Key To A Successful Golf Vacation

Having golf vacations allows an individual, a family, or merely a group of people to relax and take time off from their tiring jobs and day to day activities. By visiting several destinations, one can effectively release stress and improve health and wellness while at it. However, some novice visitors, guests, or golfers, find their vacations the other way around. Unsatisfied with meals, bad experiences on the course, bad customer service, super high rates and charges, and hundreds of other reasons can really ruin a supposed-to-be good vacation. Luckily, everyone can avoid this kind of experience with proper research and planning. The steps below show how you can really appreciate your golf trip for the rest of your life.

Careful planning ahead of time is the key to a successful vacation. Planning involves deep and thorough research in terms of various golf vacation destinations including their daily rates, weekly rates, or monthly rates, not to mention that the prices vary from season to season. Since distance is a hindrance (second to budget), it is quite easy to first pin point locations near you before taking your budget into account. The closer destination, the better. But don't let this concept cloud your decisions when it comes to finding places to stay and play. After picking out a handful of locations, you need to list their pros and cons. This may include rates, amenities, travel distance and cost, quality of service, as well as quality of courses. 

Make sure that the overall or the total cost of staying and playing in one resort is accounted for properly. After tallying the rates and the total cost to be spent while staying in a certain resort, consider the top 5 or 10 golf vacation resorts for further evaluation. Assessment in regards to customer service can be done by asking previous clients or by using the internet to find reviews from past clients who went to various resorts on your list. Do not just read one review per resort, as you need to read more than that to know if the reviews are reliable. Make sure you tally the positive and negative reviews, as well as their weight in your judgment. After doing this, discard the resorts with the most negative reviews and narrow down your choices to the top 5 resorts.

These resorts should offer competent golf vacation packages in order for you to save a little during your vacation. Listing all the amenities provided by each resort can help pin point which amenities and services matters to you the most. When you're down to your top three, select the resort with the most affordable rates and try it out for at least a day before booking your whole weekend. If you are not satisfied with the services, then you can transfer to another resort of your choice and enjoy your golf vacation.

Travel to Casa de Campo

Three 18-hole Pete Dye golf Resort courses, plus Golf Zoo can now provide access to the private La Romana Country Club for a total of 90 holes of world-class golf!

Whether you choose to travel in peak golf travel season (November-March), or off-peak season, golfers must plan to visit and play. Today, it is easier and much better value to travel to Casa de Campo due to the special Stay & Play Packages offered by Golf Zoo, plus more flights, from more North American and European cities than ever before.

Teeth of the Dog

Teeth of the Dog Hole #5

"El dente de perro", or Teeth of the Dog, opened in 1971 and has been ranked in the Top 50 of the World's Greatest Courses since.  Without proper heavy machinery to crack the ultra-hard and white seaside coral, tireless workers used sledgehammers, pickaxes and chisels to carve greens and tee boxes out of coral formations, resulting in 7 spectacular holes on the Caribbean Sea.  Four seaside holes on the front-nine, three on the back-nine, plus the best series of par-3 holes you can play anywhere - #5, #7, #13, and #16.  Hole #5 is one of the most photographed holes on the course...and the world! 

Teeth of the Dog is a course you could play every day and never get tired of playing it.  Every hole is very different, every hole has a different intimidation factor (thanks to Mr. Dye), but all players will enjoy the course.  No matter your round score, you will be delighted to have played this great course.

Dye Fore

This equally scenic Club features three nines that meander from high above the El Chavon River, across steep elevations down toward Casa de Campo Marina before returning to the Dye Fore Clubhouse at the edge of Altos de Chavon Village.  The views are simply spectacular and big is the word to describe Dye Fore.  The fairways are wide, the bunkers over-sized and the large greens have huge undulations for players to navigate.  Golfers of all levels will be challenged to play shots from different lies, with many significant elevation drops and rises.  After a round at Dye Fore, spend the afternoon, or evening in the Altos de Chavon Village dining and/or enjoying a cocktail at one of the local village sidewalk cafes or restaurants.  

Altos de Chavon at Casa de Campo

The Links

Located adjacent to Teeth of the Dog, The Links course winds through the interior of Casa de Campo where rolling hills, lakes and woodlands create plenty of challenges.  Both courses share the same Pro Shop and Practice Facility offering a perfect setting for 36-hole days.  Mr. Dye oversaw a course renovation in 2011/2012 - re-creating a beautifully landscaped, conditioned and little more challenging course. 

Golf Destination Wedding Plan for 2014

Couples who love the same sports have many opportunities to enjoy their leisure time together. Golf is one of the best choices because anyone can participate and enjoy it. Looking for some golf vacation destinations could be so considerable for couples who are planning for a memorable and fun wedding, who love golf at the same time.

There are a lot of ideas you may consider to achieve a very memorable wedding. You can take it to some beautiful golf resorts that have the advantage of being near a gorgeous coastline, or beautiful beaches that line the coast, or directly on a couple’s favorite fairway. You should consider a golf vacation destination that offers an award-winning golf experience for players that are of any level of expertise.

