, the published numbers don't cover it. That cost goes through the club's own membership office, which may involve an invitation, a cap, or an initiation fee. A lower HOA can mean the buyer simply hasn't priced the club yet.

Homeowners in these communities can still end up paying toward the club. In December 2015, The Desert Sun reported that Morningside's HOA had begun collecting a $250 monthly charge from every homeowner, on top of $1,050 in HOA dues, with club members receiving a $250 credit. That is a historical figure, and no current source confirms it's still in effect. It does show that the line between an HOA and a club can shift when a community decides to move it.

Why the bundled figure changes over time

When club membership is bundled into the HOA, the association's decisions about the club reach every homeowner. At The Springs, this goes back to a 2019 restructuring. According to The Desert Sun, the golf course equity was transferred to the HOA for $1, and each of 817 HOA members was assessed $5,000 for a clubhouse renovation. In April 2025, the HOA approved a $16 million renovation of the course, including rebuilt greens and new irrigation. By January 2026, Palm Springs Life reported the project complete, along with more than $250,000 in tennis, pickleball, and bocce improvements made in 2025. A buyer there is joining an association that owns its course and has already voted on major capital work for it.

Sunrise's dues have also gone up. A Sunrise schedule labeled 2023 listed equity dues of $180 and social dues of $121.08 a month. The 2026 figures are $246.79 and $133.02. The NBC Palm Springs report makes the same general point for the whole valley: a 30-year fixed mortgage stays fixed, but HOA fees can rise with insurance, labor, maintenance, reserve funding, and special assessments. The report's example is a $400,000 condo with an $1,800 monthly charge, which adds $21,600 a year and $108,000 over five years, assuming the dues never increase. At The Springs' 2025–26 rate, the mandatory charges come to $21,912 a year before golf.

The same report's guidance applies to club communities in particular. The important question is what the fee covers and how the monthly charge affects the overall cost of owning the home. In Rancho Mirage, the club is often the biggest single item behind that number.

Questions to get answered in writing before an offer

Published club documents only answer some of these, so each one is worth confirming directly with the HOA and the club:

1. Does club membership come with the home, and at what level? Sunrise includes equity membership. The Springs includes Community Membership. Morningside and Thunderbird treat membership as a separate decision.
2. What does the buyer pay once, and what is paid every month? At The Springs, that means confirming who owes the $15,000 replenishment fee and whether it's due at closing.
3. How are golf privileges priced? Sunrise publishes its 2026 rates. The Springs, Mission Hills, Morningside, and Thunderbird handle it by inquiry.
4. Are there caps, waitlists, or invitation requirements? Morningside publishes its caps, and Thunderbird joins by member invitation.
5. What has the association committed to recently? At The Springs, the HOA owns the course and recently completed a $16 million renovation, so ask about current reserves and any planned assessments.

None of this is tax, legal, or financial advice, and every figure above should be checked against the current schedules from each HOA and club before you write an offer.

Comparing a Sunrise floor plan with a home at The Springs, or a lower-HOA address near Thunderbird, means pricing the club along with the house. John & Ryan can help you gather each community's current dues, membership terms, and closing obligations before you commit. Schedule a Consultation.