Resorts in the United States, Edgewood Tahoe Resort golf course

Ranked · 10 resorts · updated 2026

The Best Golf Resorts in the United States

America builds the best multi course golf resorts on earth: walking only links on the Pacific, sandy minimalist playgrounds in Florida, cliffside icons on the Monterey Peninsula. Here are the ten we rate most highly for a stay and play trip, ranked, with our verdict and how to plan a stay at each.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Edgewood Tahoe Resort, Edgewood Tahoe Resort, via Google

How we chose them

A great golf resort is more than one famous course. It is depth of golf you can walk to from your room, a sense of place you cannot fake, and an operation that makes a four or five day trip effortless. We weighed the quality and number of courses, the strength of the lodging and practice facilities, conditioning, the walk or the drive, and the feeling of arrival, and we leaned toward resorts that reward a multi night stay rather than a single hit and run round. Every property here keeps multiple championship layouts in genuinely world class shape.

All facts, from architects and opening years to host championships, were verified at the time of writing. Green fees and package rates move constantly with season and availability, so we describe access rather than quoting prices, and we flag walking only and resort guest priority policies where they apply. The verdicts and the order are ours; the top three could be reshuffled by personal taste alone. If you want any of these built into a costed stay and play itinerary, that is exactly what our concierge arranges.

The ranking

Pinehurst Resort

North Carolina · ten courses · Donald Ross No. 2

The deepest single resort in American golf, with ten 18 hole courses, the famed Cradle short course and a putting course, all clustered in one historic village. The crown is Pinehurst No. 2, Ross's 1907 masterpiece and a permanent US Open anchor site, supported by Gil Hanse's rebuilt No. 4 and Tom Doak's 2024 No. 10. Add the grand old Carolina hotel and a walkable village, and no resort offers more variety or history. The benchmark for a buddies golf trip in the United States.

Plan a Pinehurst stay and play

Bandon Dunes

Oregon · five championship links · walking only

The closest thing America has to a Scottish links pilgrimage, set on wild dunes above the Pacific on the southern Oregon coast. Five full championship courses, including David McLay Kidd's original Bandon Dunes and Tom Doak's revered Pacific Dunes, plus the Coore and Crenshaw designs and the Sheep Ranch, give five days of walking only links golf with caddies and no carts. It consistently sits at or near the top of every public resort ranking, and the remoteness is the point. A bucket list trip for any serious golfer.

Plan a Bandon Dunes trip

Pebble Beach Resorts

California · Monterey Peninsula · US Open venue

The most famous stretch of resort golf in the world, where the cliffs of Carmel Bay frame the closing holes of Pebble Beach Golf Links. Pebble has hosted six US Opens and the 2023 US Women's Open, and the resort pairs it with Jack Nicklaus's Spyglass Hill and the seaside Links at Spanish Bay for a complete Monterey trip. Lodging at The Lodge or The Inn at Spanish Bay puts the 18th green and the Pacific on your doorstep. Expensive, iconic and worth it once in a lifetime.

Plan a Pebble Beach trip

Kiawah Island Golf Resort

South Carolina · five courses · Pete Dye Ocean Course

A barrier island resort south of Charleston anchored by Pete Dye's Ocean Course, which has the most seaside holes of any course in North America and staged the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships. Four more courses from Fazio, Nicklaus, Player and Watson round out the golf, while the five star Sanctuary hotel, the beach and the Lowcountry setting make it a genuine family and golf resort. A brutal, beautiful test on the coast with a soft landing back at the room.

Plan a Kiawah Island trip

Streamsong Resort

Florida · three minimalist courses · reclaimed mine land

Proof that great links style golf can rise from the unlikeliest ground, here the sandy spoil of old Florida phosphate mines. Streamsong opened with the Blue by Tom Doak and the Red by Coore and Crenshaw, added Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner's Black in 2017, and has announced a fourth course by David McLay Kidd. The towering sand dunes, firm turf and big, bold greens feel nothing like the rest of Florida, and the modern lodge keeps it walkable and self contained. A design lover's resort.

