Donald Ross courses and a rental home in the Sandhills are the plan. A 13% lodging tax, golf bag fees, a car from Raleigh and caddie fees if you play Pinehurst Resort are what push the total up.
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 in Pinehurst → Compare Pinehurst and Southern Pines golf packages (stay and play) on Golfbreaks →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.
4The sample is 4 travelers for 4 nights. Your plan ($8,988) covers the main costs most people budget for, the ones you enter on the left. Costs people forget ($2,954, about 33% 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 $11,942 real cost. Nights and travelers multiply most of these costs, so changing either one moves the total the most.
15 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) | $1,000 per traveler | Four public Sandhills rounds at 2026 peak Monday–Wednesday rates: Pine Needles $295, Mid Pines $265, Southern Pines $225, Talamore about $189. Judgment call. Source |
| Rental home per night (whole group) | $500 a night | Pinehurst rentals average about $348 a night; we add for a 4-bedroom home in peak season. Judgment call. Source |
| Airfare per person | $407 per traveler | The US DOT average domestic fare from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) was $407 in Q2 2026. Source |
| Food per person, per day | $68 per traveler, per day | Moore County uses the federal standard meals rate of $68 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 | 13% of the rental home (whole group) | Moore County's occupancy tax rose from 3% to 6% on Jan 1, 2026, on top of 7% sales tax. Source |
| Rental car | $95 a day | KAYAK shows RDU SUVs at about $70–77 a day; we add for a larger vehicle and taxes. Judgment call. Source |
| Resort service fee Off by default | 10% of the rental home (whole group) | Pinehurst Resort's 2026 rate sheet lists a 10% resort service fee. Source |
| Rental clubs Off by default | $320 per traveler | Pinehurst rents Titleist sets for $80 a day. Source |
| Caddie and tip (Pinehurst Resort) Off by default | $150 per traveler | Walking caddies are $85 a bag plus a $65-and-up tip. Source |
| Forecaddie and tip Off by default | $85 per traveler | Forecaddies are $45 a player plus a $40-and-up tip per bag. 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 season, with four rounds each at public Sandhills courses, a rental home, flights and food, plan on about $8,990. Once you add lodging taxes, golf bag fees, a rental car from Raleigh, drinks on the course, balls, tips and side bets, it's closer to $11,940, or about $2,990 each. Use the tee-time planner above to price the courses you want.
No. Pinehurst No. 2 is for resort guests only and needs at least a 2-night stay; a round costs about $595 in peak season plus a caddie. Pine Needles, Mid Pines and Southern Pines Golf Club are open to the public. Source
Winter, from late November to mid-February, costs about half the peak rate. Summer is about 30% off: Pine Needles drops from $295 to $205 on weekdays. Peak seasons are spring and fall. Source
A walking caddie at Pinehurst Resort is $85 a bag plus a tip of $65 or more. A forecaddie for cart players is $45 per player plus about $40 in tips. Source
Raleigh-Durham (RDU) is 74 miles away and usually cheapest to fly into; its average fare was about $407 in mid-2026. Fayetteville is 48 miles away and Charlotte 98. Source