Tamarisk Country Club: homes, history, and how membership works

The short answer

Tamarisk opened in February 1952 as the second 18-hole private club in what is now Rancho Mirage. It exists because Thunderbird's membership was restricted, so a group of founders built their own club down the road. Ben Hogan was its head professional, and Frank Sinatra lived on the 17th fairway. Today it's a small, member-run club with no residential community wrapped around a gate. The homes line the course on public streets, and buying one does not make you a member. Treat the house and the club as separate decisions.

Why Tamarisk exists

In the early 1950s Thunderbird was the valley's established private club, and its membership was restricted. The founders who created Tamarisk, remembered as the "Golden 65," built a club that would admit the people Thunderbird turned away. Hogan's appointment as head pro gave it instant standing. The club went on to host the LPGA in 1963 and rounds of the Palm Springs Golf Classic. That origin still explains the club's character. It was built by members for members, and it stays deliberately small.

The homes on the course

Tamarisk is not a master-planned HOA community. Houses face the fairways from surrounding streets in a mix of eras, from original 1950s and '60s desert-modern houses to later rebuilds. The best-known is Frank Sinatra's house on the 17th fairway in the Wonder Palms area, designed by William F. Cody. Several other houses along the course are marketed with architect attributions.

My rule on attributions here is the same as in Palm Springs. Pay for a name only when the permit file or original drawings support it and the design is still there to see. A listing that says "attributed to" with nothing behind it is a story, not a feature.

Neighboring Big Sioux is a separate street and enclave with its own character. It isn't part of the club.

Over the last 24 months there were 55 sales in Rancho Mirage tracts carrying the Tamarisk name, at a median of $1.32M and a range of $610K to $6.15M. The Tamarisk Country Club tract itself had 17 sales, at a median of $2.19M and $649 a square foot, with 30 days on market. Not every "Tamarisk" tract is on the club's course. (CDAR/FlexMLS closed sales, 10/24/2024 to 10/24/2026, as of Oct 24 2026.)

On-course vs off-course: only 3 of those 55 sales were flagged "On Golf Course" in the MLS. They sold at a median of $626 a square foot, against $549 for the rest. That's too few, on a flag listing agents fill in inconsistently, to call it a measured frontage premium. I price frontage here house by house.

What membership costs (approximately)

Tamarisk does not publish a rate card. Third-party summaries published in 2025–2026 put a full golf initiation at roughly $75,000 with dues around $3,400 a month, with lower-cost sports and social categories. Treat every one of those numbers as approximate and unconfirmed by the club. Call the club at 760-328-2141 and get current figures, waitlist status, and the sponsorship process in writing.

Membership here still runs on sponsorship and introduction. If you want to play Tamarisk, start the membership conversation before you buy the house, not after.

Tamarisk compared with its neighbors

• Thunderbird: older, larger, and wrapped in its own residential streets. The two clubs are linked by history and often compared.
• Mission Hills: a 54-hole club with defined HOA neighborhoods, leased-land condos, and membership categories. It's a very different scale.
• Tamarisk suits the buyer who wants a small, quiet, member-run club and a house on a regular street, without a large HOA community around it.

See my Thunderbird Country Club page, Mission Hills page, and Rancho Mirage country clubs overview.

How I'd approach a Tamarisk purchase

1. Decide whether you want the club. If you do, talk to Membership first.
2. Confirm whether the house has an HOA at all. Many homes around the course don't, which changes your monthly cost and your rules.
3. Verify any architect claim through permits and plans before it moves your price.
4. Check the land status on the title report, as you would anywhere in Rancho Mirage.