36 Holes a Day Gulf Shores Guide: Course Pairings, Drive Minutes and Daylight

To play 36 holes a day, Gulf Shores golfers have three easy options: a 36-hole club (Craft Farms in Gulf Shores, Lakewood in Point Clear or Magnolia Grove in Mobile), or two courses 9 to 13 minutes apart. RTJ unlimited days start at $115 in winter, Craft Farms' Six-Pack allows two rounds a day, and daylight does the rest.

Below are the best pairings with drive minutes, what a double round costs, and how much daylight you get each month. Prices were seen in October 2026 and change, and drive times are free-flow estimates without traffic.

Quick facts

• Same clubhouse, zero driving: Craft Farms, Lakewood, Magnolia Grove.
• Closest two-club pairs: Lost Key and Perdido Bay (about 9 min); Kiva Dunes and Peninsula (about 13 min).
• Unlimited play: RTJ Trail, from $115 a day at Magnolia Grove in winter (two-day minimum).
• Replay rate: $45 at Lost Key.
• Daylight (calculated): about 10h 38m sunrise to last light in late December; 14h 33m in late June.

Best 36 holes a day Gulf Shores pairings

Two-club drive times are measured from the on-course rentals at Lost Key and Kiva Dunes to the other course, which is a close stand-in for course to course. Everything else is from central Gulf Shores (Hwy 59 and Beach Boulevard) or, for Rock Creek, from the Grand Hotel.

Same-clubhouse 36-hole days

Craft Farms: Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend

The simplest way to play 36 holes a day: Gulf Shores' own 36-hole club. Both Arnold Palmer 18s share one clubhouse 12 minutes from central Gulf Shores, and the 2026-27 Six-Pack ($420 plus tax, about $70 a round, valid to Feb 15, 2027) is good on either course with a limit of two rounds per card per day. That's about $140 for a 36-hole day. Orders close Nov 15, 2026.

Play Cotton Creek, the longer and more tree-lined course, in the morning and Cypress Bend after lunch. Cypress Bend is shorter but carries the higher slope (135 from the tips against 129) because water is in play on nearly every hole, so tired legs should move up a tee. Groups can stay at The Bunkhouse beside the first tee, six bedrooms with two queens each, with carts staged on tee-time days. More in our Craft Farms golf guide and on the Cotton Creek course page.

Magnolia Grove: Crossings and Falls

The RTJ Trail's unlimited-play day is the cheapest 36 on the coast if you're willing to drive. Seasonal "starting at" prices seen October 2026, plus tax, with cart and unlimited range balls:

RTJ packages need at least two days and 48 hours' notice. Play Crossings first: it's the hillier and slightly longer course, with blind shots and a 596-yard 16th. Falls, the par 71 rebuilt in 2010, has the higher slope (137 from the tips) and the waterfall par-5 10th. The Short Course, 18 full-length par 3s, is a walkable third loop if anyone has legs left.

Magnolia Grove is about 96 minutes from Gulf Shores, so it's a Mobile day. Avoid Tuesdays, when the range closes for part of the day, and note the 2027 greens aerification dates: Falls Mar 8 and Crossings Mar 15, each with about a week of recovery. See the Magnolia Grove Crossings course page and our Magnolia Grove course comparison.

Lakewood: Azalea and Dogwood

Both Grand Hotel courses run from one clubhouse 3 minutes from the hotel. Azalea's weekly maintenance day is Monday and Dogwood's is Tuesday, and RTJ ranges close for part of every Tuesday, so in spring, when the unlimited day is sold only Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, Thursday is the cleanest 36-hole day. Carts are mandatory at Lakewood. Dogwood is the tougher of the two (slope 141 against 131 from the back), so play it fresh. Our Lakewood Azalea vs Dogwood guide compares them hole by hole.

