Each year, around this time, we’re asked by our friends in golf and travel media to share some of our insight and predictions for the year ahead.
When we were asked this question just 12-months ago, the prospect of another entirely lost golf travel season seemed like a real possibility.
Thankfully, reality proved quite different, and hundreds of the H&B Forces enjoyed Golf and the Good Life across the pond in 2021.
As you can see from their Field Reports, the abbreviated season was certainly a memorable one.
Now we look ahead to 2022. And while a measure of uncertainty will likely remain for some time, the return of international travel has brought at least a dash of clarity.
As 2022 kicks into high gear, we’ve decided to turn the tables a bit by inviting our friends in golf and travel media to share their insight and predictions for the new year and beyond.
But first, here is our view on the state of golf travel across the pond.
5 Things to Know About Overseas Golf Travel in 2022
2023 Tee Times Will Sell in Record Time
The window for planning 2023 golf trips to Scotland and Ireland is going to close faster than you may realize.
We’ve all heard the stories of exploding demand for everything from real estate and exercise equipment to used cars and video game consoles. The same holds true for tee times at places like The Old Course, Muirfield, and Royal County Down, and virtually every other golf course across the pond.
In addition to the enormous pent up demand, golf clubs across the pond are still working through nearly two years of backlog from postponed journeys.
The net result is limited to no availability at many of the Top 100 golf courses and Open Championship venues for this year. That, in turn, has caused most golf travelers who hoped to play across the pond in 2022 to instead set their sights on 2023.
Translation: Availability for 2023 trips to the marquee destinations in Great Britain and Ireland will become sparse in record time.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again… The window to begin planning is already open and rapidly closing.
Testing Isn’t Going Away
The long-awaited return of overseas golf travel brought with it a variety of new – and hopefully temporary – requirements for entry to the U.K. and Ireland. The most notable of these is the required COVID-19 testing regimen for entry and return to the United States.
Although there is significant pressure from the travel industry and others to do away with this testing, we’re not overly optimistic that these efforts will be successful in the short-term.
Aside from the reluctance of public officials to remove these protocols too early, the testing is likely to remain for a very different reason…
There’s simply too much money to be made from it.
On a positive note, testing isn’t nearly as inconvenient as it may first seem and hundreds of the H&B Forces successfully navigated the requirements in 2021.
The self-test kits we recommend are easy to use, completed from the comfort of your hotel room, and accepted by governments on both sides of the pond for entry.
If you have a trip on the books this year, we suggest buying your self-test kits early. You’re going to need them.
International Flights Will Return
The onset of COVID-19 caused the vast majority of flights from the U.S. to the U.K. to vanish overnight. Edinburgh saw all of its flights to the U.S. disappear entirely.
What was once a rather easy journey became circuitous for many destinations, requiring multiple connections or a lengthy train ride from London.
But the industry is recovering and the recent holiday travel season surpassed that of 2019.
As a result, carriers are starting to bring back their once frequent and profitable routes to the United Kingdom.
United Airlines has already announced that it will restart its service from several U.S. cities to Edinburgh, Scotland and Shannon, Ireland in March of 2022. Virgin Atlantic will follow suit with a new Edinburgh-Orlando route in April.
If there’s one thing the airlines are good at, it’s competition. Look for more carriers to try and claim their piece of the pie by adding routes to Scotland and Ireland.
More Private Clubs Will Turn to Travel
Over the last two years, private clubs across the country have seen their member rolls swell to record numbers. In addition, for the first time in decades, the average age of those members has actually fallen.
As the calendar rolls through 2022, private clubs will search for unique ways to engage and retain all of these new members.
As the PGA Professionals who currently travel with H&B will surely attest, few things can accomplish this goal more effectively than club hosted travel.
This will lead more private clubs than ever to launch a travel program at their club in 2022. Those who do so with H&B will join the more than 1500 private clubs whose members have traveled with our company.
And if your club doesn’t already have a travel program, point your PGA Professional in our direction. Both you and your fellow members will be glad you did.
Record Number of Golfers Will Travel Abroad
The combination of postponed travelers and burgeoning demand described earlier has more golfers than ever scheduled to travel across the pond in 2022. So many, in fact, that we paused new inquiries for 2022 travel earlier than we ever have in our 30+ years in the business.
