The Best Golf Courses in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Ranked
The best golf courses in Gulf Shores ranked: Kiva Dunes, Craft Farms, Peninsula, Lost Key and more, with rankings, slopes, fees seen October 2026 and tips.
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The best golf course in Gulf Shores is Kiva Dunes, Jerry Pate's windy links-style course on the Fort Morgan peninsula and #13 in Golf Digest's Alabama Best in State list for 2025-26. Next come the two Arnold Palmer 18s at Craft Farms and Earl Stone's 27 holes at Peninsula, all ranked in GolfPass's 2024 Alabama top 10. Lost Key, just over the Florida line, has the best recent conditions reports.
Here's our full order, why each course is on it, and who should play it.
The best golf courses in Gulf Shores at a glance
Prices were seen in October 2026 on course sites and live tee sheets, include a cart, and change by season. Drive times are from central Gulf Shores (Hwy 59 and Beach Blvd) on our map's routing.
| # | Course | Credential | Tips slope | Price seen | Drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiva Dunes | Golf Digest AL #13 (2025-26) | 142 | $107–$175 | 24 min |
| 2 | Craft Farms Cypress Bend | GolfPass AL #4 (2024) | 135 | $70–$85 a round on Six-Pack | 12 min |
| 3 | Peninsula | GolfPass AL #7 (2024) | 131–135 | From $89 (winter) | 14 min |
| 4 | Craft Farms Cotton Creek | GolfPass AL #5 (2024) | 129 | $70–$85 a round on Six-Pack | 12 min |
| 5 | Lost Key (FL) | Top conditions reviews, fall 2026 | 143 | $65–$95 | 33 min |
| 6 | Lakewood Dogwood | 2021 USGA Senior Women's Am | 141 | $205–$249 | 51 min |
| 7 | Magnolia Grove Falls | RTJ Trail; rebuilt 2010 | 137 | RTJ specials from $85/day | 96 min |
| 8 | Gulf Shores Golf Club | Closest course to the beach | 127 | $79–$139 | 7 min |
| 9 | GlenLakes | GolfPass AL #16 (2020) | 125 | $37–$86 + tax | 22 min |
| 10 | Rock Creek | Best Eastern Shore value | 136 | $41–$89 | 57 min |
How we ordered them: Golf Digest's state ranking first (Kiva Dunes is the only beach-side course we found on it), then GolfPass's golfer-voted Alabama lists, then conditions, layout and value for a visitor based near the beach.
1. Kiva Dunes
Kiva Dunes is the benchmark among the best golf courses in Gulf Shores. Jerry Pate designed it in 1995 on a narrow peninsula between the Gulf and Bon Secour Bay, and a 2015 renovation regrassed the greens to TifEagle and rebuilt the bunkers. GolfPass Golfers' Choice had it #1 in Alabama in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and #9 in 2024. It has hosted PGA Tour Q-school stages.
Golf Digest notes that the holes run east-west, so the Gulf breeze blows across nearly every fairway. Low greens let you run the ball in, but hidden water and bunkers catch first-timers. Download the free yardage book from the club site before you go.
It is also the priciest round on the beach side. Rates seen in October 2026 ran from $174.77 before 2 PM in late October to $130.84 in December and January, and twilight saves about $30 to $40. Pair it with Peninsula, on the same road. Best for: the one round you'd fly in for. More in the Kiva Dunes course guide and our Kiva Dunes golf review.
2. Craft Farms Cypress Bend
Cypress Bend is the shorter of Craft Farms' two Palmer and Ed Seay designs: wide fairways, sprawling bunkers and lakes on nearly every hole. All that water is why the USGA rates it the harder of the two (135 slope from the Golds, against 129 at Cotton Creek). GolfPass ranked it #4 in Alabama in 2024, and its reviewers rate it higher than Cotton Creek (a 4.8 average). It was also GolfPass's #22 friendliest course in the U.S. in 2024.
