The Golf Trip Drive Map
No flights, no bag fees, no delays: just load the car. We measured real road drive times from 40 U.S. metros to 46 popular group golf trip destinations, then combined them with our Nonstop Map to see which cities have the most golf trips within easy reach.
Best drive-to golf cityCharlotte: 7 trips within 5 hrs
Most golf trips in easy reachChicago: 34 (drive or nonstop)
Cities with none within 5 hrs0 of 40
Headline findings
- Charlotte is the drive-to golf capital. Pinehurst (2h 30m), Myrtle Beach (4h 00m), Charleston (4h 06m), Reynolds Lake Oconee (4h 30m), Kiawah Island (4h 54m), The Greenbrier (5h 00m), Hilton Head (5h 00m) are all within about 5 hours by road.
- Upstate New York drives well. Buffalo (4), Syracuse (4), Albany (4) each reach 4 trips within 5 hours, even though they rank near the bottom for nonstop flights.
- Every city has a drive-to option. All 40 cities now have at least one of our 46 trips within a 5-hour drive, including Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Portland.
- Golf Trip Access Index: counting every trip you can drive to in 5 hours or fly to nonstop, Chicago leads with 34, followed by Denver (33) and New York City (31).
Drive-to golf trips by city (within 5 hours)
| # | City | Trips within 5 hrs | Closest drives |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte | 7 | Pinehurst 2h 30m · Myrtle Beach 4h 00m · Charleston 4h 06m · Reynolds Lake Oconee 4h 30m |
| 2 | Albany | 4 | Lake George & Saratoga 1h 06m · Turning Stone 2h 18m · Bethpage State Park 3h 54m · Cape Cod 4h 54m |
| 2 | Buffalo | 4 | Niagara 0h 42m · Peek'n Peak 1h 54m · Turning Stone 3h 24m · Muskoka 4h 42m |
| 2 | Orlando | 4 | Orlando 0h 24m · Streamsong 1h 48m · Ponte Vedra & TPC Sawgrass 3h 06m · Sea Island 4h 36m |
| 2 | Raleigh-Durham | 4 | Pinehurst 1h 30m · Williamsburg 3h 48m · Myrtle Beach 4h 06m · The Greenbrier 4h 54m |
| 2 | Syracuse | 4 | Turning Stone 0h 48m · Niagara 3h 24m · Lake George & Saratoga 3h 36m · Peek'n Peak 4h 36m |
| 7 | Austin | 3 | Texas Hill Country 0h 24m · Houston 2h 48m · Dallas-Fort Worth & PGA Frisco 4h 06m |
| 7 | Baltimore | 3 | Nemacolin 3h 42m · Williamsburg 3h 48m · Bethpage State Park 4h 54m |
| 7 | Boston | 3 | Cape Cod 1h 42m · Lake George & Saratoga 4h 36m · Bethpage State Park 5h 00m |
| 7 | Chicago | 3 | Lake Geneva 1h 42m · Kohler & Whistling Straits 3h 06m · Sand Valley 4h 48m |
| 7 | Cleveland | 3 | Peek'n Peak 2h 36m · Nemacolin 3h 54m · Niagara 4h 36m |
| 7 | Dallas | 3 | Dallas-Fort Worth & PGA Frisco 0h 30m · Texas Hill Country 4h 00m · Houston 4h 48m |
| 7 | Houston | 3 | Houston 0h 42m · Texas Hill Country 3h 36m · Dallas-Fort Worth & PGA Frisco 4h 42m |
| 7 | Milwaukee | 3 | Lake Geneva 1h 00m · Kohler & Whistling Straits 1h 18m · Sand Valley 3h 30m |
| 7 | Phoenix | 3 | Scottsdale 0h 24m · Tucson 2h 06m · Palm Springs 4h 54m |
| 7 | Pittsburgh | 3 | Nemacolin 1h 54m · Peek'n Peak 2h 54m · Niagara 4h 54m |
| 7 | Richmond | 3 | Williamsburg 0h 54m · The Greenbrier 3h 54m · Pinehurst 4h 30m |
| 7 | Rochester | 3 | Niagara 1h 54m · Turning Stone 2h 24m · Peek'n Peak 3h 06m |
| 7 | Tampa | 3 | Streamsong 1h 36m · Orlando 1h 42m · Ponte Vedra & TPC Sawgrass 4h 30m |
| 7 | Washington, D.C. | 3 | Williamsburg 3h 00m · Nemacolin 3h 54m · The Greenbrier 4h 42m |
| 21 | Atlanta | 2 | Reynolds Lake Oconee 1h 42m · Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail 3h 12m |
| 21 | Columbus | 2 | Nemacolin 4h 12m · Peek'n Peak 4h 48m |
