The Best Golf Vacation You Will Ever Have

March 23, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Golf Tips, Golf Vacation

“What If You Could… Have the perfect group golf vacation, save money and have a sensational time setting it up?”

You’ve waited all year to get together with your friends for your annual golf vacation. It was supposed to be perfect, but you bought “the package” and your outing turns out to be simply adequate.

You all had such high hopes, but you had to take what you got.

Sound familiar? Have you been on the receiving side of a less than perfect golf vacation that you have been waiting for all year? In all fairness, most golf packages are good. Some are great. But they truly are packages designed for the mass market with little flexibility and no individual flair.

A standard golf vacation package provides lodging and one round of golf per day, including a cart. The lodging usually means motel or hotel accommodations with two people per bedroom. In most cases, you can choose from several different courses, and select your advance tee times. They will even throw in a continental breakfast. The prices are fair.

Again, this yields a good or great vacation, but we need to discuss the perfect vacation. Envision:

- A beautiful vacation house with a separate bed or bedroom for each person.
- Gourmet dining each evening.
- As much or as little golf as you want, where you want and when you want.
- Evening entertainment.
- Maximum camaraderie.

I have been setting up this type golf vacation for my old high school and college friends every year since 1988. Over those 18 years, we have refined Our Event to what we think is the perfect annual outing. Our first few years were terrific even though we had to keep the costs down. Despite inflation, the cost has been fairly stable for the last four years. We have settled on a full seven days, Saturday to Saturday.

In general, we plan for 36 holes per day, and modify that in situ to wind up with an average of about 27 holes per day. We buy most of the food and beverages the day of arrival to support breakfast, snacks, sandwiches between rounds, and gourmet evening meals for the week. Our smallest group was five gents one year, and the largest group was sixteen. The perfect size is anywhere from eight to twelve.

The above is our perfect golf vacation, not necessarily yours. For yours, look at the general goals below for the ideal golf outing:

- Get the ball rolling early.
- Have everyone stay in the same house that has a full kitchen.
- Get the shopping list together ahead of time.
- Have a general schedule and loose assignments.

Get the ball rolling. Pick out a window of time and get the word out to everyone you think might be interested OR not interested (next year, they may be). I send a fun, whimsical email about five months ahead of a proposed block of time. It is written such that the wives enjoy the comedy as much as the guys. If you are not a writer, there are examples in my upcoming free Ebook. It will take you through setting up and conducting the whole event from scratch.

Follow up emails get commitments and solicit recommendations and special requests. Armed with all this, you will select the ideal house, set up tee times, and arrange rental vehicles. Further emails from you will ask what food, snacks and beverages they will want during the outing. Here is a good timeline:

- 5 months: Announce.
- 3 months: Receive all commitments and solicited recommendations.
- 3 months: Let everyone know when to fly in to coordinate travel.
- 2 months: Arrange house, tee times and rental cars.
- 1 month: Receive all food, snack, and beverage requests.
- 1 month: Confirm house, tee times and rental cars.
- 1 week: Finalize food and beverage list.

Zero hour: Have the time of your life.

House with a full kitchen. This allows several things:

- Preparing your own evening meal. Every group has at least one “chef”.
- Rehashing the day as a group (yes, this includes an appropriate amount of trash talk and begging for strokes on upcoming rounds.)
- Having evening entertainment as a group. We watch a sports event on TV, watch videos, play cards, tell tales and get caught up, or all of the above.
- Getting sandwiches, snacks and beverages ready for the next day.

You will have almost as much fun setting up this event as you will have during your vacation. I set up a little eight page website with history, photos, schedule, past scores, etc. to hold everyone’s interest and attention throughout the year. I will provide that in my free Ebook.

You can think about bringing a laptop and uploading each day’s results on your website so that the unfortunate people that did not make the trip can live vicariously by following the daily action. An idea that our group has not yet acted on is to have a masseuse come in one evening later in the week to help our aging muscles.

Building your own special vacation not only allows you to really tailor your outing to your group’s taste, but also allows you all to get together as a true group for a great week of camaraderie. As a bonus, it should wind up being less expensive!

European Golf Vacations in Spain

March 18, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Golf Tips, Golf Vacation

If you are aiming for a European vacation, then might as well consider traveling to Spain. If you are a golf enthusiast, then certainly, you have a great place with Spain. European golf vacations in Spain can be thoroughly enjoyed because of the best locations that may be visited to play this all time favorite sport.

Spain has a moderate climate. To top it all, this European country likewise boasts of a profound world history. Thus, it will be a best choice to bring your friends and family for a worthwhile vacation.

