The Cliffs

What The Cliffs does

The Cliffs is a privately held collection of seven luxury residential club communities located across three regions of the Carolinas—Mountain, Lake, and Asheville—operated under Cliffs Land Partners, LLC, a wholly owned portfolio company of private equity firm South Street Partners since 2019. Founded in 1991 and supported by 251–500 employees, the platform develops and manages approximately 20,000 acres of master-planned real estate anchored by seven championship golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Gary Player, Tom Jackson, and Ben Wright; seven wellness centers; seven clubhouses; and 26+ amenities including a Beach Club, Lake Club, full-service marina, equestrian center, and Sports Pavilion. The company's customer base consists of high-net-worth individuals and families seeking primary or secondary residences, predominantly purchasing through Cliffs Realty, the exclusive in-house brokerage that has historically transacted 4,600+ properties representing $1.8B+ in cumulative sales and lists more than three times the properties of the next closest competitor.

The business model operates four monetization streams: (1) real estate transaction fees via Cliffs Realty, the sole brokerage serving all seven communities through four regional sales offices in Travelers Rest, Six Mile, Salem, and Arden; (2) recurring club membership dues through two tiers—Active Membership and Golf Membership—covering an installed base of 3,200 member families with cross-community access; (3) one-time home building revenue through wholly-owned Cliffs Builders (Classic and Signature semi-custom programs, plus spec homes on an approximately 18-month build cycle); and (4) transaction fees on homes built by 15+ Preferred Builder partners subject to Architectural Review Board oversight. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; individual home and homesite prices range from approximately $100K to $6M depending on community, with membership pricing withheld. Distribution is exclusively direct, and marketing channels include a content blog, signature Cliffs Living magazine, social and email programs, and event-driven demand generation anchored by the upcoming 2026 Biltmore Championship Asheville PGA TOUR FedExCup Fall event.

No proprietary software, AI, or technology platform is described as a core offering; the digital footprint functions primarily as marketing and lead capture rather than a product surface. The company's competitive position rests on geographic control of contiguous Carolinas land, multi-region diversity combined with single-membership access, brand recognition from Golfweek, Golf Magazine, and Real Estate Scorecard awards, and an embedded brokerage–membership–home-building flywheel that ties residents and revenue streams together. The company is led by President Rob Duckett with a full executive team including CFO Karie Torroll and VPs across home building, marketing, HR, IT, and development, plus on-site General Managers for each of the seven communities.

Name

The Cliffs

Legal name

Cliffs Land Partners, LLC

Website

https://cliffsliving.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Cliffs is a privately held collection of seven luxury residential club communities across the Carolinas, serving high-net-worth individuals and families through exclusive real estate sales, in-house home building, and recurring club memberships spanning 20,000+ acres of master-planned amenities and seven championship golf courses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Residential Club Communities

NAICS

Golf Courses and Country Clubs (71391), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Mountain & Ski Luxury Resorts (THAGACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mountain & Ski Homes (THAMAAAG), Mountain & Adventure All-Inclusive Resorts (THAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Luxury residential communities
• Private golf club membership
• Real estate development
• Luxury homebuilding
• Club lifestyle amenities

Headquarters

HQ city

Travelers Rest

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Sales: Cliffs Realty sells luxury homes and homesites across seven private communities. Revenue is generated through transaction fees on property sales. The company reports $1.8B+ in real estate sales with 4,600+ properties sold. Cliffs Realty is the exclusive brokerage serving all seven communities.
2. Home Building - Cliffs Builders: Cliffs Builders offers semi-custom and spec home construction within The Cliffs communities. The program includes pre-designed home plans, a Design Center for personalization, and move-in-ready spec homes. Building timeline is approximately 18 months from groundbreaking.
3. Club Membership Fees: The Cliffs generates recurring revenue through two club membership tiers: Active Membership and Golf Membership. Both provide access across all seven private communities with amenities including wellness centers, dining, watersports, and outdoor pursuits. Golf Membership adds access to seven nationally ranked golf courses and enhanced tee-time privileges.
4. Preferred Builder Program: The Cliffs partners with 15+ vetted regional builders through its Preferred Builders program. Homeowners work with these builders to construct custom homes on purchased homesites, with The Cliffs facilitating and overseeing the building process through its Architectural Review Board.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Cliffs is a collection of seven premier luxury residential club communities located across the mountains, lakes, and coastlines of the Carolinas. The company sells luxury homes, custom-built homes, and homesites, and offers club membership with access to championship golf, wellness centers, racquet sports, equestrian facilities, marinas, and multiple dining venues. Real estate brokerage (Cliffs Realty) and home building (Cliffs Builders) are operated in-house to support property sales and member experience.