RTJ also sells a "Swing" special pairing one round at Magnolia Grove with one at Lakewood: $216 in winter, $295 in fall and spring, $265 in summer (no Saturdays). The Grand Hotel is 66 minutes from Magnolia Grove by road, so splitting those rounds over two days is the easier plan. Our RTJ Trail guide covers the trip.

Two courses, one short drive

Lost Key and Perdido Bay (about 9 minutes)

The best two-club 36 on the Florida side. Lost Key lists a $45 replay rate, and its online price for Oct 29, 2026 was $80 before about 1 PM. Perdido Bay charges $65 from 1 to 3 PM and $50 after that on its 2026 card (Mar 2 to Nov 2; winter rates weren't posted), tax included. Play Lost Key in the morning, then Perdido Bay at 1 PM. Perdido Bay doesn't take singles or twosomes before 10 AM, which won't matter for an afternoon start. Lost Key adds 7.5% Florida tax and a 3% card fee. See the Lost Key course page and our Perdido Key golf guide.

Kiva Dunes and Peninsula (about 13 minutes)

Both sit on Fort Morgan Road, so you only make the trip down the peninsula once. Play Peninsula in the morning (dynamic winter rates from $89, Nov 15 to Mar 31) and Kiva Dunes in the afternoon, when its twilight saves about $30 to $40: $111.21 instead of $148.60 in November 2026. Kiva's twilight starts at 1 PM from November to January. Note that Peninsula's superintendent picks which two of its three nines you play that day.

Close to the beach hotels

Gulf Shores Golf Club is 7 minutes from central Gulf Shores and Craft Farms 12. Gulf Shores Golf Club also sells a late nine ($69 in fall, $49 on Dec 5, 2026), which suits a 27-hole day. GlenLakes in Foley does the same: its 18 plus its separate 9-hole Lakes course ($25 to $43 online) make an easy 27.

How much daylight do you get for 36 holes a day? Gulf Shores by month

Two four-hour rounds plus lunch is about eight and three-quarter hours. Here's the time from sunrise to last light, by our calculation for central Gulf Shores, and what's left over:

Gulf Shores Golf Club targets four-hour rounds, and the slack column assumes you start near sunrise and don't wait. In winter, frost delays on the Eastern Shore (Fairhope January lows are about 37°F) can wipe out that cushion at Lakewood and Rock Creek, so plan 36 there from March on. Clocks change on Nov 1, 2026 and Mar 14, 2027, which moves sunrise and sunset an hour but doesn't change the total.

When is the best time for 36 holes a day? Gulf Shores seasons

April and May. Mid-April has about 13 hours 18 minutes of usable light and normal highs near 75°F; May has over 14 hours, highs near 82°F and the least rain of the year. June to August has the most light but highs of 87 to 89°F and afternoon storms on about 11 to 13 days a month, so start at dawn and finish the second round before the heat peaks, or stop at 27. October is the best fall month, with highs near 79°F and about 3 hours of slack.

For 36 holes a day, Gulf Shores winters work if you keep it close to home: Craft Farms on the Six-Pack, with afternoon twilight on the second round. For more on timing late rounds, see twilight golf in Gulf Shores.

Tips for a 36-hole day

• Book both rounds before you go. Gulf Shores Golf Club takes up to four per online booking; bigger groups call the shop. Perdido Bay lets groups of four or more book further ahead through the shop.
• Morning round at the harder course. Dogwood before Azalea, Crossings before Falls, Cotton Creek before Cypress Bend if you want the longer course fresh.
• Eat at the turn. Craft Farms has a Bar & Grill, Lost Key has Grille 625, and Magnolia Grove's clubhouse has a grill.
• Groups. For a bigger crew building 36-hole days into a long weekend, see our Gulf Shores buddies golf trip and bachelor party golf in Gulf Shores guides.

Plan it on the map

The Gulf Shores golf map shows every course with drive minutes from each hotel, so you can see which 36 holes a day Gulf Shores pairing is closest to where you're staying before you book both tee times.