When golf became hot to younger generations, many golf resorts evolved into family golf resorts. They began by focusing on the parent and grandparent players they already had. Coaches added youth golf and one-on-one instruction to their programs. In combination with kid-friendly policies and discounts, family golf resorts now bring everyone together for the love of the sport.
Why not make this the year to up your game with kids? Whether on vacation or during a special skills camps, you can tee off together. Just use our roundup of 11 top family golf resorts and camps for the whole clan to get started.
A Family Resort With Special Golf Facilities
Omni Amelia Island Resort
Quiet, verdant Amelia Island surprises guests with its long beaches and relaxing Old World Florida ambiance. Even better for golfers, Omni Amelia Island Resort provides a traditional, yet fun-focused golf experience. Their Little Sandy Short Course on Red Maple Lake is a walking, no-reservations course for all ages and abilities. Beyond an 18-hole putting course, 10 holes ranging from 30-125 yards weave through a picturesque lowland oak marsh habitat. The new Beau Welling design is all about playability and a fun atmosphere. However, Little Sandy also offers strategic tests of golf and bold and contoured greens that will challenge more experienced golfers.
Note the 10th hole that plays to an island green, with a dramatic close featuring a “hole-in-one” pin. Experienced golfers will want to tackle Oak Marsh, an 18-hole Pete Dye designed championship golf course. Book your tee time in advance to hit the recently renovated Fazio course at the Club at Long Point. Read more about the Omni Amelia Island Resort and its many family facilities.
A Golf Lover’s Resort With Special Family Facilities
Club Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Glade
Several Wyndham Vacation Club Resorts have extensive golf facilities. However, this vast Tennessee resort is near enough to hiking Cumberland Mountain State Park and Ozone Falls, exploring the Military Memorial Museum or Homesteads Tower to give the non-golfers in your clan plenty of activities. Fairfield Glade is a good value for golfers because two of the top public golf courses in Tennessee: Stonehenge Golf Club and the Brae at Heatherhurst are among the nine available. (Of course, many will want to tee off at one of the five premier championship golf courses.) Plus, there’s minigolf and a Golf Simulator.
Guests in rental condos have access to 11 lakes and two marinas for fishing and boating. Count on sandy beaches and outdoor pools are ideal for lap swimming and sunbathing. Recreate together with court sports at 10 tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, volleyball and basketball courts. If that’s enough, visit the stables or kids’ playgrounds or rent bikes to keep all ages busy. Club Wyndham has full service condos in studio to four-bedroom configurations, plus two on-site restaurants.
A Pro Golf Resort To Wow The Neighbors
We like the PGA’s official resort in Florida because it’s very close to kid-friendly attractions. Non-golfers can spend their days enjoying the resort or visiting the Palm Beach Zoo, Mounts Botanical Gardens and the Loggerhead Marinelife Center.
PGA National Resort and Spa
PGA National Resort and Spa has tennis and golf camps for kids, plus activites for children ages 4-12 every day of the week. Start your young goflers at seven-foot-tall, 700-pound bear statue to learn the story of the PGA Bear Trap. Enrioll them in the junior golf clinic, where tiered level classes with great PGA certified instructors are fun, active, and educational.
Tennis anyone? The PGA National Resort Racquet Club focuses on juniors ages 5-17 with individual and group lessons on 19 tennis courts. Their new Johan Kriek Tennis Academy is an elite tennis academy run by a two-time Australian Open champion. For the non-semi-pro athletes, the Banyan Buddies kids program has supervised activities daily for ages 4-12. Their programs include fitness, waterplay and, for older kids, yoga classes, beach volleyball and croquet. Families looking to spend more time together at the resort can enjoy multiple swimming pools and many family-friendly events.
Play Golf at a Fabulous Jamaica Family Resort
From Jamaica to Hawaii, golfers know a gorgeous beachfront sand trap when they get to play one.
Beaches Ocho Rios
Jamaica’s award-winning Beaches Ocho Rios Resort, about 65 miles from Montego Bay, touts an “all-inclusive golf program for kids.” That means you get complimentary green fees, free weekly golf clinics and round-trip transfers to the Upton Estate Golf & Country Club. Having access to a four-star Golf Digest resort plus some fees included in room rates makes this place a winner if you have beginners. The 22-acre resort is beauitfully landscaped around five pools.
Sunbathe on your own white sand beach overlooking the Caribbean. Everyone will love the pirate-themed action-adventure waterpark. There’s even a PADI program and scuba practice pool. Extra large one-bedroom suites with a concierge sleep up to two adults and three kids. Customize your vacation with kids clubs and supervised activities for ages 0-17. Beaches has trained nannies, private childcare and special needs programs with its Sesame Street chaacters so children of any ability will be comfortable, cared for and have fun.
Family Golf Resort in Hawaii With A Fabulous Beach
Mauna Lani Resort
Mauna Lani’s WikiWiki Course on the Big Island provides a superlative family golfing experience. Book a guide, coach and play on pristine nine holes designed for junior golfers. Beginners can also get in on the action with customized lessons at the resort’s Golf Academy. Golfing families graduate to the rolling hills of the North Course along the ocean. The championship South Course that used to host the PGA’s famed Senior Skins games is the big thrill. The legendary Mauna Lani, voted last year as “#1 Readers Choice Resort on the Island of Hawaii” by Travel + Leisure, a “Top 5 Resorts in the USA” by U.S. News & World Report and on the “Forbes Recommended List” is part of the Auberge Resorts collection. Lodging from guestrooms to residences, countless activities, fine dining, service — even surf lessons — are imbued with Hawaiian traditions and reflect local values.
