How to Play the Best Golf in Rhodes
Rhodes has exactly one 18 hole golf course, and it has had it since 1973: Afandou, a Donald Harradine design on the flat ground behind Afandou Bay. Rounds reported through 2026 run roughly 60 to 90 euros, nobody asks for a handicap pedigree, and the right expectations make it a very pleasant day. Here is the honest playbook.
Photograph: Afandou Golf Course, Rhodes, via Google
The playbook, step by step
Step 1: set the expectation before you pack the clubs
Rhodes is a beach and history island that happens to own a golf course, not a golf destination with beaches attached. Afandou is the island's only 18, a par 73 from Donald Harradine, the Swiss based architect whose courses dot the Mediterranean, and it opened in 1973. It is flat, walkable and old fashioned in the best sense: tamarisk trees, sea breeze, no housing. Conditioning is honest rather than immaculate, and it varies with the season and the island's water. Golfers who arrive expecting Quinta do Lago leave grumpy; golfers who arrive expecting a 50 year old seaside municipal at Greek prices leave happy.
Step 2: book directly and keep it simple
Afandou is pay and play. Call or email the course a few days ahead in shoulder season; in July and August book further out and take the earliest time you can get, because the heat after 11am is serious. Visitor reports through 2026 put 18 holes at roughly 60 to 90 euros depending on season and inclusions, with one recent player quoting 69 euros for the round with a rental set and trolley, and nine hole rates around 45 euros. Club rental on site removes the airline baggage question entirely.
Step 3: base in or near Afandou
The course sits behind Afandou Bay about 20 kilometers south of Rhodes Town, with the resort strips of Faliraki and Kolymbia close by. Stay anywhere on that east coast stretch and the course is a 10 to 20 minute drive; from the old town it is closer to half an hour. A rental car is the sensible default on Rhodes anyway.
Step 4: play early, swim after
The proven Rhodes golf day: tee off at 8, finish by 12.30, lunch in the shade, beach until the light goes gold over the bay. April to early June and late September through November are the prime windows; the course stays open through winter for mild spell golf.
Step 5: dress easy, travel light
Standard golf attire is fine and nobody will inspect your handicap certificate. A trolley beats a carry in summer, sunscreen is non negotiable, and cash or card both work in the clubhouse.
Fees and logistics at a glance
| Item | Detail | Indicative 2026 cost |
|---|---|---|
| 18 holes | Par 73 Donald Harradine design, opened 1973, the island's only full course | Roughly 60 to 90 euros by season and inclusions; 69 euros with rental set and trolley reported by a 2026 visitor |
| 9 holes | The short loop, ideal for a hot afternoon or a half day | Around 45 euros |
| Rentals | Clubs, trolleys and buggies available at the clubhouse | Modest; often bundled into the green fee quotes above |
| Getting there | Behind Afandou Bay, about 20 km south of Rhodes Town, close to Faliraki and Kolymbia | 10 to 30 minute drive from the main east coast bases |
Costs are indicative planning figures, per player. We do not quote our own pricing; always confirm directly before booking. Check tee time availability.
The honest verdicts
Should golf decide your Greek island?
If golf is the point of the trip, it should, and the answer is Crete or the mainland resorts rather than Rhodes: the wider Greek picture, course by course, is ranked in the best golf courses in Greece and mapped in our Greece destination guide. Rhodes wins a different brief: a family or couples holiday with serious history, the medieval old town is a UNESCO site, where two or three easy rounds keep the golfer in the party happy without bending the itinerary around tee times.
The regional comparison worth making
Golfers weighing the eastern Mediterranean should look at the head to head in Cyprus vs Greece: Cyprus carries four resort standard courses to Greece's scattered handful, while Greece wins on everything around the golf. A combined Aegean itinerary is exactly the kind of thing to put through the Greece golf holidays desk, and our recommended Rhodes stays cover the east coast within easy reach of the first tee.
Plan your Greece golf trip
Tell us your dates and group, and one concierge balances the rounds, the ruins and the beach days across the right islands. No obligation.
Rhodes golf questions
How many golf courses are there in Rhodes?
One full course. Afandou Golf Course, a Donald Harradine design that opened in 1973, is the island's only 18 hole layout, a par 73 running on flat ground behind Afandou Bay about 20 kilometers south of Rhodes Town. If your trip needs three or four different courses, Rhodes is the wrong island; if one relaxed seaside course beside a beach holiday is the brief, it does the job.
How much does it cost to play Afandou Golf Course?
Visitor reports through 2026 put a round at roughly 60 to 90 euros depending on season and what is bundled, with one recent player quoting 69 euros including a rental set and trolley, and nine hole rates around 45 euros. The course is pay and play with no formal membership barrier. Fees are indicative; always confirm directly with the course before booking.
Is Afandou Golf Course any good?
Manage expectations and you will enjoy it. It is a flat, walkable, old school Harradine layout with sea air, tamarisk trees and a friendly, unhurried atmosphere, not a manicured resort course in the Costa del Sol mold. Conditioning varies with the season and water. Treat it as a holiday round at a fair price, not a pilgrimage.
When is the best time to play golf in Rhodes?
April to early June and late September through November. Midsummer is playable but hot, with tee times before 9am strongly advised in July and August. Winter golf is possible in mild spells and the course stays open year round.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course history and design attribution verified June 2026 against the course's published information and golf directories; 2026 price signals drawn from recent visitor reports. Last reviewed June 2026.