Best golf courses near Durham, NC

In 2001, Rees Jones designed a golfers’ paradise at Old Chatham Golf Club just outside of Raleigh. The course meanders over subtle terrain surrounded by seemingly endless thickets of North Carolina pines as well as extensive waste areas, creating challenging and tight driving windows. Small and firm putting surfaces are guarded by a variety of hazards, from penal collection areas to deep bunkers. In 2022, Jones completed a renovation improving fairways, reducing bunker size and redesigning the par-3 16th hole, which is now played over a hazard and offers a collection area to bail out of the demanding tee shot. If in the Raleigh area, this is a course not to be missed.

Hope Valley Country Club is one of the best golf courses in North Carolina. Discover our experts' reviews and course information.

Situated on the north side of Durham in the Research Triangle, Treyburn is a private Tom Fazio design that plays over rolling terrain that creates constant elevation change throughout the round. Numerous creeks play an integral role in the strategy at Treyburn, as they often cross near the fronts of greens, leaving players to decide whether to attack in regulation or lay back, especially if they’re out of position off the tee. Some tee shots are tight, including at the demanding par-4 18th, considered one of the more difficult finishers in the area. The narrow tree-lined tee shot plays up to the top of a hill that falls to the left, leaving players an approach to a green closely guarded by a creek running across the front and left side of the putting surface.

Home to the Duke Blue Devils, a top NCAA Division I program, the Duke Golf Club features significant elevation changes and forced carries over narrow winding creeks. The track also has a fascinating history—it was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1957, and it was soon honored as the host of the 1962 men’s NCAA Championship. Rees Jones, the eldest son of the esteemed designer, played for Yale University in the championship that year. He went on to renovate the course himself in 1994.

Governors Club: Lakes & Foothills is ranked as one of the best golf courses in North Carolina. Discover our experts' reviews and tee time information.

The Carolina Country Club is old-school southern golf done right. It is staid, exclusively private, and mature. Now more than 100 years old, Carolina Country Club is the place to play and belong inside Raleigh's beltway. Aside from the 450-yard par-4 16th, the course is not long. It plays 6,304 yards as a par-71 from the tips. However, many elevation changes keep the holes interesting, challenging, even grand in places. After several redesigns, the course retains its Tillinghast roots in the bunkering, and especially how holes flow with the land. It is eminently playable for golfers of any skill level. Players will find the par 3s to be most memorable as a group. Among them, the 228-yard fourth moves across a grassed valley into a wide, narrow, punched-up green. Stay below the pin. The 182-yard par-3 eighth plays downhill across a natural, flowing, rocky stream. It is visually daunting and may be the best hole on the golf course. The 158-yard 11th features a broad, low, island-style green site beneath large, stately old-Raleigh mansions. It provides your best photo opportunity. The 178-yard 17th is a downhill beauty with a trio of bunkers protecting a moderately sloped, back-to front green. While none of Carolina Country Club greens look intimidating, they fit the course. Do not take them lightly. They break subtly, mysteriously and consistently. At 12 on the stimp meter, speed matters. Aggressive putts or tepid can cost you. Those greens pair perfectly with the many uphill and downhill shots players hit into them from either fairways or pitching areas. Miss, and they still offer fair chances at recovery. Worth noting, this course is a sculpted horticultural marvel if you appreciate such touches. Pllayers who appreciate wide open golfing vistas may feel differently. And the high voltage power lines strung from massive towers? Bizarre. We'll be kind and describe them as a modern touch.

Originally built in 1949, UNC Finley was redesigned by Tom Fazio in the late 80s and shortly after became home to the Tar Heels golf program. Host to numerous collegiate tournaments, including the 2015 NCAA Men’s Regional Championships, this challenging course has no shortage of bunkers or water. In 2023, Mark and Davis Love III, along with architect Scot Sherman, revamped the entire course, adding a new practice range and putting course for the UNC golf teams, adding five new holes, shifting bunkers and tees and giving the greens and hazards more of an old time, "Tillinghast with a twist" look.