French Lick
When it comes to a golf getaway with your crew, there is no doubt that finding a place with both the ability to be at an unforgettable golf course during the day followed by a nighttime filled with table games with the dice in your hand is at the top of many golfer’s “must-have” lists for a golf trip.
Fortunately for us, this isn’t news to the powers that be that create these experiences, and we’ve put together a list of 11 golf courses to consider with a casino onsite or nearby that you should take a look at for your next golf stay-and-play vacation.
Barona Creek Golf Club (Lakeside, California)
Woven into the natural landscape of the rolling foothills outside San Diego, Barona Creek was designed by architect Todd Eckenrode and is part of the Barona Resort & Casino. Gently flowing creeks and hardy California oaks provide for beauty as well as natural obstacles, starting with the giant oak tree in the center of the first fairway that players have to negotiate on their approach to the green on the par-5 hole.
Barona Creek
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino (Biloxi, Mississippi)
One of the top-rated courses in Mississippi, the Tom Fazio-designed Fallen Oak is exclusively for guests of MGM’s Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, with a layout draped across 510 acres in a scenic Southern setting. Play is relatively limited, and guests are treated to special touches, like personalized lockers, once they pass through the gated entrance.
Circling Raven Golf Club (Worley, Idaho)
Set among the natural beauty of North Idaho’s Palouse region, Circling Raven is affiliated with the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel and is owned and operated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. The Gene Bates design, which winds through 620 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and Palouse grasses, features holes with native American names such as S’lpst’ulikhw and ‘Edi’k’wkhwaqhasi’qs that translate to “Twisted Earth” and “Moose Crossing,” respectively.
French Lick Resort (French Lick, Indiana)
The French Lick Resort counts three hotels across more than 3,200 acres, including one (French Lick Springs Hotel) that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and another (the West Baden Springs Hotel) that’s a National Historic Landmark. In addition to Vegas-style gaming, the resort has 45 holes of golf, including the 1917-designed Donald Ross Course and the visually stunning Pete Dye Course.
French Lick
Island Resort & Casino (Harris, Mich.)
On Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Island Resort & Casino offers casino games and a luxury hotel as well as two championship golf courses designed by Paul Albanese – with Sage Run opening in 2018 to offer a contrasting style to the original Sweetgrass layout. The off-the-beaten-path property is owned and operated by the Hannahville Indian Community, which is part of the Upper Peninsula’s Potawatomi Indian Tribe.
Monster Golf Club (Monticello, New York)
In New York’s Catskill Mountains, a monster lay dormant for almost a decade. Now it’s back. The Monster Golf Club, a former Golf Digest Top 100 course that closed in 2015, reopened for play in late 2023 following a $40 million investment from Resorts World Catskills and a major redesign project by Rees Jones that took nearly five years. Holes and playing corridors from two shuttered courses were used to create a picturesque, new 18-hole routing, which tips out at 7,650 yards from the “Monster Tees.” Located about two hours from Manhattan, the retooled Monster has been an eagerly awaited amenity at a resort that boasts an 18-story all-suite hotel and a pristine mountain backdrop but as well as a 100,000-square-foot casino floor with more than 150 live table games, 1,600 slot machines, a poker room, private player’s lounge and a sportsbook. With the rebirth of the Monster, Resorts World Catskills joins an extensive list of U.S. casinos with golf courses.
Salish Cliffs Golf Club (Shelton, Wash.)
Just over an hour from Seattle, Salish Cliffs is a Squaxin Island Tribal-owned facility that’s part of the Little Creek Casino. The layout has a true Pacific Northwest feel, sculpted out of the Kamilche Valley by architect Gene Bates. In addition to the memorably massive double green shared by the 9th and 18th holes that’s framed by the clubhouse, Salish Cliffs was recognized just over a decade ago as the first Salmon-Safe certified golf course in the world.
Turning Stone Resort Casino (Verona, N.Y.)
This award-winning resort in upstate New York owned by the Oneida Tribe offers world class gaming in addition to five golf courses, including three 18-hole championship layouts. The Tom Fazio-designed Atunyote course is the property’s jewel, having hosted a PGA Tour stop from 2007 to 2010, with Kaluhyat (Robert Trent Jones Jr.) and Shenendoah (Rick Smith) just behind and offering spectacular views.
Turning Stone
We-Ko-Pa Golf Club (Fort McDowell, AZ)
In the unspoiled Sonoran Desert just outside Scottsdale, We-Ko-Pa features two award-winning golf courses: Coore-Crenshaw’s Saguaro (which combines desert golf with a links-style design) and Scott Miller’s Cholla, which is known for its aesthetic beauty as it plays through shady arroyos and over desert ridges. The courses and neighboring We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort are run by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.
Wynn Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)
Saved in 2019 from the chopping block – and plans to bulldoze it in favor of a $3 billion development project – the Wynn delivers great golf in idyllic surrounds right on the Las Vegas Strip. The high-end course has recently taken center stage in a televised episode of “The Match” and the first live-streamed sporting event on Netflix, while falling under the watchful eye of The Sphere.
Wynn Las Vegas
Yocha Dehe at Cache Creek Casino (Brooks, CA)
About 50 miles northwest of Sacramento, the Brad Bell-designed Yocha Dehe Golf Club has emerged as perhaps the region’s leading resort and daily fee course with its pristine playing conditions and exceptional hospitality. The name of the course means “home by the spring water” in the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation’s native language and is part of an experience nestled in the Capay Valley that’s regarded as Northern California’s premiere casino resort.