There is a certain kind of romance to cold-weather golf. You know the scene: coffee in one hand, hand warmer in the other, swapping stories while waiting out a frost delay. It’s memorable, it’s part of the game, but it’s also kind of brutal.
So if you’re over wearing six layers and thwacking 5-irons off frozen fairways, then a golf trip in February might be just what the doctor ordered.
Here are the best places to chase a little warmth and a lot of birdies this February.
Best Places to Go for a Golf Trip in February
1. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is one of the country’s most accessible golf destinations year-round, and February is an especially smart time to visit. Green fees and stay‑and‑play packages are often significantly discounted, making the trip easier on the wallet while staying ahead of the spring crowds. While daytime temperatures typically reach the 50s and 60s, winter ryegrass overseeding and consistent course maintenance keep most layouts green and playable. Mornings can be chilly, and occasional frost delays happen, but for the most part, the area’s courses offer excellent winter golf conditions.
Top courses to play:
- Barefoot Resort & Golf: Barefoot is practically a golf vacation unto itself, with four distinct championship layouts packed into one resort complex, designed by some of the game’s biggest names: Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Tom Fazio, and Pete Dye.
- Caledonia Golf & Fish Club: Towering live oaks draped in Spanish moss, shimmering marshes, and meandering fairways create a storybook setting at this Mike Strantz masterpiece. Its 18th hole is one of the most memorable finishing holes in American golf.
- True Blue Golf Club: Another gem from Mike Strantz, True Blue is adjacent to Caledonia but offers a distinctly different personality: expansive fairways, bold bunkering, large greens, and dramatic elevation changes.
- Tidewater Golf Club: Famous for its intracoastal and inlet views, Tidewater blends dramatic scenery with classic design principles. Nine holes run along either the Intracoastal Waterway or Cherry Grove Inlet, making this layout one of the most picturesque in South Carolina.
- Prestwick Country Club: Often called the most underrated course in Myrtle Beach, Prestwick flies under the radar. But those in the know rave about it. Designed by Pete and P.B. Dye, it blends strategic bunkering with wetlands and a challenging back nine.
2. Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California and the surrounding Coachella Valley are legendary winter golf destinations, thanks to consistently warm, dry weather and pristine course conditions—something many other parts of the U.S. can’t guarantee this time of year. February temperatures often reach the mid‑60s to low‑70s, with nearly constant sunshine and gentle desert breezes keeping the heat in check across the valley’s 100+ golf courses.
Top courses that define the area:
- PGA West, Stadium Course: This Pete Dye classic is one of the valley’s most famous and demanding courses. Stadium is known for its deep pot bunkers, strong slopes, forced carries, and undulating greens. The par‑3 17th, nicknamed Alcatraz, features an island green that is one of the most talked‑about holes in the desert.
- Indian Wells Golf Resort, Celebrity Course: Redesigned in the mid‑2000s with expansive contouring and nearly 100 bunkers, Celebrity doesn’t rely on sheer length but rewards thoughtful placement and creativity, with plenty of water and undulating greens shaping how you approach each hole.
- Escena Golf Club: Designed by Jack Nicklaus and consistently ranked among the area’s top public courses, Escena marries panoramic views of the San Jacinto Mountains with a layout that balances challenge and playability—and a modern clubhouse with one of the desert’s best dining patios.
- Desert Willow, Firecliff Course: A championship caliber layout that consistently earns strong reviews for its conditioning and strategic design, Firecliff features sweeping desert vistas and more than 100 bunkers placed to test every club in the bag.
- The La Quinta Country Club: A classic desert golf staple with deep roots in Coachella Valley golf history (it’s been part of PGA Tour rotation events for decades), La Quinta Country Club is known for exceptionally maintained greens and traditional desert routing.
3. Scottsdale, Arizona
With over 200 courses spread across the Valley of the Sun, the Scottsdale area is a desert golf buffet, and February is the perfect time to feast. Temperatures sit comfortably in the mid-60s to low-70s with dry air that actually makes walking 18 enjoyable, and almost zero chance of sweating through your polo. Tee times are generally easy to come by, green fees aren’t highway robbery, and the weather is truly perfect for a post-round beer on the patio. Plan smart and avoid the spring break rush, and Scottsdale, Arizona gives you everything a golf trip in February could ask for.
Top courses worth booking:
- TPC Scottsdale: Home to the PGA TOUR’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, TPC Scottsdale’s two award-winning golf courses allow you to experience true championship golf on your golf trip in February. After undergoing a massive renovation in 2007, the Champions Course is now one of the most prized desert golf layouts. The Stadium Course, however, boasts the infamous par-3, 16th Hole – one of the most iconic in the game.
- Grayhawk Golf Club, Raptor Course: This Tom Fazio design is one of Scottsdale’s best public daily‑fee courses. Aesthetically, it’s classic Sonoran Desert with McDowell Mountain views, but misses get punished with deep greenside bunkers and grassy collection areas that test your short game.
- We‑Ko‑Pa Golf Club, Saguaro & Cholla: These are a couple of desert courses that feel truly out in the wild because there’s zero housing development, just cactus, red earth, and mountains. Both are consistently ranked among Arizona’s best public golf experiences, and the views from every tee make it worth the drive east of Scottsdale proper.
- Troon North Golf Club: If someone asked you to picture desert golf in Scottsdale, this is what they’d show you: rolling fairways framed by giant boulders, thick cactus, and that big Sonoran sky. With two standout layouts (Monument and Pinnacle), both designed by Tom Weiskopf, Troon North blends classic desert routing with thoughtful strategy.
