There's nothing quite like loading up the car with your golf bags, cranking up some tunes, and heading out for a weekend — or a full week — of golf with your best friends. A well-planned golf trip creates memories that last decades. A poorly planned one creates resentment, empty wallets, and group text silence for months.
Here's how to do it right.
Start With the Group — Not the Destination
Before you start Googling "best golf resorts in Scottsdale," take a hard look at your group. The destination should fit the players, not the other way around.
Ask yourself a few honest questions: What's everyone's budget? Are you dealing with single-digit handicaps who want championship layouts, or a mixed group where half the guys just want to have fun and drink beer on a cart? Is anyone flying in, or are you driving?
A group of eight buddies with wildly different budgets will have a terrible time at Streamsong Resort in Florida ($300+ per round) if three of them were expecting Myrtle Beach pricing ($40–$80 per round). Get alignment on budget first. Everything else follows.
Pick the Right Destination
Once you know your budget and skill mix, the destination practically picks itself. Here are the most popular golf trip destinations in the U.S. and what they're best for:
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
The undisputed king of buddy golf trips. Over 80 courses within a 30-mile stretch, most priced between $40 and $100. Stay-and-play packages are everywhere. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and Tidewater Golf Club are standouts, but even the mid-tier courses are well-maintained. Nightlife on Restaurant Row keeps the group entertained off the course.
Scottsdale, Arizona
Desert golf at its finest, especially from October through April. We're Boulders, Troon North, and TPC Scottsdale territory. Expect $150–$300 per round at the top tracks, but twilight rates can cut that in half. Old Town Scottsdale has no shortage of bars and restaurants for the après-golf crowd.
Pinehurst, North Carolina
For the group that takes their golf seriously. Pinehurst No. 2 is a bucket-list course, and the surrounding area (Mid Pines, Pine Needles, Tobacco Road) offers incredible variety. It's quieter than Myrtle Beach — more about the golf, less about the party.
Bandon Dunes, Oregon
The pilgrimage. Five world-class links courses on the Oregon coast. This is for the group that wants to walk 36 holes a day in the wind and rain and love every second of it. Not cheap — rounds run $275+ — but it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Book 6–12 months in advance.
Gulf Shores, Alabama
The sleeper pick. Courses like Kiva Dunes and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail locations in the area offer excellent golf at $50–$100 per round. Beach houses are affordable, seafood is world-class, and you won't fight crowds.
Nail the Logistics Early
Golf trips fall apart when one person is stuck doing all the planning. Assign roles early:
- Trip Coordinator: Sets dates, collects deposits, manages the group chat. This person is the benevolent dictator.
- Tee Time Booker: Handles all course reservations. More on this below.
- Lodging Lead: Books the rental house, resort, or hotel. Vrbo and Airbnb often beat resort pricing for groups of 6+.
- Treasury: Manages the communal fund for shared expenses — dinners, drinks, tips, gambling payouts.
Set a firm date at least 3–4 months out. The more people in the group, the earlier you need to lock it in. Weekday trips (Monday–Thursday) are significantly cheaper and easier to book than weekend getaways.
Book Tee Times Strategically
This is where most trips hit a snag. Popular courses at popular destinations book up fast — especially during peak season. Myrtle Beach in April? Scottsdale in March? You're competing with every other group in the country.
A few tips that actually work:
- Book early mornings. 7:00–8:30 AM slots fill first, but they also give you the best course conditions and the most daylight for 36-hole days.
- Call the pro shop directly. Online booking systems don't always show every available slot. A phone call can unlock inventory that's held back or recently cancelled.
- Set alerts for high-demand courses. If you're targeting a specific course that's showing fully booked, tools like BirdiePing can monitor for cancellations and alert you the moment a slot opens up — way more efficient than refreshing the booking page every hour.
- Book one "anchor" round and one "fun" round per day. Don't play four $200 rounds in a row. Mix in a more affordable municipal or daily-fee course to give everyone's wallet (and ego) a break.
Budget Like Adults
Nothing kills a friendship faster than money awkwardness on a trip. Get ahead of it.
Build a shared spreadsheet (Google Sheets works great) with every expected cost:
- Green fees: Price each course individually. Include cart fees if not bundled.
- Lodging: Total cost divided evenly, or by room if rooms differ in quality.
- Travel: Gas and tolls for drivers, flights for those flying in.
- Food & drinks: Budget $50–$75 per person per day for meals. On-course food and beverages add up fast.
- Tips: $3–$5 per bag for bag drop, $5–$10 for caddies per hole (if walking with caddies, 18 holes = $40–$60 per caddie).
- Gambling fund: If your group plays skins, nassaus, or other games, establish a buy-in amount everyone's comfortable with.
For a typical 3-day Myrtle Beach trip with 4 rounds, expect to spend $800–$1,200 per person all-in. Scottsdale or Bandon? More like $1,500–$2,500.
Create Competitions That Keep Everyone Engaged
The golf trip isn't just about the golf — it's about the stories. Structured competitions give everyone something to play for, regardless of skill level.
Formats That Work for Mixed Groups
- Shamble: Everyone tees off, pick the best drive, then play your own ball in. High handicappers contribute on tee shots; low handicappers grind on approaches and putts.
- Modified Stableford: Points-based scoring that rewards birdies without punishing blow-up holes. Keeps everyone in the game.
- Skins with carryovers: Classic for a reason. Nothing beats the tension of a 4-hole carryover skin on a par 3.
- Trip-long Ryder Cup: Split the group into two teams and keep a running score across all rounds. Captains draft teams the first night.
Award a cheap but ridiculous trophy — an ugly figurine from Goodwill, a spray-painted hard hat, whatever. The trophy becomes the tradition.
Pack Smart
You'd be surprised how many guys show up to a golf trip missing something critical. Here's the checklist beyond the obvious clubs-and-shoes:
- Extra gloves: At least 2–3. Humidity and rain destroy gloves fast.
- Rain gear: A lightweight rain jacket and waterproof hat. Even in Arizona, desert storms pop up.
- Sunscreen and lip balm with SPF: You're outside for 5+ hours a day. Protect yourself.
- Portable speaker: For the cart. Keep the volume respectful — the group behind you doesn't want to hear your playlist.
- First aid basics: Advil, Tums, Band-Aids, blister pads. Someone will need them.
- A cooler: Stock it with waters, sports drinks, and whatever else keeps the group fueled between rounds.
Don't Overschedule
This might be the most important advice in this entire article. The impulse is to cram in as much golf as possible — 36 holes every day, dinner at 8, drinks until midnight, up at 5:30 AM for the next round.
By day three, everyone's exhausted, someone's back hurts, and nobody's having fun anymore.
Build in downtime. A lazy pool afternoon. A long lunch. A morning where the tee time isn't until 10 AM and everyone can actually sleep in. The trip should feel like a vacation, not a forced march.
For a 3-day trip, four rounds is the sweet spot. For a 4–5 day trip, six rounds with one rest half-day works perfectly.
Lock In Those Tee Times Before They're Gone
You've got the destination picked, the group committed, and the budget set. Now comes the part that actually makes or breaks the trip: getting on the courses you want to play.
Start booking the moment your dates are locked. For in-demand destinations during peak season, set up tee time alerts on BirdiePing so you don't miss cancellation openings at fully-booked courses. It monitors over 4,400 courses across all 50 states, and you can start with one free watch to test it out.
The best golf trips aren't the most expensive ones — they're the best-planned ones. Put in the work upfront, and you'll be talking about this trip for years.
Now go round up your buddies and start the group chat. The courses aren't going to book themselves.