The best golf destinations in the US for 2026 are Pinehurst, Bandon Dunes, the Monterey Peninsula, Myrtle Beach and Scottsdale, followed closely by Wisconsin’s Kohler and Sand Valley, the South Carolina Lowcountry and Florida. Which one is best for your trip depends on three things: the month you can travel, what the group will spend, and whether everyone is happy to walk.
That last point sounds minor. It isn’t. Some of the most famous golf in America (all of Bandon, all of Sand Valley, the Straits Course, Erin Hills) doesn’t offer a cart to anyone who can walk. Put a group that has ridden every round since 2004 on Pacific Dunes and you will hear about it for a decade.
Most rankings of American golf destinations are really lists of courses. They’ll tell you Pacific Dunes is magnificent, which it is, and stop there. They won’t tell you it’s walking only, that the resort-guest green fee swings from $130 in January to $375 in July, or that the nearest airport with regular service is a small regional field where your connection runs through San Francisco or Denver. This guide is built for planning a trip rather than admiring a photo. Each destination gets its best months, a dated cost marker, the airport, the walking and caddie rules and an honest verdict on who should go.
It’s also the hub for every US destination guide on GolfTourism.org, so each section points to a deeper page when you’re ready to book. Prices were checked in September 2026 and carry their source. Where a number couldn’t be confirmed on the operator’s own site, we say so rather than guess.
At a glance
- Best overall: Pinehurst, North Carolina. Ten numbered courses, the 2024 double U.S. Open and a village you can walk around after dinner.
- Best bucket-list trip: Bandon Dunes, Oregon. Five 18-hole courses and two par-3 courses, all walking only, on the Pacific coast.
- Best value: Myrtle Beach, where 3-night, 4-round packages run about $450–$700 per golfer.
- Best winter escape: Scottsdale from October to April, with Palm Springs and Florida close behind.
- Best summer trip: Wisconsin. Kohler, Erin Hills and Sand Valley all sit within about a two-hour drive of each other.
- Most expensive round you can book as a visitor: Shadow Creek in Las Vegas at $1,250, available only to guests of MGM Resorts hotels.
On this page: the rankings table · the big five · the next five · five more · marquee courses compared · winter golf · cheapest trips · by group type · Texas, Colorado, New England and the trails · walking-only golf · new courses · 2027 events · FAQ
The 2026 rankings at a glance
Here is the whole list on one screen. The cost column gives one verifiable marker per destination rather than a made-up “average green fee”. Golf prices in resort markets move by season, by day of the week and increasingly by demand, so a single number would be false precision. Use the marker to place a destination in its price bracket, then check the detail below.
| # | Destination | Best months | Cost marker (checked Sept 2026) | Main airport | Walking and caddies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pinehurst, North Carolina | Mar–May, Sep–Nov | No. 2 sold to resort guests only; Nos. 1, 3 and 5 open to all at about $100–$135 | Raleigh-Durham (RDU), about 70 miles | Caddies traditional on No. 2; carts elsewhere |
| 2 | Bandon Dunes, Oregon | Jun–Sep (value in Dec–Jan) | $130–$375 resort-guest green fee by month | North Bend (OTH); Eugene about 2.5–3 hours | Walking only; caddie $100 per bag plus tip |
| 3 | Monterey Peninsula, California | Sep–Oct, Apr–May | Pebble Beach $695; Pacific Grove Golf Links about $60–$95 | Monterey (MRY); San Jose about 75 minutes | Carts or caddies |
| 4 | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | Mar–May, Sep–Nov | Packages $450–$700 per golfer, 3 nights / 4 rounds | Myrtle Beach (MYR) | Carts |
| 5 | Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona | Oct–Apr (peak Dec–Feb) | Operator packages from about $965 per golfer | Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), about 30 minutes | Carts |
| 6 | Kohler and Erin Hills, Wisconsin | Jun–Sep | Erin Hills $495 peak; Straits Course about $645 | Milwaukee (MKE), about 1 hour | Walking only on the Straits and at Erin Hills |
| 7 | Sand Valley, Wisconsin | Late May–early Oct | Rates published on the resort’s booking page | Madison about 2 hours; Central Wisconsin (CWA) closer | Walking only |
| 8 | Kiawah Island and Hilton Head, South Carolina | Mar–May, Oct–Nov | Harbour Town dynamic pricing, $378–$651 in 2026 samples | Charleston (CHS); Savannah (SAV) | Ocean Course traditionally walk-with-caddie |
| 9 | Florida: Sawgrass, Streamsong and Cabot Citrus Farms | Nov–Apr | TPC Sawgrass Stadium from $775; Cabot Citrus Farms $185–$350 | Jacksonville (JAX), Tampa (TPA), Orlando (MCO) | Mixed; forecaddie included at Sawgrass |
| 10 | Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, California | Oct–May | PGA WEST peak rates roughly $200–$400+ | Palm Springs (PSP) | Carts |
| 11 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Oct–Apr | Shadow Creek $1,250 (MGM hotel guests only) | Harry Reid (LAS) | Carts; caddie at Shadow Creek |
| 12 | Big Cedar Lodge, Missouri | Apr–Oct | Payne’s Valley $425 resort guest / $525 public | Springfield (SGF), about 1 hour | Mountain Top is walking only |
| 13 | Northern Michigan | Jun–Sep | Varies widely by resort | Traverse City (TVC) | Mixed |
| 14 | Hawaii | Year-round | Poipu Bay $140–$295; Mauna Lani South $225–$325 | OGG, KOA, LIH, HNL | Carts |
| 15 | Pacific Northwest: Gamble Sands and Chambers Bay | Jun–Sep | Varies; check each course | Seattle (SEA) | Chambers Bay is a walking course |
Cost markers come from official rate pages where they publish (Erin Hills, TPC Sawgrass, Cabot Citrus Farms, Big Cedar Lodge, Visit Myrtle Beach’s package data) and otherwise from dated 2026 reporting by The Golf News Net, GOLF.com, GolfPass and Golf For Kings. Airport drive times are approximate.
A few things jump out of that table. The top five are spread across five states and four climate zones, so there is always one of them in season. Walking-only golf clusters in two places, the Oregon coast and Wisconsin, and neither is a winter destination. And the price spread is enormous. A Pacific Grove muni round costs less than the cart fee at some resorts, while one day at Shadow Creek costs about the same as a full Myrtle Beach package for two.
What is the best golf destination in the US?
Pinehurst, North Carolina, is the best all-round golf destination in the US: ten numbered courses, No. 2’s championship pedigree, a walkable village and a spring and fall season that avoids the worst heat. Bandon Dunes is the better pure-golf pilgrimage, and Myrtle Beach wins on value.
“Best” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, so here’s how we got there. We scored each destination on six things a traveling group actually cares about, not on how many Top 100 courses it has:
- Quality and depth. How many rounds of genuinely excellent golf can you play without repeating a course?
- Access. Can a visitor book the headline course, and on what terms? A course you can’t get on is a photo, not a destination.
