Craft Farms Golf in Gulf Shores: Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend, Alabama's Two Palmer Courses

Craft Farms golf is two Arnold Palmer courses on one property in Gulf Shores, about 12 minutes inland from the beach. Cotton Creek is the longer, tree-lined test (7,127 yards, 129 slope), and Cypress Bend is the shorter links-style course with wide fairways and water on nearly every hole, which the USGA rates the harder of the two (6,848 yards, 135 slope). The best deal is the winter Six-Pack, which works out to $70 a round on either course (seen October 2026).

They are the only Arnold Palmer designs in Alabama, they share a clubhouse, and one Six-Pack card covers both. This guide compares Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend, then covers fees, booking, practice and where to stay.

Craft Farms at a glance

Address: 3840 Cotton Creek Blvd, Gulf Shores. Pro shop: 251-968-3002. Find them on the map at Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend, with the full details in the Cotton Creek course guide and Cypress Bend course guide.

Cotton Creek: the longer, traditional Palmer

Cotton Creek is the more traditional of the two: rolling fairways lined with trees, lakes and marsh, and big, undulating greens. It also has risk-reward par 5s. Water comes into play on many holes, and the par 4s are long.

The holes the club singles out:

• 6th, par 4, 395 yards (No. 1 handicap). A dogleg right with a tee shot over water, then an approach over more water to a bunkered green. The club's advice is to cut off as much as you dare.
• 7th, par 5, 517 yards. Reachable in two, with water right and out of bounds left.
• 17th, par 5, 535 yards (No. 2 handicap). Also reachable in two.

GolfPass also lists Cotton Creek at #22 in its Top 25 Off-Course Amenities in the U.S. (2023), and the club cites an older Golf Digest Places to Play rating of 4 stars.

Cypress Bend: shorter, wider, wetter

Cypress Bend opened six years later and plays differently: wide landing areas, sprawling bunkers, and lakes edged with cord grass that come into play on nearly every hole. Despite the shorter length, the USGA slope is higher from every tee (135 against 129 from the Golds), so pick a tee one step forward. GolfPass reviewers rate it the higher of the two (a 4.8 average).

• 2nd, par 4, 453 yards (No. 1 men's handicap). A large bunker and water left of the green.
• 4th, par 4, 401 yards. The club calls it the trickiest hole on the course. A creek crosses the fairway diagonally, so driver may be too much, and the approach is over water to a T-shaped green.

Cypress Bend picked up GolfPass's #10 Off-Course Amenities and #22 Friendliest Courses in the U.S. rankings in 2024. The club cites a Golf Digest 4.5-star rating from its 2008-09 Best Places to Play. Bring extra balls if you are spraying it.

Tees and ratings

Ratings are current USGA figures (checked October 2026). The club's course pages, GolfPass and Chronogolf still show older, lower numbers, so expect differences between sources.

Five tees on each, with a Silver set under 5,500 yards, make both courses easy to fit to a mixed group or a couple. Higher handicappers should know that Cypress Bend, despite its wider fairways, has the higher slope from every tee, so play a tee forward there.

Craft Farms golf fees and the winter Six-Pack

Craft Farms does not publish its daily public rates, and its EZLinks tee sheet could not be read when we checked, so the numbers below are the ones the club does publish (seen October 22, 2026). Rates change; check the tee sheet for your date.

Six-Pack prices are plus tax, a 3% card fee applies, and orders are due by November 15, 2026, with pickup from that date. The card is good on either course, with a limit of two rounds per card per day, and holders can book 14 days ahead. The club says the cards sold out last year. For snowbirds and anyone playing six or more rounds, this is one of the best per-round values in Gulf Shores golf. More options are in our Gulf Shores winter golf guide and cheap golf in Gulf Shores.

The cart is included in green fees. Range balls are $10 a bag (35 to 40 balls).

Booking Craft Farms golf: Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend tee times

Book online direct through the club's EZLinks site or call 251-968-3002. The club does not publish a public booking window. Six-Pack holders get 14 days, and local-rate players must book within 48 hours of the tee time.

For groups, Craft Farms is the sister club of Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club, and the two can be booked together as a 63-hole package through Kevin Whitney (251-968-8009). Both are owned by Thistle Hill Properties. See our Gulf Shores golf packages guide for how that compares with booking each course yourself.

Practice, clubhouse and dress code

The shared practice facility has a driving range with target greens, chipping greens, practice bunkers and a large putting green. The plantation-style clubhouse has a casual Bar & Grill, the Arnold Palmer Dining Room and a brand-new golf shop with new Titleist rental sets. Kristi Jenkins (PGA/LPGA) runs the Jenkins Golf Academy. Groups get bag drop and two beverage carts.

Dress code: collared shirts and soft spikes. Shorts are fine.

The Bunkhouse: stay at the first tee

Craft Farms runs The Bunkhouse on site, built for golf groups: six bedrooms, each with two queen beds, next to the first tee. The club stores your bags and stages carts on your tee-time days. For a group of eight to twelve playing several rounds here, it removes the daily drive. Prices are not in our data, so call the club.

Where to stay near Craft Farms

Craft Farms sits about 5 miles inland off Hwy 59, so it gets less wind than Kiva Dunes on the Gulf. Drive times are road estimates from our routing.

The Courtyard and Hampton Inn packages are sold by Coastal Alabama Golf as three nights and three rounds, double occupancy, price on request. Note that the Hampton Inn Gulf Shores has a renovation running September 7, 2026 to January 15, 2027. For every option, see Gulf Shores golf hotels.

Building a trip around Craft Farms golf

From the Courtyard beside Craft Farms, Gulf Shores Golf Club is about 6 minutes and Peninsula about 15, so it is the natural middle of a Gulf Shores golf trip. A simple plan: Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend on back-to-back days from the same clubhouse, Peninsula and Kiva Dunes together down Fort Morgan Road, and Gulf Shores Golf Club for a twilight round near the beach. Our Gulf Shores golf courses guide lays out all of them.

Plan it on the map

The Gulf Shores golf map shows both Craft Farms courses, the hotels around them with drive times, and every other course from Fort Morgan to Perdido Key. Click Cotton Creek or Cypress Bend to compare the tees before you book.