Where The Masters Of The Game Play – A Qatar Golf Holiday

Qatar, one of the newest emirates in middle east and western Asia is placed on the north eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Surrounded mostly by the Persian Gulf, Qatar has a rich cultural history influenced by the Persians, the Ottoman Turks and the British. One of the more liberal countries in the middle east, Qatar is also a significant golf holiday destination.

With a booming economy based on the discovery of its Oil reserves, Qatar is poised for immense growth and offers one of the highest standards of living to its citizens. Although covered mostly by sand, Qatar’s geography offers a stunning contrast with the sea, especially on the spectacular Khor al Adaid or the ‘inland sea’, an area of rolling sand dunes on the Persian Gulf. That is why golf tours to Qatar get to see more than golf in this beautiful country.

Golf in Qatar is concentrated in the capital city of Doha, home to the Doha Golf Club. It is a popular sport that receives the patronage and support of the government as well as private organizations in terms of sponsorships and aid in developing the necessary infrastructure. Time your Qatar golf vacation to coincide with one of the richest golf tournaments in the world – The Qatar Masters – a worldwide event started in 1998 to promote the game in the country.

Qatar Masters is hosted by the Doha Golf Club in Doha, the capital of Qatar, every year. The club offers two fabulous, well maintained courses to golf travel enthusiasts – The Championship Course and The Academy Course.  The Championship course, located just 40 kms from the airport, is one of the most challenging courses in the middle east and Saudi Arabia.  At 7312 yards the course plays for a par of 72 from the longest tees and tests your patience and stamina.

The paucity of water in this desert like, semi arid country has not stopped the course architects from complicating the layout with water hazards. Eight artificial lakes have been built to add some wicked water hazards and make an appearance on most of the 18 holes. To add to the challenge for your golf tour, natural rock formations and sand bunkers come into play often making the course a pleasure for the long hitters ($41-$73).

The other course at the Doha Golf Club to include in your golf package is the Academy Course. The Academy Course is a 9-hole, 2844 yards par 3, track complementing the Championship Course. A well maintained course, it offers spectacular views of the West Bay Lagoon and is perfect for beginners or a less adept golfer ($41-$73).

While you are on your golf vacation in Qatar, get a taste of the unique ‘sand courses’ in the capital city of Doha – that would be something to beat your chest about to the boys back home!

A Golf Vacation In Kiwi Land: Get Ready To Be Spoiled

Known by the native Maori people as Aotearoa, The Land of the long white cloud, New Zealand is one of the most charming island nations in the world. Well known for its beautiful beaches and sunny weather New Zealand is a hotspot for tourist activity in Oceania. Isolated from the mainland of Australia by the Tasman Sea, New Zealand is home to extraordinary flora and fauna – some of which is found only in New Zealand. Wrapped in a mild temperate climate with a near perpetual sunny weather and blessed with a diverse terrain, New Zealand lends itself well to the game of golf and is a popular golf holiday spot.

The development of golf in New Zealand is not just for the purpose of attracting golf travel, however, as the game has been played here ever since the two islands were populated by European settlers. Golf was introduced to New Zealand by the Scots when Whiskey merchant Charles Howden formed the first golf club in Dunedin near Caversham on the south-eastern coast in 1871. Now, after almost 130 years later, golf tours heading to New Zealand are reaping the benefits of this initiative.

As one of the most unspoiled golf vacation regions of the world New Zealand boasts of more than 400 courses on its two islands – the North Island and the South Island which are separated by the Cook Strait. Creatively built and assiduously maintained courses can be found in just about every city, town and village of this nation of approximately 4.1 million people. New Zealanders take pride in their prolific golf and share them with visitors with an open heart.

Start your golf travel in New Zealand with the visually stunning and eerily quiet Muriwai Golf Club in Muriwai on the west coast. A true links course, Muriwai offers naturally undulating fairways and breathtaking views of the Tasman Sea on every hole. Muriwai is a championship course that runs to 6180 m par 72 and would set your golf holiday budget by a staggering $880 but that seems like a steal when compared to the captivating view of its large greens contrasting with the famed black sand beaches.

