Top Summer Golf Destinations for Your Next Getaway
By Mike Bailey
If you’re lucky enough to have some time off during the summer, you owe it to yourself to take a golf trip somewhere. Fortunately, there are lots of great choices for getaways, from cooler destinations to the north to some relative bargains if you’re willing to stand the heat a little bit at a premier destination that’s much more expensive in the wintertime.
If money is no object, there are some premium summer spots you should set your sights on. Those can be high demand, so you might have to reserve your spot a year or more out, but it’s never too early to start thinking about where you want to go. But other destinations are more affordable, easier to get to, and don’t necessarily require reservations well in advance. Here’s a look at some of America’s best summer golf destinations:
A Cool Spot is a Hot Spot
Hands down one of the best summer golf destinations in the United States is Northern Michigan on so many levels, not the least of which is that the temperatures are on the cool, pleasant side (Highs in the 70s with low humidity), and the days are long, which means you can pack a lot of golf into a day (36 holes or more). Plus, there are so many great golf courses that even if you went back year after year, you could always change the itinerary.
But if you wanted to start, you might fly into Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport (that’s right; Michigan is famous for its cherries) and go from there (or drive up if you’re already in the Midwest.) You could start with The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort and experience difficult, but classic Jack Nicklaus-designed golf.
And then there’s Boyne Golf, which has 10 championship golf courses, including the 9-hole The Quarry/Preserve at Bay Harbor Golf Club, often referred to as the “Pebble Beach of the Midwest” because many of its holes are perched high on the cliffs overlooking Lake Michigan. Boyne has three different resort areas, including Boyne Mountain and The Highlands, which are ski resorts in the wintertime. The Donald Ross Memorial Course, which pays tribute to great Ross designs, is a favorite.
Another course with majestic views of Lake Michigan is Arcadia Bluffs, which has certainly become a bucket-list experience. The resort features two courses, including the links-style Bluffs with pot bunkers, also set above Lake Michigan with incredible sunsets.
And while we’re talking about Northern Michigan, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is even farther north and sits above Wisconsin, is a great choice as well. Highlights include one of the best casino golf destinations in the country, 36-hole Sweetgrass, as well as Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club. The Greywalls Course is a Mike DeVries design with huge granite rock outcroppings, elevation change, and wonderful views of Lake Superior.
Wisconsin is Super Cool in the Summer, Too
While many consider Northern Michigan America’s best summer golf destination, Wisconsin is pretty special, too, and offers a couple of bucket list resorts. Destination Kohler offers the Forbes Five-Star American Club (converted from an old worker dormitory) as well as the famous Pete Dye-designed Whistling Straits Golf Club. Whistling Straits (of PGA Championships and the Ryder Cup fame) is a walking-only course with a windswept look of high fescue, pot bunkers, and elevated tees. The resort also features the Irish Course, also designed by Dye, as well as the River Course and the Meadow Course at Blackwolf Run.
If you wanted to make this trip even better, you might pair Kohler with nearby Erin Hills, another high-end course that’s incredibly beautiful. Erin Hills played host to the 2017 U.S. Open, won by Brooks Koepka. And you could check out historic Lawsonia Links in Green Lake, where architects William Langford and Theodore Moreau buried a boxcar under the par-3 seventh green, creating some rather unique and difficult slopes.
And as good as Koehler is, there’s also Sand Valley in Nekoosa, Wisc., which might best be described as the Bandon Dunes of the Midwest. This incredible four-course resort was created by Bandon Dunes founder Mike Kaiser. The original Sand Valley Course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is routed through dunes and prairie grasses, where golfers are encouraged to be creative in their shot making. The second course, Mammoth Dunes, was designed by David McLay Kidd, who crafted the original Bandon Dunes course in Oregon more than 20 years ago. The Sandbox at Sand Valley is one of the nation’s best par-3 courses. Most recently, Tom Doak (who designed Pacific Dunes at Bandon Dunes) created Sedge Valley, which was inspired by the Golden Age of golf course architecture.
