Golfers take more trips and cruises, and they have higher incomes, than the average vacationer. According to a Golf Digest survey, golf is the number 1 participatory sport among affluent…
Golfers take more trips and cruises, and they have higher incomes, than the average vacationer. According to a Golf Digest survey, golf is the number 1 participatory sport among affluent travelers and also among business executives.
Upscale resorts around the world are catering to their golfing guests by offering a variety of new golf-oriented experiences and services. According to the online magazine, BestGolfResortsofTheWorld.com, the latest trends at luxury golf resorts are:
- Caddie Comeback
- Walkabouts
- Kids on the Green
- On-Course Surprises
- Spas for Golfers
- Sizzling Summers, Cold Play
Caddie Comeback
Forecaddie and full caddie programs have been launched at top golf resorts, making it faster and more enjoyable to play the difficult and popular tournament-level courses. The Pinehurst, North Carolina-based company, Caddiemaster, Inc., trains caddies for the Mystic Rock course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Pennsylvania, and for TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale and others. 300 “loopers”, as caddies are often called, are available to players at Bandon Dunes in Oregon, where golf carts are prohibited. Among other resorts offering caddies are Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, Sea Island Club, Kiawah Island, Barton Creek, PGA National, Sandy Lane on Barbados and Whistling Straits at Destination Kohler in Wisconsin. At Bear’s Best near Atlanta, a complimentary forecaddie comes with the green fee.
Wearing white jumpsuits reminiscent of those worn at The Masters at Augusta, caddies in the Golf Caddie Concierge Program at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, provide not only the traditional services–yardage, strategy, bunker raking, divot repair, greens reading–they also take care of food and beverage orders and dinner reservations, shepherding players from the practice range to the 19th tee!
Walkabouts
Although players are required to take carts on many resort courses, due to a perception that walking takes longer, some world-famous resorts are leading a return to the tradition of trodding the fairways. The Whistling Straits courses at Destination Kohler in Wisconsin are walking-only, as are the Oceanside links at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Pebble Beach calls its course the greatest walk on earth, while on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, about half the players walk. Every golfer can walk, the better to enjoy views of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada, at the Resort at Squaw Creek at Lake Tahoe in California.
Walking is allowed year-round on Jekyll Island courses, and with a caddie on Royal Links in Las Vegas, and at La Costa Resort and Spa in California, where the pros play in the WEC Accenture Match Play Championships.
Kids on the Green
Due to the Tiger factor, kids are learning the game at earlier ages than ever before–golfers under 18 are the fastest-growing segment of the sport. According to golf industry consultant, Nancy Berkley, “Affluent 30-something Gen-Xers are parents, now, and they tend to travel with their children (www.berkleyconsulting.com). Resorts are catering to these young families with new programs, from “kids play free” to family clinics. At Kiawah Island, the “Family Tee Program” gives families a chance to play together from the junior tees on any of the four courses in the early evenings, with longer than usual intervals between tee times–and kids play free.”
Gleneaglets at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland play on the 3-par, 9-hole Wee Course and the pitch-and-putt course, while at Boyne USA Resorts in Michigan, kids play free with an adult, while moms and juniors play together free on Family Fundays. The “Family Fairways Golf” package at historic Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina includes clubs, a clinic and a round of golf for all, and the younger set has their own practice area. And, at the Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello in Canada , families get together for free hourly golf clinics three days a week.
The Golden Horseshoe Golf Club’s Spotswood Course in Colonial Williamsburg hosts a “Families On The Fairways” summer series and the “Take Your Daughter To The Course” program, while Sunriver Resort in Oregon is developing Caldera Golf Park, a 9-hole layout where the tee-to-green distances range from 60 to 140 yards, following the trend of shorter distances from junior tees. Complimentary clinics and unlimited play are complimentary for all guests at Sandals’ Beaches Bocobel in Jamaica.
On-Course Surprises
A white-jacketed waiter on the Nicklaus course at the Four Seasons Punta Mita near Puerto Vallarta offers fresh mango smoothies at the turn, while ice-cold, citrus-scented “Oshi-bori” towels are refreshing on Poipu Bay Golf Course on Kauai. When golfers feel the heat of the desert sun at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North, a staffer arrives with cold Evian water, asking, “May I spray your face?”
Sexy cart girls serve pina coladas on the fairways of Bali Hai Golf Club on the Las Vegas strip, while on The King & the Bear and The Slammer & The Squire at World Golf Village, chilled apples are complimentary. Chair massage on the practice range relaxes players at Coeur d’Alene Golf & Spa Resort in Idaho and at the Golf Club at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, California.
Golf writer, Bill Giering, said, “I’ve been offered homemade soup on The Dunes in Myrtle Beach, and on the Donald Ross course at The Sagamore in New York, they took photos of our group–a nice souvenir.”
Spas for Golfers
Endorsed by world-famous golf instructor, David Leadbetter, and PGA pro, Charles Howell III, the Golf Performance Massage offered at the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess combines massage, stretching and acupressure to improve performance, balance and rotation, and help avoid injury. Adjacent to the legendary, oceanfront Cabo Real Golf Course in Baja, the Spa Suites at the 5-star Las Ventanas al Paraiso resort come complete with in-suite treatment room, steam and sauna, and a spa butler.
The Private Golfer’s Suite at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara near San Diego is an indoor/outdoor oasis with whirlpool, fireplace, putting green and an “Arnold Palmer” beverage station for making the classic iced-tea/lemonade concoction. Golfers settle in here for hand massages focused on muscles used while gripping the club, and back, shoulder and neck manipulation. Comprised of play on the Tiburon and Hammock Bay courses, therapeutic massage and hydrating facials, the “Clubs, Rubs and Scrubs” package pampers guests at the elegant Inn on Fifth in Naples, Florida.
Sizzling Summers, Cold Play
When golf meccas are hot properties in mid-summer, resort golfers get around in air-conditioned carts. Cool carts are offered at the 27-hole Kierland Golf Club at the Westin Kierland Resort and at the Whirlwind Golf Club at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, both in Arizona; and at Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head Island and the Club at Savannah Harbor, among others.
Cart conditioners direct cool, dry air from 10 pounds of ice onto the back of the golfers’ necks while stripping heat and moisture from the air. Also, the practice tees at Kierland are maintained at a refreshing temperature by a mobile canopy that shades golfers, blocks wind and blows a curtain of cool mist–aaaahhh.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
