Duke, UNC Finley, Lonnie Poole, Heritage and a rental home near RTP are the plan. A 13.25% lodging tax, golf bag fees, a car to reach courses 15 to 40 minutes apart and a $245 day trip to Tobacco Road if you add it 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 near RTP, between Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill →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.
416 courses around Raleigh-Durham that take public tee times, by city, with peak green fees. Private member clubs are left out.
A wild Strantz course cut through an old sand quarry, with blind shots and huge waste areas; about 50 minutes south of RTP, so plan it as a full day.
golfdigest.com ncgolfpanel.comA wooded Trent Jones layout along a lake at a Sanford club that sells public tee times; about 50 minutes south of RTP.
golfdigest.com golflink.comA long, demanding Trent Jones course on Duke's campus next to the Washington Duke Inn, with tough greens; inn guests get a small discount.
golf.duke.edu golfdigest.comA classic 1950s course among pines and streams in Durham, and one of the best values in the area.
axios.com golflink.comDurham's friendly city course, about $45 for a round, with a well-liked grill and new practice areas opened in 2026.
firstcallgolf.com axios.comUNC's course, rebuilt by Davis Love III's firm in 2023, with the best practice areas in the Triangle; closed Tuesdays and public tee times are limited.
goheels.com golfdigest.comA hilly Davis Love III course near Jordan Lake with forced carries and great conditions; open to the public daily, but rounds can run slow.
golfpass.com visitpittsboro.comNC State's hilly Palmer course, 7,358 yards from the back, with downtown Raleigh skyline views from the 10th green; walking allowed.
triadgolf.com axios.comA shorter par-70 in North Raleigh with Bermuda greens that rewards accuracy over length.
ncgolfpanel.com golflink.comA hilly, fun course in southeast Raleigh that ranks among the best-reviewed public courses in the state.
golfpass.com axios.comA rolling course about 15 minutes west of Chapel Hill, named for an old grist mill whose ruins you pass; the 18th has two fairway options.
ncgolfpanel.com cdn-golflink.comA well-kept course in Wake Forest with good greens and a strong finishing hole.
axios.com ncgolfpanel.comA tough, up-and-down course along the Neuse River east of Raleigh; take a cart.
axios.com golflink.comA relaxed, low-cost course with firm, fast greens about 35 minutes from RTP.
axios.com greenfeetracker.comA short, walkable course in Cary with a big practice area, handy if you are staying near RTP.
axios.com golflink.comA family-owned course in Hillsborough with doglegs, tiered greens and water in play, good for mid and high handicaps.
golfpass.com golflink.comThe sample is 4 travelers for 4 nights. Your plan ($6,708) covers the main costs most people budget for, the ones you enter on the left. Costs people forget ($2,673, about 40% 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 $9,381 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) | $540 per traveler | Four peak-spring weekend morning rounds with cart: Duke $180 (official rates from May 8, 2026, Fri–Sun with golf car), UNC Finley $155 (Axios 2024 weekend riding rate; live online rate was $127 on a Sunday morning in Nov 2026), Lonnie Poole $100 (Triad Golf, weekend with cart) and Heritage $105 (Axios 2024 weekend riding). Total $540. Judgment call. Source |
| Rental home per night (whole group) | $360 a night | Raleigh 4-bedroom short-term rentals average $350 a night (AirROI, 12 months to Oct 2026); May is the peak month, a few percent above average. $360 for a spring stay. Judgment call. Source |
| Airfare per person | $407 per traveler | US DOT (BTS) average domestic itinerary fare for Raleigh-Durham (RDU), Q2 2026: $406.63 (Q1 2026 was $392.85). Source |
| Food per person, per day | $74 per traveler, per day | GSA FY2027 meals and incidentals (M&IE) rate for Raleigh (Wake County): $74 a day. Durham is also $74. 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 | 13.25% of the rental home (whole group) | Wake County levies a 6% room occupancy tax (Wake County Tax Administration); the county's combined sales tax is 7.25% (4.75% state, 2% county, 0.5% transit; https://trykintsugi.com/sales-tax-guides/usa/north-carolina/wake-county). 7.25% + 6% = 13.25%. Morrisville and a few Raleigh ZIP codes in Durham County are at 7.5% sales tax; Durham County's own occupancy rate was not confirmed. Source |
| Rental car | $80 a day | KAYAK at RDU (Nov 2026): SUVs average about $68 a day and vans about $78 (van page shows $63–$81, with November the priciest month at about $98). $80 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 $6,710. Once you add golf bag fees, lodging taxes, rental car, drinks on the course, balls, tips and side bets, it's closer to $9,380, or about $2,350 each. Use the tee-time planner above to price the courses you want.
Winter, from December to February, when rates are at their lowest and courses stay open, though frost delays are common. Year-round, afternoon and weekday tee times save the most: Duke is $145 with a cart Monday to Thursday against $180 on weekends, and less again after 1 pm. Source
Yes. Duke's Robert Trent Jones course is open to the public at its patron and guest rates, and guests of the Washington Duke Inn get a small discount. Weekend mornings cost the most, and replays are half price when space allows. Source
Tobacco Road is in Sanford, about 50 minutes south of RTP and closer to Pinehurst than to Raleigh. Plan it as a full day. It uses dynamic pricing, so book early for spring weekends. Source
Raleigh-Durham International (RDU), which sits next to RTP between the three cities. Most courses are 15 to 40 minutes away, with Mill Creek about 45 minutes west and Tobacco Road about 50 minutes south, so plan on a car.