The 4th is the hole to think about: a 401-yard par 4 where a creek crosses diagonally, so driver may be too much. Best for: mixed-handicap groups who play a tee forward. The Cypress Bend course guide has the hole notes.
3. Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club
Peninsula has three Earl Stone nines (Marsh, Lakes and Cypress) beside the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, and the superintendent picks which two you play. Lakes has water on every hole, Cypress is the longest nine with forced carries, and Marsh has the most decisions off the tee. The signature hole is Lakes #7, a par 5 reachable in two with Mobile Bay behind it.
New owners since 2023 have added new TifEagle greens and a GPS cart fleet. The club says it keeps fairways, tees and greens green all winter and drains fast enough to avoid cart-path-only days. Best for: a November to March trip. Winter rates start at $89 and rise as the date fills. See the Peninsula course guide.
4. Craft Farms Cotton Creek
Cotton Creek (1987) is the longer, tree-lined, more traditional Craft Farms 18, at 7,127 yards and a 129 slope from the Gold tees. The 6th, the No. 1 handicap, is a 395-yard dogleg over water twice. Two par 5s, the 7th and 17th, are reachable in two. Being about five miles inland, it gets less wind than Kiva Dunes.
Best for: stronger players who want a Palmer course without the coastal wind. One winter Six-Pack card ($420 for six rounds to Feb 15, 2027, plus tax) covers both Craft Farms courses.
5. Lost Key Golf Club
Lost Key is on Perdido Key, Florida, about 21 minutes from Orange Beach. Arnold Palmer Design Group redesigned it in 2006 and grassed it with Sea Dwarf paspalum from tee to green, which is unusual for this area. GolfPass reviewers gave conditions 5/5 in each of the last ten reviews through October 2026.
It is also the most penal course on the beach side: 143 slope from the Black tees, water on both sides of several holes, and heavy sand. Play a tee forward. Online prices ($80 morning, $65 after 1 PM in late October 2026) were below the $95 rack. Best for: golfers staying in Orange Beach. See our Lost Key golf review.
6. Lakewood Club: Dogwood (and Azalea)
The Grand Hotel's 36 holes at Point Clear go back to a 1947 Perry Maxwell layout and are now on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Dogwood was fully renovated in 2018 and hosted the 2021 USGA Senior Women's Amateur. Three water par 3s (the 3rd, 8th and 17th) and a 141 slope make it the harder course. Lakewood Azalea (slope 131) is friendlier, with a par-5 14th to a peninsula green.
The hotel's posted green fee with cart is $226 through Nov 30, 2026 and $205 from Dec 1 to Feb 28, 2027. Walking isn't allowed. Best for: a Grand Hotel stay or an RTJ package.
7. Magnolia Grove: Falls and Crossings
The RTJ Trail's Mobile site is about 96 minutes from Gulf Shores, so it's a day trip. Falls was rebuilt in 2010 and is a par 71 at 74.5/137, with water cascading across the fairway in front of the 10th green. Magnolia Grove Crossings, hillier and longer, hosted LPGA and Korn Ferry events. Walking is allowed. Best for: a 36-hole day, or RTJ's Winter Swing ($216 for one round here and one at Lakewood, Nov 16, 2026 to Mar 7, 2027).
8. Gulf Shores Golf Club
Gulf Shores Golf Club is the most convenient of the Gulf Shores golf courses: 1.7 miles from the beach and about 7 minutes from Hwy 59 and Beach Blvd. The Morrish renovation of 2005-06 gave it water on many holes and a strong finish: a 470-yard 17th with water down the right and a par-5 18th over water. Best for: a twilight round after the beach. Twilight was $99 in October and November 2026 and $79 from 12:30 PM in early December.
