5 Tips for Planning Golf Trips

Planning a vacation is never as much fun as when it is a vacation to do something you love to do, but it’s easy to overlook important things if you’re not careful. Planning golf trips is as much about making sure that you have fun as it is making sure that your travel connections work out. Whether you’re planning golf travel on your own or putting together golf vacations for yourself and your buds, these tips will guarantee a great time for all.

Book Your Tee Times When You Book Your Rooms

Golf vacations revolve around golf, so why would you leave course availability to chance? Don’t just assume that you’ll be able to walk in and get right on the course, especially if your golf trip includes playing on one of the top golf courses in the country. Plan ahead. As soon as you have your rooms booked, schedule your tee times at any must-play courses in the area.

Check the Overseeding Schedule for the Courses You Want to Play

Myrtle Beach golf courses and Arizona golf courses typically overseed their courses in the fall, and many have a cart-path policy defining where you can drive or play during the overseeding season. Call ahead to find out if or when your golf game might be affected by course maintenance. It’s no fun having your game ruined by inability to play on the course in optimal condition.

Book Golf Vacations and Packages

Look for package deals when you’re booking golf trips. Choosing a travel agent or a resort that offers packages can save you a lot of money, and make your planning much easier. You can always build on the base package by adding tee times at other golf courses and clubs in the area.

Pick the Right Courses for the Crowd

A golf vacation with your best buds and a golf trip with your family call for very different itineraries. If you’re golf travel includes kids and family, go for venues that offer many other options for entertainment and novice-friendly golf options. Tucson, Arizona golf courses tend to be especially family friendly. If you’re traveling with golf buddies, aim for the high-end courses you’re dying to play.

Be Flexible About Lodging

Resorts and hotels are only one option for lodgings when you book golf vacations. If you’re traveling with a group of four or eight people, you can open up your options – and have a far more comfortable and luxurious stay – by renting a condo or a golf villa. When you split the cost of a four-bedroom condo among four people, you’ll often find that it’s far more affordable than individual hotel rooms.

Golf trips are among the hottest boutique travel trips for today’s vacationer. If you’re planning a golf vacation, plan ahead to make sure that you have the best time possible.

Tips to Help You Enjoy Your Golf Vacations MoreEnjoy

Golf vacations are becoming ever more popular. Golf lovers, who hate to give up the chance to swing a club and associate leisure with time spent communing with nature and the whimsical gods of golf, often plan their holidays around the chance to visit a foreign golf course. There are a number of travel agencies that have sprung up to help golf-loving vacationers arrange golf trips that revolve around the chance to play a particular course, or to fit in a round or two of golf at as many great golf courses as possible. If your upcoming vacation includes golf as a central feature, these tips can help you – and your family – enjoy your golf vacations more.

Check with the Airline About Your Clubs

Obviously, you’ll want to travel with your own clubs – your golf game just won’t be the same without them. If you’re traveling by car, that won’t be an issue, but if you’re heading to a different region or overseas to say, Scotland or Ireland, golf clubs will be part of your baggage.

Every airline has its own requirements about carrying golf clubs as baggage, though most of them are similar. In general, most airlines consider your golf bag – in a soft or hard-sided case – with a set of clubs, golf shoes and a box of golf balls – to be the equivalent of one checked bag. No matter how much you love your golf clubs, you’re not likely to find an airline that will let you take them on the plane with you as carry-on luggage, even if you pay for an extra seat for them. In most cases, the airline will only assume responsibility for keeping your clubs safe if they’re in a hard-sided case tagged with a regular luggage tag, so if you’re planning to take your clubs along on vacation, be sure to make the proper arrangements to get them there. Some ardent golfers, in fact, recommend shipping your golf clubs ahead of you to your hotel to ensure that they arrive at your destination on time and unscathed.

Let Your Travel Agent Book Your Tee Times for You

If your golf travel is taking you to an unfamiliar area, chances are that your plans include playing at a few of the big names in that region. There’s nothing wrong with playing top-rated courses – in fact, it’s one of the biggest reasons people take golf trips – but if you do only that you may miss out on some hidden gems  that are only known locally. Travel agents who specialize in booking golf vacations often have connections and insight into the local golf market and may hook you up with a golf experience that will be one of the highlights of your vacation.

Finally, when you’re planning golf vacations, don’t forget that there are other things to do besides golf, especially if you’re taking the family or a spouse along. Take the time to research non-golfing activities to enjoy when there’s no golf to be had.