Cheap Golf Vacations - A Few Tips

A cheap golf vacation can be yours. To truly enjoy the golfing part of a vacation, there's a lot more involved that just remembering to take your clubs with you to the airport. Most of wouldn't think of traveling without having booked the hotel well in advance, checked out the quality of the lodging established, made sure we got the right room for our needs. But when it comes to our golf, we don't plan things out nearly as well. The result is that we end up paying more than we need to for our golf experience, and it may involve more hassle and less enjoyment than we would have liked. Here are some things to keep in mind when planning a trip that includes golf. You can have a cheap golf vacation.

If possible, book your tee times ahead. Depending on where you are going and what time of year it is, tee times may be at a premium, even booked up weeks in advance. There's nothing more disappointing than getting to your destination and finding the course you were dreaming of playing is all booked up. When you make your hotel reservation, inquire whether it is possible to arrange the tee times you prefer as well. Many hotels that are located near or on a golf course have those privileges.

Ask about golf discounts or promotions. Many hotels have stay and play" packages available. Or perhaps they offer guests discount vouchers for the golf portion of the stay. Ask about these specials. Don't assume the reservations staff will automatically bring them up.

Look for discounts online. If the hotel you are staying at cannot arrange tee times for you, spend some time on the Internet researching the courses in the area. There are Web sites that have detailed information on the courses: how nice they are, their difficulty and cost; other Web sites where you can obtain discount coupons for greens fees, and still others where you can make online reservations for courses all over the United States.

Look for course recommendations online. Many of us have checked out the guest comments posted about hotels at the Internet travel sites, in order to get an idea of the quality of the lodging experience. The same type of information is available on golf-oriented Web sites. Just do a google search for golf course recommendations" + YOUR DESTINATION". This will help you gain valuable information about what the playing experience will be like: how crowded the course is, how interesting or challenging the course layout is, etc.

Take advantage of local knowledge. At most large hotels that have a concierge service, those individuals are knowledgeable about local attractions such as the golf courses nearby. They may be able to give you tips about which courses other guests have commented favorably on.

A little advance planning combined with Internet research can help you make the golf portion of your vacation even more memorable. A cheap golf vacation can be yours.