Best golf courses near Savannah, GA

The Deer Creek Course at The Landings Club near Savannah is ranked as one of the best golf courses in Georgia. Discover our experts' reviews and tee time information

This property, just a half-hour south of Savannah, was once the winter retreat of Henry Ford and his family, but golf didn't arrive until the 1980s, when a new owner hired Pete Dye to build a course. Dropped blindly on any of the holes on the first nine, and you might think you were at almost any of Dye's southeastern courses—is this Harbour Town? Oak Marsh? Long Cove Club or Barefoot Resort? The tells are all there, from the moss-draped oaks to the strip bunkers to the bulkheaded water features and moguls and hollows surrounding small greens. But there's no mistaking the second nine for anywhere else. These holes circle over an open isthmus of land projecting into the Ogeechee River. The treeless plain is full of Dye's architecture that looks particularly good in this exposed setting, particularly the wonderful drive and pitch 10th with a green set hard against the water, the par-4 14th with a bunkerless elevated green, and a nice rendition of his often used 5-3-4 finish tacking back toward the large antebellum clubhouse. The six-time host of the Georgia Open is also full of dozens of alligators that blissfully bask on the banks.

Belfair's West course in Bluffton is one of the best courses in South Carolina. Discover our experts' reviews and where Belfair ranks in our rankings

Built some 35 years after nearby Harbour Town Golf Links, May River is an interesting contrast in Jack Nicklaus's portfolio (Nicklaus was co-designer of Harbour Town with Pete Dye). It's an equally low-profile layout with a number of bump-and-run approach shots, but with several Pine Valley-like waste areas and with larger, bolder greens. The classic routing has the front nine turning clockwise through the forest while the back nine circles counter-clockwise, and each touch repeatedly on the wetlands of the namesake May River. Gorgeous and mysterious at every turn, the course is at its best when it gets players thinking, like at the short par-4 seventh where they must decide to either lay up to an island of fairway or take a swipe at a shallow green situated on another small isthmus of land along the marsh, and the par-5 10th where a wetland crossing the fairway and several small centrally arranged pot bunkers put indecision into the second and third shots toward a green backed up against the river.

Belfair's East course in Georgetown is one of the best courses in South Carolina. Discover our experts' reviews and where Belfair ranks in our rankings

A short drive from downtown Savannah, Henderson Golf Club is a par-71 public track with two distinct nines. The front nine plays over open, rolling terrain while the back nine is more tree lined. Live oaks, magnolias and wetlands are all present throughout. At just under 6,600 yards from the tips, it’s a relatively short course that rewards accuracy over distance.

Built on an island that sits between Savannah and the South Carolina border, Bob Cupp and Sam Snead weaved their design at the Club at Savannah Harbor in between marshlands, native vegetation and tidal wetlands of the Back River. The layout, which boasts a number of short par 4s but tips out over 7,200 yards, hosted the PGA Tour Champions' Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf Championship for about 10 years.

About a mile from the Savannah airport, Crosswinds Golf Club is a par-72 with five par 3s and five par 5s, providing plenty of variety. Given the proximity to the airport, low-flying planes are commonplace—just another unique element of this public track. In addition to the 18-hole course, there is a 9-hole par-3 layout with holes ranging from 90 to 160 yards from the tips.