Family Golf Resort in Hawaii With Volcanic Terrain
Hilton Waikoloa Village
The big island of Hawai’i is noted for its top-rated courses including those found at the Hilton Waikoloah Village. The Kings Course, once ranked among the top 25 resort courses in North America by Golf Digest, unfurls over the ancient lava landscape. Now only nine holes, it can be combined to play 27 with the Beach Nine and Lakes Nine courses for a spectacular game. The Waikoloa Family golf resort program makes golf fun and affordable for resort guests. All ages play on the the Kings’ Nine which is perfectly suited for young players, but can challenge the experienced golfer. After 3pm, play nine holes with your family — Juniors ages 6-17 pay only $25 and get free club rentals. Even adults who rent clubs pay only $75 to play with their kids. Read more about the Hilton Waikoloa’s family programs.
Weekend Getaway With Family Golf Programs
There are also seasonal family golfing promotions that foster bonding, family unity and, of course, the love of golf. These resorts offer family programs (check their websites as dates change annually) to kids under 17.
Pinehurst Resort
Pinehurst, centered in its own village in North Carolina, is considered the largest golf resort in North America. Its reputation for excellence is another thing to celebrate as this family golf resort was founded in 1895. Pinehurst welcome families on their best beahvior to enjoy golf on nine course wrapped in lush landscaping and genteel Southern charm. They like to say the clubhouse “front yard” is devoted to the fun of golf because kids play free.
The 18-hole Thistle Dhu putting course features hills, bumps and valleys over a 75,000-square-foot green. The resort’s starter provides putters, golf balls and a scorecard. At the nearby par-3 short course, practice on nine holes ranging from 45-120 yards. Space allowing, kids play as many loops as they want free if they’re with a paying adult. Kids 17 and under stay free in parents’ room and play golf for free with their parents. (A premium per child applies when playing Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4 courses.) The resort notes that Pinehurst No. 5 is their most fun, forgiving course and ideal for a family playing together. Check out PInehurst’s many family facilities, pools, comfortable hotel, popular buffets, bike trails and activities program. Note that kids 5 and under dine free and ages 6-17 dine at special a la carte pricing.
Training Academies that Focus on Golf For Kids
Typical family golf camp activities include custom club and ball fitting using state-of-the-art technology, game-based learning and unlimited golf. Here are two places with year-round youth golf programs.
U.S. Kids Golf National Parent/Child Camps
The U.S. Kids Golf organization supports youth golf by helping parents learn how to fit clubs, source golf gear and be coaches to their young players. Originally an Atlanta manufacturer of equipment and related golf products for kids, the company has evolved to promote youth golf in many forms. Between June and October, 2023, they are running eight four-day family camps to foster a lifelong love of golf. Camps take place at Longleaf Golf & Family Club in Southern Pines, No. Carolina. Area resorts including Pinehurst participate with room blocks and other perks during the camp periods. No need to invest a lot, buy or bring equipment. They provide clubs for kids and women; rental clubs are available for men in the family.
Club Med Golf Academy
Altitude Academies runs golf, tennis and other elite training facilities at the former Club Med Sandpiper Bay Resort in Port St Lucie, Florida. The extensive lakefront facilities are located a 75-minute drive from West Palm Beach Airport and 2 hours from Fort Lauderdale. The full time golf academy for grades K-12 has boarding and day-student options for the really serious and gifted player.
Serious Golf Resorts That Are Family Friendly In Summer
Some resorts focus their family golf activities on school holidays and summer breaks.
Callaway Gardens Resort
This traditional resort in Pine Mountain, Georgia has many summer and school holiday family programs. Famous botanical gardens, extensive recreation facilities and a lakefront sand beach make it popular for reunions and repeat guests. Robust family golf facilities include Mountain View, a 12-time host of the PGA Buick Challenge. Lake View, the resort’s second 18-hole course, has wider fairways and lots of water features. It was begun in 1949 by founder Cason Callaway, who was also on the founding Board of Trustees of the Georgia State Golf Association. Many guests start with putt-putt minigolf and advance to the Twin Oaks Practice Facility or book lessons. Learn more about what Callaway Gardens has to offer familes.
Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
Located in Palm Harbor near Tampa, Florida, Innisbrook is home to the top-rated Copperhead Course seen on the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship each March. If that sounds too challening, check out the three other Larry Packard-designed courses crossing rolling hills, cypress trees, lakes — and gators.
Innisbrook’s Golf Institute offers intensive, year-round play for all ages on 10 acres with a student:teacher ratio of 4:1. There is also an eight-week summer PGA Junior League Program and two- to four-day Junior golf camps for ages 5-14. Not everyone has to tee off. Fun family facilities include an intense tennis program, yoga, fitness classes, pickleball, several pools including Loch Ness with daily activities, bike rentals and a spa. Innisbrook’s deluxe two-bedroom suites all have full kitchens; smaller units have convenient kitchenttes.
A Bonus for Golfers – Kids Golf For Free
Marriott Kids Golf-4-Free
If families need an incentive to hit the greens, they’ll find it with free golfing. The Kids Golf-4-Free program at select Marriott golf properties allows kids 15-years-old and under to play for free after 3pm., when accompanied by a full paying adult. The program also provides junior golfers with a free set of Accu-Length rentals clubs for use during their round and a free golf lesson when accompanied by an adult who is also taking a fully paid golf lesson from a Marriott instructor. Several Marriott golf locations from Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia to England, St. Kitts, and more participate in annual Family Golf Festivals with discount and free perks.
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