The 20 Best Golf Resorts for Groups of 8–20 Players

If serious group golf has a spiritual home in America, this is it. Bandon offers six full-length courses — Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Old Macdonald, Bandon Trails, Sheep Ranch, and the recently opened New Course — plus the par-3 Bandon Preserve and Shorty's. All are walking-only, all have caddies, all designed by the modern minimalist masters. The wind off the Pacific changes the same hole hour to hour.

Bandon's group infrastructure is genuinely good. The resort has decades of experience with group trips, and the on-property lodging in lodges, single-room suites, and cottages can absorb groups up to about 20 with thoughtful booking. McKee's Pub is the de facto group hangout after rounds.

The Monterey Peninsula is golf's Mount Olympus. Pebble Beach Golf Links is the most photographed course in America, with the 7th, 8th, and 18th holes among the most recognizable in the world. Add Spyglass Hill, Spanish Bay, and the renovated Hay short course, and you have a four-day rotation that will likely never be matched. Beyond the resort, Pasatiempo (Alister MacKenzie's Northern California gem), Pacific Grove Municipal, and Bayonet & Black Horse round out a wider Peninsula trip.

For groups, Pebble is fundamentally about the pilgrimage — playing the course you've watched on television since childhood. At green fees north of $700 per round, this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for most groups, not annual rotation. The Lodge at Pebble Beach and Inn at Spanish Bay both accommodate groups, but premium pricing means $800+ per person per night.

Pinehurst is the closest thing American golf has to St. Andrews — nine 18-hole courses radiating out from a village built entirely around the game. Pinehurst No. 2 is the headliner, a Donald Ross masterpiece that has hosted more major championships than any other American course and is on the schedule for future U.S. Opens. But No. 4 (recently restored by Gil Hanse), No. 8 (Tom Fazio), and the new Tom Doak No. 10 give serious groups a four-day rotation without playing the same course twice.

The Cradle, a nine-hole short course built by Hanse, has saved more group trips than people realize. After 18 holes on No. 2, sending the high-handicappers out to The Cradle for an evening replay round changes the whole dynamic.

The Straits Course at Whistling Straits is a Pete Dye creation that hugs Lake Michigan for about a mile, with windswept dunes and the kind of dramatic bunkering that has hosted three PGA Championships and the 2021 Ryder Cup. The Irish Course is the more forgiving sibling. Across the river, Blackwolf Run's River and Meadow Valleys courses round out a four-course rotation that ranks among the strongest in American golf.

The American Club hotel is a converted 1918 dormitory with five-star service and Old World charm. For golf groups specifically, the Inn on Woodlake nearby offers more relaxed accommodations at better value while keeping you close to the courses.

The Ocean Course at Kiawah, designed by Pete Dye, is one of the most identifiable layouts in American golf — site of the 1991 "War by the Shore" Ryder Cup, the 2012 PGA Championship (Rory McIlroy), and the 2021 PGA Championship (Phil Mickelson's historic win at age 50). The course hugs the Atlantic for nearly its entire length and plays differently every round depending on the wind.

The other four resort courses — Turtle Point (Nicklaus), Osprey Point (Fazio), Cougar Point (Gary Player), and Oak Point (Clyde Johnston) — give groups a rotation that's both scenic and approachable. The Sanctuary hotel is genuinely five-star, and private villa rentals work well for groups of 12–20.

Streamsong was built on reclaimed phosphate mining land in central Florida, which sounds like an ad agency's joke until you actually see it. The site has dramatic dunes, sandy waste areas, and the kind of firm-and-fast playing surfaces that don't exist on most Florida courses. Three architects — Coore & Crenshaw (Red), Tom Doak (Blue), and Gil Hanse (Black) — each got their own canvas. The result is one of the best three-course concentrations in modern American golf.

Logistically, Streamsong is unusually clean for groups. On-property lodging means no commute. The clubhouse and lodge are built for groups — pre-round breakfast, post-round bourbon, and steakhouse dinner all happen within a few hundred yards.

Silvies Valley Ranch is one of the most unusual golf experiences in America. Set on a 140,000-acre cattle ranch in remote eastern Oregon, the resort features two reversible 18-hole championship courses (Hankins and Craddock) that play in opposite directions on different days, plus the Chief Egan short course and the unforgettable McVeigh's Gauntlet — a seven-hole par-3 course famous for using goat caddies to carry your clubs.