Although we recognize that some lingering uncertainty hangs over international golf travel, the abbreviated 2021 season showed everyone in the business that this “new normal” can easily be navigated.
Most importantly, it showed our travelers that a journey to Great Britain and Ireland is not all that different than if they’d taken a golf trip here at home. And that the minor nuisance of testing and other requirements doesn’t need to stand in the way of plans on pause any longer.
As a result, we expect a record number of the H&B Forces and other golfers to press play on those plans and enjoy Golf and the Good Life across the pond in 2022.
The 2021 Expedition led by Paul Ramee, PGA of Bull’s Bridge Golf Club at Royal Lytham.
Insight and Predictions from Golf and Travel Media
Larry Olmsted
After a multi-year absence I am very keen to get back to Ireland, revisit my own club, Ballyliffin and check out the new Tom Doak course at Rosapenna (St. Patrick’s Links).
I traveled to Europe and abroad four times in the “reduced” pandemic era of August-November, and it is much easier and feels safer than many people think.
Here at home, I got to visit Wisconsin’s Sand Valley, and was very impressed. They are opening the Doak designed Lido this year and that will be a big deal.
The other US resort I haven’t seen that is highest on my list is Forest Dunes MI.
Outside the US, I expect the biggest near term opening to be Cabot St Lucia, a truly spectacular piece of oceanfront land.
As for predictions:
-Golf will remain hot and keep some of its sizable pandemic induced participation gains of new and returning after long layoff players, while for established avid golfers, the inability to travel will feed pent up demand for golf trips. Especially true Bucket List stuff like Scotland and Ireland and watching the Masters as people have gained a sense of fatalism and come to realize that if you put things off you may never get to do them.
-Walking will retain its newfound pandemic-induced vogue – as it should – it’s the way golf is meant to be played.
-The most desirable resort attribute will be standalone lodging, cottages, cabins, etc., rather than hotel room only traditional golf resorts. A great example is the array of brand new luxury cottages at the Payne Valley Course at Big Cedar resort in MO which have been sold out well in advance ever since booking opened.
Read More from Larry – Forbes, Cigar Aficionado
Follow Larry: @TravelFoodGuy
Ru Macdonald
What am I looking forward to this year? The Open at St. Andrews. It’s the only right answer, isn’t it? There’s nothing like it. What a spectacle it will be.
On courses and destinations… I’ve only read and heard great things about St Patricks in Northwest Ireland. Tom Doak designed, it will only add to that wonderful region of the country.
Finally, like everyone, I’m hopeful international travel can once again return to some form of normality.
Hear More from Ru – Scottish Golf Podcast
Follow Ru – @ScotGolfPodcast
Kevin Markham
Conditions permitting, I – and the Irish golf industry – am looking forward to seeing our American friends returning to Ireland’s shores in strength. Many of the big courses are booked up following two years of disruption and that will allow smaller and less well known courses to shine.
As an Irish golf writer and photographer the lure to travel is huge. I was fortunate to play St Patrick’s Links, at Rosapenna, last year and it is a masterpiece, but I will be taking several trips around the country this year… for ‘work’.
Elsewhere, Lisbon and the Azores are at the top of my list, and I want to get to Italy to see the Ryder Cup course there. Closer to home there’s Shiskine and Askernish in Scotland, and Aberdovey in Wales. I also have an open invitation to play some courses in South Carolina and Hawaii – unlikely to happen in 2022, but soon.
The golf world is eager to get back to travelling and those destinations (and golf tour operators) that handle the Covid challenges most successfully will prove very attractive.
See More from Kevin – Irish Golfer Magazine, Kevin Markham Photography
Follow Kevin – @KevinMarkham
Ryan Ballengee
I’m looking forward to my annual golf trip with family in March, and I can’t wait to head to Alaska this summer to cover the USGA’s US Senior Women’s Am and play late-night golf in perfect daylight!
I’m hopeful to make some day trips (and a little longer) to a variety of places — some private clubs, down to the Pinehurst area, into Ohio and Michigan, and once again going to French Lick Resort in Indiana.
