Thanksgiving Golf: Why Thanksgiving Tee Times are Underrated

Thanksgiving Golf: Why Thanksgiving Tee Times are Underrated

November 25, 2025

By Bill Irwin

On a day overflowing with tradition—family gatherings, turkey and all the trimmings, parades and football—why not add a new one by making a tee time?

Playing golf on Thanksgiving Day can be one of the great underrated pleasures on the holiday calendar. Before the gravy boats come out and the remote control gets a workout, slipping in a round offers the perfect blend of fresh air, family time, and strategic avoidance of kitchen chaos. Think of it as a warm-up lap before the feast—or, depending on how many relatives are staying under the same roof, a much-needed sanity break.

Thanksgiving golf offers a host of benefits. Many golf courses stay open for something special on Thanksgiving Day, with features such as festive scrambles or Turkey Shoot shotgun starts to mark the occasion. In fact, we’ve got a full scorecard of reasons why teeing it up on Turkey Day might become your new go-to holiday tradition. So grab your favorite sweater, snag a prime morning tee time, and prepare to earn that second slice of pie. Here’s why Thanksgiving golf deserves a place at your holiday table.

Front Nine

1. Closing the book on the season

For many golfers, Thanksgiving is one of the final chances to play before winter settles in. For Canadians, who celebrate their Thanksgiving in mid-October, it often really is the last round of the season.

2. A trip back to where it all began

Thanksgiving often brings people home—and with it, the chance to tee it up on the course you grew up playing. There’s something special about walking those familiar fairways and reconnecting not just with family, but with the place where your golf story began.

3. Reconnect with old friends

When everyone’s back in town, the default hangout is often a crowded, noisy bar. Golf offers a better alternative—a few hours on the course to catch up, or, if you prefer, to focus quietly on your swing. You can check in with old friends in a relaxed, real setting.

4. For family bonding—fairways over first downs

For many families, Thanksgiving means a backyard football game. Golf offers a gentler, safer alternative—one that still allows for laughter and a little competition, but without the bruises or pulled hamstrings. Walking the fairway with parents, siblings, or grown kids lets the conversation—and the connection—come naturally.

5. Trade the Turkey Trot for a Turkey Day shotgun start

While many get up early to race in a 5K, a morning tee time can offer a more relaxing way to get moving. Golf courses open on Thanksgiving often use a morning shotgun start, so players and staff alike can enjoy the rest of the day with family. And unlike running on chilly streets, the fairways and greens are much more forgiving on your joints.

6. Best way to recover from the night before

Thanksgiving Eve—often called “Drinksgiving”—is one of the busiest bar nights of the year. If your head’s a little cloudy the next morning, a walking round of golf can help set you straight. With your brain still fuzzy, you might even swing more freely—no overthinking, no second-guessing. Just hit it and go—let the fresh air do the rest.

7. You could win a prize

What’s more American than some friendly competition on Thanksgiving Day? Many courses turn their shotgun starts into “Turkey Shoot” tournaments—usually fun scrambles with prizes, breakfast burritos, holiday cookies, and yes, bragging rights.

8. Enjoy a holiday golf getaway

Thanksgiving can also be the perfect excuse to plan a quick golf getaway. Resorts—from Pinehurst to Pebble Beach—are especially magical this time of year. Jack Frost may nip at you during the round, but afterward, the cozy fireside and festive touches make the trip all the more rewarding.

9. Get a head start on the day

Thanksgiving Day doesn’t usually start early for most people. While everyone else sleeps in or recovers from the night before, you can sneak off for a guilt-free morning round and still make it home before the parades give way to the football games. Plus, you’ll have covered your exercise for the day.

If you’ve never played on Thanksgiving, you’ll learn quickly that many courses stay open just long enough to let golfers enjoy a brisk morning round before early dinner.

Back Nine

10. You play so the real cooks can cook

It’s almost a guarantee that there will be too many cooks in the kitchen. By hitting the golf course, you let the real chefs shine—and stay out of their way. Think of it as your contribution to a smooth Thanksgiving dinner.

11. It’s a better way to enjoy turkey

Many golf courses are home to flocks of wild turkeys, often content to visit the rough and natural areas or seen strutting across fairways. Spotting them is a guilt-free way to appreciate the holiday’s namesake—and far better karma than having to choose one that will be the main course at the holiday table.

12. Dinner conversation will be a lot less awkward

Let’s face it—holiday dinner talk can get awkward. But if you’ve played before the meal, you’ll have better stories to share. Grandpa’s quirky waggle action, junior’s monster drive, or your miraculous birdie can provide plenty of options that everyone might actually enjoy. Until someone brings up politics again.

13. You’re more likely to carve the bird beautifully

It’s a proven fact that golf can improve strength, balance, and focus. After your round, when the pressure is on and it’s time to show off your turkey carving skills, you’ll be ready to perform like a pro.

14. You earn your extra helpings

Surveys suggest that from Thanksgiving through the end of the holiday season, Americans believe they gain five extra pounds. Though that’s an exaggeration, playing a round before the Turkey Day feast will burn enough calories to justify every bite of pumpkin or pecan pie.

15. You’ll be alert for the big game

Golf offers more than exercise, competition, and a social experience—it boosts energy, stamina, and brain function. While everyone else fights off a post-feast nap and misses the flea flicker that wins the football game, you’ll be alert and ready to confirm that it wasn’t an illegal forward pass.

16. Escape the holiday hustle and find perspective

Thanksgiving is a day we love, but it’s a hectic mix of travel, shopping, decorating, and cooking. A morning tee time lets you step away for a few hours of calm in glorious nature. Even that crazy bounce off the flagstick and into the bunker won’t seem so unjust.

17. You’re adding to your life

If you’re a regular golfer, don’t let Thanksgiving interrupt your streak—make that tee time. Health experts say golf can add up to five years to your life. And if you’ve been slacking, a Thanksgiving Day round might be your cue to get back out there.

18. Golf is gratitude

Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. Whether you’re playing golf alone, with family, or alongside a new friend, a Thanksgiving Day round of golf offers a moment to appreciate the game, the company, and all the good in your life.

Golf may never replace the turkey or the parade, but once you’ve teed it up on Thanksgiving Day, you might find it’s the best new tradition you’ve ever started. Capture our best deals yet this season by booking your Thanksgiving round at golfnow.com.