The remoteness is a feature, not a bug. There is no town. There is no resort sprawl. There is just ranch, sky, and golf. Lodging is in cabins and lodges built into the ranch landscape. For the right group, this is a peak-experience trip — for the wrong group, the lack of nightlife and the four-hour drive from Boise (or longer from Portland) is a deal-breaker.

The Coachella Valley packs over 100 courses into a 20-mile span. The headliner is PGA West, home of the Pete Dye Stadium Course (host of the PGA Tour's American Express) and surrounding Nicklaus, Palmer, and Norman tracks. La Quinta Resort itself is a sprawling Spanish-style property that handles groups as well as anywhere on the West Coast. Beyond La Quinta, courses like SilverRock, Indian Wells Golf Resort, and Mission Hills round out the depth.

The valley's depth means groups can play four totally different courses on four consecutive days without driving more than 20 minutes. Off-course, the Palm Springs area offers restaurants, music venues, and a nightlife scene that bigger groups appreciate.

Built by the Keiser family — the same group behind Bandon Dunes — Sand Valley is the closest thing the Midwest has to a links destination. Three full-length courses sit on a property of natural sand dunes hundreds of miles from any ocean: Sand Valley (Coore & Crenshaw), Mammoth Dunes (David McLay Kidd), and the new Lido (a faithful recreation of C.B. Macdonald's lost Long Island masterpiece).

For groups, the appeal mirrors Bandon: walking-only, caddied, with the kind of strategic golf that holds up over multiple rounds. The lodging is on-property, the clubhouse is built for group trips, and Mammoth Bar is the social anchor.

Maui combines world-class golf with the kind of surroundings that justify the airfare. The Plantation Course at Kapalua hosts the PGA Tour's Sentry Tournament of Champions every January and features dramatic elevation changes overlooking the Pacific. Add Wailea Gold and Emerald, plus Kaanapali's Royal and Kai courses, and a group has a four-day rotation with ocean views from nearly every hole. Off-course, Maui delivers everything — beaches, snorkeling, luaus, restaurants — that pure-golf destinations don't.

The catch is logistics. Inter-island flights are easy but the travel day from the mainland is long, and trip costs run high once you factor airfare, premium lodging, and Hawaii's general expense premium. Best done as a milestone or annual splurge.

Built by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris over the last decade, Big Cedar Lodge is the most ambitious new-build golf destination in America. Five distinct golf experiences sit on adjoining ridges and hollows in the Ozark Mountains: Payne's Valley (Tiger Woods' first public design), Ozarks National (Coore & Crenshaw), Buffalo Ridge (Tom Fazio), Mountain Top (Gary Player short course), and Top of the Rock (Nicklaus par-3 with caddies and golf-cart-on-rails).

The setting is genuinely unique. You play golf on top of mountains. The 19th hole at Payne's Valley sits in a natural canyon. The variety means a group can build a four-day rotation that never feels repetitive — and the high-handicappers love it because none of the courses are punishingly difficult.

Tobacco Road, designed by the late Mike Strantz, is one of the most polarizing courses in American golf — and one of the most beloved by people who get it. The course is built on a former tobacco-curing operation and sand quarry; the result is a layout with massive elevation changes, blind shots, towering sand walls, and visual chaos that some golfers consider art and others consider an outrage. There is nothing else like it.

For a group trip, Tobacco Road is best paired with the broader Pinehurst-area golf (it's about 30 minutes north of the village) or with nearby Mid Pines and Pine Needles. Tobacco Road is a single course, not a resort, so a group trip here is really a "Sandhills of North Carolina" trip with Tobacco Road as the centerpiece round.

The single best golf experience at Tahoe is Edgewood Tahoe — site of the American Century Championship every July, with holes that come right up to the lake. Around it: Old Greenwood, Coyote Moon, Schaffer's Mill, and (over in Truckee) Martis Camp. The setting is unlike anywhere else — alpine peaks, deep blue lake, thin air that makes the ball fly noticeably farther.

For groups, Tahoe works best as a bigger trip. Fly into Reno, stay at the Hyatt Regency or the lodge at Edgewood, and pair golf with hiking, kayaking, or a casino night. Season is short (June through October) but spectacular.

