A volcanic island an hour south of Seoul where lava rock frames the fairways, Hallasan watches over every round, and the course that brought the PGA Tour to Korea sits among tangerine groves. Jeju is where Korean golf goes on holiday.
Jeju is South Korea's holiday island, a subtropical volcano in the East China Sea that Koreans sometimes call their Hawaii, and it holds the country's most storied golf. The Club at Nine Bridges, designed by Ronald Fream and David Dale of Golfplan and opened in 2001, set the standard for Korean golf and hosted the CJ Cup from 2017 to 2019, the first official PGA Tour event ever played in the country. Around it sits a deep bench of resort courses laid over old lava fields, with the 6,388 foot cone of Hallasan rising behind nearly every tee shot.
For the traveling golfer the appeal is the combination: world class design, dramatic volcanic scenery, seafood and hot spring resorts between rounds, and far easier access than the famously member dominated clubs around Seoul. Milder winters than the mainland stretch the season at both ends, and the flight from the capital takes barely an hour. Read this guide alongside our wider South Korea destination guide if Jeju is one leg of a longer trip.
By the GolfForKings editorial team · Last reviewed: June 2026
The famous golf clusters in the island's south and west, within an easy drive of Seogwipo and the Jungmun resort strip. One legend you may not get on, and a half dozen excellent courses you can.
The benchmark for Korean golf since it opened, routed through cryptomeria forest on the slopes below Hallasan, and host of the PGA Tour's CJ Cup from 2017 to 2019, won first by Justin Thomas. It is a private club with genuinely limited access: tee times generally come via members or reciprocal arrangements with other private clubs, and the course closes over winter. Ask early, plan as if the answer is no.
The late masterwork of American architect Theodore Robinson, 27 holes of beautifully kept golf between Hallasan and the sea, and the first Korean course to crack international top 100 lists in the mid 2000s. Visually stunning, properly bookable, and our pick for the marquee visitor round on the island.
Four nines from Robert Trent Jones Jr, named Sky, Hill, Forest and Ocean, draped over volcanic terrain with broad Hallasan views. A fixture among Korea's top ranked clubs, partly member focused, with visitor access easiest through hotel and package bookings.
Three nines by Brian Costello of JMP, with black lava stone walls and mature trees defining the corridors. The East and South nines lean toward members, so confirm which combination you are getting when you book, but it consistently rates among the island's best.
A polished resort course in the island's southwest that anchors many Jeju golf packages, with on site lodging that makes a two round stay simple. A reliable, fun counterweight to the heavyweight names above.
Two dependable resort options that round out a week. Elysian Jeju publishes some of the island's most transparent visitor rates, while Haevichi Country Club offers 36 holes of wide fairways through rolling natural valleys with a full resort attached.
Jeju sits in a subtropical band, which changes the Korean golf calendar in your favor. Spring and autumn are glorious, with May and October the golden months. Summer brings the monsoon, with June and July the wettest stretch and a typhoon window running from July into early October. Winter is the island's quiet trump card: mild by Korean standards, so Jeju stays largely playable through months when mainland courses have shut, even if Nine Bridges itself closes for the season.
| Months | Weather | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Mar to Jun | Mild to warm, blossom then green | Prime, May is peak |
| Jul to Sep | Hot, humid, monsoon and typhoon risk | Playable but a gamble |
| Oct to Nov | Dry, crisp, clear skies | Prime, October is peak |
| Dec to Feb | Mild winter, occasional wind and snow flurries | Playable, great value |
Costs follow Korean norms, which surprise first time visitors. A caddie is standard and effectively required at most clubs, at around KRW 150,000 per team of four, and a shared cart adds roughly KRW 100,000 per team, both split among the group and paid on top of the green fee. Weekend rates run sharply higher than weekdays, so a midweek trip saves real money.
