Fairways Everything we've published
Golf destinations, the points strategy to get there, and the golf talk in between. Every price, points valuation, and availability claim carries a date and a source.
- Golf Destinations (10)
- Points Strategy for Golf Trips (8)
- Golf Talk (8)
- Points & Miles (8)
Does Your Credit Card Actually Cover a Damaged Golf Bag?
Your card's baggage coverage sounds like $2,000 to $3,000 per trip, until golf clubs get classified as 'sporting equipment' and the real number drops to a few hundred dollars. Here's what each layer actually owes you, and in what order.
Points & Miles · 2026-10-05
Streamsong Resort: Three Courses on an Old Phosphate Mine, and Why That's the Point
No single architect, no bundled stay-and-play rate, and a landscape that exists because the ground used to be a Florida phosphate mine. Here's how to actually plan a Streamsong trip instead of assuming it works like Bandon or Pinehurst.
Golf Destinations · 2026-10-05
Marriott's Stay for 5 vs. Hilton's 5th Night Free: Which Golf-Trip Discount Is Actually Easier to Use
Both programs give you a free night on a longer points stay. One hands it to every member automatically. The other gates it behind elite status you might not have yet. Here's how the two benefits actually differ for a golf trip.
Points Strategy for Golf Trips · 2026-09-28
Two Things to Check Before You Post a Score From a Course You've Never Played
One decides what your handicap becomes for the day. The other decides whether the round can be posted at all. Here's the difference between the two, and how to run both checks before you reach the first tee.
Golf Talk · 2026-09-28
Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst, or St Andrews: How to Pick Your First Bucket-List Golf Trip
A lottery, a named package, and a ballot are three different booking systems wearing the same "bucket-list trip" label. Here's how they actually compare, and which one fits the trip you're planning.
Golf Destinations · 2026-09-21
Chase, Amex, or Citi: Which Transferable Points Should Fund Your Golf Trip
All three transfer to real airline and hotel programs, but not to the same ones, and not at the same ratio. Here's how Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou actually compare for a golf trip.
Points & Miles · 2026-09-21
Marriott's 5th-Night-Free Rule, and Where to Actually Use It on a Golf Trip
Stay for 5, Pay for 4 is Marriott Bonvoy's built-in discount for a longer points stay, and it's automatic for every member, not just top-tier elites. Here's how it actually works and two Bonvoy-family resorts with real golf on-site.
Points Strategy for Golf Trips · 2026-09-14
Is Your Driver Still Legal? The Conforming Club and Ball Lists, Explained
The USGA and The R&A publish a running list of exactly which driver heads and golf balls are tournament-legal, and it changes every week. Here's how the list works, what happens if your equipment falls off it, and how to check your own bag in two minutes.
Golf Talk · 2026-09-14
American Express Membership Rewards Won't Get You to American. Here's What It's Actually Good For
Membership Rewards has no AAdvantage transfer path at all, at any ratio. For a golf trip built around American's hub network, that changes which currency should be doing the work.
Points & Miles · 2026-09-07
A First Golf Trip to Myrtle Beach: How to Not Drown in 80 Courses
Myrtle Beach isn't a course problem, it's a volume problem: 80-plus public courses on one 60-mile stretch. Here's how to pick a handful instead of trying to see all of it.
Golf Destinations · 2026-09-07
Fixed Chart or Dynamic Price: How to Pick Where to Book a Golf Trip on Points
Hyatt still publishes a category chart. Hilton doesn't. Here's the actual decision framework for choosing between a fixed-chart program and a dynamic one when the thing you're booking is a golf trip with a tee time already picked.
Points Strategy for Golf Trips · 2026-08-31
What's Actually in My Golf Bag Right Now
Every club, shaft, and glove I'm carrying this season, why each one earned its spot, and what's already on the replacement list.
Golf Talk · 2026-08-31
Citi ThankYou Points: The Card You Hold Decides the American Airlines Transfer Ratio
Citi ThankYou Points transfer to American Airlines AAdvantage at 1:1 or 1:0.7 depending on which card earned them, and two hotel transfer ratios just got worse. Both facts change the math on a golf trip.
Points & Miles · 2026-08-24
Planning a First Ireland Golf Trip Before the 2027 Ryder Cup Pushes Prices Higher
Ireland carries a third of the world's natural links courses across 400+ clubs, and the courses worth building a first trip around are getting more expensive every year the 2027 Ryder Cup gets closer.
Golf Destinations · 2026-08-24
Course Rating and Slope, Explained
Two numbers on the scorecard, printed once for every set of tees, decide which tee box you should actually play and what your handicap becomes for the day. Here's what they mean and how to use them before your next unfamiliar course.
Golf Talk · 2026-08-17
Hilton Honors Ditched the Award Chart. Here's How Golf-Resort Pricing Works Now
Hilton Honors prices every award night against the room's own cash rate, with no published chart to check first. Here's how that pricing actually moves, what the 5th-night-free benefit really requires, and three Hilton-family resorts with real golf on-site.
