A 5-Day Gulf Shores and Eastern Shore Golf Itinerary: Beach Courses, Then the Grand Hotel
A 5-day Gulf Shores and Eastern Shore golf itinerary: Kiva Dunes and Craft Farms, then Lakewood at the Grand Hotel, with drive times and fees seen Oct 2026.
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A good Gulf Shores and Eastern Shore golf itinerary splits five days between two bases: three days on the beach courses near Hwy 59 (Gulf Shores Golf Club, Kiva Dunes, Craft Farms), then two days at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear for its two Lakewood courses on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Finish at Rock Creek in Fairhope, or at Magnolia Grove in Mobile if you fly home from there.
Drive times below are free-flow road estimates without traffic, from Courtyard Gulf Shores Craft Farms for days 1 to 3 and from the Grand Hotel for days 4 and 5. Fees were seen in October 2026 and change.
The 5-day Gulf Shores and Eastern Shore golf itinerary at a glance
| Day | Base | Round | Drive (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Courtyard Craft Farms | Gulf Shores Golf Club, twilight | 6 min |
| 2 | Courtyard Craft Farms | Kiva Dunes; optional Peninsula | 24 min |
| 3 | Courtyard Craft Farms | Cypress Bend and Cotton Creek, or Lost Key | 5 / 37 min |
| 4 | Grand Hotel | Lakewood Azalea | 44 min to move, then 3 |
| 5 | Grand Hotel | Lakewood Dogwood, Rock Creek or Magnolia Grove | 3 / 21 / 66 min |
Why two bases
The Eastern Shore is a long way from the beach. Lakewood is about 51 minutes from central Gulf Shores and Rock Creek about 57. Driving there and back from a beach hotel on two days means about three and a half hours in the car. Moving once saves most of that.
The Courtyard is a good first base because it is on the edge of Craft Farms and 44 minutes from Lakewood, closer than the beachfront hotels (Embassy Suites is 50). It has free parking, guest laundry for golf clothes and a lobby bar. Breakfast costs extra. Coastal Alabama Golf sells a three-night, three-round Courtyard Stay & Play (Cypress Bend, Peninsula and Kiva Dunes), price on request.
Day 1: Land at Pensacola, twilight at Gulf Shores Golf Club
Pensacola (PNS) has the most airlines in the area and is about 69 minutes from Gulf Shores. Check in, then play twilight at Gulf Shores Golf Club, 6 minutes away. The 1964 course was renovated by Jay and Carter Morrish in 2005-06 and plays 6,856 yards from the Golds (72.9/127). Twilight was $99 from about 1:30 to 2 pm in October and November 2026, and $79 from 12:30 pm in early December, with cart.
Day 2: Kiva Dunes on Fort Morgan Road
Kiva Dunes is Golf Digest's #13 in Alabama (2025-26), a Jerry Pate links-style course on the peninsula between the Gulf and Bon Secour Bay. Current USGA ratings are 74.9/142 from the 7,122-yard Golds and 72.0/137 from the 6,505-yard Blues, with wind across almost every hole. Late-October 2026 rates were $174.77 before 2 pm and $144.86 after; December and January drop to $130.84 and $107.48. Public times open 120 days out. See the Kiva Dunes course guide.
If you want 36, Peninsula is on the same road, and its winter rates (from November 15, 2026) start from $89.
Day 3: Craft Farms, or Lost Key
Craft Farms has Alabama's only Arnold Palmer designs, two 18s at one clubhouse 5 minutes from the Courtyard. Cypress Bend is shorter with wide fairways, but water on nearly every hole gives it the higher USGA slope (6,848 yards, 72.9/135); Cotton Creek is longer and tree-lined (7,127 yards, 74.2/129). The daily rate isn't published, so check the tee sheet. Nine-hole rounds are sold only after 2 pm.
If you'd rather see the Florida side, Lost Key on Perdido Key is 37 minutes away: paspalum tee to green, 143 slope from the Black tees, $80 online before 1 pm in late October 2026. See our Perdido Key golf guide.
Day 4: Move to Point Clear and play Azalea
Check out and drive 44 minutes to the Grand Hotel on Mobile Bay. Its Lakewood Club began as Perry Maxwell's 1947 18 and was expanded to 36 holes for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in 2004-05.
Azalea is the friendlier one: 7,156 yards from the Purple tees at 74.4/131, or 6,085 from the Whites at 69.4/123. The 14th is a par 5 to a peninsula green in a four-acre lake; lay up to a full-swing yardage. Water also comes in on 4, 5, 6 and 9.
Plan around the maintenance days. Azalea's is Monday and Dogwood's is Tuesday, and RTJ ranges close for part of every Tuesday. Lakewood is cart-only, with no walking.
The Grand puts range access and balls in its resort fee (the range has four Trackman stations) and runs a free on-property shuttle to the golf club, with bag storage and club cleaning. Rooms showed about $591 to $596 a night for January 5-6, 2027, plus a 15% resort fee. That's a snapshot, not a quote.
Day 5: Dogwood, Rock Creek or Magnolia Grove
Option A: Dogwood (3 minutes)
The harder Lakewood 18: 141 slope from the 7,104-yard Purple tees, and the course that hosted the 2021 USGA Senior Women's Amateur. Three par 3s bring water or marsh into play: the 3rd carries marsh and sand, the 8th has water, and the 17th has water down the right and in front of a bulkheaded green. Higher handicaps should step up; the combination tees are rated (Orange/White 6,344 yards, White/Teal 5,674). Avoid the first half of June, when it is aerified.
