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Golfing world tours, the best courses on offer
by Belli Roudles
http://www.figagolf.com
If you are planning a golf tour there is no better place to
start than the place where the game was born. Scotland is
believed to be the first nation to play golf in the 1400s.
(Some crazy people may try to convince you that it was the
Dutch who invented it, or others may tell you of paganica -
a game played by the Ancient Romans.)
Founded in 1754 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club still has a
role in the rule making of the game. It is situated in a
Scottish University town which lies between Dundee and
Edinburgh. Here you will find many fantastic courses but
make sure you take some wet weather gear with you.
Without leaving Europe we can improve the weather outlook
by jetting south to Spain where famous El Saler in Valencia
can be found. Nestling by the Med, it is renowned as a hard
course, riddled with sand bunkers.
Tracing our steps for a few hundred miles north will allow
us to pay our respects to one further living relic of
golfing history. In Northern Ireland we find the courses of
County Down running between the Mountains or Mourne and the
open sea. Booking is essential to play either the Annesley
or the Championship links.
A much longer trip but well worth it is to journey to the
tip of Africa and visit the courses on offer in
Johannesburg where Ernie Els cultivated his talents and
Gary Player learned the ropes.
It is also a handy way to take in another continent,
Africa, on the way to our third, Asia. Golf in Japan has
grown more quickly than just about anyplace else. There are
plenty of great courses to be played in a fascinating and
beautiful country. The course at Hirono in Kobe is usually
highlighted. It was designed way back in 1932 by Charles
Alison, and is set amongst pines and breathtaking gorges.
Given that we are already in the continent, it is well
worth visiting New Zealand where, on the North Island, we
find the Paraparaumu Beach links. Tiger came here for the
NZ open in 2002 and the course impressed many in the
international television audience. Book before you arrive!
Heading towards the American Land mass there are plenty of
fine options in the Caribbean islands, or you could drop in
on one of the famous Mexican courses. Jack Nicklaus would
probably recommend Cabo del Sol in Los Cabos - the design
is his. It is on the coast so it is windy, but the New
Zealand stop-off will have given you some good practice for
this. There is also a choice of locations - the ocean
course or the desert course.
Taking the plane northwards to the USA, we are in the
golfers paradise. So now where? Clementon, Palm Springs,
Augusta....
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