Redlands Mesa below the Colorado National Monument, Lakota Links above the Colorado River, Devil's Thumb near Delta and Tiara Rado in Grand Junction, with two hotel rooms in Grand Junction, are the plan. Airfare into Grand Junction near $500, Redlands Mesa at about $150 a round and a rental car for the long drives 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 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⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡3/5 Golfing Volts
18 courses around Grand Junction & Western Slope that take public tee times, by city, with peak green fees. Private member clubs are left out.
A Jim Engh desert course below the Colorado National Monument, with big elevation drops, red-rock outcrops and a par-3 17th set in a rock amphitheater.
golfdigest.com golfpass.comThe city's main course, tucked against the Colorado National Monument cliffs, and the best-value round in town.
golfgrandjunction.net golfdigest.comA cheap, historic nine-hole city course in central Grand Junction, good for a quick warm-up round.
kjct8.com golfdigest.comA parkland front nine along the Roaring Fork River and a canyon finish; the toughest test on the Western Slope.
golfpass.com golflink.comA short, inexpensive nine-hole course in town, handy for an evening round after the hot springs.
greenfeetracker.comA dramatic Jim Engh layout through canyons above the Colorado River, back in good shape under new owners after a rough patch.
golfpass.com coloradoavidgolfer.comA Nicklaus Design course with ten lakes, bentgrass fairways and views of the San Juans and Grand Mesa; ask about the clubhouse suites for stay-and-play.
golfdigest.com golfpass.comMontrose's city-run course, short and tree-lined with a links-style back nine; good for a relaxed round.
golfpass.com visitmontrose.comA wide-open valley course under Mount Sopris, a good-value alternative to the Aspen courses.
chronogolf.com golfn.comA Ken Dye course in the Animas Valley north of Durango with red-cliff views; open to the public with green fees.
app.advcollective.com golflink.comDurango's mesa-top municipal course with La Plata Mountain views and an overlook of town.
courses.opengolfapi.org coloradoavidgolfer.comA mountain course at the foot of the San Juans, formerly Fairway Pines, open roughly April through October.
golfpass.com golfpass.comA friendly, well-kept course on the lower slopes of the Grand Mesa that golfers rate among the best public values in Colorado.
golfpass.com courses.opengolfapi.orgBadlands-style canyons, forced carries and big views of the Grand Mesa for a modest fee.
golfpass.com greenfeetracker.comA quiet mesa-top course off I-70 halfway between Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs.
battlementmesagolf.com golfdigest.comThree nines (Monument, Mesa, Desert) with views of the Book Cliffs, ten minutes from Fruita's mountain-bike trails.
golfdigest.com golflink.comA scenic course in a creek canyon north of Rifle with mountain-golf feel at small-town prices.
riflecreekgc.com coloradoavidgolfer.comAn inexpensive municipal course near Mesa Verde, an easy add-on to a Durango trip.
greenfeetracker.com coloradoavidgolfer.comThe sample is 4 travelers for 4 nights. Your plan ($6,348) covers the main costs most people budget for, the ones you enter on the left. Costs people forget ($2,712, about 43% 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 $9,060 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) | $450 per traveler | Four peak (June-August) rounds with cart: Redlands Mesa $150 (no rate card; the 2026 Golf Passport discount price is $125 in summer, and a 2023 review reports $140 weekends for visitors), Lakota Links $135 (prime-season morning rate, cart included, OpenGolfAPI listing), Devil's Thumb $81 ($63 weekend plus $18 cart, Green Fee Tracker May 2026 and the city's 2023 cart fee) and Tiara Rado $84 ($64 non-resident plus $20 cart, golfgrandjunction.net 2026). Total $450. Judgment call. Source |
| Hotel, two rooms per night (whole group) | $300 a night | KAYAK Grand Junction hotels (Nov 2026) average $156 Sun-Thu and $162 Fri-Sat over the last two weeks; September is dearest at $178, January cheapest at $101. Mesa County gets the GSA standard lodging rate. We use $300 for two rooms. Judgment call. Source |
| Airfare per person | $497 per traveler | US DOT (BTS) average domestic itinerary fare for Grand Junction (GJT), Q2 2026: $496.74. GJT is not in the DWU Consulting table. Source |
| Food per person, per day | $68 per traveler, per day | GSA FY2027: Mesa County is not a named non-standard per diem area in Colorado, so the standard CONUS M&IE rate of $68 a day applies (https://federalnewsnetwork.com/pay-benefits/2026/09/federal-employee-per-diem-rates-will-tick-up-slightly-in-2027/). 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 | 14.66% of the hotel | City of Grand Junction: combined sales tax 8.66% (city 3.39%, state 2.90%, Mesa County 2.37%) plus the city's 6% lodging tax. Total 14.66%. Hotels outside city limits (Fruita, Palisade, Glenwood Springs) charge different rates. Source |
| Rental car | $95 a day | KAYAK Grand Junction (Nov 2026): SUVs about $95 a day (another figure on the page says $85), all cars $78; July dearest at $89 overall, November cheapest at $55. Alamo and Avis are at GJT. We use $95 for an SUV that fits four bags in summer. 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 summer season, with four rounds each, a hotel, two rooms, flights and food, plan on about $6,350. Once you add golf bag fees, lodging taxes, rental car, drinks on the course, balls, tips and side bets, it's closer to $9,060, or about $2,260 each. Use the tee-time planner above to price the courses you want.
At Tiara Rado, visitors pay $64 for 18 holes or $42 for nine, and a cart is $20 a seat for 18. Residents pay $48 on weekdays and $52 on weekends. Lincoln Park is a nine-hole course in the middle of town at $20 for visitors. Book both through the city's tee-time site. Source
In prime season, late May to early October, an 18-hole morning round is $135 and an afternoon round $99, with a cart included. Twilight after 3:30 pm is $75. In spring and late fall the morning rate drops to $89. The course is in New Castle, about 80 minutes east of Grand Junction. Source
Yes, on many days. The Grand Valley's dry climate lets you play almost year-round, with crisp, sunny winter days and cheaper rates. Higher courses such as Lakota Links close from about December to mid-March, so plan a winter trip around the Grand Junction and Fruita courses. Source
Grand Junction Regional (GJT). It is about 15 to 20 minutes from Redlands Mesa and Tiara Rado, about an hour from Devil's Thumb and Cedaredge, and about 80 minutes from Lakota Links, so you need a car. Its average fare was about $497 in mid-2026. Source