When you are getting married or a dear friend is tying the knot, there’s no better way to celebrate the occasion than by planning the ultimate bachelor party. Here are our top 11 recommendations for the best golf bachelor party destinations. Each offers memorable golf, nightlife, and a lot more. All of the courses suggested at each destination are GolfNow courses, and each of the resorts mentioned welcomes tee times on its course (or courses) without an overnight stay. And yes, if you’re wondering, our best golf destinations for bachelor parties are also fine choices for bachelorette parties.
1. Las Vegas
To the surprise of no one, the No. 1 golf bachelor party destination in America is Sin City. After a long night of trying your luck at the tables or of carousing on The Strip or wherever your whims take you, what better way to recharge your batteries than playing golf. To stay close to the action, try the tropical-themed, service-oriented Bali Hai Golf Club, located just a block south of Mandalay Bay Resort. Bali Hai is quite pricey, but if you want to impress your buds by pulling the high-roller card, schedule a tee time at Cascata Golf Club. It’s a Rees Jones-designed masterpiece that boasts breathtaking mountain backdrops, immaculate conditions, a 418-foot-tall waterfall, tour-level caddies, and a palatial Tuscan-inspired clubhouse. Finally, many golf bachelor party groups opt for a true escape from Vegas’ bright lights by taking a day trip to Wolf Creek Golf Course in Mesquite. Spring and dipping amidst spectacular canyons and mesas, this bucket-list-caliber layout may be the most breathtaking desert golf course on the planet.
2. Scottsdale
Surrounded by the McDowell Mountains, sun-drenched Scottsdale exudes a cool vibe with its elegant resorts, multitude of outdoor activities, hip Old Town, and abundance of great bars and restaurants. If you schedule your golf bachelor party for March, you can play 18 in the morning and catch a spring training baseball game afterward. One of your toughest decisions may be choosing a base camp in Scottsdale. Talking Stick Resort features two contrasting Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw-designed courses as well as an onsite casino and a nearby ballpark. Just a couple of miles from the posh Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North, the rousing Pinnacle and Monument courses at Troon North Golf Club ramble through ravines and foothills in the shadows of Pinnacle Peak. The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is another luxury resort par excellence. Thanks to the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open, the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale, located adjacent to the Fairmont, is a must-play. A bachelor party golf excursion planned for Super Bowl Week presents the opportunity to attend the raucous tournament known as “The Greatest Show on Grass.” Finally, you and your buds will be hard pressed to find a more fun Scottsdale golf experience than the three nines at Kierland Golf Club, the chief amenity of the Westin Kierland Resort. Golf Digest rates Kierland one of America’s “most cheerful golf courses.”
3. San Diego
If your idea of the best bachelor party golf destination is laidback SoCal cool, San Diego is where you want to be. Idyllic weather, gorgeous beaches, craft breweries, great downtown baseball stadium, memorable restaurants and hopping Gaslamp District, make San Diego a winning choice no matter what form your party takes. Golf resorts abound in San Diego’s environs. The ritzy Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad showcases stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and a beautiful, wildflower-laden Arnold Palmer-designed course that is “like playing in a botanical garden.” For a more budget-oriented golf option, consider the tranquil 54-hole Singing Hills Golf Resort at Sycuan, located 20 miles east of San Diego. Mt. Woodson Golf Club, a daily-fee course, rates as one of Southern California’s most fun and scenic public golf experiences. The comely, quirky, and very challenging target-style layout features drama galore. 4. MIAMI Miami is a world-class party town known for its beautiful people, Latin flair, hot nightclubs, and outrageous South Beach scene, as well as for its art and architecture and diverse culinary and cultural offerings. The city’s golf hub is Trump National Doral Miami, a venerable luxury resort with four excellent courses that have been redesigned by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. Though you can play the courses without staying onsite, the resort is located in the heart of Miami and makes for a convenient base for golf bachelor party groups. If your crew craves serious competition, Doral’s Golden Palm and famous Blue Monster eighteens are notoriously formidable tests. Meanwhile, the Red Tiger, as pretty a Florida course as you’ll find, is suitable for all skill levels and the most fun layout to play at Doral.