- Season length. How many months a year is it pleasant, open and fairly priced?
- Getting there. Nonstop flights from major US hubs, and the drive at the other end.
- Cost. Not just the marquee green fee, but the lodging minimums, caddie fees and tips that come attached to it.
- Off-course life. Food, a bar worth walking to, and something for anyone in the group who isn’t playing 36 holes.
Pinehurst scores well on all six, which is why it’s first even though Bandon beats it on pure golf and Myrtle Beach beats it on price. Pebble Beach, arguably the most famous course in the country, sits third with the rest of the Monterey Peninsula because access and cost drag it down: a round on the famous 18 for a resort guest means a two-night minimum stay at rooms from about $800 a night.
Rankings are opinions, and this one is ours. If your group has a different priority (say, it only travels in January, or has a hard ceiling of $1,200 a head), the season and budget sections further down will rearrange the list for you. If you’re still at the stage of choosing dates and a budget, read how to plan a golf trip first; it covers the order in which these decisions should be made.
The big five: destinations worth building a trip around
These are the five places where the golf alone justifies a flight from anywhere in the country, where there’s enough of it for a week, and where the logistics are well understood. Each one also has a full planning guide on the site.
1. Pinehurst, North Carolina
Pinehurst is the closest thing America has to St Andrews: a golf village where the courses, the hotel, the pub and the putting green are all within a short walk of each other. The resort runs 11 numbered courses. No. 2, Donald Ross’s masterpiece, was restored by Coore & Crenshaw in 2010–11 to its sandy, wiregrass-edged look, and it hosted the men’s and women’s U.S. Opens in consecutive weeks in 2014, then the 2024 U.S. Open won by Bryson DeChambeau. No. 10, a Tom Doak design built on former sand-mining land, opened on April 3, 2024, the resort’s first original course in nearly 30 years.
Access is the thing to understand first. No. 2 is for resort guests, typically sold as part of a two-night-minimum package. GOLF.com’s breakdown (some figures may date from 2024, so reconfirm) puts a second round on No. 2 at $595 in peak season and $360 off-season, and lists Nos. 4, 6–9 and 10 as guest-only too. Nos. 1, 3 and 5 are open to non-guests at roughly $100–$135. The Cradle, a nine-hole short course, is the best $50–$65 you’ll spend in golf, especially with a drink in hand at dusk.
The wider Sandhills are the other half of the argument. Mid Pines and Pine Needles, both Ross designs, sit a few minutes away; Birdie Report cites Mid Pines at $150–$250. Tobacco Road, Mike Strantz’s gloriously unhinged course in Sanford, is about half an hour north. Put those together and a group can play six different excellent courses in five days without touching No. 2 at all, which is useful when the resort’s package pricing is higher than the budget.
- Best months: March to May and September to November. Summer is hot and humid; winter is playable but grey, with Bermuda grass dormant.
- Getting there: Raleigh-Durham (RDU) is about 70 miles away, roughly 75–90 minutes by car. Charlotte is a longer drive.
- Walking: No. 2 is traditionally walked with a caddie or forecaddie; most other courses in the area offer carts.
- Our verdict: the best first trip for a group that wants great golf, a proper golf-town atmosphere and short drives. Not the place for a party weekend.
The full planning guide is our Pinehurst golf trip hub, and if you’re torn between it and the other great American pilgrimage, we put them side by side in Pinehurst vs Pebble Beach.
2. Bandon Dunes, Oregon
If you only ever take one golf trip in America, many serious golfers would tell you to make it this one. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort sits on the southern Oregon coast, a long way from anywhere, with five 18-hole courses: Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, Old Macdonald and Sheep Ranch. There are also two short courses, the 13-hole Bandon Preserve and the newest, the 19-hole Shorty’s. Net profits from the par-3 courses go to the Bandon Dunes Charitable Foundation, which is a nice thing to know when you lose your fourth ball there.
Every course is walking only, all year. That’s the resort’s whole philosophy, borrowed from the links of Scotland and Ireland, and it’s non-negotiable for able-bodied golfers. Caddies cost $100 per bag plus a tip, and they’re worth it, particularly on Old Macdonald, where the greens are the size of parking lots and the wrong side of a pin can mean a four-putt.
The pricing is seasonal and easy to game. 2026 resort-guest green fees run from $130 in January and December to $375 from June through September, with $340 in May and October and $175–$225 in February, March and November. Day guests (not staying at the resort) can book within 21 days at $180–$425, and “premium day guests” can book more than 21 days ahead from April to mid-November, for 10 a.m. or later tee times, at up to $475. Replays are 50% off, and Oregon residents pay resort-guest rates. That makes October the sweet spot: the weather is often the best of the year, the rate has dropped, and the summer crowds have gone.
- Best months: June to September for weather; October for value with a good chance of sun; December and January only if you like golf in the rain for $130.
- Getting there: the small Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend is about 30 minutes away, with limited connecting service. Many groups fly into Eugene or Portland and drive, about 2.5–3 hours and 4.5 hours respectively.
- Walking: walking only on every course. Expect 5–6 miles a round, more if you replay.
- Our verdict: the best pure golf trip in the country, and a surprisingly good value in shoulder season. Not for groups who ride, or who need nightlife beyond the resort’s bars.
Everything about booking, lodging and the resort’s lodging drawings is in our Bandon Dunes golf resort guide. If you’re weighing it against the resort its founder’s family built in Wisconsin, read Bandon Dunes vs Sand Valley.
3. The Monterey Peninsula, California
Pebble Beach Golf Links is the most famous public course in America, and the 18th hole curling along the sea wall on Carmel Bay is the photo on half the office walls in the country. It hosts the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am every February (February 1–7 in 2027) and returns to the U.S. Open rota in June 2027. Nobody needs convincing that it’s worth playing once. The question is how.
The rules, as they stood in 2026: the green fee is $695 from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 (it was $675 before that). Resort guests who book more than 48 hours ahead must stay at least two nights, or three nights Thursday to Sunday from September to November, at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay or Casa Palmero, where the cheapest rooms start around $800 a night. Non-guests can generally only book inside the final day or two, which works if you’re flexible and already in the area, and doesn’t if you’re flying in from Chicago on a fixed weekend. The Golf News Net reported these figures in February 2026; the resort confirms them when you call.
The good news is that the peninsula is much more than one course. Spyglass Hill (about $495 for resort guests) is, for plenty of good players, the harder and better test. The Links at Spanish Bay runs about $365. Then the prices fall off a cliff: Poppy Hills about $230–$290, Bayonet and Black Horse about $135–$185, Del Monte, which opened in 1897 and is the oldest course in continuous operation west of the Mississippi, about $110–$145, and Pacific Grove Golf Links, the city-owned “poor man’s Pebble” with its back nine in the dunes by the lighthouse, about $60–$95. Those secondary-course figures come from Golf For Kings and are ranges, not quotes. Half an hour north, Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz is Alister MacKenzie’s own favorite design and one of the best public courses in the state.
