The Auburn Golf Trip Guide: Courses, Tee Times & Where to Stay
August 2026 · 7 min read
Auburn is one of the most underrated golf destinations in the South. Most groups fly into Atlanta, drive ninety minutes southwest, and discover that the golf here is better and cheaper than what they left behind — with a college town's restaurants attached to it.
This is how we'd plan a golf trip to Auburn, Alabama for a group of eight to ten, based on what guests at The Hydrangea House actually do.
The courses that matter
- RTJ Grand National (Opelika, ~9 miles) — the Lake Course, the Links Course, and an all-par-3 Short Course. Fifty-four holes on one property, all on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
- Auburn University Club (on-site) — the private, Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed course inside the community where the house sits. Members and member guests.
- Moore's Mill Club (~6 miles) — hilly, tree-lined, private, occasionally open on reciprocal play.
- Saugahatchee Country Club (~8 miles) — Opelika's classic parkland club.
- Indian Pines (~9 miles) — the easy public walk-on for a spare nine.
A three-day itinerary
Friday: arrive by early afternoon, play the Short Course at Grand National to shake off the drive, then dinner on Railroad Avenue in Opelika, eight miles from the house.
Saturday: Lake Course in the morning, lunch at the turn, Links Course in the afternoon if the legs hold. Grill on the covered porch at the house that night — it's cheaper and better than moving ten people into a restaurant.
Sunday: nine holes or an early tee time, then out. Checkout is 10 a.m., and late checkout is usually available on non-football weekends.
Tee-time strategy
Grand National books up fastest in April, May, October, and every Auburn home-football weekend. Book tee times before you book flights if you're traveling in the fall. Weekday rates are meaningfully lower than weekends, and the Trail's multi-round packages are worth the phone call.
Where to stay for a golf trip in Auburn
Hotels split a group of ten across four rooms and a lobby breakfast. The Hydrangea House is a five-bedroom, 4.5-bath house that sleeps 10+ inside a private golf community — one kitchen, one porch, one place to settle the bets. It's ten minutes from Jordan-Hare Stadium and about fifteen from the first tee at Grand National.
We book direct, so there are no platform service fees. If you're building a golf weekend, tell us the dates and we'll help you sequence the courses.