With a bevy of new golf resorts coming online in the last five years, it’s more complex than ever to plan that next destination vacation.
There is a location to choose, golf to line up, airline flights to book, lodging to secure, dinner reservations … and on and on.
The details can be overwhelming at times, but there is one question that often goes unasked that is crucial to a successful golf trip. It’s a question we’re often too sheepish to ask of the pro shop or our travel expert.
What are the course’s tee time intervals?
And you may ask, “Why is this so important?”
Well, those of us who have ever logged a six-hour round can attest to the mounting frustration of waiting countless times on the group in front as an overcrowded course becomes bogged down — and anything but enjoyable.
There is a constant balancing act between driving revenue and the golfing experience as resorts look to drive maximum profits. And while many public golf courses work off 8-minute tee time intervals, the growing cost for a round of resort golf — many times in excess of $300 — has shined a light in recent years on reducing the tee sheet.
“I think some of the larger golf resorts are recognizing they’re charging so much money per tee time that they don’t have to do the volume that they were doing before,” says Billy Dunham, project manager for Atlanta-based Premier Golf, one of the nation’s top golf travel specialist. “And there’s just something special for golfers to not feel that pressure from behind or not having to wait on the group in front of you the entire round.”
Dunham points to a resort such as SentryWorld Golf Club in Wisconsin, which offers a remarkable 20-minute span between tee times, as one in a group of growing U.S. and worldwide destinations that are beginning to focus more on the on-course guest golf experience.
“So, you really almost have two holes between each group at SentryWorld,” Dunham says. “And what makes that place so much fun is they even have two on-course comfort stations with full menus as part of an all-inclusive round. So with the 20 minutes between tee times you have time to stop, get something to eat, get something to drink, and enjoy it. You don’t feel like you have to just grab a hot dog and a beer and hop back in the cart and go on your way.
“With many of these resorts charging upwards of $450-$500 a round that revenue is there. If you lose several dozen tee times in a day, are you really losing money or are you just recouping it in the enjoyment after the round where golfers are like, ‘Oh man, that was such a great round, let’s go have a beer, let’s go have a sandwich?’ There are all these ancillary costs that come with logging that super enjoyable, unhurried round.”
Still, that conversation of potentially shrinking the tee sheet is often a tug-of-war between ownership, general managers and golf pros.
“I don’t think it’s specific to golf,” Dunham says. “I think businesses are reluctant to change business models that have been successful for them. So, if 10-minute tee times have been successful for you, and you haven’t really had a lot of complaints, you’re going to likely continue that model.”
For example, Dirk Willis, vice president of golf, landscape and retail at Kohler Resort, made a bold move in 2024 by creating 13-minute tee times at Whistling Straits on the shores of Lake Michigan, saying the course became too crowded for his liking.
“It was kind of unique, and trust me wasn’t the industry standard,” Willis says. “We actually reduced inventory. I told a bunch of our industry counterparts what we were doing at an industry event and they just kind of looked at me like, ‘You’re doing what?’ They looked at me like I was crazy but it has worked.
“It became a better golf experience, and that’s where we elevate ourselves above our competition a lot of times. We got to the point in 2022 where we just said, ‘This is too many people on the golf course,’ it was so jammed packed and the experience actually was diminished. So, we made a strategic decision to say ‘less is more.’”
Since that decision, Willis says he’s fielded zero complaints about pace of play.
“It has been a huge win for us,” he says.
Overseas in Portugal, the recently-voted top course in the country — The Dunas Course at Terras da Comporta — uses 15-minute tee time to “focus on quality over quantity.”
“As a golfer here, you have time just to breathe, to enjoy your game,” says director of golf Rodrigo Ulrich.
And at Black Desert Resort in Utah, there is another reason the in-season tee times increase from 10 to 12 minutes.
The course, which opened less than three years ago, has as many golfers gazing at the amazing scenery as concentrating on golf, so the extra minutes between tee times allots for a few cell phone photos per hole.
“It’s something we’ve prioritized because we’re a destination golf course that the PGA Tour plays on, so we’re just trying to give all our guests the best experience possible,” says golf pro Ryan Siemens. “When you play the first hole and you don’t even see the first group on the first hole that certainly gives golfers a great way to start the round.”