That getaway with Golf buddies is a ritual most golfing groups cannot do without. It has all the ingredients of an all boys' or an all girls' Trip, with golf thrown in, some sightseeing, new discoveries, and most importantly the company of like-minded golfing friends.
Whether it's returning to old favourites or going with a new destination each year, a few trips remain memorable.
We've asked some well-travelled golfers about their favourite golfing trips with friends. Conversations with them threw up trip ideas and experiences that are so enticing, you'll find yourself making plans. But be forewarned, the list is not short, so this is again one for a new Golf Bucket List!
Hong Kong & Macau
Colin Patterson & Friends, Multinational
Colin Patterson has had the experience of putting together a number of trips for his group of 10-12 golfers to Asia in the last few years. Colin says, "The 2013 golf holiday in Hong Kong &Macau was the first time we had played in this region and was great despite some inconveniences." "We loved the golf courses and the service we received at each of them and just saw ourselves coming back with a better idea on how to structure the holiday."
Colin added, "In 2014, we made some changes and decided to just stick to Macau. Overall it was a much better trip than 2013 and we all had a fantastic time even though the weather was rather wet; we were fortunate to only have about 2 hrs of disruptive rain throughout the 5 days." The guides were excellent as was the hotel." " We would like to do it again next year and possibly schedule it at the time of the annual Hong Kong Sevens Rugby event."
Ireland, the Clear Winner
Harmeet Sahney & Group, Kolkata
It's no surprise Harmeet Sahney and friends loved Ireland. His group has been to other biggies like Scotland, the US and to South East Asian destinations but when we asked him the question, Ireland was the clear winner. "It's unbeatable for a golf holiday - the weather is great, so is the food, the people are warm and welcoming and the prices are good too, especially if you consider the quality of courses you get to play", he says. "Some of the courses we played on our trip were Waterville, Ballybunion and Lahinch."
...The Trip that Stands Out is South Africa
Jayant Tagore & Friends, Hyderabad
"In all our years of travelling to the best golfing destinations and playing on some of the finest tracks the trip that stands out is the trip to South Africa. We were in the Cape Town region for 4 days and played the Pearl and Atlantic courses that were memorable. The climate, food and sightseeing kept the ladies happy too while we were playing," Jayant says.
He continues, detailing this wonderful trip, "We drove along the Garden route and dived with the Great White at Hansbai which is a once in a life time experience and was exhilarating. We continued to Knysna staying at a Lodge that overlooked a river and played some great courses including Ernie Els home course at Oubaai, a challenging and breathtaking course all along the Atlantic Ocean."
"We then went to Sun City and played the Championship course there where we encountered Crocs on a par 3. The value we got for the price we paid I feel was excellent and this trip must be done with the better halves as there is so much sightseeing that can be covered. Driving is easy as it is Right hand Drive as in India. All in all one country we don’t mind going back to play golf again."
Flavour of the Season, More on the Rainbow Nation
V P Bhat & Friends, Bangalore
V P Bhat & Friends, Bangalore
South African holidays seem to be the flavour of the month, as another well-travelled golfer vouches.
"Our favourite has to be South Africa, the golf courses were superb and uncrowded", says V P Bhat from Bangalore. The weather was fantastic and the landscape very different from the Far East and South East Asia, where we had travelled extensively. Straight out the airport, we hired a car and drove along the Garden route, staying at small but fabulous boutique hotels at decent prices."
He went on to mention, "The surprise was an unscheduled stop at Simola Golf & Country Club, where we stopped by on a whim and got to play the best 9-holes in South Africa."
South Africa & Algarve - In That Order
Ajit Parmar & Friends, Mumbai
Ajit Parmar & friends have wonderful memories of their trips to South Africa and Portugal. Ajit says, “We were in Cape Town and around, where the golf was fabulous and everything was great value for money.” “We spent under USD 900 for an 8 night package and our out of pocket expenditure was also very reasonable.”
Portugal was another top golf holiday. They were in Algarve, Portugal’s golfing hub and stayed in Vilamoura. “The best part about Algarve is that there are close to 100 golf courses in the region, immaculately maintained and all offering deals of some sort. For eg, if you play at 4 pm, the golf is cheaper and with longer daylight hours, it’s possible to finish the round anyway and often the courses provide complimentary transfers, “ Ajit says.
“Both these destinations were also very convenient,” he adds, English is widely spoken in Algarve as well and distance to courses in both the regions is not more than 45 minutes. In fact, in Portugal, the distances were merely 20 minutes.”
