BEST GOLF AROUND THE WORLD
London (Dublin – London) > Los Angeles > Tokyo > Sydney > Johannesburg > London
Departures can be made from all over the world
2019 Exclusive Tour: World Best Golf courses tour, by Round the World Tours.
GOLF AROUND THE WORLD: In association with the International Golf Federation and major magazines, we have defined the 2019 ranking of the world’s best golf courses. We’re proud to offer an exclusive Round the World Tour, through the five continents, to play on the 8 best golf courses in the world. The trip will have several formulas and will be based on VIP treatment. But all tours can also be customized just for you – depending on exactly how you want to go and for how long!
The RTW ticket: from €3,200
Land services can be quoted on request. Minimum average price for 24 days (including major entrance fee to the golf clubs), From €10,000
EUROPE
1. Doonbeg, Ireland – The rolling green hills and windswept headlands of south-west Ireland are perfect for golf courses, hence classics such as Lahinch and Ballybunion. Doonbeg, designed by Greg Norman, is barely six years old – but from the first hole, you feel it has been there for centuries. The fairways follow the natural contours of the terrain, so holes range from a clifftop par three of 100 yards to a 600-yard par five flanking a mile or so of golden sand.The Lodge at Doonbeg (00 353 65 905560, www.doonbeggolfclub.com has two nights in a suite from £599 per person , half-board, including a round of golf, a massage and green fees.
AMERICA
2. Pebble Beach, United States Most of America’s finest courses (think Augusta, Pine Valley and Whistling Straits) are closed to all but a handful of wealthy Ivy League members. Pebble Beach in California is the exception, being open to all who pay the green fee. Jack Nicklaus said that if he had only one more round to play in his life, he would play it here. Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant nearly 90 years ago, the course hugs the Pacific coast and features narrow fairways, sloping greens and panoramic ocean views. The most famous closing two holes in golf were played here (Tom Watson’s chip-in during the 1982 US Open and Jack Nicklaus’s unerringly accurate one iron a decade earlier); however, it is holes five to eight, with their water hazards, that propel this course to the top of anyone’s wish list.The Lodge at Pebble Beach (001 866 226 5442, www.pebblebeach.com) offers three nights from 2,500 euros per couple, including three rounds of golf.
ASIA
3. Hirono Golf Club, Japan‘s most distinguished golf club, located near the port city of Kobe. You take the bullet train down from Tokyo to Kobe and the course is less than an hour’s drive from there. Hirono is a private course and you must play with a member. The course was built in 1932 by C.H. Alison and his masterpiece, and the best course in Japan. The course was built on an estate that was previously owned by a feudal warlord.To play Girono Golf Club, 7-3 Hirono, Shijimicho, Miki-shi, Hyogo. Yardage: 7,169. Par: 72. Green Fees $290–$335 (members’ guests only). Contact 011-81/794-850-123. For accommodation: The Crowne Plaza ANA Kobe, www.crowneplaza.com is offering rooms at 150 euros per room.
OCEANIA
4. Royal Melbourne, Australia The East and West courses are said to be the finest in the southern hemisphere. Designed 80 years ago by the legendary Dr Alister MacKenzie, the fairways and greens are not as benign as they look. Strategically placed bunkers and fast, contoured greens mean only the best achieve a good score. Flanked by deep bunkers, the green at the fifth hole on the West course looks inviting – but its tilt from back to front means any hit short of the flag races back down the glassy surface. To play the Royal Melbourne (00 61 3 9598 6755, www.royalmelbourne.com.au), visitors must belong to a UK golf club and book during the week. Green fees cost £182. The Melbourne Park Hyatt (00 61 3 9224 1234, www.melbourne.park.hyatt.com) is offering rooms from £139.
AFRICA
5. Leopard Creek, South Africa Being a bit wild off the tee takes on a new meaning here, since some of the water hazards are moving ones – from “the Big Five” to more than 200 species of bird, plus baboons, crocodiles, giraffes and warthogs that come to drink in the streams of Leopard Creek, on the edge of the Kruger National Park. The pick of the holes are two par fives: the fourth, more than 600 yards long, sits 100ft above the edge of Crocodile River and is a popular resting point for both elephants and errant drives. The dramatic final hole has an island green that seems to shrink as the crowds gather with their sundowners to watch.Leopard Creek can only be played by guests of the Malelane Sun Intercontinental Resort . Ascot Golf Tours (00 27 21 701 1201, www.ascottours.co.za) is offering five nights from 550 euros per person, excluding flights. The price includes B&B accommodation, car hire, an evening game drive in the Kruger park and three rounds of golf.