Product overview

The Cliffs is a collection of seven private luxury communities spanning three regions in the Carolinas—Mountain (Glassy, Mountain Park, Valley), Lake (Keowee Falls, Keowee Springs, Keowee Vineyards), and Asheville (Walnut Cove). The company offers a unified club experience through two membership tiers: Active Membership and Golf Membership, each providing access across all seven communities. Real estate offerings include homes and homesites available for purchase through Cliffs Realty or built custom through Cliffs Builders (semi-custom Classic and Signature programs) and a network of Preferred Builders. Each community features distinct amenities including golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Gary Player, Tom Jackson, and Ben Wright; wellness centers; clubhouses; outdoor pursuits (watersports, hiking, cycling, equestrian); and racquet sports facilities. The portfolio represents a platform of interconnected lifestyle services unified by membership access, rather than a single product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Active Membership: Club membership offering access to wellness centers, racquet sports, clubhouses, dining, resort-style amenities, pools, paddle, pickleball, tennis, yoga, outdoor spaces, Beach Club, marina, trails, and equestrian offerings.
• Golf Membership

Products and services

• Luxury Homes and Homesites Sale of newly built and resale luxury homes and homesites across the seven Cliffs communities in the Carolinas, available to individual buyers and families.
• Cliffs Realty In-house real estate brokerage service that handles property listings, sales, and buyer representation across The Cliffs' seven communities.
• Cliffs Builders In-house custom home construction service that designs and builds luxury homes for buyers purchasing homesites within the Cliffs communities.
• Club Membership (Golf and Active Tiers) Membership product offered in two tiers (Golf and Active) that grants members access to amenities across all seven Cliffs communities, including golf courses, wellness centers, racquet sports, equestrian, marina, and dining venues.
• Championship Golf Courses Access to championship golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, and Gary Player, available to Golf and other tiered members across the communities.
• Wellness, Racquet, Equestrian, and Marina Amenities Wellness centers, racquet sports facilities, an equestrian center, and marinas available to members across the seven communities as part of club membership.
• Club Dining Venues Multiple dining venues operated across the seven Cliffs communities, available to members as part of the club experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,600+ properties sold
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cliffs Preferred Builders (15+ regional builders)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA collection of 15+ vetted regional builders with renowned reputations in the South and North Carolina building industry. Preferred Builders offer custom home construction within The Cliffs communities with a two-year builder's warranty. They work with The Cliffs' Architectural Review Board to ensure homes complement the distinctive landscape of each region.
• George HincapieminorStrategic or Co-development Partner17-time Tour de France finisher and Director of Cycling at The Cliffs. Leads road cycling programs and experiences across The Cliffs communities, bringing world-class cycling credentials to the outdoor pursuits offerings.
• Hart HowertonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTop architectural firm based in New York and San Francisco that designed the Keowee Springs Clubhouse. The clubhouse overlooks the 18th hole with stunning views from multiple vantage points, featuring interconnected pavilions and open-air breezeways.
• Keith SummerourminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCelebrated architect who designed the Sports Pavilion at Mountain Park. The Sports Pavilion opened in summer 2025 as a central hub for recreation and community, featuring 7,000-square-foot resort-style pool, tennis courts, pickleball courts, padel courts, and amphitheater.
• Tom Jackson (Golf Course Architect)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTom Jackson, inducted into the Carolina's Golf Hall of Fame in 2007, designed The Cliffs at Glassy golf course. His design at Glassy includes a par-3 recognized as the fourth most scenic hole in America.
• Gary Player (Golf Course Architect)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGary Player, known as 'The Black Knight,' has won 165 tournaments over five decades. Designed the Gary Player Signature golf course at Mountain Park — a walkable links-style course running along the banks of the North Saluda River.
