The popularity of golf is at an all time high, and the pent up demand to get out and travel is of the charts. Put those two things together and you have incredibly high demand at all the great golf destinations of the world so, how can you make sure your trip to your dream golf destination is the best possible trip?
Our number 1 tip for a successful trip:
Plan and book early – probably earlier than you might think necessary
Plan and book early – probably earlier than you might think necessary
 | More and more golfers are making pilgrimages to "bucket list" golf destinations and all these golf thrill seekers, it is becoming critical you think ahead to get everything you want out of your bucket list trip. With destinations like Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, the US, etc., there must be a lot of tee times available, right? It should be possible to book something last minute, right? We are thinking of going in 2023 but we don’t need to worry about planning that for a long time, right? |
Well, the answer to all these questions is a resounding – NO!!!!
As a reminder, most of these destinations are on everyone bucket list and in many, the courses have large, active memberships that require tee times as well. For example, at Royal County down they only offer tee times 5 days a week and on 2 of those days, only in the morning or afternoon. At Ballybunion, they only offer times on weekdays before 1:30pm. St Andrews offers limited times in advance, Royal Dornoch is a members course with limited times, and even Cabot, which is fully public, only offers times more than 30 days in advance to guests staying at the resort! Virtually every course has some type of tee time restrictions. When you combine that with the sheer number of visitors who want to get on these courses, especially between May – September, you start to get a feel for just how difficult a tee time can be to get if you leave it too long.
 | as a eap How long is too long? Well, as an example, Royal County Down opens up its tee sheets for the following year at the beginning of May of the previous year. Within a day or 2, virtually every May-Sept tee time is booked for the following year. |
Planning well in advance is critical if you hope to get a tee time at some of these top courses and even then, a little flexibility in dates can go a long way too.
We have an example in our own office last year where Ron wanted to book in his personal group of 8 guys into Royal County Down for the first week of August 2022 but he couldn’t get a time even though we worked on that the first day the books opened in May last year - they just could not fit him in during the specific week he needed!
We have also had to massage dates for a couple of groups wanting to go to Cabot next year due to dates already getting full!
With a bit more flexibility in dates, we could have got him in (some flexibility is key) but it had to be that specific week. With the flexibility, we were able to get the Cabot groups in but this all just highlights how tough a tee time can be, and how important early planning is to getting what you want.
We have an example in our own office last year where Ron wanted to book in his personal group of 8 guys into Royal County Down for the first week of August 2022 but he couldn’t get a time even though we worked on that the first day the books opened in May last year - they just could not fit him in during the specific week he needed!
We have also had to massage dates for a couple of groups wanting to go to Cabot next year due to dates already getting full!
With a bit more flexibility in dates, we could have got him in (some flexibility is key) but it had to be that specific week. With the flexibility, we were able to get the Cabot groups in but this all just highlights how tough a tee time can be, and how important early planning is to getting what you want.
Now, 2022 was a particularly tough year with all the trips from 2020 and 2021 that moved into 2022 (and postponed trips were guaranteed tee times for the same date they were originally booked for) but while a more difficult year in 2022, it really is the same story every year – the top courses will sell out fast.
At the beginning of May, tee times for Royal County Down and Royal Portrush will open for booking (YES, next month) and if you are considering Ireland as your golf destination now is the time to start getting serious about planning your trip!! In Canada, Cabot is already booking 2023, as are Kingsbarns and Muirfield in Scotland.
At the beginning of May, tee times for Royal County Down and Royal Portrush will open for booking (YES, next month) and if you are considering Ireland as your golf destination now is the time to start getting serious about planning your trip!! In Canada, Cabot is already booking 2023, as are Kingsbarns and Muirfield in Scotland.
 | In Spain, Valderrama let us know that in 2023, they will only offer tee time for 1 hour each day (between 12noon-1pm), 6 days a week, which means 4 tee times a day or 24 tee times per week – not a lot of inventory! |
We have several clients who have already planned their trips for 2023 and we have their names in at all the courses they want to give them the best possible chance to get the tee times they need and want. By the way, the same goes for hotels. Some places are VERY popular and if you want to stay in a very specific hotel, booking early is critical. In 2022, we even had a hard time getting coaches/drivers for a couple of late booking groups – travel is just that popular these days!
Basically, it never hurts to plan early for any destination.
Basically, it never hurts to plan early for any destination.
We will always do our best to get you onto your dream courses but there are a finite number of tee times available to the public at many of these courses so getting requests in early is the best way to avoid being disappointed (both you and us!).
As always, we are here to work with you to customize the trip that works best for you so give us a call to get your dream golf destination booked!
As always, we are here to work with you to customize the trip that works best for you so give us a call to get your dream golf destination booked!
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