Mission Hills, KS · Private club
Indian Hills Country Club
A Tillinghast course in Mission Hills with a serious competitive golf reputation and a clubhouse rebuilt around family life.
About Indian Hills Country Club
Indian Hills started life in 1919 as the Community Golf Club, another J.C. Nichols creation on land next to Mission Hills Country Club. It moved in 1922 to ground that is now Kansas City Country Club, and in 1925, when Kansas City Country Club took that course over, Nichols helped reorganize the members as Indian Hills Country Club on its current site. A.W. Tillinghast designed the course, a par-70 layout of roughly 6,500 yards that has hosted more than fifty USGA and state amateur qualifiers over the years. The clubhouse was replaced in 1972 and has been renovated several times since, most recently in 2009.
Of the three Mission Hills clubs, Indian Hills is the one serious golfers tend to name first. The Tillinghast routing rewards precision over power, and the club has a long tradition of competitive events. It still has a strong family and social side, with a pool and dining, but if you ask a low-handicap relocating executive where their friends play, this is a frequent answer. Members come from Mission Hills, Prairie Village, Fairway, Leawood and the Missouri side around Ward Parkway.
As with its neighbors, none of this attaches to a home purchase. Indian Hills is member-sponsored and does not publish its fees, so treat any number you read online as unverified. If you are buying near the course, the questions to ask are the same as anywhere in Mission Hills: does the seller hold a membership, does the club permit any transfer, and how long is the current admissions runway. Course-adjacent lots here are rare and priced accordingly; the club is a second, separate decision.
How membership works
Indian Hills is a private, member-sponsored club. It does not publish initiation, dues or category names on its site. Expect full golf and social categories, sponsorship by existing members and an admissions review. Planning range only: a five-figure initiation for full golf at an established Mission Hills club with a Tillinghast course, plus monthly dues and possible assessments tied to clubhouse and course projects. Living in Mission Hills is not required. Call the membership office for current categories, sponsorship expectations and any golf waitlist.
Clubs adjust initiation and dues with demand and rarely publish them. Treat any figure above as a planning range and ask me for current numbers before you commit to an address. Read the metro-wide breakdown in what country club memberships cost in Kansas City.
Neighborhoods around Indian Hills Country Club
Mission Hills
The club sits inside the city limits; a core of the membership lives nearby.
Prairie Village
Directly adjacent; a major feeder for family memberships.
Leawood
Members from old Leawood and along Mission Road.
Homes for sale near Indian Hills Country Club
Live from the MLS. Thin inventory is normal at this tier — tell me what you want and I'll watch for it, including off-market.
Thinking about living near Indian Hills Country Club?
I'll send current pricing for the neighborhoods that feed this club, what's about to hit the market, and the membership questions to ask before you write an offer.
Indian Hills Country Club: questions buyers ask
How much does Indian Hills Country Club membership cost?
Indian Hills does not publish initiation or dues. For planning, expect a five-figure initiation for full golf plus monthly dues, in line with the other established Mission Hills clubs. Numbers on third-party sites are not reliable. Ask the membership office for the current schedule before you count on joining.
Do you have to live in Mission Hills to join Indian Hills Country Club?
No. There is no residency requirement, and members live across northeast Johnson County and the Missouri side near Ward Parkway. A Mission Hills address does not create any priority. If you buy a home along the course, the club remains a separate application and expense.
Who designed the Indian Hills golf course?
A.W. Tillinghast, the architect behind Winged Foot and Bethpage Black, designed the course after the club reorganized as Indian Hills in 1925. It is a par-70 layout of about 6,500 yards that has hosted more than fifty USGA and state amateur qualifying events, which tells you it plays tougher than the yardage suggests.
Is Indian Hills Country Club open to the public?
No. Indian Hills is private, and play is for members and their guests only. There is no public tee sheet or daily fee option. If you want to compare the three Mission Hills clubs before choosing a neighborhood, a member guest round is the realistic path, and I can help make an introduction.
Go deeper
Other private clubs in the metro
Hallbrook Country Club
Leawood, KS — A Tom Fazio course on the old Hall family farm at 119th and State Line, wrapped by the Hallbrook neighborhoods in Leawood.
Loch Lloyd Country Club
Village of Loch Lloyd, MO — Twenty-seven holes inside a gated village on the Missouri side, with a Tom Watson Signature layout that reopened in 2012.
Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate
Overland Park, KS — A Jack Nicklaus Signature course in the heart of the LionsGate neighborhoods, run by Invited, with clearly tiered memberships.
Mission Hills Country Club
Mission Hills, KS — J.C. Nichols built this club in 1914 to sell Mission Hills lots. A century later the course still anchors the most expensive zip code in Kansas.
Kansas City Country Club
Mission Hills, KS — Founded in 1896 and on its Mission Hills site since 1926, with an A.W. Tillinghast course. The most traditional club in the metro.
Milburn Country Club
Overland Park, KS — A 1917 Langford and Moreau course in north Overland Park, rebuilt in 2012 with a new clubhouse in 2013, and still hosting state championships.