Your golf holiday will be incomplete without a visit to the Bay of Islands where the Waitangi Golf Club awaits you with its well kept greens and fairways. The course weaves its way in and out of cliffs and hills and offers a panoramic view of the sea over the Bay of Islands and Russell and the captivating Mount Bledisloe and Puketona. All this magic can be yours for just $45 per round!

Auckland offers great golfing opportunities and you can include in your golf package courses like the Alister Mackenzie masterpiece at the Titirangi Golf Club ($120-$60), Awhitu Golf Club ($15), Clarks Beach Golf Club ($25), Maramarua Golf Club ($25) and the Charles Alison designed Maungakiekie Golf Club ($45).

Some very notable courses to play on your New Zealand golf vacation are the WairaKei International Golf Course on North Island rated as one of the top 100 courses in the world by Golf Digest ($200), The Rotorua Golf Club ($60) and Millbrook Country Club designed by Bob Charles in Arrowtown on South Island ($135-$115).

New Zealand is a dreamer’s golf holiday, this is the place you are thinking of when you doze off in front of your laptop and this is the place which, with its natural beauty and hospitality, makes it so hard to coma back from.

A Golf Holiday In Mexico

It is the 14th largest country in the world, home to the most populous city in the world and one of the most preferred golf vacation destinations in the world – Welcome to Mexico – the land of the Aztecs and the Maya. Bordered on the north by the United States, on the south by Guatemala and Belize, on the east by the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea and on the west by the Pacific Ocean, Mexico is a beautiful country waiting to be explored.

Seeped in history and a rich cultural tradition that has lasted over the ages, Mexico has always been an enigmatic place to visit. It is an amazingly diverse country blessed with gorgeous locations that rival any in the world making it a golf holiday maker’s destination of choice. Golf travel to Mexico is easy with this oil-producing country (the only Latin American nation to be included in OPEC) being well connected to most major cities in the world.
Golf tours landing in Mexico are inundated with fantastic courses carved out of diverse terrains like the coastal area along the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico and the Sea of Cortez to the courses set in thick forests in Puerto Vallarta. Golf travel in Mexico is usually a jam-packed affair with over 150 golf courses designed by the world’s top architects like Nicklaus, Dye, Von Hagge, Weiskopf and Jones.

Start your golf tour with Cabo San Lucas, the unquestioned golf capital of Mexico. Six championship courses vie for your attention here including: Pete Dye creation, The Raven at Cabo San Lucas ($160-$130), Jack Nicklaus designed Palmila Club De Golf ($250), Jack Nicklaus designed Ocean Course ($262) and Tom Weiskopf designed Desert Course ($227) at Cabo Del Sol, Robert Trent Jones Jr. created Cabo Real ($280) and another Nicklaus gem, El Dorado.
In Mexico City spend only $55 ($77 on weekends) to play the city’s best public course – Campestre Cocoyoc, The Bella Vista Golf Club ($160-$140), Chapultepec Golf Club ($140), Chiluca Country Club ($160-$140) and the Club De Golf Mexico ($160-$140). You would be a rarity if your golf holiday to Mexico doesn’t include a few days at Acapulco – famous for its bright sunny days the year round; Acapulco is a popular vacation spot and offers some amazing golf as well. Include the Club De Golf ($140), Pierre Marques ($100), Acapulco Princess and the sea-front Tres Vidas ($160-$140) in your golf tour.

Mazatlan offers courses on beautiful locations and noteworthy courses to include in your golf package are The El Cid ($60-$75), Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed Estrella Del Mar and Club Campestre Golf & Country Club ($160-140).
Mexico offers limitless choices to a discerning golf holiday maker and its wide array of tracks can leave you breathless, although golf is not any more expensive here than in the United States. There aren’t too many public courses in Mexico yet, but the way golf is going it won’t be long before you play some really affordable rounds in say, Cancun? For the time being soak up the beauty of The Caesar Park and Pok-ta-Pok, a Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed championship course in Cancun.

Other courses to play on your golf vacation are The Marina Vallarta Golf Club designed by Joe Finger and The Punta Mita created by Jack Nicklaus.