Golf Wise
With a bit of thought it’s possible to survive an overseas golf holiday
without ruining it for yourself. Yet it’s still amazing the number
of people who manage to screw things up better than your average politician!
The following tips from people who’ve played overseas several times
before, should help smooth your path to survival
We’re confident that we have the best pre-bookable golf services available,
exclusively for Bill Goff customers. Our specialist sales staff has many
years experience and will do their best to arrange your selected courses
and preferred days and times, subject to them being available, of course.
And what’s even better is it’s free of charge!
Don’t put your foot in it!
Luggage and golf bags occasionally go missing. So don’t pack your
shoes in them. Playing with rented clubs is bad enough. Playing in rented
shoes, apart from the hygiene problems, means welcome to the world of blisters.
You can avoid the risk by always packing your golf shoes in your hand luggage
too.
It’s actually a good idea to include a full change of clothes in
your hand luggage, just in case anything goes wrong, and if you’re
traveling with your partner, split your clothes between two cases so if
one case goes missing, you still have something to keep you going. Always
keep valuables in your hand luggage too.
Don’t put your foot in it….again
Overseas golf courses do not allow golf shoes with metal spikes. It’s
one of the reasons why their courses are always in such good condition.
Change your spikes before you go and remember to take some spares. If necessary,
you can probably get hold of some spikes at the resort, but why waste time
on mundane matters when you could be out enjoying yourself?
Don’t overdo it early on
A 3 to 4 hour flight, a night on the town and a strange bed is not the best
preparation for the game of your life. You don’t want to pull a muscle
on the first day and be hors de combat for the rest of the week. So play
yourself into the first day nice and easy. Leave the driver in the bag for
a few holes, take out your trusty 3 or 5 wood and swing nice and slow. When
you’ve played a few holes and loosened up a little you can take out
the big gun.
Don’t handicap yourself by having no certificate
Many overseas clubs insist on handicap certificates. Many UK golfers do
not have one. Spot the problem? If you haven’t got a certificate,
you need to put that right before you leave or you may struggle to get a
game. If there isn’t time to get a certificate then get a written
confirmation from your local pro or club secretary, stating that your playing
ability is between 0 and 24. That will be accepted by many golf courses.
Solo is a no no
One-balls have no standing. You can make your own jokes up there if you
like, but its part of the etiquette of golf. It means that if you are playing
on your own you are deemed to be practicing on the course and you MUST let
groups behind you through without delay. On a busy course you could end
up standing on the side of the fairway acting as a traffic policeman and
calling everyone through. Not a lot of fun.
If you must play on your own, try to avoid playing before 12am and choose
a quiet course. Otherwise you could end up in the Guinness book of records
for the longest round ever played. A good idea is to stay at a golf resort,
where you can arrange to pair up with other guests. But your best bet is
to enter one of the many overseas golf tournaments and this will ensure
you get a partner and a problem free round.
Early birds catch more than worms
If you don’t mind playing before 8am and after 12pm you can book your
tee times when you like. But a four ball of George Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques
Chirac and Vladimir Putin would struggle to get a 9am tee time if they left
their booking till 3 months before the day. And if they did succeed the
course probably wouldn’t be worth playing on. If you really want to
choose the time you play, book at least four months in advance or you could
be disappointed.
Tournament numbers
Playing in a tournament is great fun, but slogging away with only two or
three other players isn’t. Our tournaments will only happen if there
are enough players, so they will only go ahead if there are enough bookings.
Of course we’ll do our best to let you know a.s.a.p., but we may have
to make changes to a small number of planned tournaments up to four weeks
before their start date. If that’s the case then don’t panic,
we’ll let you know your options and assist with any changes required.
Swinging in the rain
Keeping the courses in perfect condition is no mean feat and is not helped
by Mother Nature at her worst. Whilst the hotels and clubs do their best
to keep the course in tip top shape, we cannot be responsible for the playing
conditions or state of the courses. However if you do have any concerns
please raise them with reception, and hope that the weather man gets it
right for once.
Local Levy’s
Some local golf clubs charge a small fee for golf insurance and federation
taxes, so to ensure a stress free tee off, pay before you play.