- Best months: September and October, when the summer fog usually lifts. April and May are good too. Summer is cooler and foggier than visitors expect.
- Getting there: Monterey Regional (MRY) is minutes away but has limited service. San Jose is about 75 minutes by car; San Francisco about two hours.
- Walking: carts are available; caddies are an option on the resort courses and the classic way to play Pebble.
- Our verdict: play Pebble once, inside a trip built around the cheaper courses. A two-night splurge stay with two rounds runs about $2,850–$3,300 per golfer with flights. Four nights in Monterey with one Pebble round costs less and is more fun.
The booking playbook, including the non-guest routes, is in our Pebble Beach golf trip guide.
4. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is the most efficient golf machine in America. Visit Myrtle Beach counts “more than 80” championship courses in one place and “over 90” in another, which tells you something about how many there are. The whole Grand Strand is organized around the golf package: a condo or hotel, three or four rounds on a menu of courses, tee times arranged for you, and a price that would buy you a single round on the Monterey Peninsula.
The numbers, from the destination’s own May 2026 package calculator: a 3-night, 4-round package typically costs $450–$700 or more per golfer. Budget packages land around $300–$500, and premium packages with the top courses run $800–$1,200 or more. Add flights, food and a shared car and our worked example comes to about $1,100–$1,700 per golfer for the whole trip.
The quality is better than Myrtle’s reputation. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, a Robert Trent Jones design on the ocean, hosts the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Classic (May 10–16 in 2027). Caledonia and True Blue on Pawleys Island, a short drive south, are the two courses most visiting groups rank highest. Pine Lakes, “the Granddaddy”, opened in 1927 and turns 100 next year. The honest criticism is that the middle of the market is a long run of pleasant, similar, cart-path-to-cart-path resort golf. You don’t come here for architecture. You come for five rounds in four days and a bill everyone can afford.
- Best months: March to May and September to November. Spring is “package season” and fills with groups; September and October are warm, quieter and cheaper.
- Getting there: Myrtle Beach International (MYR) is close to everything, and much of the East Coast can drive it in a day.
- Walking: carts are standard everywhere.
- Our verdict: the best destination in the country for a big buddies trip on a budget. Not the place for a small group chasing great design.
Start with our Myrtle Beach golf trip hub, which covers packages, the best courses and the best weeks to go.
5. Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona
Scottsdale is the winter capital of American golf. Experience Scottsdale counts more than 200 courses in the greater area, the airport is half an hour from most of them, and from December to February the daytime highs sit in the 60s and 70s while the rest of the country shovels snow. Troon North, We-Ko-Pa, the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course (home of the WM Phoenix Open, February 8–14 in 2027) and the resort courses at The Phoenician and the Boulders are the usual headliners.
Two calendar facts shape every Scottsdale trip. First, peak season is expensive; package operators advertised Scottsdale trips from about $965 per golfer in September 2026, and a February weekend at the top courses costs far more than that. Second, the desert courses overseed their fairways with winter rye from roughly mid-September to early November. For a few weeks, courses close or play on temporary greens, and conditions are patchy. Late October and early November, once the rye has grown in, are the best-value weeks of the year. Summer is the other extreme: highs over 105°F, rates cut to a fraction of winter prices and a 6 a.m. tee time as the only sane choice.
- Best months: October to April; February is the peak and priciest; November and March are the sweet spots.
- Getting there: Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) has nonstops from nearly every major US hub.
- Walking: almost everyone rides. Desert target golf between the cacti is not built for walking.
- Our verdict: the most reliable winter golf trip in America, with the best restaurant and nightlife scene of any destination on this list. Go for comfort and variety rather than great architecture.
Our Scottsdale golf trip guide covers courses, overseeding dates and where to stay.
The next five: championship golf with fewer crowds
This group has golf as good as the big five, and in two cases better. What holds them back is a shorter season, a longer journey or a single-resort focus that makes them a harder sell for a mixed group.
6. Kohler and Erin Hills, Wisconsin
Wisconsin has hosted a Ryder Cup (Whistling Straits, 2021), a U.S. Open (Erin Hills, 2017), a U.S. Women’s Open (Erin Hills, 2025) and three PGA Championships (Whistling Straits, 2004, 2010 and 2015) since the turn of the century. That’s a better major-championship record over the period than most of the famous destinations above, and most of it is open to the public.
Destination Kohler runs four Pete Dye courses: the Straits and Irish courses at Whistling Straits on Lake Michigan, and the River and Meadow Valleys at Blackwolf Run inland. The Straits Course is walking only, with no carts. Kohler’s own rate page lists the caddie service fee at $90 per person plus a recommended gratuity of $70 per bag. A peak 2026 green fee of about $645 has been widely reported (Golf For Kings), though Kohler doesn’t publish it on the same page, so confirm it when you book. Blackwolf Run uses forecaddies at $60 per person plus a suggested $35 per bag.
Erin Hills, about an hour west in the glacial hills near Hartford, publishes its 2026 rates clearly: $495 in peak season (May 26 to September 27), $395 in the shoulder weeks (May 4–25 and September 28 to October 17), and $295 for a same-day replay. It’s walking only, with carts available only under the ADA and requested two weeks ahead. Caddies cost $65 per player plus a suggested tip of $75 or more.
- Best months: June to September. Early October is beautiful and cheaper but the days are shortening fast.
- Getting there: Milwaukee (MKE) is about an hour from both. Chicago O’Hare is about 2.5 hours from Kohler.
- Our verdict: the best major-championship golf trip in the country for a group that walks. Combine it with Sand Valley for a week and you have one of the best road trips in American golf.
7. Sand Valley, Wisconsin
Sand Valley is the second act of Mike Keiser, the man who built Bandon, and it’s now run by his sons Michael and Chris. It sits on a strange stretch of inland sand dunes and jack pine in central Wisconsin, and it has become the Midwest’s answer to Bandon at a pace that’s hard to keep up with. The courses: Sand Valley (Coore & Crenshaw, 2017), Mammoth Dunes (David McLay Kidd, 2018), Sedge Valley (Tom Doak), The Lido (a Doak-led recreation of C.B. Macdonald’s lost 1917 Lido course on Long Island), the Sandbox, a 17-hole par-3 course, and The Commons, a 12-hole course by Jim Craig that opened in 2026, based on the original 12-hole routing at Prestwick.
The resort’s rate page states it simply: “The golf courses at Sand Valley are walking only.” Its 2026 green fees sit inside an online booking tool rather than on a published page, so we haven’t quoted one here. Expect destination-resort pricing in peak summer, with discounts for juniors aged 16 and under playing with a full-paying adult.
- Best months: late May to early October.
- Getting there: Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA) is the nearest commercial field; Madison is about two hours by car, Milwaukee about 2.5.
- Our verdict: a better choice than Bandon for Midwest groups who’d rather drive than fly, and a more forgiving set of courses for mid-handicappers. Mammoth Dunes has some of the widest fairways in resort golf.