9. GlenLakes
A Devlin and von Hagge links-style 18 in Foley with mounding, heavy bunkering and a 125 slope from 6,912 yards. It costs about half what the beach courses do, and the dynamic online rate on Oct 27, 2026 dipped to $37 after 3 PM. Best for: value hunters and snowbirds (it won a Snowbird Choice Award in 2020). See our cheap golf in Gulf Shores guide.
10. Rock Creek
An hour from Gulf Shores in Fairhope, Rock Creek is a hilly Earl Stone course with more elevation change than you'd expect on the coast. The 434-yard 2nd drops 70 feet from tee to fairway, then carries wetlands to a bulkheaded green. October 2026 prices roughly halved after 2 PM ($41 to $47). Best for: an Eastern Shore day.
Just missing the best golf courses in Gulf Shores list
Perdido Bay is a long former PGA Tour site with fair prices ($50 to $85), but recent reviewers call the greens slow. Soldiers Creek is cheap and wide, but August to October 2026 reviews were poor on conditions.
The best Gulf Shores golf course for you
- Best overall: Kiva Dunes.
- Best in winter: Peninsula.
- Best conditions: Lost Key.
- Best for higher handicaps: Cotton Creek from the Silver tees (5,438 yards, slope 109).
- Best value: GlenLakes after 1:40 PM.
- Best resort golf: Lakewood at the Grand Hotel.
Timing changes the answer too. Kiva's wind is strongest in spring (March is the windiest month at Gulf Shores' airport), and summer heat favors early tee times everywhere. Our best time to golf in Gulf Shores guide covers the year, and the full list of Gulf Shores golf courses includes every course we left out.
Plan it on the map
The Gulf Shores golf map shows all ten courses here with tees, slopes, fees and drive times from each hotel, so you can see which of the best golf courses in Gulf Shores fit around where you're staying.
Courses in this guide
Questions golfers ask
What is the best golf course in Gulf Shores, Alabama?
Kiva Dunes. It is #13 in Golf Digest's 2025-26 Alabama Best in State list, the only beach-side course we found on that list, and it was GolfPass's top-rated course in Alabama in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Expect about $107 to $175 depending on season and time of day (seen October 2026).
Is Kiva Dunes open to the public?
Yes. Kiva Dunes is a resort course that is fully open to the public, and public players can book online up to 120 days ahead through Chronogolf. Condo renters who book directly with the resort get a discounted golf rate and preferred tee times outside peak golf season.
Which Gulf Shores golf course is best for higher handicaps?
Craft Farms Cotton Creek has the lower slopes of the two Craft Farms 18s, 129 from the tips and 109 from the 5,438-yard Silver tees. Peninsula's Apple tees play about 5,290 to 5,316 yards at slopes of 107 to 109. Both have a lot of water, so bring spare balls.
Is Lost Key worth the drive from Gulf Shores?
From Orange Beach it is only about 21 minutes, and its paspalum turf drew 5/5 conditions scores in each of its last ten GolfPass reviews before October 2026. From central Gulf Shores it is about 33 minutes. It is tight and penal (143 slope from the Black tees), so most players should move up a tee.
Are the Grand Hotel courses better than the Gulf Shores courses?
Lakewood's Dogwood course is the toughest public-access test near the coast (slope 141) and hosted the 2021 USGA Senior Women's Amateur. It also costs more ($205 to $249 with cart on the hotel's 2026-27 table) and is about 51 minutes from Gulf Shores, so it suits a Grand Hotel stay or an RTJ package.
Keep reading
CoursesGulf Shores Golf Courses: The Complete List, With Fees, Slopes and Drive TimesEvery Gulf Shores golf course and nearby Orange Beach, Perdido Key and Eastern Shore option, with green fees seen October 2026, slopes, drive times and tips.9 min read
CoursesThe Hardest Golf Courses Gulf Shores Golfers Can Play, Ranked by USGA SlopeThe hardest golf courses Gulf Shores golfers can play, ranked by USGA slope: Lost Key 143, Kiva Dunes 142, Dogwood 141, plus the toughest nines and holes.8 min read
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