Guides

How to plan a golf trip with friends

By Peter Ford, who built Outta. Updated October 6, 2026.

How many people should you invite?

Plan around foursomes. Courses sell tee times in groups of four, so 8, 12, or 16 golfers keeps every round full and every pairing simple. Golf Games Hub calls 8 to 16 players the sweet spot for a buddies trip, and eight the easiest group to feed, house, and pair.

Invite a few more people than you need. Some will drop out once the dates and the price are real, and it’s easier to trim a foursome than to fill one.

When should you start planning?

Lock the crew and the dates months ahead, especially for spring and fall, when popular destinations book up first. Myrtle Beach Golf lists spring and fall as its highest-demand seasons. Start in the winter for a spring trip, and in early summer for a fall one.

How do you pick dates everyone can make?

Don’t ask the group chat “when works for everyone?” Open questions get a few replies, a few thumbs-up, and silence from everyone else. Offer a short list instead: two to six specific weekends, Thursday to Sunday. Ask each person to mark every weekend that honestly works, then go with the one the most people can make.

Set a deadline for answers. If someone hasn’t answered by then, make the call without them. One slow reply shouldn’t hold up the whole trip.

How do you handle different budgets?

Ask for budgets privately. Most people won’t say “that’s too expensive for me” in front of the group, so they either quietly drop out or go and resent the bill. In a Credit Karma survey reported by Fortune in July 2025, 56% of Gen Z and millennial adults said they felt they had to attend weddings and bachelor or bachelorette parties even when it strained them financially, and 38% had taken on debt for them.

Have each person share the most they can spend, with nobody else seeing it. Then choose the trip that fits the people who are coming, rather than the trip the loudest person wants.

How much does a buddies golf trip cost?

Golf Games Hub puts a domestic buddies trip at $900 to $2,500 per person for three to four days, depending on the destination, courses, lodging, and food. Package trips can come in lower. Myrtle Beach Golf’s May 2026 guide prices its packages at about $400 to $700 per golfer on a budget, $700 to $1,000 mid-range, and over $1,000 for premium. Prices depend on the season, the courses, how many rounds you play, and how many people share each room.

Before anyone answers, write down what the budget covers, for example “lodging and three rounds; travel and food are on you,” so everyone is comparing the same number.

How much should the deposit be, and when?

Collect $150 to $300 per person the day people commit, and make it nonrefundable. That’s Golf Games Hub’s range, and it’s what turns “I’m in” into an actual commitment. Collect everything into one pot, and set the final payment for a few weeks before the trip so no one ends up floating the whole bill on a credit card. The deposit guide covers amounts, timing, and what to do when someone drops out.

What should a four-day golf trip itinerary look like?

One round a day is enough for most groups. A shape that works:

1. Thursday: travel, a relaxed nine holes if there’s light, and a group dinner.
2. Friday: a full 18 with a team format.
3. Saturday: 18 with the main money game, plus an optional extra nine.
4. Sunday: a final round, settle up, and head home.

Book your foursomes back to back, 8 to 10 minutes apart, so the group finishes close together. If you’ll have caddies, budget $40 to $100 per bag per round for the tip, and bring cash.

The planning checklist

1. Pick 8 to 16 people and a planning deadline.
2. Shortlist two to six weekends and two to five destinations, with a rough cost for each.
3. Collect dates, destination preferences, and budgets privately.
4. Choose the weekend and place that the most people can attend and afford.
5. Collect deposits the same day.
6. Book lodging, then tee times, then dinners.
7. Set the final payment date a few weeks out, and send the itinerary.

Steps three and four are the ones that usually stall in a group chat, and they’re what Outta was built for. You send one link, everyone answers privately, and Outta makes the call and shows why it won.