How golf holidays went from golf trips to luxury escapes

The evolution of golf holidays from sporting trips to luxury escapes

A golf trip to Scotland used to require little more than a few confirmed tee times and somewhere to stay. Four friends would share a car, pack their waterproofs and spend most of the journey arguing about which course they were looking forward to playing. The hotel was usually chosen for its location rather than its facilities.

That sort of holiday is still popular. Not everyone who books a golf holiday wants to spend the whole week on the course. Some are quite happy with a couple of rounds and a few days to enjoy the place they’ve travelled to.

Portugal, for example. A couple might book two tee times for the week and leave the other days free for the beach or a drive along the coast. Families often look for much the same balance. A good course is a bonus, but so is having somewhere decent to eat and enough to keep the children occupied.

The traditional golf break still has its fans

St Andrews is a different story. Most golfers who make the journey have one thing on their minds: playing the Old Course. It’s a place they’ve probably watched on television for years, & there’s a fair bit of history behind those famous fairways. Historic Environment Scotland has documented the historic landscape.

As for accommodation, a small guesthouse will do nicely. Somewhere to get a good night’s sleep, have breakfast before an early tee time and leave the clubs between rounds. There’s no great need for anything fancier.

After all, there is little reason to pay for an elaborate hotel when most of the day will be spent elsewhere.

Ireland offers much the same experience. At Ballybunion or Royal County Down, the coastline and the weather are as much a part of the round as the bunkers and greens. A windy afternoon can turn an apparently manageable course into something far more demanding.

For those who enjoy links golf, that’s precisely the attraction.

The traditional trip also has a social side that luxury resorts sometimes struggle to reproduce. Golfers who have spent the day battling the same conditions tend to have plenty to discuss over dinner, particularly when somebody has managed to lose three balls on one hole.

How the Algarve won Over UK golfers

Portugal’s Algarve helped broaden the appeal of golf holidays. Its warmer climate offered a welcome alternative to playing through another wet British winter, while the development of courses around Vilamoura and Quinta do Lago gave visiting golfers plenty of choice.

And there was no shortage of things to do when the golf was over. The Algarve had its beaches, fishing villages and plenty of places to stop for a long lunch. Someone could head off for an early round while the rest of the family went down to the sea. Visit Portugal, the country’s official tourism website, has plenty of information about the area beyond its golf courses.

Spain’s Costa del Sol offered much the same sort of holiday. Play early, before the heat became uncomfortable, and there was still time to find a beach or spend a few hours in town.

Hotels started changing to suit the people coming through their doors. There were more family rooms, better places to eat and pools where the children could spend the afternoon. Some added spas as well. It meant a couple could go away together even if only one of them had any interest in golf.

A different kind of resort

Quinta do Lago isn’t just somewhere to play golf anymore. There are plenty of good courses, but there’s also the beach, a choice of restaurants and enough going on to make a day away from the fairways worthwhile.

That works well for families. The golfers can head out early, before the heat picks up, while everyone else makes their own plans. The children might spend the morning in the pool, and the grandparents can take things at their own pace. They can all meet up for lunch without anyone feeling they’ve missed out.

Golf isn’t the only attraction in Las Vegas

Las Vegas offers a rather different sort of golf holiday. Shadow Creek and Bali Hai are well worth knowing about if you’re planning to play, but there’s little reason to spend the entire trip on the course.

Once the clubs are back in the hotel, the evening is wide open. There are restaurants to try, shows to see and licensed casinos for those who fancy a visit. It’s quite a change from the old golf trips where everyone would head back to the clubhouse, order dinner and spend the next two hours talking about their rounds.

A group can play together during the day without feeling obliged to follow the same plans afterwards.

The combination of golf and casino entertainment is not unique to Las Vegas, although the availability of gambling facilities varies between countries. Some resorts concentrate on their restaurants and bars, while others are close to established entertainment districts.

For travellers interested in casino gaming, understanding the difference between a licensed venue and an online promotion is important.

Casino bonuses: what the advertisements leave out

Online casino promotions sometimes appear alongside information about gaming destinations, but they operate differently from offers at physical resort casinos. A bonus advertised online may look generous without being particularly useful once its conditions are considered.

Wagering requirements are one example. Bonus-related winnings may not be withdrawable until a specified amount of qualifying play has taken place. Certain games may be excluded, while expiry dates and maximum cash-out limits can further restrict an offer.

Australian-facing comparison pages provide examples of how these promotions are presented. Anyone examining a particular offer can review the WinSpirit bonus details on AussCasinosAnalyzer to identify the advertised conditions and the information requiring further verification. The presence of an offer on a comparison website does not establish that it is legally available in Australia.

Australian law is especially relevant here. Australia has fairly strict rules when it comes to online casinos. Under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, companies generally aren’t allowed to offer online casino games to people in Australia. The Australian Communications and Media Authority explains how these restrictions work and why the rules for online gambling differ from those covering licensed casinos.

CasinosAnalyzer isn’t a casino itself. It’s a comparison website where people can look into bonus offers and payment options before deciding whether an offer is worth considering. It’s still important to check the latest terms and make sure the service is legally available.

For anyone planning a holiday, that’s worth bearing in mind. Playing at a licensed casino while travelling and signing up for an online casino bonus are two different things, and the same rules won’t necessarily apply.

The holiday matters to non-golfers too

Golfers can underestimate how long a round feels to somebody who isn’t playing. A round of golf can easily take four or five hours, which is a long time to wait around if the hotel is miles from anywhere. That’s why it’s worth looking at what a resort offers besides the course, especially when some of the family don’t play.

There’s usually plenty happening at the bigger resorts, so nobody has to sit around waiting for the golfers to come back. The kids can spend a few hours in the pool, someone might hire a bike, and others may prefer a trip into town. Even those who’ve never played golf can often have a go with an instructor for an hour or so.

After a few days on the course, a massage starts to sound pretty appealing, especially if there’s been a lot of walking involved. Of course, the spa isn’t just for golfers. It’s somewhere the rest of the family can enjoy too, whether they’ve been sightseeing all day or simply fancy a quiet afternoon.

Do you really need an expensive golf resort?

A five-star hotel is lovely, but it won’t do much for a disappointing golf course. You can spend a fortune on a room with a great view and still end up playing somewhere fairly average. Equally, there are some terrific courses with nothing particularly special in the way of accommodation nearby.

Before booking, it’s worth finding out exactly what you’re paying for. Are the green fees included? Will there be an extra charge for a buggy or a set of rental clubs? If the courses are spread across the area, getting between them could add to the bill as well.

The time of year can make a difference too. The Algarve and southern Spain are popular for good reason, but playing eighteen holes in the middle of a July afternoon isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. An early tee time is usually a much better bet when the temperatures climb. Spring and autumn often provide more comfortable playing conditions, although prices vary.

A group planning four rounds over a long weekend may find little value in paying for facilities they won’t use. A family staying for ten days might see things differently.

There’s still a place for the simple golf trip

Luxury resorts have given golfers more choice, but they haven’t made traditional trips unnecessary.

There will always be players happy to travel to Scotland or Ireland, stay in a small hotel and spend several days doing little beyond playing golf. Others prefer a warm-weather break where a round is followed by a long lunch or an afternoon at the beach.

The best part of the change is that neither group has to compromise.

Golf can still be the reason for booking a holiday. It simply doesn’t have to determine everything that happens once the bags are unpacked.