The Election
CATEGORIES
There are five Platinum Club® of America categories for election: Country Clubs, Golf Clubs, City Clubs, Athletic Clubs, and Yacht Clubs. In total, there will be 300 Clubs that will earn the honor of being a Platinum Club of America in 2025-26. Clubs voted within five points of elected Platinum Clubs receive an Honorable Mention.
Clubs may only be recognized in one category. The Club’s official name is the primary consideration for the appropriate category designation unless requested by the Club and approved by the Advisory Board.
BALLOTS
A Preliminary Ballot—including previous Platinum Clubs and those receiving Honorable Mentions—has been sent to all Private Club Managers across the country. Managers have had the opportunity to nominate additional Clubs for the Final Ballot. If the nominated Club was approved by the Advisory Board, they are included in the Final Ballot, which SportsHub Technologies, our third-party election manager, distributes.
THE VOTE
The vote is conducted electronically and confidentially through a third party, SportsHub Technologies. This year, on August 13th, 2024, two Ballots will be provided to over 4,100 Private Clubs across the USA. Each Club receives two Ballots, one for the General Manager, COO, or CEO, and one for the Club President, Commodore, or Owner. Voters are asked to select the Clubs in a specific order. The votes are submitted over a 26 day period, and the total number of points received by each Club is divided by the number of voters to provide an average score. To qualify, Clubs must receive a minimum of 100 votes in the Country and Golf Club Categories and 50 votes in the City, Yacht, and Athletic Club Categories.
Categories and Points
Country Clubs
1–3 = 100 points
4–10 = 80 points
11–25 = 65 points
26–50 = 50 points
51–75 = 40 points
76–100 = 30 points
101–125 = 20 points
126–150 = 10 points
151–175 = 7 points
176+ = 0 points
150 PLATINUM CLUBS
Country Clubs are typically defined as full-service Clubs with "Country Club" in the official name, offering a wide variety of social, lifestyle and recreational facilities and amenities in addition to Golf.
Golf Clubs
1–3 = 100 points
4–10 = 75 points
11–25 = 55 points
26–40 = 40 points
41–50 = 25 points
51–75 = 10 points
76+ = 0 points
50 PLATINUM CLUBS
Golf Clubs are typically defined as facilities with "Golf Club" in the official name. They are golf-centric, offering only a golf course or courses and practice facilities with Clubhouse amenities. In addition, some Clubs offer fitness and wellness facilities.
City Clubs
1–3 = 100 points
4–10 = 75 points
11–25 = 55 points
26–40 = 40 points
41–50 = 25 points
51–75 = 10 points
76+ = 0 points
50 PLATINUM CLUBS
City Clubs are typically defined as Clubs with "City Club" in their official name and are located in urban areas. City Clubs offer business meeting and banquet/function rooms, Member dining, athletic, wellness and fitness facilities. In addition, some City Clubs provide hotel rooms.
Yacht Clubs
1–3 = 100 points
4–10 = 75 points
11–15 = 55 points
16–20 = 40 points
21–30 = 25 points
31–50 = 10 points
51+ = 0 points
30 PLATINUM CLUBS
Yacht Clubs typically contain the word "Yacht" in their name and offer a marina, slips, and boating amenities, with Clubhouse facilities offering dining and recreational amenities.
Athletic Clubs
1–3 = 100 points
4–10 = 80 points
11–15 = 50 points
16–20 = 25 points
21–40 = 10 points
41+ = 0 points
20 PLATINUM CLUBS
Athletic Clubs are typically defined as Clubs with "Athletic Club" in their official name. Most Athletic Clubs have limited dining, meeting, and other recreational facilities. Some Clubs founded as Athletic Clubs, which have evolved over time, have requested to be included in the Athletic Clubs category. Other Clubs, including Beach Clubs and Racquet Clubs, are also included in the Athletic Club category.