An Insider's Look at One of America's Most Exclusive Golf Clubs

Cincinnatian Carl Tuke Jr. has achieved something few can dream of: he belongs to the prestigious Loblolly Pines Golf Club in Hobe Sound, FL.

It has only 275 members. (For perspective, consider that we share our HBO Go password with more people than that.) The application not only requires a member's sponsorship, but approval of that sponsorship from four others.

So when Carl—who built over 775 houses and completed 1,800 renovations over his 30-year career as a custom builder—offered us the inside scoop on the exclusive club he joined 20 years ago, we jumped (politely, on tiptoes, as one does on a golf course).

The 66-year-old first picked up the clubs on his 10th birthday, when his family joined the Coldsteam Country Club in Cincinnati. Five decades later, Carl has won 42 tournaments—including several at Loblolly.

Carl insists the true appeal of the course is not a fancy lunch or famous member, but the sense of community, family and freedom allowed to every member. "Loblolly is not a place for CEOs to brandish their image," he says.

That said, the exclusive membership does have its benefits. The secluded Florida setting comes  with quality restaurants, houses and—of course—the golf course. The fact you can play the courses at any time is a wonderful perk, Carl says.

This is what convinced him Loblolly was the place for him and his wife. Back in 1995, Carl had a friend—a club member—who suggested he check it out.

His friend was able to get him into some gatherings with founder John Sullivan, who thought Carl’s youthful spirit was something the club wanted.

Nowadays, Carl is the one commenting on others' youth of, saying that many of the Club’s 275 members are from corporations or own their businesses, and most are from New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Carl also spoke to us about his recent hobby and business, the Vintage Golf Courses project, where he creates maps of famous golf courses like St. Andrews, Whistling Straits or Loblolly. It started after he found a map of CB MacDonald’s National Golf Links of America in a first edition MacDonald's 1928 book Scotland's Gift: Golf. A collector of historical golf books, Carl and his friend decided that creating these maps could give golf nuts around the world a slice of golf history. Check out some of Carl’s best maps here.