Traveling American golfers have long been beneficiaries of what are mostly private golf clubs around the world opening their doors and limited space on their tee sheets to non-members. In England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and beyond, many clubs with world-class courses resisted the urge to wall off access — think Royal Dornoch, Ballybunion, even Royal Melbourne as examples. The revenue generated from traveling golfers didn’t hurt as these clubs developed. This model of a welcoming operation is frequently referred to as the United Kingdom model.
Count the owners of the relatively new Broomsedge Golf Club in Rembert, South Carolina, as fans of this model. The club has emphasized an operational openness by recently partnering with Michael Keiser Jr. — co-developer of the popular Sand Valley Resort in Wisconsin among other new properties — who will serve as a senior advisor as Broomsedge grows. The club also brought in Baker Thompson, who worked with Keiser Jr. to develop Sand Valley and other properties, to serve as the CEO and managing partner of Broomsedge.
Broomsedge Golf Club in Rembert, South Carolina
Broomsedge calls this a “welcoming private club” model, and it could serve as a great example for other American private clubs interested in creating a more inclusive environment that better utilizes the clubs’ course and amenities. Broomsedge has allowed a limited amount of outside play since it opened in 2024 – conversations about a day of golf for non-members begin with a portal on the club’s website. Thompson said that open mindset will be part of Broomsedge’s continued development that will include the construction of cottages and possibly a second course.
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“I think there is a lot of camaraderie around sharing with others,” Thompson told Golfweek.
Thompson and Keiser Jr. have known each other since they were young boys. They met near the shore of Lake Michigan where Keiser Jr.’s father, Mike Keiser, built his first course at the Dunes Club in Michigan. Mike Keiser later and famously developed Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon. Mike’s sons, Michael Jr. and Chris, developed Sand Valley. Thompson went on to work in real estate financing after college, eventually joining what came to be known as Dream Golf at Sand Valley and beyond.
“I think there’s an energy in having member and non-member play,” said Thompson, who was exposed to the atmosphere at Bandon Dunes early in his golfing life. “I don’t want to play an empty golf course. I want to see other golfers out there enjoying it and then ending up back in the bar talking about the five-footers that were missed or made, or the pin placement on No. 17, whatever it is.”
Broomsedge Golf Club in Rembert, South Carolina
The vast majority of great private clubs in the United States take a different tact. Their tee sheets are open to members and their invited guests only, perhaps with a few one-day charity events sprinkled in to give outsiders a taste and generate a small bump in revenue. John Q. Public can’t just call up the pro shop and ask to play, even if his pockets are loaded.
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A few American clubs with elite courses bucked that ultra-private mindset, though, and embraced the UK model, notably the classic Pasatiempo in California and the much newer Lido at Sand Valley. Pasatiempo allows a limited amount of outside play on its Alister MacKenzie-designed masterpiece. The Lido, which was developed in recent years as a private club within a popular resort, also allows a limited amount of resort guests to sample the re-creation of a C.B. Macdonald classic on Long Island that was shuttered decades ago.
Thompson and Keiser Jr. didn’t want The Lido, which sits across a two-lane highway from the main Sand Valley property, to be walled off entirely. Not every guest of the resort gains access on demand, but limited slots are available for resort guests if the tee sheet isn’t full. The Lido is ranked by Golfweek’s Best as the No. 26 modern course in the United States.
Broomsedge Golf Club in Rembert, South Carolina
If all this sounds familiar, there are similarities to the common American operating model of semi-private clubs. Members of most semi-private clubs typically have priority, and guests fill in the tee sheets. But there are significant differences, too, with the UK model. There are fewer tee times available to non-members in the UK model, and preferred days — sometimes weeks or even months — are reserved for members. At The Lido and at Broomsedge, there are no online booking portals where non-members select their tee times and pay, and there are no third-party vendors selling access. The clubs retain much tighter control of the tee sheet than at a traditional semi-private club. At the elite courses that embrace this model, a tee time can demand a hefty fee, but a determined golfer has a chance.
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As Broomsedge looks to expand with cottages, new food and beverage offerings and possibly that second course, Thompson’s experience in real estate development and club operations at The Lido could prove invaluable. His embrace of the UK model at Broomsedge is certainly refreshing in a region where several new private clubs have opened in recent years and generated significant interest among even those players who might never gain access to the courses.
Broomsedge was designed by Mike Koprowski and Kyle Franz, and its rolling and sandy terrain attracted Keiser Jr. and Thompson for site visits even before the course opened. The course has received numerous accolades and is a lock to appear on various upcoming Golfweek’s Best course-ranking lists in 2026, particularly among the top courses in South Carolina. As it is welcoming outside play, it will appear among the rankings of public-access courses even though it is mostly a private club, much in the same way The Lido and Pasatiempo appear among various public-access rankings. The Golfweek’s Best model states that if a course allows public access without being a direct guest of a member, then that course will appear on the public lists. This classification is intended to let non-members know they have a chance.
Thompson said he was inspired by the UK model years ago on a graduation trip to Northern Ireland with his father. They played Royal County Down, a mostly private club considered by many golf architecture aficionados to have perhaps the best course in the world. After their round, the father and son were welcomed into the clubhouse by members.
“It’s a big piece of the puzzle, and I would love to see North America and the U.S. embrace that even more,” said Thompson, who was appointed to be the first captain of The Lido by Keiser Jr. “That was part of the mission at The Lido, and it’s part of the mission here at Broomsedge to embrace that.”
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Thompson has lived at Sand Valley for three years as it has expanded to include new courses and real estate options, but Thompson said he and Keiser Jr. knew that Thompson eventually would look to expand his role, possibly elsewhere. When the opportunity to join Broomsedge came along late in 2025, Keiser Jr. encouraged Thompson to take it and employ his knowledge gained at Sand Valley. In his role as senior advisor, Keiser Jr. can use his depth of experience and his staff at Dream Golf operations to benefit Broomsedge, too.
“It was our intention from the start at The Lido to bring a new accessibility to top-tier American golf,” Keiser Jr. said in a media release announcing the partnerships. “Americans have always benefitted overseas from the welcoming nature of clubs in the British Isles. There’s no reason that won’t work here. We were thrilled when Broomsedge opened with enthusiastic acceptance of non-member play. That’s a large part of what makes Baker the perfect person to take their club and facilities to the next level.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Broomsedge welcomes limited outside play along with new partnerships
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