US Open
Harish Pandeya & Friends, Mumbai
For Harish's group of golfers, two trips really stand out. "Playing golf at Bintan was one," he says. "The ease of reaching via Singapore and the quality of the courses was a high point. Plus we had two 4-balls and the excitement was intense."
But the best yet was a trip to the US Open2010 with many worthy memories. Says Harish, "There were many high points of this trip - the first hand experience of witnessing "a major" along with thousands of spectators at Pebble Beach and playing at world famous and high ranked courses such as Spyglass Hill, Bandon Dune Old Course and the new MacDonald course and the experience of standing in line to buy everything from sweatshirts to beer/burgers.”
“We drove through the Redwood forests from Monterey and Carmel to Bandon Dunes, Oregon - in all an 800-mile trip to play true links golf. And we were surprised by the sudden dip in temperature despite it being peak summer. The quality of the apartment shared by the group was also superb.”
Vienna to Prague
J B Pany & Friends, Bhubaneshwar
J B Pany's group of 8 - 12 golfers has had a wide footprint, travelling to Austria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Turkey, Scotland, USA and all over South East Asia for their golf buddies' trips. But one of their top picks is the one they took to Austria and Czech Republic. Starting in Vienna, they wound their way to Prague, stopping in Cesky Krumlov and Karlovy Vary, playing exceptional golf and having an unforgettable vacation.
"It was an extremely good experience,” says J B Pany. We played at varied courses, stayed at beautiful hotels like the Grandhotel Pupp, a 300 year-old historic property in Karlovy Vary, enjoyed the sights thoroughly and Prague especially was pristine."
50 Courses to Celebrate 50 Years
Mayurnath & Friends, Bengaluru
“My friends and I have been fortunate to play at many exciting destinations across the world - Scotland (Old Course), the U.S. (Pebble Beach), Spain (Valderrama), Thailand (Blue Canyon), China (Mission hills – all 12), Ireland (The Old Head), Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Mauritius, Dubai, Vietnam and Cambodia, “ says Mayurnath from Bengaluru. Pebble Beach and The Old Course have special memories for them.
It could seem like they’ve already done it all. But what the group came up with for their 50th birthdays is an especially aspiring story for all golfers.
Mayurnath goes on to describe, “I was born in the year 1961. And as a part of the 50th year celebration a group of fellow 1961 born golfers planned to play in 50 different international courses in one calendar year in 2011. We started in January 2001 and completed our 50 courses in December 2011. This trip was triggered by a story we read about a golfer who celebrated his 50th by playing in 50 different courses in the US by choosing one course in each state! And all this in 50 days! This was too ambitious for us. We opted for a more leisurely one-year adventure over 50 international destinations.”
Playing with the Pros
Amit Luthra & Friends, Delhi
An Asian Games Gold Medallist (1982), multiple times National Champion (in India & abroad) and an Arjuna Awardee, India’s most esteemed Sports Awards, Amit Luthra is well known for his dedication to golf.
He’s had some exhilarating trips like the one he and his friends Vivek Kushlani, Atul Agarwal, Sumant Shrivastava & his son Advait took to Britain this summer. Amit says, “We played at Goodwood in Surrey, at the British Airways invitational. The experience was surreal. We were flown first class, wined & dined, total red carpet was laid out by British Airways, we got to play with Justin Rose wherein we finished third amongst participants from over 40 countries worldwide.”
But the exceptional experience didn’t just end at Goodwood.
“After the invitational, Sumant & Amit hired a BMW and drove around Scotland, playing 8-9 courses including the famed St Andrews Old Course, New Course, Jubilee, Eden, Kings Barn, Castle, Turnberry etc. The days were long and the weather was a perfect 10 degrees. It was just a heartwarming (actually the opposite climate-wise, a welcome relief from the scorching Delhi heat) and memorable trip.”
His last links experience was playing the British Amateur at Hoylake in Liverpool in 1993 (where Rory won the Open a couple of months back) and he could relate to the various elements (pot bunkers, cold, rain, wind etc.) of Links golf the Pros go through while playing The British Opens.
Amit also reminisces that the Australian Centenary Amateur in Sydney along with Jyothi Randhawa and Arjun Singh, with Dilip Thomas as the Manager in 1994 was another trip to remember. He was the only Asian (out of a field of 300 of the best players in the World) to have qualified for the match play stage and to reach the quarterfinals. Post this good run at the event, the three of them flew to Melbourne, played at the Royal Melbourne, flew on to Cairns and explored the Great Barrier reef in all its pristine beauty.
This post first appeared on Golftripz.com - A Real Golfing Experience: Thailan, please read the originial post: here
