Rounds at Cobblestone Park, Timberlake, The Windermere Club and Oak Hills and a rental home in Columbia are the plan. High fares into Columbia's small airport, a 12% lodging tax, golf bag fees and a rental car push the total up, and Gamecocks football weekends can send lodging prices soaring.
Plan my golf trip for me: budget, dates and courses →Starts with a sample trip. Change any number to match yours. Set up your travel profile to fill these in for you.
Compare hotels near the courses →Pick each course you'll play (one round per golfer) and we'll price it for your group. Prices are per golfer for 18 holes, with the season and time of day you choose. Your picks set “Green fees per golfer (whole trip)” in your budget.
4⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡2/5 Golfing Volts
13 courses around Columbia & Midlands that take public tee times, by city, with peak green fees. Private member clubs are left out.
The Midlands' top-rated course you can book, a Willard Byrd layout on the shores of Lake Murray.
golfpass.com golfpass.comTwenty-seven P.B. Dye holes (Gold, Garnet and Black nines) north of Columbia that golfers rate very highly; walking is for members only, so visitors ride.
golfpass.com golfpass.comA demanding Pete and P.B. Dye course of nearly 7,000 yards that sells public tee times at modest prices.
golfpass.com golflink.comA well-liked, nearly 6,900-yard layout by Lake Marion that is a favorite stop for golfers driving I-95.
golfpass.com golfpass.comAn easygoing public course by Lake Marion that pairs well with a round at Santee National on the same trip.
golfpass.comA Davis Love III and Steve Melnyk design in northeast Columbia with a very high slope from the back tees, and golfers rate it highly for the price.
golfpass.com golfdigest.comAn affordable Pete and P.B. Dye public course in northeast Columbia that plays 6,800 yards from the tips.
golfpass.com golfdigest.comRichland County's rolling par-73 course with eight ponds is one of the best golf bargains in the state.
richlandcountyrecreation.comA Ron Garl course close to Lexington's hotels and restaurants, with carts included in the fee.
golfpass.com golflink.comA long, quiet 1960s country course of nearly 7,000 yards in Saluda, west of Lake Murray.
golfpass.comA friendly lake-country course near Lake Murray's north shore, with water in play on many holes.
greenfeetracker.com golfpass.comA 27-hole club near the airport whose shorter layouts make a handy first or last round of a trip.
golfpass.com golflink.comOrangeburg's city course, a 6,700-yard Russell Breeden layout with carts included in the fee.
golfpass.comThe sample is 4 travelers for 4 nights. Your plan ($6,344) covers the main costs most people budget for, the ones you enter on the left. Costs people forget ($2,684, about 42% more for this trip) are the fees, taxes, tips and extras listed in the calculator. Prices were last checked on October 17, 2026.
Share of the $9,028 real cost. Nights and travelers multiply most of these costs, so changing either one moves the total the most.
11 of this trip's numbers link to a published price or rate. The rest are our estimates, and each one says what it is based on. You can also read how we calculate every trip.
| Cost | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Green fees per golfer (whole trip) | $285 per traveler | Four peak-spring rounds with cart: Cobblestone Park $89 (golfer report, May 2025, GolfPass), Timberlake $75 (GolfNow fall rates $52–$73, Green Fee Tracker $45–$70; spring set a little above), The Windermere Club $65 (fall GolfNow deals $28–$60; full rate set above) and Oak Hills $55 (GolfLink estimate $63; $42 reported in 2021). Total $284, rounded to $285. Judgment call. Source |
| Rental home per night (whole group) | $360 a night | Columbia 4-bedroom short-term rentals average $378 a night (AirROI, 69 listings, 12 months to Oct 2026; all sizes $205). Rates run highest in fall with football; $360 for a 4-bedroom home in spring is our estimate. Judgment call. Source |
| Airfare per person | $571 per traveler | US DOT (BTS) average domestic itinerary fare for Columbia (CAE), Q2 2026: $571.32 (Q1 2026 was $547.28), via DWU Consulting's BTS table. Charlotte (CLT) Q2 2026: $531.83. Source |
| Food per person, per day | $74 per traveler, per day | GSA FY2027 meals and incidentals (M&IE) rate for Columbia (Richland and Lexington counties): $74 a day. Source |
| Cost | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Checked bag fees | $90 per traveler | Major US airlines charge about $35 to $50 for a first checked bag each way, so about $90 round trip. Source |
| Golf bag fees | $110 per traveler | American, Delta, United and Southwest treat a golf bag as a standard checked bag; a second bag is $55 each way. Source |
| Shipping your clubs Off by default | $108 per traveler | Ground shipping for a golf bag starts around $54 each way. Source |
| Lodging taxes | 12% of the rental home (whole group) | City of Columbia (Richland County side): 5% state sales tax + 1% local option + 1% transportation penny + 2% state accommodations tax (Richland County sales tax sheet) + the city's 3% Tourism Development Fee = 12%. The Lexington County side of Columbia is 11%; Lexington, Chapin and Blythewood rates differ. Unincorporated Richland County is also 12% (3% county accommodations tax instead of the TDF). Source |
| Rental car | $90 a day | KAYAK at CAE (Nov 2026): SUVs about $94–$104 a day, minivans listed from $64; April is the priciest month for all cars (about $73). $90 a day for a minivan or large SUV in spring. Judgment call. Source |
| Drinks on the course | $80 per traveler | Our estimate of about $20 a round for beverage-cart drinks and snacks. Judgment call. Our estimate |
| Golf balls | $55 per traveler | A dozen Titleist Pro V1 balls lists at $55. Source |
| Tips for bag drop and cart staff | $20 per traveler | A few dollars at bag drop and the turn; we use $5 a round. Judgment call. Source |
| Side bets and prizes | $50 per traveler | Our estimate for skins, team bets and a small trophy. Our estimate |
| Lessons and extras you picked Off by default | $0 for the trip | Set by the extras you pick in the tee-time planner. Our estimate |
| Travel insurance | 6% of your plan | Squaremouth says a comprehensive plan averages about 6% of the trip cost, usually 4% to 10%. Source |
| Pre-trip shopping | $60 for the trip | Our estimate for travel-size toiletries, sunscreen and small things bought before a trip. Our estimate |
| Pet boarding or sitter | $50 a day, if you check Pets | Dogster puts regular kennel boarding at about $35 to $85 a night. Overnight sitters at home cost more. Source |
For 4 golfers spending 4 nights in peak spring season, with four rounds each, a rental home, flights and food, plan on about $6,340. Once you add golf bag fees, lodging taxes, rental car, drinks on the course, balls, tips and side bets, it's closer to $9,030, or about $2,260 each. Use the tee-time planner above to price the courses you want.
Summer and winter. Summer is very hot, with July highs near 95°F, so rates drop and tee times are easy to get. Winter is mild, with January highs near 58°F, and the courses stay open. Twilight saves money any time of year: Mid Carolina Club drops from $65 to $55. Source
Columbia Metropolitan (CAE) in West Columbia, about 15 minutes from downtown and next door to Charwood. Fares run high (the US DOT average was about $571 in spring 2026), so some golfers fly into Charlotte, about 1.5 hours north, where the average was about $532. Source
LinRick, Richland County's par-73 course north of downtown. It costs $18 to walk on weekdays and $25 on weekends and holidays, plus $15 for a cart. Seniors and students pay $13 on weekdays. Source
Yes. Both are member clubs that sell public tee times. A golfer paid $89 with a cart at Cobblestone Park in spring 2025, and only members may walk there. Windermere, a Pete and P.B. Dye course of nearly 7,000 yards, ran $28 to $60 in fall online deals. Source