We compare the two resorts in detail in Bandon Dunes vs Sand Valley, and the full resort guide is our Sand Valley golf resort page. Both sit under our wider Midwest golf trips hub.
8. Kiawah Island and Hilton Head, South Carolina
The South Carolina Lowcountry gives you two very different championship courses about two hours apart by road. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, a Pete Dye design laid along the eastern tip of the island, hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships, and when the wind blows off the Atlantic it’s one of the hardest courses in the country. Kiawah Island Golf Resort also runs Cougar Point, Oak Point, Osprey Point and Turtle Point, which are easier, cheaper and much better for your scorecard.
Ocean Course pricing is the one number in this guide we couldn’t pin down. The resort doesn’t publish its rates on the course page (it asks you to call 800-576-1570). GolfPass’s 2021 guide gave non-guest fees of $373–$463, and more recent secondary sources put a peak round at about $600. The course has historically required walking with a caddie from September to May, with a recommended tip of $100 or more per bag. Treat all of that as a starting point and get 2026 figures from the resort.
Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head, Pete Dye’s collaboration with Jack Nicklaus and home of the RBC Heritage (April 12–18, 2027), has moved to dynamic pricing with no rack rate at all. The Golf News Net’s 2026 samples ranged from $378 on a July day to $414 on a June morning to $651 in early September. Book early for the lower end.
- Best months: March to May and October to November. Summer is hot, humid and stormy in the afternoons.
- Getting there: Charleston (CHS) for Kiawah, about 45 minutes. Savannah (SAV) for Hilton Head, about 45 minutes, or the small Hilton Head Island airport.
- Our verdict: the best couples’ golf trip on this list. Charleston’s restaurants and the beach make it an easy sell to non-golfers. Bring a caddie and a spare sleeve of balls for the Ocean Course.
Our guides to Kiawah Island Golf Resort and a Hilton Head golf trip go course by course.
9. Florida: TPC Sawgrass, Streamsong and Cabot Citrus Farms
Florida has more golf courses than any other state, but a surprising share of them are private. Of the 126 courses within 20 miles of Naples, for example, 108 are fully private, according to GolfPass. For a traveling golfer the state’s best trip golf clusters in three places.
TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach is the home of THE PLAYERS (March 9–14, 2027) and the island-green 17th. Its official FAQ gives the Stadium Course rate as “starting at $775” from September to May and $550 from June to August, including a cart, a forecaddie for the group and range balls. Book up to 12 months ahead with lodging, or only 14 days ahead without it. The Stadium Course closes for blackouts, including February 15 to March 16, 2027, around the tournament.
Streamsong, an hour and a half or so from Tampa and Orlando in reclaimed phosphate-mining country, is Florida’s version of Bandon: big sandy dunes, no houses and golf you’d never guess was in the Sunshine State. It has Red (Coore & Crenshaw), Blue (Tom Doak), Black (Gil Hanse) and a short course, The Chain. A fifth course, David McLay Kidd’s Bone Valley, opens for preview play on October 30, 2026 with a grand opening on January 26, 2027.
Cabot Citrus Farms, north of Tampa near Brooksville, is the new challenger. It has two 18s, Karoo and Roost, plus The Squeeze (10 holes) and The Wedge (an 11-hole par-3 course, no carts). Its 2026 resort-guest rates for the 18s are published: $330 from January 1 to April 19, $275–$305 from April 20 to May 31, $185 in summer, $350 from October 2 to December 13 and $295 over the holidays. Day guests pay $20–$65 more. Caddies are mandatory from December 1 to March 31 for early tee times and cart users.
- Best months: November to April. After Easter many courses cut fees by 10–20%.
- Getting there: Jacksonville (JAX) for Sawgrass; Tampa (TPA) or Orlando (MCO) for Streamsong and Cabot Citrus Farms.
- Our verdict: Streamsong and Cabot Citrus Farms together are now the best winter golf trip east of the Mississippi. Sawgrass is a once-in-a-lifetime round, priced like one.
Florida has its own pillar: start with Florida golf vacations, then the resort guides for Streamsong and Cabot Citrus Farms.
10. Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, California
The Coachella Valley has more than 100 courses between Palm Springs and La Quinta and a winter climate that rivals Scottsdale’s. The headliner is PGA WEST, whose courses include the Pete Dye Stadium Course, host of The American Express (January 18–24, 2027), along with the Nicklaus Tournament, Greg Norman, and the Dye Dunes and Mountain courses. Peak-season premium rates run roughly $200–$400 or more, per Green Fee Tracker’s survey. The valley’s advantage over Scottsdale is value in the shoulder months and an easy drive from Los Angeles; its disadvantage is that the courses are more alike, and fewer are genuinely great.
- Best months: October to May; January to March is peak.
- Getting there: Palm Springs International (PSP), or about two hours from LAX in normal traffic.
- Our verdict: a strong winter alternative to Scottsdale for West Coast groups, and a better couples’ destination than most. Our Palm Springs golf trip guide has the course-by-course picks.
Five more that earn their place
These five don’t make the top ten, mostly because each is really one resort or one great experience rather than a whole destination. But each is the best answer to a specific kind of trip.
11. Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is on this list for one course and one kind of group. The course is Shadow Creek, Tom Fazio’s 1989 fantasy of a North Carolina forest built on flat desert north of the Strip. The Golf News Net put the 2026 green fee at $1,250, and you can only play it as a guest of an MGM Resorts hotel. The fee includes a limo transfer. Whether it includes the caddie depends on who you ask: The Golf News Net says the caddie is paid separately, while a GolfPass summary says the caddie is included and the tip is extra. Either way, the suggested tip is $150–$200. Ask when you book.
The group is the bachelor party, or the buddies trip where golf is one of several things on the agenda. There’s plenty of good resort and desert golf within 45 minutes of the Strip, the flights are cheap and frequent, and nobody has to explain to anyone at home why they need to go to Las Vegas.
- Best months: October to April. Summer highs routinely pass 105°F.
- Our verdict: the most expensive round in this guide, and an easy trip to organize. Go for the whole experience, not for the golf alone. Our Las Vegas golf trip guide covers the value options.
12. Big Cedar Lodge, Missouri
Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, has turned a corner of the Ozarks near Branson into one of the most complete golf resorts in the country. Big Cedar Lodge publishes its peak rates for resort guests and the public: Payne’s Valley, Tiger Woods’s first public design, $425 / $525; Ozarks National $275 / $350; Buffalo Ridge $275 / $350; Cliffhangers, an 18-hole par-3 course, $225 / $275; Top of the Rock, a nine-hole par-3 course, $135 / $150; and Mountain Top, a 13-hole walking-only short course, $100 / $120. Payne’s Valley ends with a 19th hole, a par 3 to an island green below a cliff, which is the most photographed tee shot in the Midwest.
- Best months: April to October.
- Getting there: Springfield-Branson (SGF) is about an hour away.
