Golfing holidays for beginners – 21 Jun 2007

 

Golf packages that are based on tuition and pay healthy commission to agents are increasingly rare.

 

But there is still product out there, and novices often become devotees – so sell the right golf holiday and you could get yourself a valuable repeat customer.

 

Big Spanish and Portuguese golf resorts such as Penina, La Manga, Sotogrande and the Sheraton Algarve Pine Cliffs all  operate their own teaching academies, and crucially, still pay commission.

 

Golf instruction is in English and there are a good few courses, many nine-hole, in the Algarve and on the Costa del Sol that do not require a handicap certificate.

 

Top Scottish clubs like Gleneagles and the Westin Turnberry also have quality tuition packages, and Club Med offers free tuition at many of its villages.

 

 

Superbreak

 

Location: Le Meridien Penina Golf and Resort near Portimao in the Algarve, Portugal

 

Golf: 18-hole championship course, nine-hole academy course and nine-hole resort course for less experienced players.

 

Facilities: Swimming pool, floodlit tennis courts, gymnasium, jogging circuits and watersports.

 

Sample product: Superbreak offers a five-night stay in a mountain view twin room in August from £325 per person, with breakfast. Five one-hour golf lessons cost £196. Flights are extra.

 

 

Gleneagles

 

Location: Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterader, Perthshire

 

Golf: Academy with first-class practice facilities and one-to-one tuition.

 

Facilities: Besides the Championship pga centenary, Queen’s and King’s courses, Gleneagles has the nine-hole par-three wee course for beginners.

 

Sample product: The golf academy offers dinner, bed and breakfast packages with a one-hour lesson from £585 per person per night between May and October. A series of three ‘back to basics’ lessons is £145.

 

 

Club Med

 

Location: Several Club Med holiday villages, including Vittel Le Parc in northeast France and Yasmin and Agadir in Morocco.

 

Golf: Two 18-hole courses at Vittel Le Parc; three nine-hole courses at Golf des Dunes in Agadir. Group golf lessons include video analysis.

 

Facilities: Besides golf, a Club Med village will typically offer a range of sports.

 

Sample product: Club Med offers one week at Vittel Le Parc from £474 in late september (excluding flights). Group golf lessons are included.

 

 

Barwell Leisure

 

Location: La Manga Resort in Murcia, southeast Spain

 

Golf: Junior golf academy in the Easter and summer holidays; three first-class 18-hole courses; one par-47 pitch-and-putt course

 

Facilities: The resort is aimed at families, so there is a range of activities for all ages.

 

Sample product: Seven nights in a two-bedroom Bellaluz apartment at La Manga in late August for two adults and two children starts at £478, excluding flights. The junior golf academy costs £146 for five-to-eight-year-olds (five one-hour lessons) and £205 for nine-to-12s (five 90-minute lessons).