A Fair Way To See The World
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday August 30, 1989
WHEN he mentioned a swinging holiday, I presumed I'd pack my party pumps and fluoro-lime T-shirt (particularly fetching when viewed under strobe lighting). What he meant, however, had little to do with discos and daiquiris
"Golf |" he announced, practising a quick putt at the cat with my kitchen broom. "A communion with nature and a walk in the great outdoors.
"You can be in charge of finding out what golfing holidays are on the market. Look for something where I can play all day and you can sit on the beach and read novels and things."
Fabulous. I'd sleep all day and be ready to swing all night. He'd swing all day and collapse in a heap come nightfall. Still, he hadn't mentioned anything about caddying or looking for his lost balls in stinky swamps; and there were rather a lot of gorgeous books in my must-read pile.
Readers, I did the sporting thing, and gathered glossy brochures. The golf widows among you won't thank me, but here are the fruits of my research.
First, a resort holiday in Australia with access to championship golf courses is a breeze to organise. In Queensland, Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, Hyatt Regency Coolum, Hyatt Sanctuary Cove, Iwasaki Resort at Yeppoon and Kooralbyn Valleyall offer challenging golf to hotel guests.
On the Gold Coast, Palm Meadows and Parkwood cater to Surfers Paradise holidaymakers. At Alice Springs, a true golfing oasis exists at the Desert Springs Country Club (the Sheraton is nearby), while out west, the Joondalup Country Club, just north of Perth, is easily accessible if you're staying in the West Australian capital.
Most of those resorts with on-site courses offer packages for golfers(weekend specials are worth checking out), and there are plenty of other activities to keep non-golfing partners in good shape and spirits.
Closer to Sydney, the Fairmont Resort in the Blue Mountains adjoins the pretty Leura golf course, and games for guests can easily be arranged.
Asia, it seems, is flavour of the month for golfing holidays. In Thailand, clubs around Bangkok and Pattaya are very cheap and accessible for Aussie golfers, and a course is being developed at Phuket. In Malaysia, such cities as Kuala Lumpur and Penang offer good golfing facilities, and there are country club courses in the Genting Highlands, once a pukka colonial hill station.
The Sydney-based Travellers Agency offers special golfing packages, and its golf holiday pro, Anthony Hunt, says Malaysia and Thailand represent the best value available. He's put together a 15-day package to these two destinations departing Sydney on October 22.
Tour members will play at Awana Golf and Country Club in the Genting Highlands and the Hyatt Saujana Resort on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. In Thailand, the Siam Country Club and Bangphra Golf Club at Pattaya are the resort inclusions, and games are also organised at the Navatanee Golf Club and Rose Gardens Golf Course just outside Bangkok. Full details are available from Anthony Hunt or Peter Black at Travellers Agency, phone (02)2338788.
The thought of dipping into the latest Paul Theroux as I languished in a spa bath, tucked well away from sand traps and water hazards, gave me heart. Procuring a copy of World of Golf, a publication produced by UK-headquartered Trusthouse Forte Hotels (THF), made me positively dizzy with anticipation.
THF operates the tropically sublime Sandy Lane Hotel at St James, in Barbados. This colonial charmer (all colonnades, ceiling fans and broad balconies made for lounging with funny-coloured cocktails) is set on the site of a one-time sugar plantation. Its 18-hole course winds through scented greenery.
Also in the Caribbean, THF offers the Belmont Hotel, Golf and Country Club in Bermuda (the Robert Trent Jones-designed course is overlooked by all rooms; rum swizzles served by the pool and unlimited golf for guests) and the strawberry pink-and-white Harmony Club (all-inclusive tariff, private beach club and rounds of golf provided at Bermuda's Port Royal, Riddell's Bay or Southampton Princess courses or at the Belmont).
As well as these accommodation modules, and in conjunction with Sol Golf Holidays, THF has produced a swag of packages, many built around amateur tournaments. You purchase a package ex-London, and jet off to, say, Majorca or Bermuda, to play competition golf in a holiday resort environment. THF also has packages around the British Isles which enable travellers immediate access to selected courses.
In Scotland, for example, golfers can put up at Rusacks Hotel overlooking the 18th fairway of the Old Course of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
The THF brochure also suggests the Algarve in Portugal. Neatly dubbed Sportugal, due to its myriad outdoor activities, this sweep of coastline offers six 18-hole courses, two of which are located at THF hotels.
The various golfing deals available from THF (including California and Florida) are contained in the World of Golf brochure available through THF Sydney (02)297224.
It makes sense to ask the national tourist office representing the destination you are visiting to provide you with any available literature on golf courses. If you carry a letter of introduction and membership card from your home club, the chances of lining up a game are very good indeed, especially at most English county clubs, and such Scottish clubs as Gleneagles, Carnoustie and the wind-ravaged courses at Turnberry.
Some clubs require a handicap certificate before letting you loose on the course. Others have yet to accept that modern females are man enough to play golf without male assistance and insist ladies come armed with gentleman partners. In Ireland, things are not nearly so pompous, and what proper golfer could resist communion with club and ball, with grand pints of stout to follow, at places with such marvellous names as Ballybunion and Dollymount.
For those with a taste for tricky shots and fine French food, the Basque region of south-west France may prove just the shot. Using the town of Pau at the foot of the Pyrenees as a base, golfers can choose from seven courses, all within an hour's drive.
If you are the sort of traveller who'd prefer just to sneak in a game or two of golf always check with your hotel concierge as there are often guest privileges which will gain you temporary membership to city clubs.
This, however, may do you no good at all in Tokyo, where a game of golf commands a price roughly equal to a week's wages.
© 1989 Sydney Morning Herald
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