Golf & Getaways: The Best Courses Near Tuftonboro, NH

The Lakes Region has a real concentration of golf, but not all of it is playable if you’re not a member somewhere. Here’s the honest breakdown: which courses you can actually book, and which ones are worth knowing about even if you can’t.

Courses you can actually play

Kingswood Golf Club, in Wolfeboro, is the standout. It’s a Donald Ross–designed course (semi-private but open to public play) and consistently the course locals point visitors toward first. If you only play one round on a Lakes Region trip, this is the one to prioritize.

Waukewan Golf Club, in Center Harbor, is a full public 18-hole course with lake-and-mountain views and a relaxed atmosphere: a good second round, or a better fit if you’re playing with a mixed-skill group.

Province Lake Golf Club, out toward the Maine border, is another public option worth the slightly longer drive if you’re making a day of it.

Courses you’ll hear about but likely can’t book

Bald Peak Colony Club, in Melvin Village, is one of the most storied courses in the region, and private. Don’t plan a trip around playing it unless you’re going as someone’s guest.

It’s also worth knowing that a course called Lake Winnipesaukee Golf Club, in New Durham, sounds like it should be open to the public given the name. It isn’t. It’s a private club, designed by Clive Clark, and a common point of confusion when people search for lake-adjacent public golf.

Building a trip around it

None of the three playable courses above are more than a 30-minute drive from most of the Tuftonboro/Wolfeboro area, which makes a golf-focused day easy to combine with the rest of a Lakes Region stay: a morning round, an afternoon at the lake.