Plan a Streamsong trip

Sea Island Resort

Georgia · three courses · under 19s play free

A polished, family friendly resort on the south Georgia coast with three championship courses, including the Seaside and Plantation layouts that host the PGA Tour's RSM Classic each fall. A 17,000 square foot golf performance center, the five star Cloister and Lodge hotels, and activities from fishing to riding make it as strong for families as for golfers. Golfers under nineteen never pay a green fee, which tells you who Sea Island is built for. Refined Lowcountry golf with genuine breadth of resort.

Plan a Sea Island trip

Kohler · The American Club

Wisconsin · four Pete Dye courses · Whistling Straits

Pete Dye's playground on the shores of Lake Michigan, where the windswept Straits course staged three PGA Championships and the 2021 Ryder Cup. The American Club, a restored five star inn, anchors a four course Dye collection that also includes the underrated Blackwolf Run, host of the 1998 US Women's Open. The Straits is a true caddie and walking experience along two miles of rugged lakefront, and the whole operation runs with a precision that befits the Kohler name. Championship golf in the Midwest at the very highest level.

Plan a Whistling Straits trip

Sand Valley

Wisconsin · sandy heathland · Coore and Crenshaw

A younger sibling in spirit to Bandon, set on a vast sandy barren in central Wisconsin that plays firm, fast and wide. Coore and Crenshaw's original Sand Valley and David McLay Kidd's Mammoth Dunes lead a growing collection that now includes Tom Doak's Sedge Valley and the wild Sandbox short course. Walking is encouraged, caddies are on hand, and the relaxed lodge and cabins make it an easy multi day base. The fastest rising golf resort in America and a pure architecture pilgrimage.

Plan a Sand Valley trip

Reynolds Lake Oconee

Georgia · six courses · lakeside resort

A sprawling lakeside resort an hour from Atlanta with six courses from a who's who of architects, including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Rees Jones and Jim Engh. The Ritz Carlton Reynolds on the shore of Lake Oconee gives it five star lodging, a spa and a marina, and the breadth of golf plus the water make it a strong choice for families and couples as well as golf groups. Less famous than the coastal icons, but few resorts pair this much quality golf with this much to do off the course.

Plan a Reynolds Lake Oconee trip

The Broadmoor

Colorado · classic mountain resort · since 1918

The grand old dame of American resort golf, open since 1918 at the foot of the Rockies in Colorado Springs. Donald Ross laid out the original course, later expanded by Robert Trent Jones and others, and the East course has hosted multiple USGA championships including the US Women's Open. The Broadmoor itself is a Forbes five star landmark with the polish of a century of practice, and the thin mountain air sends the ball soaring. A stately, old world counterpoint to the modern minimalist resorts.

Plan a Broadmoor trip

Architects, opening years and host championships verified June 2026. Several resorts, including Bandon Dunes and the Straits at Whistling Straits, are walking only with caddies. Green fees and packages vary widely by season and resort guest status; always confirm access and rates directly before booking. Check tee time availability. For where to stay, see our partner hotel rates.

Build your American golf resort trip

Tell us which resorts are on your list and roughly when, and how many in your group. One concierge handles the tee times, the lodging tier, the caddies and the routing between courses, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

US golf resort questions

What is the best golf resort in the United States?

Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina is our pick for sheer depth, with ten courses led by Ross's No. 2, but Bandon Dunes in Oregon runs it close as a walking only links pilgrimage and Pebble Beach is unmatched for cliffside drama. The right answer depends on whether you want history, links or ocean.

Which US golf resorts are walking only?

Bandon Dunes in Oregon and Sand Valley in Wisconsin are walking focused with caddies, as is the Straits course at Whistling Straits. Most other resorts on this list allow carts, though caddies are available and many guests choose to walk the marquee courses. Always confirm policy when booking.

How far ahead should you book a US golf resort?

For peak season at the most in demand resorts, book six to twelve months out, especially for Bandon Dunes, Pebble Beach and Pinehurst on prime spring and fall dates. Lodging packages with guaranteed tee times sell out first. Shoulder season trips can often be arranged with less notice and better value.

Are these resorts good for non golfers and families?

Several are excellent for families: Sea Island, Kiawah Island, Reynolds Lake Oconee and The Broadmoor all pair top golf with beaches, lakes, spas and kids programs. Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley are more single minded golf retreats, better suited to dedicated golfers and buddies trips.

The Tee Sheet

Resort openings, package windows and the prime dates that vanish first at Bandon, Pebble and Pinehurst. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, founding years and host events verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.