TL;DR
- The Route 66 Golf Trail launched 30 April 2026, featuring 66 courses from Chicago to Santa Monica
- Official U.S. Centennial Commission project for Route 66’s 100th anniversary
- Players can create profiles, track rounds, and compete on leaderboards at stickson66.com
- Blends classic American road trip nostalgia with golf tourism across 2,448 miles and eight states
- Fresh opportunity for agents to build custom packages around golf and heritage travel
A New Spin on an Old Road
The Mother Road has a new calling card. On 30 April, the Route 66 Golf Trail became official at a news conference at LaFortune Park Golf Course in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gary Sparks, the trail’s founder, timed the launch to coincide with Route 66’s centennial year, calling it “a permanent bucket-list road trip for golfers.”
And that’s exactly what it is: 66 designated courses stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica, following the historic highway that still pulls visitors hunting for Americana, diners with good pie, and wide-open horizons. Now there’s a scorecard to go with it.
How It Works
The trail runs the full 2,448 miles of Route 66, crossing eight states. Each of the 66 courses sits along or near the route, giving golfers a reason to stop, play, and linger in towns they might otherwise blow past.
Players register at stickson66.com, where they can build a profile, log their rounds, and track their progress along the trail. There’s a leaderboard for the competitive types and social sharing features for those who want to post their sunset tee shots against a backdrop of vintage motels and roadside giants.
The digital side launched in April, so tracking and ranking are live now. It’s designed to feel part scavenger hunt, part pilgrimage, with Route 66 icons dotted throughout the experience.
For Your Client Conversations
Golf tourism has always had legs, but pairing it with Route 66 adds a layer of storytelling that appeals beyond the fairway obsessives. Think couples where one golfs and the other explores quirky Route 66 stops. Think multi-generational trips where dad plays nine holes while the family hunts for the Cadillac Ranch or the Blue Whale of Catoosa.
The trail also speaks to clients who want structure without rigidity. They can tackle all 66 courses over multiple trips or cherry-pick a region. Spring and autumn are natural sweet spots for weather, and the centennial year gives the whole thing a sense of occasion without a hard deadline.
Because it’s official, designated by the U.S. Centennial Commission, there’s a bit of weight here. It’s not a marketing stunt. It’s a legacy project tied to one of the most iconic roads in the world.
Building the Trip
This works well for self-drive itineraries. Route 66 already has the infrastructure, the mythology, and the pull. Adding golf gives you an anchor activity and a reason to recommend specific overnight stops.
You could build a Chicago-to-Tulsa leg focusing on the first dozen courses, or a California coastal finish with golf and wine. Fly-drive packages make sense, especially for UK clients who want the open-road experience but don’t have three weeks to spare.
Group tours are another angle. Golf clubs back home often look for trips with a hook, and “play the longest golf trail in the world” is a good one. The leaderboard feature gives groups a friendly rivalry, and the Route 66 backdrop delivers stories they’ll want to tell.
The Takeaway
This is heritage travel meeting hobby travel, and it’s straightforward to talk about. You’re not selling a resort or a single destination, you’re selling a route, a rhythm, and a reason to take the scenic way. Worth having in your toolkit for clients who golf, love Americana, or both.