- Our verdict: the best golf resort in the country for families and mixed groups. The short courses are genuinely fun, and there’s a lake, caves and a lot else to do. Our Big Cedar Lodge golf guide has the details.
13. Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan is summer golf at its best: long evenings, cool air, cherry pie and courses on sand and bluffs above the Great Lakes. Arcadia Bluffs is the headliner, set on bluffs about 200 feet above Lake Michigan, with the original Bluffs Course by Warren Henderson and the South Course by Dana Fry and Jason Straka (2018). Treetops near Gaylord has five courses, including Threetops, a par-3 course with a following of its own. Forest Dunes near Roscommon added The Loop, Tom Doak’s reversible course, which plays clockwise one day and counter-clockwise the next.
- Best months: June to September.
- Getting there: Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City (TVC) is the gateway. Detroit is about four hours’ drive from Gaylord.
- Our verdict: the best summer trip for Midwest groups who want variety. Start with our Michigan golf trips guide.
14. Hawaii
Hawaii isn’t a golf destination in the way Myrtle Beach is. It’s a vacation destination with spectacular golf, and it works best that way. GolfPass’s 2026 Golfers’ Choice rankings put Poipu Bay on Kauai first (about $140–$295, and host of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 1994 to 2006), followed by the Pearl at Kalauao on Oahu, Mauna Lani South on the Big Island ($225–$325), the Ocean Course at Hokuala on Kauai and Ko Olina on Oahu. One change for 2027: the PGA Tour’s season opener, The Sentry, moves to Torrey Pines in San Diego (January 25–30), so Kapalua’s Plantation Course won’t have its usual January TV moment.
- Best months: year-round, with the drier weather on the leeward (west and south) sides of each island.
- Our verdict: the best choice for couples and families where golf is part of the trip, not all of it. The lava-field courses on the Big Island’s Kohala Coast are the most dramatic. See our Hawaii golf vacation guide.
15. The Pacific Northwest: Gamble Sands and Chambers Bay
Two courses make the Northwest worth a trip. Chambers Bay, the Pierce County municipal course on Puget Sound south of Seattle, hosted the 2015 U.S. Open and is a walking course with sweeping views across the water. Gamble Sands, in Brewster in north-central Washington, is David McLay Kidd’s wide, playable and very fun course on a sandy plateau above the Columbia River. His second course there, Scarecrow, opened on August 1, 2025.
- Best months: June to September.
- Our verdict: a good summer road trip from Seattle for groups who’ve already been to Bandon, or want to go on to it. Start with our Pacific Northwest golf trip guide and the Gamble Sands resort guide.
Marquee courses compared: fees, walking rules and booking windows
Most American golf trips are built around one round. This table lines up the courses that most often play that role, with the three details that decide whether and how you get on: the fee, whether you’ll walk, and when you can book.
| Course | Destination | Architect | 2026 green fee | Walking and caddies | Booking window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pebble Beach Golf Links | Monterey, CA | Jack Neville and Douglas Grant (1919) | $695 | Cart or caddie | Resort guests with a 2-night minimum stay; non-guests usually only in the final day or two |
| Pinehurst No. 2 | Pinehurst, NC | Donald Ross; restored by Coore & Crenshaw | Package rate; second round $595 peak (GOLF.com, may be 2024) | Traditionally walked with a caddie | Resort guests only, with the stay |
| Pacific Dunes (and all Bandon 18s) | Bandon, OR | Tom Doak (2001) | $130–$375 guest; $180–$425 day guest | Walking only; caddie $100 plus tip | With lodging; day guests within 21 days; premium day guests 21+ days ahead |
| TPC Sawgrass Stadium | Ponte Vedra Beach, FL | Pete Dye (1980) | From $775 (Sep–May), $550 (Jun–Aug) | Cart and forecaddie included | Up to 12 months ahead with lodging; 14 days without |
| Whistling Straits, Straits Course | Kohler, WI | Pete Dye (1998) | About $645 peak (secondary report) | Walking only; caddie $90 plus $70 recommended tip | Open to the public; book through Destination Kohler |
| Erin Hills | Erin, WI | Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten (2006) | $495 peak, $395 shoulder, $295 replay | Walking only; caddie $65 plus $75+ suggested tip | Open to the public |
| Kiawah Island, Ocean Course | Kiawah Island, SC | Pete Dye (1991) | Not published; call the resort | Traditionally walk with a caddie, Sep–May | Confirm with the resort |
| Harbour Town Golf Links | Hilton Head, SC | Pete Dye with Jack Nicklaus (1969) | Dynamic, $378–$651 in 2026 samples | Carts | Book early for lower dynamic prices |
| Torrey Pines South | San Diego, CA | William F. Bell (1957); redesigned by Rees Jones | $258 Mon–Thu, $322 Fri–Sun for non-residents, plus a $50 advance booking fee | Cart $48 | 4–90 days ahead for non-residents |
| Shadow Creek | Las Vegas, NV | Tom Fazio (1989) | $1,250 including limo | Caddie (whether it’s included varies by source) | Guests of MGM Resorts hotels only |
| Payne’s Valley | Big Cedar Lodge, MO | Tiger Woods (2020) | $425 guest / $525 public | Carts | Resort guests get the better rate |
| Wild Spring Dunes | Mount Enterprise, TX | Tom Doak (2026) | $275 peak, $140 replay | Walking only | Open to the public |
Torrey Pines figures come from a reservations-service site at torreypines.com that isn’t run by the City of San Diego, and include its service fees; check the city’s own golf pages as well. Every other fee is from the operator’s rate page or dated 2026 reporting, as noted.
Two patterns are worth pointing out. Access matters more than price at the top end: Pebble, Pinehurst No. 2 and Shadow Creek all tie the round to a hotel, which means the green fee is only a fraction of what the round really costs. And walking-only courses are, on the whole, better value: Erin Hills, Wild Spring Dunes and Bandon in shoulder season give you major-championship-grade golf for less than the headline resorts, because nobody’s paying for a fleet of carts. For the full top-100-style list, see our guide to bucket-list golf courses.
Where should you go for a golf trip in winter?
For a winter golf trip in the US, go to Scottsdale, Palm Springs or central Florida between December and March, when daytime highs usually sit in the 60s and 70s°F. Las Vegas and Tucson work with chillier mornings, and Hawaii is reliable year-round. Avoid Arizona from late September to early November, when courses overseed.