| 21 | Denver | 2 | The Broadmoor 1h 42m · Vail Valley & Summit County 2h 36m |
| 21 | Las Vegas | 2 | Las Vegas 0h 48m · St. George 2h 54m |
| 21 | Los Angeles | 2 | Palm Springs 2h 24m · San Diego 2h 30m |
| 21 | Miami | 2 | Streamsong 4h 06m · Orlando 4h 30m |
| 21 | New York City | 2 | Bethpage State Park 0h 36m · Lake George & Saratoga 4h 30m |
| 21 | San Diego | 2 | San Diego 0h 06m · Palm Springs 2h 30m |
| 21 | St. Louis | 2 | French Lick 4h 42m · Big Cedar Lodge 4h 54m |
| 30 | Cincinnati | 1 | French Lick 3h 00m |
| 30 | Detroit | 1 | Northern Michigan 4h 12m |
| 30 | Indianapolis | 1 | French Lick 2h 24m |
| 30 | Kansas City | 1 | Big Cedar Lodge 4h 36m |
| 30 | Minneapolis | 1 | Sand Valley 4h 00m |
| 30 | Nashville | 1 | French Lick 4h 12m |
| 30 | Philadelphia | 1 | Bethpage State Park 3h 06m |
| 30 | Portland | 1 | Bend 3h 54m |
| 30 | Salt Lake City | 1 | Park City & Salt Lake City 0h 54m |
| 30 | San Francisco Bay Area | 1 | Pebble Beach & Monterey 2h 24m |
| 30 | Seattle | 1 | Gamble Sands 4h 30m |
Golf Trip Access Index: drive or fly nonstop
Each city's count of trips it can reach by a drive of 5 hours or less, or a nonstop flight to the closest airport. Ties share a rank.
| # | City | Trips in easy reach | By road | By nonstop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | 34 | 3 | 33 |
| 2 | Denver | 33 | 2 | 33 |
| 3 | New York City | 31 | 2 | 29 |
| T-4 | Atlanta | 30 | 2 | 29 |
| T-4 | Dallas | 30 | 3 | 29 |
| 6 | Charlotte | 28 | 7 | 27 |
| 7 | Washington, D.C. | 27 | 3 | 25 |
| T-8 | Las Vegas | 26 | 2 | 24 |
| T-8 | Minneapolis | 26 | 1 | 26 |
| T-8 | Phoenix | 26 | 3 | 24 |
| T-11 | Boston | 25 | 3 | 23 |
| T-11 | Houston | 25 | 3 | 24 |
| T-11 | Los Angeles | 25 | 2 | 24 |
| T-11 | Philadelphia | 25 | 1 | 24 |
| T-15 | Detroit | 24 | 1 | 24 |
| T-15 | Miami | 24 | 2 | 24 |
| T-15 | Orlando | 24 | 4 | 21 |
| 18 | San Diego | 23 | 2 | 21 |
| T-19 | Baltimore | 22 | 3 | 21 |
| T-19 | Seattle | 22 | 1 | 22 |
| T-21 | Nashville | 21 | 1 | 21 |
| T-21 | San Francisco Bay Area | 21 | 1 | 21 |
| T-21 | Tampa | 21 | 3 | 19 |
| T-24 | Pittsburgh | 20 | 3 | 17 |
| T-24 | Raleigh-Durham | 20 | 4 | 16 |
| T-24 | Salt Lake City | 20 | 1 | 19 |
| T-24 | St. Louis | 20 | 2 | 18 |
| 28 | Austin | 18 | 3 | 17 |
| T-29 | Cincinnati | 17 | 1 | 16 |
| T-29 | Columbus | 17 | 2 | 15 |
| T-31 | Cleveland | 16 | 3 | 13 |
| T-31 | Indianapolis | 16 | 1 | 15 |
| 33 | Kansas City | 15 | 1 | 14 |
| 34 | Richmond | 14 | 3 | 11 |
| T-35 | Milwaukee | 13 | 3 | 10 |
| T-35 | Portland | 13 | 1 | 13 |
| T-35 | Syracuse | 13 | 4 | 9 |
| T-38 | Albany | 12 | 4 | 8 |
| T-38 | Buffalo | 12 | 4 | 8 |
| 40 | Rochester | 11 | 3 | 8 |
Methodology
- Drive times: fastest road route from the open-source OSRM router on OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors), from each metro's main airport (a stand-in for the city) to where the golf is at each destination. No traffic, stops or border waits, so real trips take longer.
- Destinations: the 46 TeeTraveler destinations reachable by road from the U.S. mainland (islands and overseas trips excluded). This is our list of popular group trips, not every golf course.
- Nonstops: from our Golf Trip Nonstop Map (U.S. DOT T-100 data).
- Updated: 2026-11-10.
For media and bloggers
Free to cite with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). Media contact: Eric Worral, [email protected]. Every city's drive list is on its page under golf trips from your city.
Related: The Golf Trip On-Time Report · The Golf Trip Nonstop Map