Go West for Some of the Best
Speaking of Bandon Dunes, every avid golfer should plan a trip there sometime in their lifetime. Bandon Dunes, located on the southwest coast of Oregon, is arguably America’s top golf resort, along with historic Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. It offers the only true links experiences in America, meaning it has courses next to the sea with rolling, wide fairways, native grasses, firm fairways, and lots of ways to play shots, including the ground game, which is often preferred to keep the ball under the constant breezes that come of the ocean.
The original Bandon Course fits that profile, as does Doak’s Pacific Dunes, often ranked as the second-best public course in America. There are now five championship courses at Bandon Dunes and two par-3 courses that are incredibly enjoyable in their own right. It’s all golf at Bandon Dunes, and you do feel like you’ve made the trip to Scotland or Ireland when you get there. It’s great for buddies’ trips, and like playing links golf in the UK or Ireland, you have to prepare for cold, windy, and wet weather, which adds to the charm.
Oregon, in general, is a great spot for summer golf. Other top destinations include the Bend area, where you will find courses designed by Nicklaus and Tom Fazio at Pronghorn, as well as Tetherow and Crosswater at Sunriver.
Of course, many consider historic Pebble Beach on California’s Monterey Peninsula to be America’s top public course. The seven-time U.S. Open course is certainly one of the country’s most historic. Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant more than a century ago, the course has one incredible hole after another, with spectacular ocean views below the rocky cliffs. There’s nothing like it.
But even if you didn’t play Pebble Beach Links, the rest of the courses at the resort, which include the incredible Spyglass Hill, The Hay, andDel Monte, aren’t too shabby either. The other thing about California coastal golf is, too, it generally offers relief from hot summer temps, even if you head south toward the Mexican border. Pasatiempo, located in Santa Cruz, is a wonderful Alistair McKenzie design that’s been meticulously restored over the past couple of years. And if you make it down toward San Diego, there’s the wonderful 36-hole municipal Torrey Pines (also a U.S. Open and PGA Tour site).
More of the Best in the West
Another terrific summer golf destination is the Reno/Lake Tahoe area, featuring some of the best mountain golf in America, some of it along the shorelines of Lake Tahoe. Located in the Sierra-Nevada mountains, it’s arguably led by the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada. Laid out along the south shore of Lake Tahoe, this site of July’s American Century Celebrity Golf Classic is beautiful and challenging, with many more courses and casino hotels nearby.
But Edgewood Tahoe is only the beginning. Other nearby public golf courses include Old Greenwood, Gray’s Crossing, and Coyote Moon near Truckee, Calif., a wonderful town on the Truckee River with terrific restaurants, shops and watering holes; Wolf Run Golf Club in Reno; Incline Village (Championship Course designed by Robert Trent Jones) on the north side of Lake Tahoe; and the Everline Resort & Spa formerly known as Resort at Squaw Creek, which is more famous for its ski history than golf, but a fun golf destination nonetheless.
When it comes to mountain golf, however, Colorado has to be in the discussion as well. Top golf spots include the historic Broadmoor Resort, home to the famous East Course, which has staged multiple U.S. Women’s Opens; Redlands Mesa in Junction; the Doak-designed Commonground Golf Course near Denver; Pole Creek Golf Club near Winter Park; and the TPC Colorado, which has a par-5 hole that’s 773 yards long.
Big Fun at Big Cedar Lodge
There’s nothing like Big Cedar Lodge anywhere in the world. Founded by Big Bass Pro Shops’ Johnny Morris, nothing is subtle at Big Cedar Lodge.
It’s home to five distinct golf courses, including Payne’s Valley, Tiger Woods’ first public course. There’s also Ozarks National, a wonderful and big Coore/Crenshaw creation; Fazio’s Buffalo Ridge; the Nicklaus-designed Top of the Rock, which is only par-3 course to ever be part of a PGA Tour Champions event; and Mountain Top, a links-style par 3 course that has 13 holes and plenty of elevation change.