The mistake people make is treating “warm” as the only criterion. Winter is peak season in every one of those places, so the price goes up exactly when the weather gets good, and the best tee times at the top resorts sell first. Here’s how the calendar looks across the country, month by month:
| Month | Go to | Think twice about |
|---|---|---|
| January | Scottsdale, Palm Springs, Florida, Hawaii | Anything north of the Carolinas; Bandon unless you like $130 golf in the rain |
| February | Scottsdale (peak), Palm Springs, Florida, Streamsong and Cabot Citrus Farms | Scottsdale during the WM Phoenix Open week (February 8–14, 2027) |
| March | Florida, Arizona, Pinehurst and Myrtle Beach from mid-month | Ponte Vedra around THE PLAYERS; Florida’s spring-break weeks |
| April | Pinehurst, Myrtle Beach, Kiawah and Hilton Head, Monterey | Augusta in Masters week (April 5–11, 2027); Hilton Head in RBC Heritage week |
| May | Carolinas, Monterey, Big Cedar Lodge, Wisconsin from late in the month | Arizona and Palm Springs as the heat builds |
| June–August | Bandon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pacific Northwest, Colorado, New England | Florida, Arizona, Las Vegas and Palm Springs |
| September | Wisconsin, Monterey, Myrtle Beach after Labor Day, Bandon | Arizona while courses overseed |
| October | Pinehurst, Myrtle Beach, Kiawah, Monterey, Bandon (best value), Big Cedar Lodge | Early-month Arizona |
| November | Scottsdale once the rye grows in, Palm Springs, Florida | Wisconsin and Michigan; many courses have closed |
| December | Florida, Arizona, Palm Springs, Hawaii | Holiday weeks, when rates and crowds spike |
For the full winter list, including the best choices outside the US, go to our winter golf destinations guide. If you’re working from a fixed month, our best golf destinations by month guide breaks each month down in more detail.
What is the cheapest golf destination in the US?
Myrtle Beach is the cheapest major golf destination in the US. Three-night, four-round packages run about $450–$700 per golfer, and budget packages start around $300. Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is the best-value road trip, and summer in Arizona is the cheapest way to play desert resort golf.
“Cheap” has to include everything, not just the green fee, and that changes the order in interesting ways. A week in the Nebraska Sand Hills or on the RTJ Trail can cost less in golf than a weekend in Scottsdale, but if you have to fly into a small airport and drive four hours, the flight and the car eat some of the savings. Here’s how the budget tiers break down, per golfer and before flights:
| Budget per golfer (golf and lodging, before flights) | Where to look | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Under $700 | Myrtle Beach packages; the RTJ Golf Trail; summer in Arizona or Palm Springs | 3–4 nights and 4–5 rounds of solid resort or public golf |
| $700–$1,500 | Pinehurst area courses outside the resort; Wild Spring Dunes; Northern Michigan; shoulder-season Bandon | Great golf at one destination, with one or two top-tier rounds |
| $1,500–$2,500 | Bandon in peak season; Kohler and Erin Hills; Sand Valley; Streamsong; Kiawah | A true destination resort trip with caddies |
| $2,500 and up | Pebble Beach stays; Pinehurst No. 2 packages; TPC Sawgrass with lodging; Shadow Creek | Bucket-list rounds with the lodging they’re tied to |
The best budget tactic is the one from our trip-planning guide: build a value trip and add one splurge round. Myrtle Beach with a round at The Dunes Club, Monterey with one round at Pebble, or the Pinehurst area with a single package night for No. 2 all give you the headline experience for much less than a full resort stay. Our golf trip cost guide has line-by-line budgets by destination, and our list of underrated golf destinations covers the places where the golf is still underpriced.
The best destination for your group
The best golf destination in America for a group of twelve 15-handicappers on a bachelor party isn’t the same as the best one for a scratch golfer and their spouse. Here’s the shortlist by trip type:
| Trip type | First choice | Also consider | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buddies trip, 8–16 golfers | Myrtle Beach | Scottsdale, Las Vegas | Packages, easy flights, plenty of nightlife, and big groups are routine |
| Serious golfers chasing great design | Bandon Dunes | Sand Valley plus Kohler and Erin Hills; Streamsong | Walking-only golf on the best sites in the country |
| Couples, one or both golfing | Kiawah Island and Charleston | Palm Springs, Hawaii, Pinehurst | Great food, a beach or spa, and golf that doesn’t dominate the day |
| Families with kids | Big Cedar Lodge | Pinehurst (The Cradle), Kiawah, Hawaii | Short courses, junior pricing and plenty to do off the course |
| Winter escape | Scottsdale | Palm Springs, Florida | Reliable sun from December to March |
| Summer trip | Wisconsin | Bandon, Northern Michigan | The best weather of the year at the best walking courses |
| First golf trip | Pinehurst | Myrtle Beach | Short drives, forgiving courses and a clear booking process |
| Once-in-a-lifetime round | Pebble Beach | TPC Sawgrass, Pinehurst No. 2 | The course is the whole point; build everything around it |
A couple of notes on the harder cases. Solo golfers do best at walking resorts like Bandon, where singles are routinely paired and the bar is full of other golfers, and at munis like Pacific Grove. Mixed-ability groups should favor resorts with a short course (Bandon, Big Cedar, Pinehurst, Sand Valley), because a par-3 course at sunset is the one round everyone enjoys equally. For planning a group trip, see our buddies golf trip playbook, and for a golf-plus-everything-else trip, our golf vacations for couples and family golf vacations guides.
Texas, Colorado, New England and the trails
Some of the most interesting golf travel in America right now is happening in places that don’t have a single headline resort. These regions each get their own guide on the site, but here’s why they belong on your list.
Texas has had a quiet golf boom. The biggest name for visitors is Wild Spring Dunes in Mount Enterprise, in the pine country of East Texas, a Tom Doak design built by the Keiser family. Its full 18 opened to public play on September 8, 2026, walking only, at $275 in peak season (September to November 2026) with a $140 replay; winter rates drop to $195. A Coore & Crenshaw second course is projected for 2027. At the other end of the state’s golf spectrum, PGA Frisco, north of Dallas, hosts the 2027 PGA Championship (the week of May 17–23) on Gil Hanse’s Fields Ranch East course. The Hill Country around Austin adds resort golf at Horseshoe Bay and Barton Creek. Read our Texas golf trips guide, and our PGA Championship 2027 in Frisco guide for the event itself.
Colorado is about to get its first great public destination course in years. Rodeo Dunes, near Roggen about 50 miles northeast of Denver, is a Coore & Crenshaw design from Dream Golf, the company run by Mike Keiser’s sons. It opened to founding members in 2026, and general public play is planned from May 1, 2027 at a planned $350 green fee, with up to six courses in the long-term plan. Add the historic resort golf at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and the mountain courses around Vail, and Colorado makes a strong summer trip. See our Colorado golf trip guide.
New England is summer and early-fall golf, with the leaves turning in late September and October. The appeal is variety rather than one big resort: seaside golf on Cape Cod, classic old clubhouses and mountain courses in Vermont and New Hampshire. Much of the region’s finest golf is private, so the planning challenge is finding the best public tee times. Our New England golf trips guide sorts out which courses you can actually book.
The trails are America’s best golf road trips. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama has 11 sites, 26 courses and 468 holes, from Muscle Shoals in the north to Mobile in the south. The 2026 Trail Card costs $49.95 (valid through December 31, 2026) and gives green-fee and cart discounts, with an 11-day online booking window and a 10-day window through the pro shops. Spring packages in 2026 started at $115 per person per day. The Trail is the best-value multi-course trip in the country, and the courses are better than their prices suggest. Read our Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail guide and, for the other trails, our roundup of golf trails in the US.