Golf Spots in Spain

The renowned golf spots in Spain are located in Madrid and in the southern part. Among these reputed places include the La Manga Club, Madrid Golf, Costa del Sol, Mijas Golf, Alcaidea Golf Course, Almeria, and Paradisus Palma. Mijas Golf is credited for the golf courses’ condition, Costa del Sol on the Southwestern phase of Spain is known all over the world, and the Alcaidea Golf Course suffices a wonderful view of Southwest Spain. Other locations to visit are the La Evia Golf, the Alboran Golf, and the Playa Serena Golf.

The prices can be affordable depending on the choice of golf location. Your adventure can be all the more pleasurable and exciting.

If you are an expert in this field of sport, then you can choose from a wide array of championship golf courses. The facilities are all catered to the dire need of the golf players of different levels. You may also take up the golf class courses.

Golf as a Rejuvenating Experience

Most golf players see the need to keep their physiques healthy and sturdy at all costs. Most of the times, golf is tagged as a branded sport—a sport that is typically played by the elite people. However, golf has some benefits for the body. It invigorates your body and refreshes your mind. Undoubtedly, the golf courses in Spain are perfectly stunning, fantastic, and lively.

The landscapes are beautiful and truly captivating. Many of the golf course locations are equipped with the facilitators who will play with you and help you enhance your gaming experience. Professionals will aid you in the improvement of your skills.

A European golf vacation in Spain can be at the same time applicable to people who are handicapped. The holes are great to score with. So, whether or not you are an expert golfer, there is a room for you in the golf locations of Spain.

Hotel Accommodations during the European Golf Vacations

The hotels and resorts in Spain are truly fantastic. The ambience is friendly, accommodating, and charming. You can truly say that your hotels are representations of your home. A cozy atmosphere is ever ready to be given to you by the hotels in Spain.

Besides the charming scenery in the hotels, you can also take a good and pleasurable experience with the service provided by the crews. Among the exceptional services at hand are pitching green, putting green, golf carts, practice bunker, trolley rentals, changing rooms, lockers, restaurants, showers, pool, sea view, Internet access, tennis court, golf courses, and fresh drinking water supply, to name a few.

Why will you put on hold your desire to play golf when you can always experience a terrific European golf vacation in Spain? Play your favorite sport and enjoy the panoramic view of nature’s beauty all in one spot.

Ireland: European Golf Vacations

March 17, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Golf Tips, Golf Vacation

Why would you prefer to stay back home when in fact you can have all the time of experiencing a European golf vacation in Ireland while playing your most favorite sport in the world? Ireland contains the best and famous golf courses in the world so there is no problem when it comes to rejuvenating yourself with your favored sport. There is always a reason to reward yourself and getting on a European golf vacation in Ireland is one of which.

Ireland can make your dreams of golfing possible by all means. The Ball bunion, the K Club, Doonbeg, Lahinch, and Druids Glen are just among the golf courses that you may pay a visit to as you set foot in Ireland. As a European golf vacation spot, Ireland will take you into a tour to the most charming, splendid, grandest, and most numinous golf courses the world has ever known.

As you return to your own hometown, you will surely never forget the mystical memories that you have with Ireland and its golf courses. Moreover, everyone who has been to this European spot can tell that a golf vacation spent therein is one unique and rewarding experience. Thus, you should never miss the chance of coming.

The Real Deal with a European Golf Vacation in Ireland

Clearly speaking, there is no better place to spend a golf vacation other than in Ireland. You can at the same time feel the fresh breeze of the Atlantic seeping into your sweatshirts as you feel the coastal life and the high sand ridges. Likewise, you may opt to see for yourself the richness of the inland pasture which radiates in lush emerald green hues filled with bunkers and flowers. All of these, as you may put it, can only be enjoyed by spending some time of your golf vacation in Ireland.

Many golfers owe their harnessed skills to the golf courses of Ireland. In fact the most recent Ryder Cup match glorifies the skills of an Irish blood. The oncoming Ryder Cup competition will thus be held in Ireland itself and the prospect of millions of spectators to come is clearly positive. The main attraction is the event to be held in the ancient seaside link golf course.

Link golf indeed marks an exceptional experience which truly tests one’s stamina without mentioning the fact about a remarkable golf experience on your part. The wind, as you play, will continue to blow on your face whichever direction you may face.

The links golf courses don’t necessarily permit the presence of golf carts and golf buggies. The main rule is for the participants to walk. The terrain in these links golf courses will deem it impossible to maneuver a golf buggy, although some of the really prestigious golf courses of Ireland may allow the caddies to accompany the golfers while carrying with them a simple trolley or cart.

Because the golfers in Ireland find the place vividly perfect and challenging for their purpose, you need to book your reservations ahead of time.

By logging on to the Internet portals of the defined travel agents, you can reserve for yourself a fine hotel accommodation that will be your passport to enjoying a European golf vacation in Ireland. Ireland never ceases to welcome the visitors who intend to marvel at its beauty.