How to Plan a Group Golf Trip — The Complete Guide

Planning a group golf trip sounds simple until you actually try it. Between coordinating schedules, picking courses everyone will enjoy, finding lodging that keeps the group together, and building an itinerary that balances golf with downtime — there are a lot of moving parts. This guide walks through every step, from the first group text to the final round, based on what we've learned booking trips for groups of 4 to 48 players across Mesquite and St. George.

Whether it's a buddies' weekend, a corporate outing, a bachelor party, or a family reunion, the principles are the same. Get the logistics right early, and everyone has a better trip.

Step 1: Set the Core Details First

Before you research courses or lodging, lock down three things with your group: approximate dates, trip length, and budget range. Everything else flows from these decisions. Trying to pick courses before you know whether the group wants to spend $150/day or $300/day per person wastes everyone's time.

Choosing Your Dates

Spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) are peak season for desert golf destinations like Mesquite and St. George. Tee times book faster and rates run higher. If your group has flexibility, shoulder seasons — early March or late November — give you the same courses at lower prices with easier availability. Winter golf in southern Utah and Nevada is still very playable, with daytime temps in the 50s–60s from December through February.

Trip Length Sweet Spot

Three to four days is the sweet spot for most groups. Shorter trips feel rushed — you travel, play one round, and leave. Longer trips see attendance drop off as people can't commit to five or six days away. A 4-day/3-night format gives you time for 5-7 rounds across multiple courses, a rest day or casino night, and enough downtime that nobody burns out.

Step 2: Pick Your Destination

The destination should match the group's priorities. Are you optimizing for course quality, nightlife, budget, or ease of travel? Here's how Mesquite and St. George compare to other popular group golf destinations:

Step 3: Choose Your Lodging Strategy

Lodging is where group trips either come together or fall apart. The key decision: do you stay together under one roof or spread across hotel rooms? For groups of 8 or more, vacation rentals and golf mansions almost always win on both cost and experience.

Hotels vs. Vacation Rentals for Groups

Hotels give you individual rooms with housekeeping and front desk convenience. But for groups, hotel lobbies are not great gathering spots, and coordinating departures across 6-10 separate rooms adds friction every morning. Vacation rentals give you a shared living room, a full kitchen for breakfast and late-night food, a patio or pool for post-round hangouts, and a single address everyone navigates to.

In Mesquite, the golf mansions at the Conestoga course sleep up to 24 guests with private pools, putting greens, and Wolf Creek views. In St. George, there are over 125 vacation rentals across 22 communities — many within walking distance of courses like Sand Hollow, Entrada, and The Ledges.

Step 4: Build Your Course Rotation

The biggest mistake in group trip planning is overloading the schedule. Two rounds per day is the maximum for most groups. 36 holes in desert heat with a lunch break is a full day. Three rounds means your last round starts at 3 PM and finishes in the dark, or your group is dragging by hole 12 of round two.

Mix Course Difficulty

Alternate between challenging and forgiving courses. If you play Wolf Creek (slope 154) on Day 1 morning, follow it with Palms or CasaBlanca — flatter, more forgiving tracks where the group can recover. Save your second-hardest course for the last morning when everyone is rested and competitive.

Sample 4-Day Mesquite + St. George Rotation

Step 5: Handle the Money

Money is the number one source of group trip friction. Establish the payment structure early and stick to it. The two main approaches:

Option A: All-Inclusive Per Person Price

One flat rate covers lodging, green fees, and cart fees. Everyone pays the same amount regardless of which room they get. This is the simplest and most popular option for buddies' trips. A trip planner can quote this as a package — you collect from the group and make one payment.

Option B: Itemized Split

Break out lodging, golf, and meals separately. People who skip a round don't pay for it. This works better for mixed groups where some people play every round and others play two out of five. More tracking, but fairer for uneven participation.

Step 6: Manage the Group Dynamics

Every group has mixed skill levels. The goal is making sure the 5-handicap and the 25-handicap both have fun. Here's what works:

Tee Selection

Encourage everyone to play the tees that match their game. Nobody is impressed by the 20-handicap hitting from the tips and shooting 115. Most courses have 4-5 tee options specifically so groups can mix ability levels in the same foursome without slowing play.

Formats That Keep Everyone Engaged

Scramble formats are the great equalizer — the 25-handicap contributes as much as anyone when the team takes the best shot. For competitive rounds, use a handicapped format like net best ball or a Stableford points system. Avoid straight stroke play unless your group is within 5-6 strokes of each other.

Side Games

Nassau, skins, closest-to-the-pin on par 3s, longest drive on designated holes — side games keep the energy up for all 18 holes. Set stakes at a level everyone is comfortable with. A $5 Nassau is fun for everyone; a $50 Nassau makes the higher handicaps not want to play.

Step 7: Don't Overlook the Non-Golf Time

The best group trips build in downtime between rounds. Desert golf destinations offer plenty: casino gambling in Mesquite, Zion National Park day trips from St. George, spa treatments, ATV tours, steakhouse dinners, and lazy pool afternoons at the rental. Plan one rest period per day where there's no tee time and people can do their own thing.

Step 8: Use a Trip Planner (or DIY Smart)

Booking everything yourself is possible but time-consuming. You're calling multiple courses for group rates, comparing lodging options, coordinating tee times across 3-4 courses, and handling cancellations and changes. A golf trip planner handles all of this and often gets better rates because of volume relationships with courses and properties.

What a trip planner does that you probably can't: negotiate group discounts, hold tee times while you finalize headcount, rebook around weather, swap courses if one is under maintenance, and adjust lodging if your group size changes. The service is typically free to the group — the planner earns commission from the courses and lodging.

The Group Golf Trip Planning Checklist

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance should I book a group golf trip?

Six to eight months for peak season (March–May, September–November). Three to four months for shoulder season. Popular courses like Wolf Creek and Sand Hollow book up quickly for weekend morning tee times, and large vacation rentals get reserved months in advance for spring dates.

What's the ideal group size for a golf trip?

Eight to twelve players. This fills two to three foursomes, fits comfortably in one large vacation rental, and is small enough that everyone can eat dinner at the same table. Groups of 16-24 work too but require more coordination — two rental properties, staggered tee times, and a designated trip organizer.

How much does a group golf trip cost per person?

In Mesquite and St. George, expect $200–$400 per person per day for a package including lodging, green fees, and cart fees. A 4-day trip runs roughly $800–$1,600 per person depending on course selection and lodging type. That compares favorably to Scottsdale ($300–$600/day) and Myrtle Beach ($175–$350/day).

Should we hire a trip planner or book ourselves?

For groups of 8 or more, a trip planner saves significant time and often gets better rates. For groups of 4, booking direct works fine. The break-even point is usually around 8 players — that's when coordinating tee times, lodging, and headcount changes becomes genuinely time-consuming.

What if someone drops out last minute?

This is why deposits matter. Most group lodging and tee time cancellation policies require 14-30 days notice. A trip planner can often rework the logistics — adjust the lodging split, release one tee time — without penalty if handled early enough. Non-refundable deposits protect the group from absorbing someone else's costs.