The Nebraska Sand Hills deserve a mention for serious golfers. Sand Hills Golf Club itself is private, and Dismal River is a private club with limited public play, but Wild Horse in Gothenburg is public and highly rated, about three hours west of Lincoln on I-80, and The Prairie Club in Valentine offers stay-and-play. Our Nebraska Sand Hills golf guide explains how to string them together.
A pattern runs through all this. The Keiser family (Bandon, Sand Valley, Wild Spring Dunes, Rodeo Dunes) has shaped more public destination golf in America than any other name. We map every course they’ve built or backed in our guide to Keiser golf courses.
Which US golf destinations are walking only?
Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley are walking only on every course. So are the Straits Course at Whistling Straits, Erin Hills and Wild Spring Dunes in Texas, with carts only for golfers with a medical need. Chambers Bay is a walking course, and Kiawah’s Ocean Course has traditionally required walking with a caddie from September to May.
Walking-only golf is spreading, and it’s not a fad. The courses that have adopted it tend to be the ones built on sand, near the sea or on big natural landforms, where a cart path would ruin both the look and the way the ground plays. It also changes the trip in practical ways:
- You’ll walk 5–6 miles per round. Two rounds a day at Bandon adds up to 10–12 miles. That’s fine for fit golfers and genuinely hard for anyone who hasn’t walked 18 holes in years.
- Train for it. Walk your home course for three or four weeks before the trip. Your legs will thank you on day three.
- Take a caddie or a push cart. Caddies ($65–$100 per bag plus a tip at the courses above) carry the bag and read the greens; push carts, called trolleys in Scotland, are available at most walking resorts.
- Pack properly. Waterproof shoes with good cushioning, two pairs of socks per day, and rain gear. Walking courses on the coast get weather.
- Ask about accessibility early. Most walking-only courses offer a cart under the ADA for golfers with a medical need, but they usually want notice (Erin Hills asks for two weeks).
If your group rides, choose from Myrtle Beach, Scottsdale, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and most of Florida. If it’s split, pick a destination with both (Pinehurst, Kohler, Big Cedar Lodge) and put the walkers on the walking courses.
New courses opening in 2026 and 2027
New courses are worth planning around, and not only for the novelty. Fresh openings are often easier to book in their first year, before the rankings and reviews arrive, and some open with introductory pricing. Here are the ones to watch:
| Course | Where | Architect | Opening | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Spring Dunes | Mount Enterprise, TX | Tom Doak | Full 18 public from Sep 8, 2026 | Public, walking only; $275 peak |
| The Commons at Sand Valley | Nekoosa, WI | Jim Craig | 2026 | Resort, walking only; 12 holes |
| The Patch | Augusta, GA | Tom Fazio and Beau Welling (18 holes), plus a nine-hole TGR par-3 course | Spring 2026 | Public municipal |
| Wildcreek | Reno, NV | Brian Curley | Summer 2026 | Public |
| Bone Valley at Streamsong | Streamsong, FL | David McLay Kidd | Preview play Oct 30, 2026; opens Jan 26, 2027 | Resort |
| Rodeo Dunes | Roggen, CO | Coore & Crenshaw | Public play planned from May 1, 2027 | Public, planned $350 |
| Scarecrow at Gamble Sands | Brewster, WA | David McLay Kidd | Opened Aug 1, 2025 | Resort |
Two of these, The Patch and Bone Valley, change the math for specific trips. The Patch gives Masters visitors a quality public course in Augusta itself. Bone Valley makes Streamsong a five-course resort and strengthens the case for a Streamsong-plus-Cabot Citrus Farms winter trip. We track every opening, with booking and pricing news, in our new golf courses guide.
How the 2027 tournament calendar affects your trip
Big events change prices and access at the courses that host them, sometimes for weeks. They can also be the whole point of a trip. Here’s the 2027 calendar at the destinations in this guide, from the PGA Tour schedule published on August 26, 2026, and the major championships:
| Event | 2027 dates | Where | What it does to your trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| The American Express | Jan 18–24 | PGA WEST, La Quinta, CA | Palm Springs rates and hotels spike |
| The Sentry | Jan 25–30 | Torrey Pines, San Diego | Moves from Kapalua; San Diego busier than usual |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Feb 1–7 | Pebble Beach | Pebble and Spyglass closed to public play around the event; resort rooms book up early |
| WM Phoenix Open | Feb 8–14 | TPC Scottsdale | Scottsdale’s busiest week; book a year out or avoid it |
| THE PLAYERS | Mar 9–14 (week of Mar 8) | TPC Sawgrass | Stadium Course blacked out Feb 15–Mar 16 |
| The Masters | Apr 5–11 | Augusta National, GA | Lodging and golf across the region price up |
| RBC Heritage | Apr 12–18 | Harbour Town, Hilton Head | Harbour Town closed; the island fills up |
| Myrtle Beach Classic | May 10–16 | The Dunes Golf & Beach Club | Minor impact outside The Dunes |
| PGA Championship | Week of May 17–23 | PGA Frisco, TX | Frisco lodging tight; a great event trip |
| U.S. Open | Week of June 14–20 | Pebble Beach | Pebble closed to public play for a period around it; check dates before booking |
If you want to go to one of these rather than avoid it, that’s its own kind of trip. Our golf tournament travel hub covers tickets, lodging and how to combine watching with playing, and our Masters tickets and U.S. Open 2027 at Pebble Beach guides go deeper on the two hardest tickets on the list.
How to choose: a five-question shortlist
If you’ve read this far and still have six destinations on the list, answer these five questions in order. Most groups get to one or two answers by question three.
- When can you go? Cross out everything that’s out of season in your month using the calendar table above. This usually removes half the list.
- Will everyone walk? If not, cross out Bandon, Sand Valley and the walking-only Wisconsin courses, or plan a split trip.
- What’s the budget per golfer, before flights? Use the budget table to see which bracket you’re in, and be honest about the lodging minimums at the resort-only courses.
- Is there a nonstop flight from where most of the group lives? A connection with four golf bags is four more chances for one to go missing. Bandon and Sand Valley are the hardest to reach; Scottsdale, Las Vegas and Orlando are the easiest.
- What does the group do after golf? Big nights out point to Scottsdale, Las Vegas or Myrtle Beach. Quiet dinners and a fire pit point to Bandon, Pinehurst or Sand Valley. A partner who doesn’t golf points to Kiawah, Palm Springs or Hawaii.
If two destinations survive, look at our head-to-head comparisons: Pinehurst vs Pebble Beach and Bandon Dunes vs Sand Valley cover the two debates we hear most. For the rest of the planning, including tee times, flights and clubs, go back to our golf trip planning guide.
