Eastern Shore Golf: Fairhope, Point Clear and Daphne Courses Within an Hour of Gulf Shores

Fairhope, Point Clear and Daphne golf, on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, gives you six public-access courses within about an hour of Gulf Shores. The headline is the Grand Hotel's Lakewood Club in Point Clear, two Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail courses. Rock Creek in Fairhope is the best daily-fee value, and Quail Creek, TimberCreek and Lake Forest fill in the cheaper end.

This guide covers each course, the drive from the beach, and how to fit an Eastern Shore day into a Gulf Shores golf trip. Drive times are free-flow road estimates without traffic. Fees were seen in October 2026 and change.

Fairhope, Point Clear and Daphne golf at a glance

Point Clear: Lakewood Club at the Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel (a Marriott Autograph Collection resort) is the area's full golf resort: 36 holes out the door, a free on-property shuttle to the club, bag storage and club cleaning, and a range with four Trackman stations. Lakewood began as Perry Maxwell's 1947 18, was expanded to 36 holes by Bobby Vaughan for the RTJ Trail in 2004-05, and joined the Trail in 2005.

Azalea is the friendlier course, with live oaks, azalea-lined fairways and bay breezes. Its 14th is a par 5 to a peninsula green in a four-acre lake, the hole the club calls Lakewood's signature. Water also comes in on 4, 5, 6 and 9. Azalea reopened in November 2019 after an 18-month renovation.

Dogwood is the tougher one: 141 slope from the tips (front-nine slope 144), water on the par-3 3rd, 8th and 17th, and the course that hosted the 2021 USGA Senior Women's Amateur. It was fully renovated in 2018. The combination tees are rated, so higher handicaps can step up to Orange/White (6,344 yards) or White/Teal (5,674).

What it costs. RTJ's "2 Days or More" special was $215 per person per day with cart and unlimited range balls in fall 2026 (September 8 to November 15) and spring 2027 (March 8 to May 31), and $180 in winter. The "Swing" special pairs a Lakewood round with one at Magnolia Grove in Mobile: $295 in fall, $216 in winter. The Grand's own listing shows green fees with cart of $226 through November 30, 2026, $205 from December to February and $249 from March to November 2027, with twilight $113 to $129. Specials are plus tax and booked through RTJ Reservations at least 48 hours ahead.

Rules. Cart only, no walking. Collared shirts, no jeans or T-shirts, and no personal coolers. Public advance tee times are online only, up to 7 days out, since June 1, 2026. Azalea's maintenance day is Monday and Dogwood's is Tuesday, and RTJ ranges close for part of every Tuesday. Aerification in 2026 ran June 1-7 on Dogwood and August 3-9 on Azalea, each with about two weeks of recovery.

Non-guest access is the one open question. RTJ's booking and package pages sell Lakewood to the public, but a 2024 directory listing claimed no outside play, so call the shop (251-990-6312) before you plan around it. See our Lakewood Golf Club at the Grand Hotel guide.

Fairhope: Rock Creek and Quail Creek

Rock Creek is an Earl Stone design (1993) through rolling pines and hardwoods, with more elevation change than you'd expect on the coast. The 2nd is the hole you'll remember: a 434-yard par 4 that drops 70 feet from tee to fairway, then a forced carry over wetlands to a green held up by a 30-foot bulkhead wall. The back nine slopes 139 from the Golds.

Prices are dynamic. The October 24 and 27, 2026 tee sheets ran $75 to $89 in the morning and $41 to $47 after 2 pm, cart included, so the price roughly halves in the afternoon. GolfNow sometimes undercuts the course for the same day. Public online booking opens only 7 days out, while members get 21, so weekend mornings go early. Rock Creek also sells a stay-and-play with Jubilee Suites in Fairhope: a $160-per-person add-on to a suite covering 18 holes, cart, range balls and a $20 food-and-drink card.

Quail Creek is Fairhope's flat municipal course (1988), with three lakes and more than 40 bunkers. It's the closest Eastern Shore course to Gulf Shores (46 minutes) and the cheapest, but no current rate card is online, so call 251-990-0240. Tee times are by phone, 7 days ahead. Plan around Thursdays, when it opens at 11 am for maintenance, and around league play. The greens are partway through a TifEagle conversion: the front nine was done in 2025, and the back nine was scheduled for May 2026 (completion unconfirmed), played on temporary greens while it grows in. Expect municipal conditions.

Daphne: TimberCreek and Lake Forest

TimberCreek has 27 Earl Stone holes in three nines (Magnolia, Dogwood and Pines), hilly and wooded with wetland preserves. All three combinations slope 132 to 137 from the Golds. Pines/Magnolia is the hardest (7,222 yards, 74.5/137) and Dogwood/Pines the easiest (7,046, 73.5/132). The online sheet in October 2026 and March 2027 showed only Dogwood/Pines rounds, so call 251-621-9900 if you want the Magnolia nine.

Its 180-day online window is unusually long, so you can lock spring weekend mornings in the fall. October 2026 rates were $79 to $89 in the morning, $59 to $69 after 2 pm and $39 to $44 after 4 pm; March 2027 Tuesdays showed $69, $59 and $39. The $99 Creek Card (2027) takes 30 to 50% off and includes a free first round. Reviews on conditions have been mixed, though 2026 reviews say it's improving.

Lake Forest is a short, tree-lined neighborhood course run by its property owners' association, open to the public at a flat $55 with cart. It's one of the cheapest 18s near Daphne, but it's 63 minutes from Gulf Shores, so it only makes sense if you're already up the Eastern Shore. Tee times are listed Tuesday to Sunday.

Steelwood: private, members' guests only

Steelwood in Loxley is a Jerry Pate course (1997) around a 200-acre lake, 7,032 yards at 75.2/137 from the Golds. It's private, with no daily-fee or resort access published. Unless a member invites you, skip it.

Where to stay for Eastern Shore golf

The Grand Hotel is the obvious base: Lakewood is 3 minutes away, Quail Creek 18, Rock Creek 21, TimberCreek 32 and Magnolia Grove 66. Rooms showed about $591 to $596 a night for January 5-6, 2027, plus a 15% resort fee (seen October 2026; a snapshot, not a quote). The resort fee includes range balls and self-parking. Standard reservations can be cancelled up to 5 days before arrival.

From the beach, the closest hotel to the Eastern Shore is Hampton Inn Foley: 38 minutes to Lakewood, 33 to Quail Creek and 44 to Rock Creek. It has free breakfast and parking.

An Eastern Shore day from Gulf Shores

If you're based at the beach, one Eastern Shore day works well:

• Resort day: Lakewood in the morning (51 minutes), lunch at the Grand.
• Value day: Rock Creek after 2 pm, when it costs roughly half the morning rate.
• Two-course day: Quail Creek or Rock Creek with Lakewood. Rock Creek is about 20 minutes from the Grand, so they pair easily.

For a longer stay, our 5-day Gulf Shores and Eastern Shore golf itinerary moves to the Grand for the last two nights, and our RTJ Trail near Gulf Shores post covers Magnolia Grove.

Eastern Shore weather

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Fairhope run slightly warmer than the beach by day and colder at night. January averages about 62F highs and 37F lows, so frost delays are possible; book mid-morning in winter. March and April (highs about 72 to 78F) and October (about 80F) are prime. July and August average about 91F, with rain on 14 to 15 days a month. See best time to golf in Gulf Shores.

Plan it on the map

Open the 3D map of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach golf, click your hotel and compare its drives with the Eastern Shore times above. That tells you whether Fairhope, Point Clear and Daphne golf is a day trip or a second base.