Golf Vacation Destinations with Awesome Non-Golf Activities

If you’re planning a golf vacation, you obviously love golf. However, if you’re like most healthy, well-balanced individuals, you don’t eat, sleep and breathe the sport! So today we are looking at some awesome worldwide destinations with well-known activities other than golf for your vacation! We'll check out some top courses in each city to create a perfect golf vacation, but also the other local attractions.

Maui Golf Vacations

Head to Maui for your golf vacation, and you'll not only get access to some very picturesque courses and beautiful weather, you can learn to surf when you aren't teeing off. There are plenty of beginner surfing schools in Maui, and the break is quite gentle. Most surfing schools guarantee you'll stand up the first lesson you take!

Golf wise, you must check out Kapalua Plantation and Wailea - Old Blue Course on your golf trip to Maui.

Las Vegas Golf Vacations

The golf courses aren’t the main reason that most tourists come to Vegas ... so the alternative activities are pretty obvious! Aside from laying down all your money at the craps table, the roulette wheel or on a poker hand, Vegas also has hiking and climbing, skydiving, ballooning, zoos and auto racing to enjoy, among other things.

Check out courses like Desert Pines and Rever at Anthem/Concord to keep it a golf vacation.

Costa del Sol Golf Vacations

For some, there is no better golf vacation destination than Costa Del Sol in Spain. Beautiful weather and stunning clear oceans make scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing and water skiing popular. You can also go on Jeep safari tours when you aren't debating the pros and cons of iron over wood.

Hot courses in Costa del Sol include Los Naranjos, Rio Real, and Valderrama.

Ediburgh Golf Vacations

If music as well as golf is a passion of yours, then take your golf vacation at the time of the Ediburgh Festival, a week-long music event. There are also plenty of theaters, great shopping and heritage buildings and areas to take in.

Edinburgh's finest in terms of golf includes Blairgowrie, Dunbar and Gleneagles, all must-plays on a golf vacation.

High-Ranking Golf Vacations

If you're travelling hundreds or thousands of miles for a golf vacation, why not make sure you're traveling to the best? Here we look at five of the courses across the globe that have high rankings. It's a great way to ensure a memorable golf trip.

1. Pebble Beach Resorts

Plan your next golf trip to Pebble Beach resorts, which was ranked the No. 1 golf resort in America by Golf Digest magazine in 2008. Jack Nicklaus has said that if he had only one round of golf left to play in his life it would be at Pebble Beach Resorts. The course has hosted the 1972, 1982, 1992 and 2000 U.S. Open Championship tournaments. It was designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant,and has been open since 1919. You must be a guest at one of the four Pebble Beach resorts to play on the golf course, so book your golf trip accommodation and pay your green fees at the same time.

2. Gullane No. 1 Course

Quite possibly this is the best golf course in Gullane, and arguably the best in Scotland. There are plenty of undulating holes to create a challenge on this par 71, 6,466 yard course, which has a panoramic view of Edinburgh, Fife and the Forth Bridge.

3. World Woods -- Pine Barrens

Okay, we realize that this course is ranked No. 64 in the world, not No. 1. We wouldn’t have much of a top 5 article if we only looked at the No. 1 club in the world for golf vacations, though! The style of this course is often compared to Pine Valley in New Jersey -- a course which is often considered as the No. 1 course in the entire world. The holes at this course are enjoyable, but certainly a challenge! There are huge elevation changes, stunning pine forest surrounds, and beautifully manicured fairways.

4. Port Royal Golf Club

This club in Bermuda has a host of No. 1's to its name, from golfing publications and websites the world over. It has gorgeous ocean views throughout most of the course, with one of the highlights being a par 3 shot to the green on cliffs overlooking the ocean. Work on your accuracy, then plan your golf vacation!

5. Club Campestre San Jose

This course was designed by one of the world's No. 1 golfers of all time -- Jack Nicklaus's signature enterprises. It uses saltwater-resistant paspalum variety grass, making it easier to maintain in the desert conditions in which it resides. There are a further six championship courses to experience in the Cabo San Lucas area on your golf vacation.