Sand Hollow Resort is the centerpiece of an under-the-radar Utah destination that delivers some of the most photogenic golf in America. The Championship Course winds through red rock cliffs and Joshua trees, with several holes carved out of dramatic canyon edges. Pair it with Coral Canyon, Sky Mountain, and Sunbrook for a full rotation in the St. George area. The drive in from Las Vegas is about two hours and is itself spectacular.

For groups, the appeal is the visual drama at a fraction of bigger-name destinations' costs. Green fees in the $90–$180 range, lodging near the courses is reasonable, and the proximity to Zion National Park gives non-golfers something to do.

Bethpage Black is one of the most famous public courses in America — host of the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens, the 2019 PGA Championship, and the upcoming 2025 Ryder Cup. The other courses on the Bethpage State Park property (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow) round out one of the great public golf complexes in the country at remarkably reasonable green fees.

The honest caveat for groups: Bethpage has notoriously brutal access. The Black course requires either an in-person lottery the day-of, an advance reservation that gets snapped up months ahead, or a connection. For groups, the reality is you're more likely to play the Red or Blue while one designated member of the group sleeps in their car overnight to score Black tee times. Lodging in the area is workmanlike — Long Island chain hotels, not destination lodges.

Arcadia Bluffs is one of the most photographed public courses in America — a Rick Smith design perched on 250-foot bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan. The Bluffs Course gets the magazine spreads; the South Course (a Dornoch-style links by Dana Fry) is the architectural heavyweight. Together they form one of the great two-course public stops in the Midwest.

Like Tobacco Road, Arcadia is essentially a single property rather than a multi-course resort, which means group trips here usually pair it with the broader Northern Michigan region — Boyne Mountain, Bay Harbor, and Crystal Downs (private, but access is sometimes possible). The lodge at Arcadia handles small groups well; larger groups will want to base at one of the regional resort properties and drive in.

Scottsdale isn't a single resort — it's a region with dozens of championship public courses within 30 minutes of each other. The TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course (home of the Phoenix Open's famously rowdy 16th hole), Troon North's Pinnacle and Monument courses, Grayhawk's Talon and Raptor, We-Ko-Pa, and Quintero — the list is long. Summer green fees on the same courses that charge $400 in February drop to under $100 from June through September.

For groups, the appeal is flexibility. Build your own rotation, stay in Old Town Scottsdale within walking distance of restaurants and bars, and have shuttle vans handle the daily course commutes.

TPC Sawgrass and its iconic island green 17th hole need no introduction. The Stadium Course hosts the Players Championship every March; the Dye's Valley Course rounds out the property. Most groups make the pilgrimage specifically to play the Stadium Course — and to either triumph over or lose multiple balls to that island green.

The wider Ponte Vedra and Jacksonville area has plenty more golf — Sawgrass Country Club's Marsh Landing, the Slammer & Squire and King & Bear at the World Golf Village (Palmer/Nicklaus designs), and a number of strong daily-fee courses. Lodging at Sawgrass Marriott is the natural anchor.

Sea Island is what southern hospitality looks like at its most refined. The resort has three championship courses: Seaside (Tom Fazio's links-style design that hosts the PGA Tour's RSM Classic), Plantation (Rees Jones' parkland layout), and Retreat (Davis Love III's home course). Add the par-3 Davis Love Foundation course and you have a four-day rotation in one of the most established luxury settings in American golf.

Sea Island handles groups elegantly. The Cloister and the Lodge are both five-star, the dining is among the best at any resort in the country, and the surrounding Georgia coast adds beach, fishing, and Lowcountry character. This is a refined trip, not a rowdy one.

Giants Ridge in northern Minnesota is one of golf's quietly great value plays. The two championship courses — The Quarry (built into an old iron-ore quarry) and The Legend — both regularly land in national top-100 public lists, yet green fees rarely exceed $130 even in peak season. The setting in the Iron Range, surrounded by 14,000 acres of forest and lakes, feels remote and atmospheric.

For groups, the appeal is straightforward: world-class architecture at half the cost of comparable destinations, with on-site lodging and a casual atmosphere that suits group golf perfectly. The drive from Minneapolis is about three and a half hours, which is the main barrier to entry.