Connect with us

Published

on

The influx of wealthy New Yorkers and Californians who relocated en masse to Florida have driven up the price of golf club memberships with some Miami area locations charging six- and seven-figure fees.

Luxury golf clubs in South Florida have in some cases doubled and tripled their membership rates since the pandemic, according to Financial Times.

A hedge fund investor who plays golf in the area told the publication that there is fierce competition in what has evolved to be an “access to luxury golf arms race.”

Of the more than 545,000 people who left New York State in 2022, more than 91,000 relocated to Florida that same year, many of them looking to escape high taxes and draconian COVID-era lockdowns, according to data.

Many of them have cash to burn.

The types of people moving down there are used to getting their way and having access to the best of the best,” the hedge fund investor said.

“Then you tell them Congratulations, you moved to Palm Beach, you cant be a member of any of the old-school clubs because the wait-list is 10 years long.”

The price surge is coinciding with a rising demand for membership, which has created a backlog that has kept A-list celebrities waiting.

DJ Khaled has reportedly been trying to gain membership at the exclusive La Gorce Country Club in Miami Beach, which charges $700,000 to join — up from $200,000 in the pre-COVID days.

Thus far, however, the record producer and disc jockey, who already has membership at Shell Bay, the north Miami Beach country club that charges $1.35 million for access, has been unable to get in, the FT reported.

The report cited data which found that the cost of membership at golf clubs in Southeast Florida has risen at more than quadruple the national rate.

The median cost of joining one of these clubs went from $120,000 in 2019 to $200,000 in 2023, according to data from Club Benchmarking, a Boston-based analytics firm.

“Country clubs are experiencing the collective rise of South Florida like many businesses. It’s simple supply and demand dynamics at play and these institutions are wise to capitalize,” Filippo Incorvaia, the founder of Miami-based FI Real Estate, told The Post.

“New Yorkers will pay to get in because it means exposure to the right people and it’s a true competition.”

Incorvaia said that a similar dynamic is playing out “at marinas, private membership clubs and even select restaurants too.”

According to FT, New York City-based real estate developer Witkoff, which also owns Shell Bay, plans to build Dutchman’s Pipe, the first newly constructed golf club in the Palm Beach area in the last 25 years.

Dutchman’s Pipe, which is slated to open on the site of the old Banyan Cay club later this year, is reportedly set to charge membership fees ranging from $300,000 to $350,000, the FT reported.

Indian Creek — the private golf club located on the Miami island that has been dubbed “Billionaire Bunker” thanks to its well-heeled residents such as Jeff Bezos, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Ken Griffin, Tom Brady, and Carl Icahn — reportedly charges $500,000 for new members.

Before the pandemic, Indian Creek’s membership fee was less than half that amount, according to FT.

The club is considering hiking membership fees even further, it was reported.

The Breakers, an elite golf club in Palm Beach, charges new members a fee of $550,000. Before COVID, the fee was closer to $300,000, the FT reported.

Emerald Dunes in West Palm Beach, which has a reported waiting list of 100 would-be members, charges a fee of $700,000 — more than double the approximate $300,000 price tag from pre-pandemic days.

The old clubs are impossible to get into,” a financier who plays at several clubs is quoted as telling FT.

“Its crazy the initiation fees that people are paying to just have a place to go to dinner or play golf.

Dutchman’s Pipe, Indian Creek and Shell Bay are all invite-only clubs where membership can be obtained only through knowing someone who is already a member.

Paul N. Leone, the CEO of The Breakers Palm Beach, told The Post, “A direct comparison cannot be made between pre- and post-pandemic fees, as the fee structures for membership changed.

The club does not publicly disclose details on membership fees and pricing, he added.

The Post also sought comment from DJ Khaled, Shell Bay, Witkoff, Indian Creek, La Gorce and Emerald Dunes.

Continue Reading

Sports

Leafs finish off Senators for spot in East semifinals

Published

on

By

Leafs finish off Senators for spot in East semifinals

OTTAWA, Ontario — Max Pacioretty scored the tiebreaking goal with less than six minutes remaining, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a series-clinching 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in Game 6 of their first-round matchup.

William Nylander had two goals, including an empty-netter in the final seconds, and an assist, and Auston Matthews added a power-play goal in the first period for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz made 20 saves.

Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for Ottawa. Thomas Chabot had two assists and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves.

The Maple Leafs advanced to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in their first-round series.

Toronto grabbed a 3-0 series lead, but Ottawa stayed alive with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 and a 4-0 shutout in Game 5.

The Maple Leafs finally put away the Senators in Game 6.

With the game tied at 2, Pacioretty — a heathy scratch to start the series — scored the winner with 5:39 remaining off a pass from Max Domi that beat Ullmark to the glove side. It was Pacioretty’s first goal of the playoffs.