Points Strategy for Golf Trips · 2026-08-17
Two Winters in Palm Springs: The Course Worth Repeating
2026 was the third year in a row the group came back to Palm Springs, my second trip there. Five courses across two visits, two repeats, and only one course ever called the favorite. Plus the miles side: what the flights, the house, and the car actually cost.
Golf Destinations · 2026-08-14
The Other Bag on a Golf Trip: Why I Switched From Two Wheels to Four
The ClubGlider handles the clubs. Everything else, the clothes, the shoes, the rain gear, rides in a rollaboard. After returning two new bags and keeping a third, here's what actually changed my mind on wheel count.
Golf Talk · 2026-08-03
Planning Your First Hilton Head Golf Trip Around Harbour Town and Sea Pines
Sea Pines' three resort courses are the frame for a first Hilton Head golf trip, and the afternoon rate gap between them is bigger than most people expect.
Golf Destinations · 2026-07-27
How Airline Alliances Actually Work, and Why It Matters for a Points-Funded Golf Trip
oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam bundle codeshares, mileage earning, and status recognition across dozens of airlines, but the same alliance badge does not mean the same seat prices the same everywhere.
Points & Miles · 2026-07-27
DFW's Golf Range: Fort Worth's City Munis to PGA Frisco's Major-Championship Build-Out
Dallas-Fort Worth isn't a golf destination, and we say that with love. Home turf still runs from a city rack-rate muni system at one edge to two Gil Hanse and Beau Welling courses gearing up to host a PGA Championship at the other.
Golf Talk · 2026-07-24
How to Actually Value a Point (Instead of Trusting the Average)
A single "points are worth X cents" number is an average across every possible redemption. Here's the math for the specific redemption you're actually planning, worked through a golf-trip example.
Points & Miles · 2026-07-24
No Blackout Dates, No Chart: What Rapid Rewards Actually Means for a Golf Trip
A tee time doesn't move because an airline's saver-award calendar is full. Southwest's Rapid Rewards program was built without blackout dates or a fixed chart in the first place. Here's what that structure actually buys a golf trip.
Points Strategy for Golf Trips · 2026-07-24
What 'Strokes Gained' Actually Measures (and Why It Beats Your Scorecard)
Strokes gained isn't about how many shots you took. It's about how many you were expected to take. Here's how the PGA Tour's four categories work, and how to borrow the idea without a shot-tracking system.
Golf Talk · 2026-07-24
Flying to Ireland or Scotland for Golf on AAdvantage Miles
Aer Lingus isn't a oneworld partner, but a January 2026 deal with American opened a direct path to southwest Ireland and Scotland's links on AAdvantage miles.
Points Strategy for Golf Trips · 2026-07-10
Award Charts Are Gone. Now What?
Most airline programs quietly dropped the fixed award chart years ago. Here's what's actually left, how to search when there's no chart to check, and how that changes planning a golf trip months out.
Points & Miles · 2026-07-10
point.me vs. seats.aero vs. ExpertFlyer: Which Award Search Tool Fits Your Trip
Three tools built for three different jobs. Here's what each one actually searches, what it costs as published on its own site, and which one to open first for your next golf trip.
Points & Miles · 2026-07-10
Planning Your First Trip to Bandon Dunes
How Bandon's two booking windows actually work, which courses to build a trip around, and how points can cover the flight to get there.
Golf Destinations · 2026-07-10
Chase Transfer Partners: Paying for a Golf Trip With Ultimate Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards moves to 14 airline and hotel partners at 1:1, one exception pending. Here's how that works for an actual golf trip, worked through a Myrtle Beach example.
Points Strategy for Golf Trips · 2026-07-10
The Sun Mountain ClubGlider Line: How to Fly With Your Clubs Without Wrecking Them (or Your Back)
Sun Mountain's ClubGlider bags solve golf travel with a leg that deploys and carries the weight for you. Here's the current lineup, what each model actually weighs, and what your airline will charge you to check it.
Golf Talk · 2026-07-10
Why Hyatt's Fixed Award Chart Still Matters for Golf Trips
World of Hyatt is one of the last hotel programs with a real published chart. Here's how the category system works and three golf resorts it actually covers.
Points Strategy for Golf Trips · 2026-07-10
The Old Course Ballot: Building a First Scotland Golf Trip Around It
How the daily lottery for the Old Course actually works, what to do the day you don't get picked, and how to get to Edinburgh without paying cash for the flight.
Golf Destinations · 2026-07-10
Pinehurst's Golf Packages, Decoded
Pinehurst Resort sells stay-and-play under three names that all sound alike. Here's what each one actually includes, how the No. 2 and No. 10 premiums work, and which package fits which trip.
Golf Destinations · 2026-07-10
Building a Scottsdale Golf Trip Around the WM Phoenix Open
The WM Phoenix Open gives Scottsdale a reason to book a golf trip around a fixed week. Here's the tournament, the two TPC Scottsdale courses you can actually play, and how to get there.
Golf Destinations · 2026-07-10