Every US destination guide in this series
This page is the hub for our guides to golf trips and golf vacations in the USA. New guides go live every few days, and each title below becomes a link on the day it publishes.
Comparisons and shortlists
- The best golf destinations on the East Coast, from Maine to Florida
- Underrated golf destinations where the golf is better than the price
- Pinehurst vs Pebble Beach: which pilgrimage suits your group
- Bandon Dunes vs Sand Valley: the two great walking resorts compared
Road trips and trails
- Golf trails in the US, from Alabama to Michigan
- The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: 26 courses and the Trail Card, explained
- Keiser golf courses: every course built or backed by the family behind Bandon
Regions without a headline resort
- Texas golf trips, including Wild Spring Dunes and PGA Frisco
- Colorado golf trips, including Rodeo Dunes
- New England golf trips for summer and fall
Destination hubs with their own guides
- Pinehurst golf trip · Bandon Dunes golf resort · Pebble Beach golf trip
- Myrtle Beach golf trip · Scottsdale golf trip · Florida golf vacations
- Midwest golf trips · Hawaii golf vacation
Related planning guides
- The best golf resorts in the US, ranked by golf, lodging and access
- Winter golf destinations in the US and abroad
- How much a golf trip costs, with budgets by destination
Frequently asked questions
What is the number one golf destination in the US?
Pinehurst, North Carolina, is our number one for 2026: ten numbered courses, No. 2’s championship history, a walkable village and a long spring and fall season. Bandon Dunes in Oregon is the best pure-golf trip, and Myrtle Beach is the best value.
What is the best state for a golf vacation?
For year-round variety, Florida and California. For the quality of public golf, Wisconsin, with Whistling Straits, Erin Hills and Sand Valley. For value, South Carolina, with Myrtle Beach, Kiawah and Hilton Head. Arizona is the best winter state, with more than 200 courses around Scottsdale.
When is the best time for a golf trip in the US?
Spring and fall for the Carolinas, Georgia and Monterey; October to April for Arizona, Palm Springs and Florida; June to September for Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan and New England. The shoulder months (October in Bandon, November in Scottsdale, late April in Florida) usually give the best balance of weather and price.
Can you play Pebble Beach without staying at the resort?
Yes, but only at short notice. Non-guests can generally book only within the final day or two before play, depending on availability. Resort guests can book further ahead but must stay at least two nights (three nights Thursday to Sunday from September to November). The 2026–27 green fee is $695.
Is Pinehurst No. 2 open to the public?
Not to walk-up golfers. Pinehurst No. 2 is reserved for resort guests, usually on a package with a two-night minimum. Pinehurst Nos. 1, 3 and 5 are open to non-guests at roughly $100–$135, and there’s excellent public golf nearby at Mid Pines, Pine Needles and Tobacco Road.
How much does a golf vacation in the USA cost?
About $1,100–$1,700 per golfer for a 3-night, 4-round Myrtle Beach trip including flights, and $2,850–$3,300 or more for two nights and two rounds at Pebble Beach. Most destination-resort trips land between those, at roughly $1,500–$2,500 per golfer before flights.
What are the best golf destinations for a guys’ trip?
Myrtle Beach for big groups on a budget, Scottsdale for winter sun and nightlife, and Las Vegas if golf is only part of the plan. For a group of serious golfers, Bandon Dunes or a Wisconsin road trip through Kohler, Erin Hills and Sand Valley.
What is the most expensive golf course you can play in the US?
Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, at $1,250 in 2026, including a limo transfer; you must be staying at an MGM Resorts hotel. TPC Sawgrass (from $775 in season) and Pebble Beach ($695, plus the lodging minimum) are next among the famous courses.
The shortlist for the best golf destinations in the US hasn’t changed since the top of the page: Pinehurst, Bandon, Monterey, Myrtle Beach and Scottsdale, with Wisconsin, the Lowcountry and Florida close behind. The right one for you is the one that’s in season, within budget and matches how your group plays. When you’ve picked, the destination hubs above take it from there, and our best golf resorts in the US guide covers where to stay.
For many American golfers, the natural next step after Bandon, Pinehurst and Pebble Beach is the place all three borrow from. A first golf trip to Scotland costs more and takes more planning than any destination on this list, mostly because of the Old Course ballot and green fees that start around $430 at the famous links, but it’s the trip most golfers remember longest. Our golf trip to Scotland guide covers the regions, costs in dollars and how to get on the Old Course.
Most of these destinations are a flight away for most golfers, which makes the clubs part of the budget. A golf bag checked as a second bag on a major US airline costs $55 each way in 2026, and much more if it tips past 50 lb, while door-to-door shipping to resorts like Pinehurst, Bandon or Pebble Beach typically runs $60 to $230 each way depending on distance. Our traveling with golf clubs guide compares flying, shipping and renting for each kind of trip.
Sources
Official pages checked September 10–11, 2026 unless noted.
- Pinehurst Resort, No. 10 opening announcement: pinehurst.com
- Erin Hills, 2026 rates and fees: erinhills.com
- Destination Kohler, golf rates and policies: kohlerwisconsin.com
- Sand Valley, golf rates and walking policy: sandvalley.com
- TPC Sawgrass FAQ (green fees, booking windows, blackout dates): tpc.com
- Cabot Citrus Farms, 2026 golf rates: cabot.com
- Big Cedar Lodge, golf rates: bigcedar.com
- PGA Tour, 2027 schedule announcement (August 26, 2026): pgatour.com
- Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, 2026 Trail Card: rtjgolf.com
- Also consulted: Visit Myrtle Beach golf pages and its May 2026 package cost calculator; Experience Scottsdale; Kiawah Island Golf Resort; Wild Spring Dunes; Bandon Dunes 2026 green fees as summarized by Golf For Kings; Pebble Beach, Harbour Town and Shadow Creek pricing as reported by The Golf News Net (2026); Pinehurst fees by course from GOLF.com; Monterey Peninsula secondary-course ranges from Golf For Kings; Kiawah Ocean Course figures from GolfPass (2021); PGA WEST ranges from Green Fee Tracker; Hawaii rankings from GolfPass Golfers’ Choice 2026; Naples private-course counts from GolfPass; Rodeo Dunes plans from Golf Digest and PGA.com; 2026 openings from PGA.com and GOLF.com; Torrey Pines rates from torreypines.com (a reservations service).
Image credits
| Image | Credit and license |
|---|---|
| The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island: 18th green (featured) | Photo by N75746, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Whistling Straits, 11th hole | Photo by User:KevinTR, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Streamsong Black, 5th hole | Photo by Baybay1901, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Arnold Palmer statue, Myrtle Beach National | Photo by Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Kiawah Island from the air | Photo by Unknown author, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Pebble Beach Golf Links, 18th hole on Carmel Bay | Photo by Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| The Phoenician, Canyon course, Scottsdale | Photo by Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| TPC Sawgrass 17th hole, aerial | Photo: unknown author, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| First tee and push carts, Bandon Dunes | Photo by Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |