Fall Golf: The 8 Best Destinations to Play in October and November

Ask most golfers when they take their big trip and they will say spring. The courses are waking up, everyone is desperate to play after winter, and every resort in the country knows it and prices accordingly. Fall is the better answer, and it is not especially close.

Why fall is golf’s best-kept secret

• The weather. Daytime highs in the 60s and 70s across most of the country. You can walk thirty-six holes without the heat wearing you down by the back nine.
• Peak course conditions. Summer grasses have had a full season to mature, greens are firm and fast, and in the South the courses have not yet gone dormant. Many superintendents will tell you October is when their course plays best.
• Lower rates. Once school is back and the summer crowds are gone, many resorts move to shoulder-season pricing. The same room and tee time that cost a premium in June or April can be meaningfully cheaper.
• Fall foliage. In the mountains, a round in mid-October comes with a backdrop no landscape architect could design. This is when Elevated golf is at its absolute best.
• Fewer crowds. Families are home, the snowbirds have not arrived yet, and tee sheets have room. Pace of play improves and good tee times are easier to get.

Here are the eight destinations we would book for October and November, ranked for fall play. Three carry our Elevated ⛰️ designation — mountain and highland golf where altitude and scenery define the round. Cost estimates are per person for a group of four, three nights and four days, before airfare.

The 8 best fall golf destinations

1. Blue Ridge & North Georgia — Elevated ⛰️

Our home territory, and the easiest pick on this list. The North Georgia mountains sit around 1,700 to 2,000 feet, which means cool mornings, mild afternoons, and some of the most dramatic foliage in the Southeast from mid-October into early November. Mountain golf here is about elevation changes, tumbling creeks, and tee shots that drop into valleys framed by hardwoods at full color.

• Courses: Old Toccoa Farm, Brasstown Valley Resort, Butternut Creek
• Approximate cost: $1,200–$1,800 per person
• Best weeks: Mid-October through the first week of November, when the color peaks

Blue Ridge also happens to be home to the High Draw Swing Lab, so you can warm up indoors before the trip starts.

2. Pinehurst, North Carolina

October is peak season in the Sandhills for a reason. Days are warm, evenings are cool enough for a jacket on the porch, and the sandy soil drains so well that the courses play firm and fast no matter what the week before looked like. It is the classic American golf village at its very best.

• Courses: Pinehurst No. 2, No. 4, No. 10, and The Cradle
• Approximate cost: $2,800–$4,000 per person
• Best weeks: Late September through October; early November for better rates

Our complete Pinehurst planning guide covers which courses to play, where to stay, and a line-by-line cost breakdown.

3. Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale in summer is a dawn-patrol-only proposition. By November the desert has finally cooled into the 70s, the courses are coming out of overseeding in their greenest condition of the year, and the high-season rush of January through April has not started yet.

• Courses: TPC Scottsdale Stadium, Troon North, We-Ko-Pa, Grayhawk
• Approximate cost: $2,000–$3,200 per person
• Best weeks: Early to mid-November, once overseeding has wrapped up — check course calendars in October

For a day-by-day plan, see our four-day Scottsdale golf trip itinerary.

4. Kiawah Island, South Carolina

October on Kiawah brings daytime temperatures in the 70s, lower humidity, and noticeably lower rates than summer. The beaches empty out once school starts, which means the island feels like a private club. The Ocean Course is the headline, but the wind off the Atlantic is gentler in fall than in spring, which makes it a fairer — if never easy — test.

• Courses: The Ocean Course, Osprey Point, Turtle Point, Cougar Point
• Approximate cost: $2,500–$3,800 per person
• Best weeks: October, with late October the sweet spot once hurricane-season risk drops off

5. Asheville, North Carolina — Elevated ⛰️

Asheville sits right on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and in October the drive to the first tee is half the trip. Mountain courses here are at their most scenic when the ridgelines turn, and the city gives you a food and brewery scene that most golf destinations cannot touch.

