What Buying In Sherwood Actually Gets You (And What It Doesn't)

A buyer under contract on a home in Sherwood Country Club Estates asked her agent a simple question last month: when do we schedule the cart fitting? She had assumed, reasonably, that a $3 to $4 million property behind those gates came with a locker, a tee time, and a seat at the grill room. It doesn't. It never has.

That assumption is common enough that it's worth walking through carefully, because in 2026 the answer got more complicated, not less. There are now two private clubs operating behind the Sherwood gates with overlapping names, a shared address, and entirely separate ownership. Getting this wrong before you write an offer is the kind of mistake that surfaces at the worst possible moment: after escrow closes.

The Membership Isn't Attached To The Deed

Sherwood Country Club, the Jack Nicklaus championship course that hosted Tiger Woods's World Challenge from 2000 to 2013, has been fully member-owned since 2007. That transition mattered more than it sounds. It formally separated the club's operations from the real estate development around it, which means the club and the homes were never the same transaction to begin with, and haven't been for nearly two decades.

Membership today runs through three tracks: golf, tennis, and social. Every one of them is by invitation or member referral. There's no listing price that buys your way in, no escrow contingency that includes a locker assignment, and no public fee schedule the club publishes for prospective members to shop against. Published estimates of initiation costs vary widely across sources, from the mid five figures to several hundred thousand dollars, which tells you less about the actual price and more about how tightly the club controls what gets said publicly. If club access matters to your decision, the only reliable number comes from contacting the membership office directly, not from whatever figure a real estate listing implies.

Two Clubs Now Share The Same Gates

Here's where 2026 changed the picture. A few minutes from Sherwood Country Club sits a second course, previously known as Sherwood Lake Club, an 18-hole Nicklaus-designed par-3 layout, one of only two of its kind in the world and the only one in the United States. For years it operated as a related but distinct amenity within the same gated community.

In February 2026, developer Rick Caruso acquired the Lake Club under an LLC. The sale followed the June 2025 death of longtime owner David Murdock, the former Dole Food CEO who had built the surrounding Sherwood community decades earlier. Caruso moved fast. By July, the club had a new name, a new identity, and a construction timeline: Miramar Lake Club, tied directly into the same brand Caruso built at Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, with a fall 2026 opening.

"This is our vision for where golf is heading, more welcoming, more dynamic, and deeply rooted in experience."

That's Caruso describing the relaunch in a July 2026 press release. The framing is worth noting for what it implies about who gets in. According to Caruso's own newsroom, members of the Montecito Miramar Club will have reciprocal access to the Sherwood property, folding the Lake Club into a membership ecosystem that extends well beyond Ventura County.

Sherwood Country Club was not part of the transaction. The two clubs remain separately owned, separately operated, and separately staffed, even though they sit inside the same set of gates and share a name that sounds like family.

If your offer strategy or your expectations about neighborhood amenities hinge on club access, this distinction isn't a footnote. It's the first thing to confirm, because assuming the two clubs are one and the same is an easy way to misjudge what a specific address actually includes.

What Used To Decide Who Got In

Before the Caruso acquisition, eligibility for the old Sherwood Lake Club leaned on something buyers rarely asked about upfront: lot location. Historically, Class A standing, the tier that came with meaningful club privileges, was tied to lake-adjacent parcels rather than to the community at large. A home two streets back from the water could sit inside the same gates and carry a completely different relationship to the club than a home on the shoreline.

That mechanism predates the Miramar rebrand, and Caruso's team hasn't published how membership terms will work under the new ownership. Details on pricing, tiers, and who qualifies are expected closer to the fall 2026 opening, according to Caruso's own materials. Until those terms are public, the safest assumption for a buyer is no assumption at all. Whatever applied to a lot under the old Lake Club ownership doesn't automatically carry forward under the new one, and the only way to know for certain is to ask.

What To Confirm Before You Write An Offer

A few questions belong in every conversation with a seller's agent on a Sherwood property, regardless of which club sits closest to the lot:

1. Is there any club membership, deposit, or right of first refusal attached to this specific parcel, in writing, separate from the HOA documents?
2. If the home previously carried Class A standing at the old Lake Club, has that status been confirmed to transfer, lapse, or convert under the new ownership?
3. Has the seller been in direct contact with either club's membership office in the past twelve months, and can that conversation be documented?
4. What does the HOA disclosure package say about amenity access, distinct from anything either club promises informally?

None of these questions are unusual for a gated golf community. What makes them urgent right now is timing. A club changed hands, changed its name, and is relaunching in the same season a buyer might be reviewing disclosures on a nearby home. Getting a straight answer before removing contingencies is far easier than getting one after.

A Short FAQ

Are Sherwood Country Club and Miramar Lake Club affiliated with each other? No. They're separately owned and separately operated, even though both sit behind the Sherwood gates and both were designed in part by Jack Nicklaus. Sherwood Country Club was not involved in the Caruso acquisition.

Does buying a home in Sherwood Country Club Estates come with automatic membership to either club? Not by default. Sherwood Country Club membership is invitation or referral only. Miramar Lake Club membership terms have not been fully published as of this writing, with details expected closer to its fall 2026 opening.

When does Miramar Lake Club actually open? Caruso announced the relaunch in July 2026 with a target of fall 2026. Construction was already underway on the clubhouse and pool relocation as of that announcement.

If I want club access, what should I do before I'm in escrow? Contact the membership office directly rather than relying on what a listing agent or marketing description implies. Ask the specific-parcel questions above and get any answers in writing where possible.

Buying behind these gates is still one of the more distinctive moves in the Conejo Valley, oak canopy, lake frontage, and two golf courses within walking distance of each other. Just make sure the offer you write reflects what the home actually carries, not what the neighborhood's reputation suggests it should.

If you're evaluating a property in Sherwood Country Club Estates and want a clear read on what's actually attached to a specific lot before you write an offer, Jaime Krupnick can help you separate the real estate from the rumor. Request a Private Consultation to get started.