Option B: Rock Creek, Fairhope (21 minutes)
An Earl Stone course with unusual elevation for coastal Alabama. The 2nd drops 70 feet from tee to fairway, then carries wetlands to a green with a 30-foot bulkhead wall. October 2026 mornings were $75 to $89, dropping to about $41 to $47 after 2 pm. Public times open only 7 days out.
Option C: Magnolia Grove, Mobile (66 minutes)
If you're flying home from Mobile, end at Magnolia Grove, the RTJ site in west Mobile. Crossings is the hillier course (7,212 yards, 74.8/135); Falls is the par 71 with the waterfall par-5 10th (74.5/137). Walking is allowed there, unlike Lakewood. Our RTJ Trail near Gulf Shores post covers both sites.
What the Eastern Shore days cost
Seen October 2026; rates change and RTJ prices are plus tax.
| Option | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|
| RTJ "2 Days or More", Lakewood | Per person per day, cart and range balls | $215 fall 2026 and spring 2027; $180 winter |
| RTJ "Swing" | One round Lakewood + one at Magnolia Grove | $295 fall; $216 winter; $265 summer (no Saturdays) |
| Grand Hotel green fee | 18 holes with cart | $226 to Nov 30, 2026; $205 Dec-Feb; $249 Mar-Nov 2027 |
| Grand Golf Escape | Room plus two rounds | Marriott offer, July 28-Dec 31, 2026 |
| Rock Creek | 18 with cart | $75-$89 morning; $41-$47 after 2 pm |
RTJ specials need at least 48 hours' notice through RTJ Reservations, and public advance tee times are online only, up to 7 days out. Packages can be booked up to 12 months ahead. The single-round public RTJ rate is only shown after login, so we haven't listed it.
Two cheaper Eastern Shore extras if you have a spare afternoon: Quail Creek, Fairhope's flat city course 18 minutes from the Grand (call for rates; it opens at 11 am on Thursdays), and TimberCreek in Daphne, 32 minutes away, with 27 holes and $39 to $89 tee times in October 2026. See Eastern Shore golf in Fairhope.
Weather at the beach and on the Eastern Shore
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. Coast figures are from Pensacola NAS, the nearest coastal station with full normals; Eastern Shore figures are from Fairhope.
| Month | Coast high / low (F) | Eastern Shore high / low (F) | Coast rain days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61 / 42 | 62 / 37 | 9 |
| Mar | 69 / 50 | 72 / 46 | 8 |
| Apr | 75 / 57 | 78 / 52 | 7 |
| Jul | 89 / 74 | 91 / 70 | 13 |
| Oct | 79 / 60 | 81 / 54 | 7 |
| Nov | 70 / 49 | 71 / 44 | 7 |
The Eastern Shore runs slightly warmer by day and noticeably colder at night. In December and January, book Lakewood for mid-morning to dodge frost delays. Spring (February to May) is peak golf season at the beach, and October is the best fall month. See best time to golf in Gulf Shores.
Flying home
Pensacola is the easiest way in. For the trip home, Mobile Regional (MOB) is in west Mobile, on the same side of the city as Magnolia Grove, but it has only regional jets to Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Atlanta, Houston and Washington-Dulles. Airlines are due to move to Mobile's new downtown terminal (BFM) when it opens, now expected in early 2027. More in flying to Gulf Shores for golf.
Plan it on the map
Every course and hotel in this plan is linked to the 3D map of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach golf. Click a hotel to compare bases, then build your own Gulf Shores and Eastern Shore golf itinerary around the days you have.
Courses in this guide
Questions golfers ask
How do you combine Gulf Shores and the Eastern Shore on one golf trip?
Use two bases. Spend three nights near Hwy 59 in Gulf Shores for Kiva Dunes, Craft Farms and Gulf Shores Golf Club, then move to the Grand Hotel in Point Clear for two nights and play its two Lakewood courses. The move is about 44 minutes from the Courtyard at Craft Farms to Lakewood, without traffic.
Can you play Lakewood at the Grand Hotel if you aren't staying there?
The RTJ Golf Trail sells online tee times to the public up to 7 days ahead and sells packages through RTJ Reservations. One 2024 directory claimed no outside play, so confirm with the golf shop (251-990-6312) before planning around it. Staying at the Grand removes the question.
What does golf at the Grand Hotel's Lakewood Club cost?
The RTJ Trail's two-day special was $215 per person per day with cart and range balls in fall 2026 and spring 2027, and $180 in winter. The hotel's own green fees with cart were listed at $226 through November 30, 2026, $205 from December to February and $249 from March 2027. Prices were seen in October 2026 and change.
Is the Eastern Shore colder than Gulf Shores in winter?
At night, yes. NOAA normals for Fairhope show January lows of about 37F against about 42F at the coastal reference station, so frost delays are possible on the Eastern Shore. Daytime highs are similar, about 62F in January.
Which airports work for a Gulf Shores and Eastern Shore golf trip?
Fly into Pensacola (PNS), about 69 minutes from Gulf Shores, and consider flying home from Mobile Regional (MOB), which is in west Mobile near Magnolia Grove. Mobile's new downtown terminal (BFM) is expected to take over airline service in early 2027, so check which airport your ticket uses.
Keep reading
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