• Courses: Omni Grove Park Inn (a Donald Ross design), Reems Creek, plus mountain courses within an hour’s drive
• Approximate cost: $1,400–$2,200 per person
• Best weeks: Mid- to late October, when color peaks at Asheville’s elevation

6. Bend, Oregon — Elevated ⛰️

Central Oregon’s high desert sits around 3,600 feet, which means dry air, big sky, and a ball that flies a little farther than you are used to. September and early October are the window: crisp mornings, sunny afternoons, and aspens and larches turning gold against the Cascades — before the first snow closes things down.

• Courses: Tetherow, Pronghorn, Crosswater at Sunriver, Brasada Ranch
• Approximate cost: $1,500–$2,400 per person
• Best weeks: Mid-September through the first week or two of October

If you want the full case for playing at altitude, read our piece on why Elevated courses are the best-kept secret in American golf.

7. Streamsong, Florida

Streamsong is the closest thing Florida has to Bandon Dunes: dramatic, sandy, walking golf built on reclaimed phosphate mining land in the middle of nowhere. November is the sweet spot — summer’s heat and afternoon storms are gone, and winter peak pricing has not kicked in yet.

• Courses: Red, Blue, and Black, plus The Chain par-3 course
• Approximate cost: $2,000–$3,000 per person
• Best weeks: Early November through mid-December

8. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

With more than 80 courses in the area, Myrtle Beach offers more choice per dollar than anywhere in the country. Fall is one of its two golf seasons, and the shoulder weeks at either edge — early October and November — are where the value is. Warm days, cooler evenings, and packages that bundle lodging and rounds at prices that make the rest of this list look expensive.

• Courses: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, True Blue, The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, TPC Myrtle Beach
• Approximate cost: $900–$1,600 per person
• Best weeks: Early October or the first half of November

Fall golf at a glance

Mountains or sunshine: choosing your fall trip

The eight destinations split cleanly into two kinds of fall trip, and the right one depends on what your group wants out of the week.

Choose an Elevated destination if the scenery is half the point. Blue Ridge, Asheville, and Bend are at their most beautiful in fall, and the value is hard to beat — all three come in well under the price of a coastal resort trip. The trade-off is timing. Foliage peaks for a couple of weeks, mountain weather can turn quickly, and Bend’s window closes early. Mountain golf also asks more of your game: uneven lies, elevation changes that scramble your yardages, and greens that break toward the valley whether they look like it or not. Most groups find that is exactly the fun.

Choose a warm-weather destination if you want a sure thing on conditions and a later calendar. Pinehurst and Kiawah are at their best in October, while Scottsdale and Streamsong come into their own in November, just as the mountain season is winding down. These are also the easier trips for mixed-ability groups: resort-style amenities, practice facilities, and courses with more room to miss.

Can’t decide? Pair them. An early-October mountain trip and a mid-November desert trip give you the best of both — and a reason to keep the group chat going into winter.

How to plan a fall trip

1. 1Book early for October. The best fall weeks are no secret to locals, and prime weekend tee times at Pinehurst and Kiawah go quickly. Four to eight weeks out is the minimum; earlier is better.
2. 2Travel midweek if you can. A Tuesday-to-Friday trip in October often costs noticeably less than the same trip over a weekend, and the courses are quieter.
3. 3Pack for two seasons. Mountain mornings can start in the 40s and finish in the 70s. Layers, a rain shell, and a warm hat earn their place in the bag.
4. 4Mind the daylight. Sunset comes earlier every week in fall, and after the clocks change in early November it can be dark before six. Book morning tee times and do not schedule a late replay you cannot finish.
5. 5Chase the color, but hedge it. Foliage timing shifts by a week or two year to year. Aim for the middle of the typical peak window rather than the edges.

Let Drew handle the details

The hardest part of a fall trip is timing — getting the group committed early enough to land the good October tee times. Drew, High Draw’s AI golf assistant, builds the plan around your dates, puts one per-person number on it, and sends your group a single link to confirm by a clear booking deadline. You pick the destination. He handles the rest.