Golf travel
Golf in USA
The US has the deepest golf-travel menu on earth — and, unusually, much of the very best of it is genuinely public. From the wild walking links of the Oregon coast to the sandy pine heartland of the Carolinas, these are bucket-list trips you can actually book.
Year-round somewhere; Bandon calmest Jul–Sep, Pinehurst best in spring & fall
American golf travel breaks into a few great archetypes, and the US does each at the highest level: raw, walking links on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts; the strategic sand-country golf of the Carolina Sandhills; the desert resorts of Arizona, led by Scottsdale's Troon North; and the cathedral parkland of the south-east. What sets it apart from Europe is access — many of the country's genuinely world-ranked courses are public or resort-play, so a bucket-list round isn't gated behind membership.
Our US guides run deep: the walking-only links pilgrimage of Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast and the historic Sandhills resort of Pinehurst; the sand-country golf of Streamsong and Sand Valley; the ocean drama of Pebble Beach and Kiawah's Ocean Course; Wisconsin's Whistling Straits and the public U.S. Open host Erin Hills; Bethpage Black, the state-park muni near New York that hosts majors and the Ryder Cup; and Chambers Bay, the public U.S. Open links on Puget Sound — proof that in America a bucket-list round needn't be gated behind membership.
Destinations
Oregon
Bandon Dunes: the complete guide to America's links pilgrimage
Five walking-only links courses on Oregon's wild coast — the closest thing the US has to Scotland. How to play Pacific Dunes, Old Macdonald, Sheep Ranch and the rest, when to go, and how to get there.
Read the guideNorth Carolina
Pinehurst: the complete guide to the cradle of American golf
Ten courses in one storied village, led by Donald Ross's No. 2 — now a permanent home of the US Open. How to play No. 2, the Doak-designed No. 10 and The Cradle, when to go, and how to get there.
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California
Pebble Beach golf guide: how to play the Monterey Peninsula
The most famous public golf in the world. How to play Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and Spanish Bay, when to go, and how to actually get a tee time.
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Florida
Streamsong Resort guide: Florida golf like nowhere else
Three world-top-100 public courses by Coore & Crenshaw, Doak and Hanse on dramatic reclaimed dune land. How to play Red, Blue and Black, when to go, and how to get there.
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South Carolina
Kiawah Island golf guide: playing the Ocean Course
Home of Pete Dye's Ocean Course — Ryder Cup and PGA host — plus four more courses near Charleston. How to play it, when to go, and how to get a tee time.
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Wisconsin
Sand Valley Resort guide: Wisconsin's links-in-the-sand
The Keiser family's Midwest sibling to Bandon — Coore & Crenshaw, Kidd and Doak courses on ancient sand dunes. How to play it, when to go, and how to get there.
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Wisconsin
Whistling Straits: the complete guide to Wisconsin's Ryder Cup links
Pete Dye's dramatic Lake Michigan links — host of the 2021 Ryder Cup and three PGAs, and it's public. How to play the Straits and the Kohler courses, when to go, and what to pack.
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New York
Bethpage Black golf guide: the public monster that hosts majors
The state-park muni on Long Island that staged two US Opens, a PGA and the 2025 Ryder Cup — and anyone can play. The course, the tee-time system, when to go, and getting there from NYC.
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Florida
TPC Sawgrass guide: playing the island-green 17th
Pete Dye's stadium course at Ponte Vedra Beach — home of THE PLAYERS and the most famous par 3 in golf. The course, how the public plays it, when to go, and getting there.
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California
Torrey Pines golf guide: the public muni that hosts the U.S. Open
Two clifftop courses over the Pacific in La Jolla, San Diego — a genuine city-owned muni that has staged two U.S. Opens and the annual Farmers Insurance Open, and that anyone can book. The courses, booking, season and getting there.
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Washington
Chambers Bay golf guide: playing a public U.S. Open venue
The links-style municipal course above Puget Sound that hosted the 2015 U.S. Open — walking-only, treeless and genuinely public. The course, how to book it, when to go and getting there.
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Arizona
TPC Scottsdale golf guide: the Stadium Course & the 16th
The public-access home of the WM Phoenix Open in the Sonoran Desert. How to play the Weiskopf/Morrish Stadium Course, the story of the par-3 16th 'Coliseum', when to go, and how to build a Scottsdale golf trip around it.
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Hawaii
Kapalua golf guide: the Plantation Course on Maui
The dramatic Coore & Crenshaw Plantation Course in West Maui — for 25 years the PGA Tour's season opener. How to play its huge elevation changes and trade winds, the Bay Course, when to go, and the resort's story after the fires and drought.
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South Carolina
Harbour Town golf guide: the lighthouse, Pete Dye & the RBC Heritage
The Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus classic at Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island — small greens, tight tree-lined holes and the iconic red-and-white lighthouse 18th. How to play it, the 2025 restoration, when to go, and the Lowcountry trip around it.
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