Below are some suggestions to achieve a fun golf-themed invitations and favors:

The couple may use a golf cart as their getaway vehicle and give the invited guests a golf-themed wedding favors. Bride and groom who plan a small, intimate destination wedding may regard a golf club as a give-away or a round of golf ball with a print of the couple’s name.

In fact, it is easy to integrate golf into an overall wedding theme. There are a lot of ways for awesome "save the date" cards and invitations. Start it off right with guests by sending green invitations. For the attire, it would always depend on the theme of the wedding. For this occasion, attire may be eccentric or delicate. The bride might want to wear a traditional white dress with a touch of some green accents in her dress and bouquet. For her soon-to-be husband, a matching green tie would be very fitting as well. Dresses in a vibrant shade of green for bridesmaids add some golf-themed touch to the event, while groomsmen may wear green vests and a little touch of green on their suits. Or the wedding party may be dressed with actual golf clothing, and if happened that the weather is sunny, they may wear golf visors and decorate the venue with golf clubs. To top it off, the flower girl can use a golf ball basket to hold her rose petals. And the ring bearer may be dressed something like a golf caddy.

A wedding at a golf club does not just allow the couples and their guests an experience of a golf vacation package but as well enjoy an amazing ceremony among the dazzling fairways of a golf course or any of the golf vacation destinations that a golf lover couple would want to go to. 

How to do Southwest Ireland RIGHT by Mike Leary!

Take ir from a guy who's been doing guided tours to Ireland for over 20 years.... here's Mike Leary's ideas on how to do Ireland right...

My favorite golf destination in Ireland by far is the Southwest.  A mixture of it all awaits you there!  Great accommodations, championship golf, authentic pubs, fantastic restaurants and shops but most of all the Irish people with their genuine knack for making you feel like you’ve come home.

Let’s take it piece by piece....

Accommodations: 

Personally I love the Malton Hotel in Killarney.  This beautiful property, formerly the Great Southern Hotel, is located in the heart of Killarney and is moderately priced.  The hotel has good size rooms, great food & beverage and one of the most important amenities, a fantastic pub for that after golf or late evening libation.  The atmosphere is pure Irish!  The hotel is conveniently located in the heart of Killarney and just across the street from the train station for effortless access to Dublin or other regions of the Emerald Isle.  In my opinion, the best value for accommodations in all of Ireland.  

Golf:

Killarney Golf & Fishing Club:  Whether you want to play the Killeen course (home of the Irish Open) or the Mahony’s Point course, Killarney golf & Fishing Club, located on the outskirts of the town is a great venue for a day of golf where staying close to home is a priority.

Ballybunion:  The Old Course at Ballybunion combines a mixture of beauty and difficulty that will have you telling tales of great shots or talking to yourself as to why you ever took up the game.  Regardless, a trip to the southwest is not complete without playing the Old Course.  Additionally the Ballybunion Cashen course provides a chance of revenge against Ballybunion.  While the Cashen course does not require the long ball, the smaller, elevated greens demands a great deal of accuracy.

Tralee:  This Arnold Palmer design is a tale of 2 nines.  The front nine has challenge holes with some beautiful views, too many golfers are lulled into a false sense of confidence with dreams of a beautifully filled out score card that will be displayed to everyone you know back home.  Well, the back nine will bring you to your knees and have you curse that the fact that you ever thought you could tame this monster.  The elevations, tight fairways and tricky greens will bring you to your knees. 

Waterville:  A true links course stays consistent in hole design throughout all 18 holes.  Many golfers leave Ireland stating that Waterville is the course they like preferred over all the rest.  Waterville was the site of the first transatlantic cable connection from the US to Europe.  Samples of the cable laid across the Atlantic are displayed in the clubhouse along with great photos of Tiger, Payne, Mark O’Meara and others as they used Waterville as a preparation site for many  Open Championships.

Old Head:  If you could find a stretch of coastal property to build a championship course that provided the best views in all of Europe, it would be Old Head.  Situated on a 3 mile long peninsula just south of Cork, this course will take you at least 1 hour longer to play than others simply because of the beauty of every hole.  It will be a toss up on your scorecard as to how many shots you hit vs. how many pictures you took.  When you finish a round at Old Head you will immediately want to inquire about a replay.   With that in mind, the course has created an overnight package, staying at the Lodge at Old Head with two rounds of golf included.  To top off this great golf venue, the marine village of Kinsale is close by and provides a fantastic afternoon or evening of shopping, dining and sightseeing. 

There are numerous sightseeing opportunities in the southwest including the Dingle Peninsula, the Ring of Kerry, the Blarney Castle along with many more.

A golf adventure to the southwest of Ireland is one that you will not forget and will want to repeat!

Click here for a great example of how to do Southwest Ireland right  This special includes 5 nights, 3 rounds with rental car, and is good now through September of 2014 for only $1399 per person! - feel free to call Mike Leary at 888.985.9165 for local advice, and a customized itinerary!