• Ben Wright (Golf Course Architect)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmmy- and Peabody-Award winning sports announcer and golf course designer. Ben Wright designed The Cliffs Valley parkland-style golf course, a member favorite — scenic, walkable, and approachable from every tee box.
• Jack Nicklaus (Golf Course Architect)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJack Nicklaus, honored with every significant award recognizing excellence in golf course design and development, designed the Jack Nicklaus Signature courses at Keowee Falls and Walnut Cove. The Keowee Falls course was named one of Golf Magazine's Top 10 New Private Courses.
• Tom Fazio (Golf Course Architect)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTom Fazio, considered by many to be the greatest golf architect, designed the courses at Keowee Vineyards and Keowee Springs. The Keowee Vineyards course was named 7th Best Private Course in the nation by Golf Digest.
• PGA TOURcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 2026 Biltmore Championship Asheville is a professional golf tournament on the PGA TOUR's FedExCup Fall schedule, hosted at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. This marks the return of professional golf to the Blue Ridge Mountains for the first time in more than eighty years.
• Tryon International Equestrian CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremier equestrian destination hosting world-class competitions throughout the year, attracting riders of all levels and disciplines. Located a short drive from The Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards, offering additional equestrian programming for members.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kiawah Island Golf Resort: Large-scale luxury residential and resort community on the South Carolina coast with multiple golf courses and amenity programming. Sister portfolio company to The Cliffs under South Street Partners; direct peer on platform scale, PE ownership, and multi-course country club membership model.
• Palmetto Bluff: Luxury lowcountry residential club community in Bluffton, SC with multiple villages, dining, wellness, and outdoor pursuits. Owned by South Street Partners alongside The Cliffs; comparable on member-driven residential club economics and amenity density.
• Sea Island: Private island residential and resort community on the Georgia coast featuring three championship golf courses, multiple clubhouses, and full-service resort amenities. Closest nationally-recognized analog to The Cliffs' multi-course, multi-community luxury club model.
• Reynolds Lake Oconee: Large-scale lakefront residential resort community in Greensboro, GA with multiple golf courses (including Reynolds/Richland, Great Waters, Oconee, Bluff), multiple clubhouses, and membership-based access. Direct peer on lake-region luxury club model and recurring membership revenue.
• The Reserve at Lake Keowee: Private lakefont residential club community on Lake Keowee in Salem, SC with a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, full-service marina, and wellness amenities. Direct geographic and product competitor to The Cliffs' three Lake Region communities on the same body of water.
• Keowee Key: Established private lakefront residential community on Lake Keowee in Salem, SC offering golf, tennis, marina, and club amenities to member owners. Head-to-head competitor for Lake Keowee real estate and club membership demand in the same submarket.
• Big Canoe: Large private residential mountain community in Jasper, GA spanning roughly 8,000 acres with multiple golf courses, tennis, lake, and club amenities accessed through membership. Closest analog to The Cliffs' Mountain Region communities outside the Carolinas.

Broad incumbents

• Barnsley Resort: Historic luxury resort property in Adairsville, GA owned by South Street Partners with golf, dining, and event programming. Sister portfolio company, but oriented to resort/guest stays rather than residential ownership, so adjacent rather than direct to The Cliffs' residential model.
• Invited (formerly ClubCorp): Large national operator of more than 200 private golf, country, sports, and business clubs with membership-based access. Provides the closest publicly observable benchmark for membership economics, amenity programming, and country-club operating leverage as a private club company.

Regional players

• Haig Point Club: Private residential club community on Daufuskie Island, SC accessible only by ferry, featuring a Tom Jackson-designed golf course and equestrian programming. Comparable on low-density private residential club + signature course economics, though in a different geography and operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CliffsLiving
• Facebookfacebook.com/CliffsLiving

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Cliffs