I am hopeful golf will continue to be a great way for friends and family to get together and have fun, and it’ll also continue to be a great reason to travel and experience the world. With so many great golf destinations to explore, I expect a wide variety of properties are going to have an excellent year.
Read More from Ryan – Golf News Net
Follow Ryan – @GolfNewsNet
Joe Passov
I would imagine that after a total shutout in 2020 and limited access in 2021, Americans will flock to Scotland, England and Ireland in record numbers in 2022. So much pent-up demand!
A Continental Europe course that has my attention is Comporta Dunes in Portugal. This long-delayed David McLay Kidd design will open formally this year, about an hour south of Lisbon. The west coast of Portugal is so beautiful, with so much history and wonderful coastal terrain, I’ve always wondered why there weren’t more great golf courses there. Lisbon is an easy flight from the U.S. East Coast and the food, wine and culture in the country is outstanding. Oitavos Dunes in Cascais and nearby West Cliffs are the current standouts on Portugal’s Atlantic side–With Comporta Dunes, there’s a new reason to make the trip.
Finally, for those who still seek adventure travel, two Middle Eastern countries will debut championship golf courses. Cynthia Dye McGarey, niece of the late, great Pete Dye, will open nine holes in Iraq, at Erbil Hills Golf Club, the very first golf course in that country. And in late February, Nick Faldo’s Rumanza opens in Multan, Pakistan. While Pakistan has a surprisingly rich golf history, this 7,533-yard layout, with accompanying practice and learning facilities, will establish a new standard for the region. If you collect countries as well as courses, playing these two would definitely put you 2-up on most of your fellow course connoisseurs.
Read More from Joe – S.I. Morning Read, Links Magazine
Follow Travelin’ Joe – @JoePassov
Mitch Laurance
We’re at an interesting time for golf and travel. After a year in 2020 of virtual lockdowns, 2021 saw the world begin to open up again, creating a rush of energy and excitement to visit courses near and far. We’re all lucky to love a game that offers us the chance to experience not only play grounds with which we’re familiar, but those that incorporate different states and countries as well. For 40 years, it’s been the most compelling draw for me.
As I enter 2022, I try to put into perspective some lessons learned over the last couple of years, a time of a slightly new landscape of golf travel, one influenced largely by the pandemic. I look forward to exploring more courses and destinations within driving distance of my Myrtle Beach, SC home, as I did in 2021, savoring glorious first-time rounds with friends at Charleston Municipal (SC), Sequoyah National (NC), Southern Pines (NC), and Bobby Jones Golf Course (GA).
These 1-3 day trips became a staple of appreciation, and my sights are (not exclusively) set this year on the McLemore Club (GA), Primland Resort (VA), a replay of the renovated Mike Strantz gem at Royal New Kent (VA), The Cliffs courses (SC), and a few days at one of my all-time favorites, Sweetens Cove (TN).
Destinations high on my 2022 list that require more ambitious planning and travel include a bucket list trip to Sand Valley in WI, a week-long excursion to play the great courses in St. George, Utah (Sand Hollow Resort), Mesquite, NV (Wolf Creek Golf Club, Conestoga Golf Club and others), and a return visit to Michigan, which has an incredible variety of courses and resorts perfect for spring-fall golf trips.
This new phase of international golf travel has unlocked a key element to planning a trip, though, in my opinion. Using Scotland as an example, what was once an almost foregone conclusion that you’d simply book The Old Course, Carnoustie, Prestwick Golf Club, Royal Dornoch, Nairn, etc. and go play is no longer a given. But in place of the big names, I’m now looking to capture the essence of Scottish golf often found on smaller, less well-known links that exist all over the country. From full 18-hole layouts to “wee courses” and 9-holers, the trip I’ll be laying out is already seeping into my waking hour dreams.
I know the experience of finding new Scottish treasures (which can work for any golf trip you’re planning), especially if shared with friends, will be everything I hope for, and get me back to the reasons I love the game.
Hear More from Mitch – Talking Golf Getaways
Follow Mitch – @MitchLaurance
For more insight on golf trips in 2022 and beyond, visit the pages below or have a look through our Yardage Book, where you’ll find answers to many of our most frequently asked questions.
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