9 Essential Tips for Planning an Overseas Golf Trip
Planning an overseas golf vacation can feel both exciting and a little daunting, especially if it’s your first trip to the British Isles.
There are many moving parts to this type of trip. Where to play? Where to stay? When to go? Who will drive? Say nothing of trying to navigate the input and personalities of each individual in your group. It’s a lot to manage.
To help alleviate some of the stress, here’s 9 essential tips for planning an overseas golf trip.
Be Selective with Your Invites
One bad shot can ruin an entire round. The same holds true for travel companions. But there’s more to choosing the right travel partners beyond simply knowing that everyone will get along.
It’s important to ensure that the group is on the same page in terms of budget as well as desired activities both on and off the course.
If you have an intuition early in the planning that one member might spoil the group dynamic, it may be a good idea to lose their invitation for the good of the trip.
Plan Early
The rising demand for golf travel over the last decade has pushed the booking window for Expeditions earlier than ever.
This is especially true for those looking to play the “Big Five” of Scotland and Ireland: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Murfield, Royal Dornoch, Royal County Down, and Royal Portrush.
To ensure availability at all of the courses on your wishlist, we suggest you begin planning in January of the year prior to your trip.
This is especially true if those plans include a guaranteed tee time on the Old Course at St. Andrews, which requires a guide of its own.
Don’t Overdo It
If it’s your first trip, or a bucket-list type of journey, it’s easy to overdo it with numerous 36-hole days and too much time behind the windshield. To be sure, this approach will check more courses off the list, but you’ll return from your golf vacation needing both ibuprofen and another vacation.
There are plenty of golf tour operators who would be happy to plan just such a trip, but we aren’t one of them. Instead, our suggestion is to limit the number of 36-hole days you’ve etched in the itinerary. By the end of the trip, your body will thank you for it.
Plus, if you’ve ever walked off a course and wished you had another crack at it, you’ll now have time for that spur of the moment 2nd round in the evening.
Hire a Driver-Host
The benefits of hiring a Driver-Host to chauffeur you around the British Isles could fill an entire post like this and then some. Rather than droning on for multiple paragraphs, have a listen to the H&B Forces as they share their experiences with a Driver-Host across the pond.
Transportation is such an important, yet often overlooked piece to a successful trip that we also dedicated an entire episode of our Golf and the Good Life podcast to the topic.
Divide & Conquer
The historic golf courses of Scotland, Ireland, and England are mostly found in clusters.
For example, the marquee courses in Scotland are located within one of five general regions of the country. The courses of Ireland are found within four clusters; in England they are concentrated to just three.
In a typical week-long golf vacation, it’s possible to hit two of these clusters, but certainly no more than three.
Our advice is to choose the regions which are most important to you and leave the others for the next trip.
In some cases, such as St. Andrews or the area near Liverpool known as England’s Golf Coast, it’s even possible to spend the entire week, play a different world-class course every day, and never have to change hotels.
Bring the Tourist Along
We’re often asked whether a tourist – what other companies call “non-golfers” – would enjoy tagging along on a golf expedition.
Over the last several years, H&B has seen a dramatic increase in the number of couples golf vacations to Scotland, Ireland, and England.
In addition, many of our trips include at least one traveler who doesn’t bring the clubs or chooses not to play every day.
So rest easy in this regard. There’s an abundance of culture and sightseeing across the pond to keep the tourist more than occupied. In fact, you may even want to join them one day. Which leads to the next tip…
Consider a Day Off the Course
It may seem counterintuitive, yet sometimes the best thing you can plan for a golf trip is a day with no golf.
Not only does it give the body a day of rest, but often that nagging slice has a funny way of working itself out when the clubs go untouched for a bit.
A day off also frees up time to explore some of the historic sights and heritage of your destination.
The courses of Great Britain & Ireland are sights unto themselves, but experiencing a bit of the local flare can add some variety to an already memorable trip.
Enjoy the Good Life
Throughout our three decades of service, nothing has distinguished Haversham & Baker more than our steadfast belief that enjoying the Good Life which surrounds fine golf courses is just as important to the overall experience as playing them.
Our members have embraced this mantra, choosing experiences which are precisely tailored to their expectations over the cookie-cutter itineraries that are all too common in this business.
Simply put, a golf trip across the pond is about so much more than just golf. Take some time to stop and smell the roses.
Choose the Right Golf Travel Company
If your intention is to go it alone in planning your trip, we hope you’ve found this guide helpful and wish you an unforgettable journey. Feel free to give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for more daily insight and inspiration.
But if you prefer to enlist the service and expertise of an agency like H&B, first invest a little bit of time getting to know the company behind the website.
Spoiler: We all think we’re pretty great.
We believe the best trips are formed when that investment of time is a two-way street. Choosing the right company begins with whether they return that investment by first getting to know you and the desires of your group beyond what was entered into a contact form on their website.
We invite you to visit our Starter’s Hut where you’ll learn more about H&B and our approach to golf travel across the pond.
If at that time you feel we’re the right fit for your upcoming trip, simply visit our Let’s Talk page and fill out the included form to begin your journey.
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