Most recently, another par-3 course called Cliffhangers was added. The 18-hole layout is right next to Payne’s Valley, which ends with the most spectacular 19th hole in the country, a 100-yard “decider” par 3 island hole situated between limestone rock outcroppings. Like everything at Big Cedar, it’s nothing short of spectacular as you ride your golf cart around waterfalls with views of the Ozarks.
But Big Cedar is so much more than the extravagant golf with rustic, but luxurious accommodations, as well as scores of other activities too numerous to list. Highlights include boating and fishing at spectacular Table Rock Lake, horseback riding, hiking, go-karts, and other family activities, superb dining, and a spa, just to name a few.
Golf Near the Beach
If it’s summertime, a trip to the beach is always a good choice, and so is golf by the seashore.
The most golf-centric beach location in the country is Myrtle Beach, S.C., which at one time had over 100 courses. It’s still the location with the most golf options per capita in the country, and many of these courses offer great value.
While it’s pretty hot there in the summer, the beach offers a chance to cool down. Plus, the Grand Strand offers lots of great entertainment options (shows include the Broadway Theater, Greg Rowles Legacy Theater, The Carolina Opry, and Legends in Concert), and a variety of restaurants. Myrtle Beach is a buddies’ trip destination, but is well-suited for families, too.
Among the top golf courses are True Blue and Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, both designed by the late great Mike Strantz; Barefoot Resort, which offers layouts by Fazio, Dye, Greg Norman, and Davis Love III; Tidewater, Grande Dunes, and the Dunes Club – a classic, private RTJ design that allows some resort play.
Myrtle Beach is also home to the world’s largest amateur event, the PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur Handicap Championship, held in late August during what was traditionally a dead time for golf in the area. The event attracts more than 3,000 golfers annually, played over more than a dozen courses, with each day ending at a 19th-hole dinner and entertainment extravaganza at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
Another popular coastal destination is Hilton Head Island, S.C., which has more than 20 courses open to the public.
The most famous course on the island is Harbour Town Golf Links, where the iconic red and white lighthouse serves as the backdrop for the 18th hole on the Calibogue Sound. Designed by Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye, and located at Sea Pines Resort, Harbour Town is the site of the PGA Tour’s Heritage Classic. The resort’s other courses are arguably just as enjoyable and include Heron Point (Dye) and Atlantic Dunes (Love III).
And finally, another iconic coastal destination is Kiawah Island, which is near Charleston, not too far from Hilton Head. It’s famous for Dye’s Ocean Course, site of the famous 1991 “War by the Shore,” as well as two PGA Championships, the last one in 2021 won by a then 50-year-old Phil Mickelson, who became the oldest player ever to win a major.
If the Ocean Course isn’t enough (or too difficult), there are several other stellar golf options at Kiawah Island. They include Turtle Point, a Nicklaus design with three oceanside holes; the Fazio-designed Sporty Point; Cougar Point, designed by Gary Player; and the Clyde Johnston-crafted Oak Point, considered the best value just off the island.
If You Can Take the Heat
Finally, if the heat doesn’t bother you, summertime is a good time to perhaps save a little money on some prime winter destinations that offer significant discounts when it’s hot.
For example, you can play top courses like Troon North and We-Ko-Pa in the Scottsdale, Ariz., area in the summer for much less than it costs in early spring or late fall (play in the morning or late evening recommended).
The same holds for great resorts like Streamsong in Florida and nearby Cabot Citrus Farms. And at Streamsong, which has three super enjoyable and unique golf courses by Doak, Coore/Crenshaw, and Gil Hanse — and are normally walking-only — you can take a cart there in the summer months. Plus, the hotel and other activities, including easy bass fishing, are a blast as well.