5. New Orleans
“The Big Easy” is a wonderful golf bachelor party destination where you can party bayou style. Before you hit Bourbon Street or the French Quarter for a wild night of fun, take a short drive across the Mississippi River and play 18 at TPC Louisiana, home of the PGA’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Beautiful oak and cypress trees line this course that is one of the legendary designer Pete Dye’s most player-friendly layouts. Just stay clear of the bunkers and wetland areas. TPC Louisiana consistently ranks among the very best courses in the Bayou State.
6. Palm Springs
Hip and cool, Palm Springs is the ideal destination for a golf bachelor or bachelorette party. Not only does this beautiful California desert mecca boast great weather, but with its parade of festivals, high-end shopping, burgeoning food scene and hopping nightlife, it offers something for everyone. More than 100 golf courses dot the greater Palm Springs area. At the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, the Palm and Desert Courses are suitable for golfers of any age or skill level. The biggest raves usually go to the Palm Golf Course, as it winds around the iconic hotel and its Venetian-style waterways. For sterner tests, PGA West, “the Western Home of Golf in America,” boasts five championship courses headlined by the “Dye-abolical” Pete Dye Stadium Course.” The 17th hole of the Stadium Course, called “Alcatraz,” is yet another unforgettable island-green par 3.
7. Asheville
Once known primarily for the Biltmore Estate and for being a prized second home location, Asheville’s abundant charms are a secret no more. A true outdoor lover’s paradise, this beautiful outpost in the mountains of western North Carolina features a vibrant, easily walkable downtown core where bars and music and good food reign supreme. Asheville claims to have more craft breweries per capita than any city in America. Just below the oft-restored grande dame Omni Grove Park Inn, located two miles from downtown, the classic, sporty Donald Ross-designed Omni Grove Park Inn Golf Course is the place to play. The front nine is flat and rather tight, while the back nine opens up on hillier terrain as it approaches closer to the mountains and the Inn. After a fun round, the beloved Inn and the town beckon.
8. Nashville
“Music City” is as hot a party town as there is in the country now. At this home of the Grand Ole Opry and honky-tonk, a bar crawl is a music crawl. Nashville has a bonafide golf resort, too. Gaylord Opryland Resort and Conference Center is home to the Marriott Golf-managed Gaylord Springs Golf Course. This links-style public course, a fixture on lists of Tennessee’s top layouts, rambles beside the Cumberland River. Wind, water on the majority of holes, and large greens ramp up the challenge, while Limestone bluffs and rock outcroppings lend scenic interest. Gaylord Springs’ huge, ornate clubhouse is well suited for any party group.
9. Savannah
With its wonderful walking-friendly downtown highlighted by 21 shaded public squares and a cobblestone riverfront filled with shops and eateries, Savannah is one of America’s favorite getaway cities. Polite manners but also a love of scandal and a stiff drink are emblematic of the “Hostess City of the South.” Savannah is an ideal destination for your golf bachelor or bachelorette party because you can literally walk from the Historic Landmark District to The Club at Savannah Harbor. The golf course, located behind the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, is delightfully free of fairway housing. It features generous, wind-exposed fairways, a drivable par 4, and views of the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. When you are finished, you can transition back to partying in minutes in this beautiful Southern city.
10. Austin
Austin, the delightfully offbeat capital of Texas, is another great golf bachelor party destination. The city’s irresistible pull comes from its love of live music (one of Austin’s nicknames is “The Live Music Capital of the World”), barbecue, innumerable festivals, Texas Longhorns football, and zest for the outdoors. A popular option for an Austin bachelor party base camp is the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort, a Western-themed luxury retreat 15 miles from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Just a wedge shot up from the hotel, gorgeous Lost Pines Golf Club (formerly Wolfdancer Golf Club) flows from rolling prairie land to a heavy wooded ridgeline to a valley alongside the Colorado River. You can play Lost Pines without staying at the resort.
11. Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls isn’t just the “Honeymoon Capital of the World.” It’s also a fun-packed Golf Bachelor/Bachelorette Party Destination where you can enjoy one of the world’s great natural wonders along with vibrant casino resorts, tours of breweries and wineries, and all sorts of nightlife in addition to a plethora of golf courses. Since Niagara Falls straddles the international border, bring your passport and make your base on the Canadian side. Not only does Canada showcase the best views of the Falls, it’s also home to the best of the activities. Favorite places to play golf are Legends on the Niagara, which boasts two championship eighteens and a par-3 executive layout, and Whirlpool Golf Course, an alluring gem by Stanley Thompson, Canada’s greatest course architect.
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