4. Florida’s Gulf Coast
Along the Gulf Coast from Naples up toward Sarasota, February usually delivers 60s–70s temps with plenty of sunshine, making it one of the most reliably pleasant winter golf spots in the continental U.S. The courses range from water-laced resort tracks to tree-lined parkland gems, and almost every round comes with a view of the Gulf, a marsh, or a perfectly placed cypress tree.
Top courses to consider:
- Tiburón Golf Club: If there’s one round to splurge on, this is it. Nestled in North Naples and designed by Greg Norman, Tiburón has two full 18‑hole courses, the Gold and the Black, both par 72 and built to championship standards. From stacked sod wall bunkers and coquina shell waste areas to wide fairways and sloped greens, the classic Norman design demands thoughtful golf without being gratuitously brutal.
- Naples Grande Golf Club: A Rees Jones design with plenty of character, Naples Grande mixes water hazards, natural woodlands, and gentle elevation changes that make every hole feel a little different. The routing is smart—with risk/reward options that reward good shots and plenty of bailout lines when you’re just trying to score points—and the conditioning is typically among the best you’ll find on the Gulf Coast.
- TPC Treviso Bay: A true PGA Tour‑Network course designed by Arthur Hills (with Hal Sutton as consultant), Treviso Bay brings polished tree‑lined corridors, sculpted bunkers, and water on nearly every hole. It’s a classic Florida test that rides the edge between challenge and fair.
- Rosedale Golf & Country Club: More of a traditional Florida parkland track, Rosedale doesn’t have ocean views, but it does have oak‑lined fairways, subtle elevation changes, and a classic, easy‑to‑read layout that makes the round feel smooth and familiar. If you want somewhere that’s a little less polished‑resort and a little more “locals’ favorite,” this is your kind of track.
5. Las Vegas, Nevada
Most people think of Las Vegas as the place you lose at blackjack, not the place you break 80 in February. But that’s exactly what makes it such a sneaky good winter golf trip. Daytime highs in the 50s–60s make golf brisk but comfortable, much more playable than summer heat that can top triple digits. Plus, when the round is done, you’ve still got food, drinks, shows, and nightlife to enjoy.
Top courses that are worth the trip:
- TPC Las Vegas: The routing uses elevation smartly, and the finishing stretch asks you to stay dialed in when everything else wants you to be thinking about dinner and drinks. It’s polished, strategic golf without the chichi resort vibe, and it’s one of the most consistently solid rounds in town.
- Serket (formerly Rio Secco Golf Club) – Recently reborn with a bold new identity, Serket (pronounced SIR-ket) is named for the ancient Egyptian goddess of protection. The desert course retains all the canyon-carved fairways, elevation drama, and risk/reward shot-making that made it famous, but now with a refreshed spirit and striking scorpion emblem
- Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, Wolf Course: About 30–40 minutes from the Strip, Paiute is for serious golfers willing to venture a bit for pristine desert golf. The Wolf Course, a Jack Nicklaus design, rewards smart shot-making with wide fairways, strategic bunkering, and classic desert styling.
- Cascata Golf Club: Named for the Italian word for waterfall, Cascata really lives up to it: a 400‑foot waterfall cascades down the mountainside near the signature closing holes. The layout mixes desert terrain with sculpted fairways and big, dramatic elevation changes, and you’ll remember almost every hole on the back nine. The Tuscan‑inspired clubhouse doesn’t hurt, either.
- Wynn Golf Club: Whoever said you can’t have world‑class golf steps from a casino lobby clearly never played Wynn. This is beautifully maintained golf that feels urban‑resort but legit, with sparkling streams, sculpted green complexes, and enough elevation and shape that the course never feels flat or boring.
6. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head isn’t just pretty coastal scenery and shrimp boats. It’s one of the Southeast’s most popular golf destinations, especially for a golf trip in February. Mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine make for sweater weather on the first tee, shorts by the 10th. The courses embrace the island’s Lowcountry DNA: windswept fairways, towering oaks draped in Spanish moss, marshes and tidal creeks that sneak into play, and coastal grasses that frame holes like natural hazards
Top courses you shouldn’t miss:
- Harbour Town Golf Links (Sea Pines Resort): This Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus collaboration is one of the best in the state. Its iconic finishing stretch past the red‑and‑white Harbour Town lighthouse — especially the par‑4 18th skirting Calibogue Sound — is one of golf’s most memorable closes. This is the same course that hosts the PGA TOUR’s RBC Heritage every spring.
- Robert Trent Jones Course (Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort): This 18‑hole course was renovated with a nod to the original Jones design, and it delivers wide fairways, generous greens, and one of only two oceanfront holes on the island.
- Atlantic Dunes by Davis Love III (Sea Pines Resort): Built on the footprint of Hilton Head’s original Ocean Course, this Davis Love III redesign blends links‑style vibes with the island’s native coastal features. It’s longer and a bit more open than its siblings, but challenging when the breeze picks up.
- Heron Point by Pete Dye (Sea Pines Resort): Often overshadowed by Harbour Town, Heron Point is Pete Dye’s other standout island track. Water comes into play on a handful of holes, the fairways twist with intent, and the course rewards precision over pure power. Many golfers love it as a “warm‑up” or second round because it feels every bit as thoughtfully designed as Harbour Town, but slightly more forgiving by handicap
February might be cold back home, but across these destinations, the sun is out, the fairways are thankfully thawed, and great golf is waiting. So, don’t waste another second. ShipSticks makes it easy to send your golf clubs and luggage ahead (then back home), so you don’t have to waste precious time and energy at the airport.
So pack your polos, grab your shades, and let these destinations do the rest. Winter can wait—you’ve got golf to play.