| Tier | Weekday | Weekend |
|---|---|---|
| Premium (Pinx, Lotte Skyhill, Blackstone) | about KRW 200,000 to 350,000 | about KRW 280,000 to 450,000 |
| Upper resort (Elysian Jeju) | about KRW 220,000 to 300,000 | about KRW 300,000 to 380,000 |
| Resort (Teddy Valley, Haevichi and similar) | about KRW 150,000 to 250,000 | about KRW 200,000 to 320,000 |
Package guide. A four to six night Jeju trip with three to four rounds, a Jungmun or Seogwipo resort hotel, caddies, carts and a rental car commonly runs from around $3,000 to $5,000 per golfer for 2026, before international flights. These are third party ranges, not our prices, and you should always confirm directly before booking. For a fee by fee breakdown, see our guide to green fees on Jeju Island.
Booking individual rounds? Compare live tee times through our partner: [TEE_TIME_AFFILIATE_LINK]. Hotels in Jungmun and Seogwipo: [HOTEL_AFFILIATE_LINK].
Jeju is compact enough to play everywhere from one base, but the southern coast puts you closest to the golf. Pick by mood: full resort, harbor town or city convenience.
The island's five star strip on the south coast, with big resort hotels, beaches and spas, and the shortest drives to Pinx, Lotte Skyhill and the Andeok courses. The default choice for a pure golf trip and the easiest place to keep non playing partners happy.
A working harbor town just east of Jungmun with waterfalls, markets and the island's best seafood at local prices. More character and better value than the resort strip, still within easy reach of the southern courses.
The arrival point in the north, handy for the airport, nightlife and first or last night stays. Drives to the southern courses run 40 minutes to an hour across the island, so most golfers head south after landing.
The hop from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju takes about one hour and ten minutes and is regularly ranked the busiest air route on earth, with flights leaving every few minutes through the day, so fitting Jeju into a Korea trip is trivially easy. Jeju also takes direct international flights from several Asian cities, and the island runs its own visa waiver that admits most nationalities for up to 30 days on those direct arrivals, though rules and electronic authorization requirements change, so verify before you fly. Once you land, rent a car: it is the norm on the island, the driving is easy, and the courses are scattered across the south and west.
Book May and October tee times well ahead, ask about Nine Bridges access at the same time you book everything else, and keep a flexible day in summer itineraries in case weather intervenes. If you want the whole thing sequenced, our 4 day Jeju Island golf itinerary does exactly that.
The Club at Nine Bridges, a Ronald Fream and David Dale design from 2001 that hosted the PGA Tour's CJ Cup from 2017 to 2019, is the most celebrated course on the island. Pinx Golf Club, 27 holes by Theodore Robinson beneath Hallasan, and Lotte Skyhill Jeju, 36 holes by Robert Trent Jones Jr, lead the courses a visitor can realistically book, with Blackstone, Teddy Valley, Elysian and Haevichi filling out a strong week.
Nine Bridges is a private club and access is genuinely limited. Tee times generally come through a member invitation or a reciprocal arrangement with another private club, and the course also closes for the winter. Treat it as a possibility to explore early rather than a round you can count on, and build the rest of the trip around the bookable courses.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fees run from roughly KRW 150,000 to 250,000 on weekdays at the solid resort courses up to about KRW 300,000 to 450,000 at the premium names on weekends. On top of that, Korean golf norms add a caddie at around KRW 150,000 per team and a shared cart at around KRW 100,000 per team. Always confirm directly before booking.
Mid April to early June and late September to November are the prime windows, with May and October widely considered the golden months. Summer brings the monsoon and a typhoon window from July into early October. Winters are mild by Korean standards and the island stays largely playable when mainland courses have closed.
Fly from Seoul Gimpo, a hop of about one hour and ten minutes on what is regularly ranked the busiest air route in the world, with flights departing every few minutes through the day. A rental car is the standard way to get around, as the leading courses are scattered across the south and west of the island.
Jeju operates its own visa waiver that lets passport holders from most countries enter for up to 30 days without a Korean visa, provided they arrive on a direct international flight into Jeju. The waiver does not cover onward travel to the mainland, some nationalities are excluded, and electronic travel authorization rules change, so verify the current requirements for your passport before you fly.
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