Scott Laughton hit the post before Nylander iced it into the empty net with 18.3 seconds left.

Matthews put Toronto up 1-0 on a power play with 70 seconds left in the first period when he fired a low shot through traffic.

Nylander, on his 29th birthday, made it 2-0 just 43 seconds into the second when he ripped a shot past Ullmark after Pacioretty forced a turnover from Senators defenseman Nick Jensen.

Ottawa got on the board at 7:28 when Tkachuk tipped a shot past Stolarz.

Toronto, which beat Ottawa four times in five playoffs series in the early 2000s, came close to restoring its two-goal lead when John Tavares poked a loose puck off the post before Ullmark denied Matthew Knies and Brandon Carlo off the rush.

Perron scored with 7:20 left in regulation to tie it on a shot from below the goal line that went in off Stolarz’s back to make it 2-2.

Continue Reading

Sports

Eichel’s 1st goal of series helps Knights advance

Published

on

By

Eichel's 1st goal of series helps Knights advance

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jack Eichel scored his first goal of the series to give Vegas the lead late in the second period, and Adin Hill held it up on a 29-save night to spur the Golden Knights on to the second round with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

Shea Theodore scored first and Mark Stone scored last for Vegas, which will face the winner of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series. The Oilers took a 3-2 lead on the Kings into Game 6 on their home ice later Thursday.

Minnesota has lost nine consecutive series in the NHL playoffs and last made it out of the first round 10 years ago.

Ryan Hartman had two goals for the Wild, including a wraparound with 3:27 left that came 31 seconds after Stone had just given the Golden Knights a two-goal lead.

Stone, who set up Eichel with a long pass out of the zone that was inches out of reach of the stick of Kirill Kaprizov after he dived to try to prevent the breakaway, had four points in the last three games. Neither Stone nor Eichel recorded a single point in the first three games.

Hartman tied the game for the Wild with four seconds left in the first period, a goal safe from replay review unlike his go-ahead score in Game 5 with 1:15 remaining in regulation that was revoked for an offside call after Vegas challenged.

The Wild were unshaken by the consecutive overtime losses that erased their 2-1 lead, confident they measured up to the deeper Golden Knights and could still take the series.

They were quickly playing from behind, though, after Marco Rossi got the dreaded double minor penalty for high-sticking Brayden McNabb with just 2:27 elapsed in the game.

Theodore wristed in a shot from the high slot with Stone and Tomas Hertl screening Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, immediately quieting the crowd near the end of the first power play. Gustavsson, who was forced out of Game 5 after two periods due to an illness, had 20 saves.

Continue Reading

UK

NHS may offer weight loss jabs over the counter at pharmacies

Published

on

By

NHS may offer weight loss jabs over the counter at pharmacies

Patients will be able to get weight loss injections from pharmacies, according to reports. 

It’s claimed drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro could be available over the counter after a short consultation – at the cost of an NHS prescription.

This would broaden access to these jabs considerably, as the health service currently restricts injections to those regarded as having the highest clinical need.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Weight loss drugs ‘changing way we see obesity’

At the moment, there is a two-year waiting list for Wegovy on the NHS – and last year, research by Sky News showed the rollout is happening far more slowly than planned.

Thousands of people with severe obesity have been denied access to the treatment, with doctors previously claiming that a “soul-destroying” postcode lottery has emerged.

According to the Daily Mail, a multimillion-pound deal for a pilot scheme will be struck with a pharmaceutical firm, with a view to issuing prescriptions through chemists and health centres.

They would be priced at £9.90 – the same as an NHS prescription – and substantially less than the £150-a-month cost of obtaining these injections privately.

More on Nhs

But the reports have been described as “speculative”, with health experts warning obesity drugs must only be used under medical supervision by those who are eligible.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The weight loss drug that’s ‘too good’

A government spokesperson said: “As the government shifts the NHS from sickness to prevention, we will be looking across the board at how these drugs can be made available to more people who can benefit from them.

“The NHS is already tackling obesity in innovative ways, including through community care models and digital technologies, to help deliver these drugs as part of a rounded package of care.”

Previous estimates from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have suggested that 3.4 million people in England could benefit from weight loss injections.

But last December, NICE said these jabs would only be available to 220,000 patients on the NHS in the first three years – meaning millions of others could end up waiting up to 12 years for treatment.

Read more from Sky News:
Harrods targeted by cyberattackers

UK’s hottest start to May on record
Police horses attacked by dog in park

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘I need weight loss drug but can’t get it’

Studies show people lose on average 15% of their body weight within months of starting treatment with Wegovy. The drug mimics a natural hormone and people feel fuller faster and for longer.

Obesity costs the NHS £6bn a year and is linked to 200 different diseases.

Half of all obese people with three related problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, die within 10 years.

Continue Reading

Trending