Best Golf Weekend Trips from Boston

Boston golfers drive to Pinehills, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and Vermont regularly for a weekend round. The range is real: 40 minutes to a Rees Jones championship layout in Plymouth, three hours to a Jack Nicklaus design in Burlington. What you get out of town is courses you can't access in the city, at prices that hold up against the local options. For in-city picks, see our list of the best public golf courses in Boston.

Pinehills Golf Club, Plymouth — 40 minutes south of Boston.

Under an hour: Pinehills Golf Club, Plymouth

Pinehills in Plymouth is 40 minutes south of Boston between the city and Cape Cod. It has two full 18-hole championship courses: a Rees Jones design and a Nicklaus Design course. Weekday green fees run $100 on the Jones and $140 on the Nicklaus. Weekends are $115 (Jones) and $175 (Nicklaus). Carts are included in every rate. The practice facility, including the driving range, putting green, chipping area, and sand trap, is also included. Pinehills calls itself New England's premier daily-fee golf destination, and that claim is harder to argue with when you put the two courses together. Reservations are online only, so book ahead.

If you want two rounds on one trip, the Jones in the morning and the Nicklaus in the afternoon is a legitimate plan. The layouts are different enough to justify it. The Nicklaus course plays longer and more demanding. For context on how Pinehills compares to what's available closer in, read our honest breakdown of cheap golf near Boston.

Cape Cod: two different courses worth the drive

The Cape is 90 minutes to two hours depending on traffic. Two courses stand out.

Captains Golf Course in Brewster has two 18-hole layouts. The Port Course is tree-lined and classic. The Starboard Course is links-style with views of Cape Cod Bay. Morning rates run around $80, afternoon around $50. It's one of the best public venues on the Cape and the price is reasonable for what you get.

Highland Links in North Truro is a different kind of course. It's a 9-hole links-style layout on a bluff above the Atlantic, next to Highland Light lighthouse. Founded in the 1890s, it's one of the oldest golf courses in America. The course sits inside Cape Cod National Seashore, plays 2,665 yards, and costs almost nothing. You're playing golf on a national seashore. The views over the ocean are not why you skip it; the 9-hole layout is why some golfers skip it. Worth knowing before you go.

Highland Links, North Truro — links golf on a national seashore, founded 1890s.

New Hampshire: 1.5 to 2.5 hours, White Mountains backdrop

Wentworth Golf Club in Jackson, NH, is about two hours from Boston. The course runs through the White Mountains and has a covered bridge on the property. It's a setting you won't find anywhere within range of the city. The White Mountains corridor has several other courses worth checking once you commit to the drive. A weekend in Jackson usually means two rounds, which makes the gas and hotel pencil out better.

Crumpin-Fox Club in Bernardston, MA, also deserves mention here. It's about 90 minutes west of Boston in the Pioneer Valley, made Golf Digest's Top 50 Best Public Courses, and runs $95–$115. If you want a championship track without crossing into New Hampshire or Vermont, this is the right call.

Vermont: 2.5 to 3 hours, mountain courses

Vermont is a two-night trip for most Boston golfers. The drive is 2.5 to 3 hours, which means you need to stay or the time cost doesn't make sense. Stowe has two worth-knowing courses: Stowe Country Club is the classic Vermont mountain layout, and Spruce Peak at Stowe is the ski resort course with the kind of elevation changes you won't find anywhere in Massachusetts. Vermont National Golf Club in Burlington is a Jack Nicklaus design and semi-private, with better access on weekdays.

The Vermont options reward planning. Availability at mountain courses on summer weekends goes fast, and several require booking further out than you might expect.

Coordinating tee times across multiple out-of-town courses without knowing which are sold out, which have members-priority windows, or whether the specific nine you want is even available is the part that bogs down planning. You end up calling three pro shops on a Tuesday morning while you're at work, getting voicemail twice, and booking the wrong time at the right course. Text Carl the destination, the dates, and how many are in your group. Carl calls each pro shop directly and comes back with what's actually bookable, not what's listed online.