Golf hits the high seas on cruises
Mix a love of the game with adventures around the world
One of the greatest things about golf travel is the ability to wrap the game around other attractions.
In the north of Scotland, I’ve combined a round at Royal Dornoch with a trip to the nearby Glenmorangie distillery, savouring a smooth dram while watching the slate grey waves roll across the Firth.
In Ireland, after playing at Sligo, it was a literary side trip to the grave stone of poet W.B. Yeats, with our bus driver dropping a soft recitation of Yeats’ poem “Under Ben Bulben,” the last of his words lilting away on the breeze. In Hong Kong, after a morning on the Gary Player designed courses at Kau Sai Chau, we spent the afternoon shopping in the chaos of the Mong Kok district, searching hard for the best deal for sneakers.
One of the things left on my bucket list, though, is an actual golf cruise, where travellers can split their time between the wonders of oceans, seas and rivers with greens, fairways and tees. Hawaiian idyll The Hawaiian island of Kauai features one of the lushest landscapes on the planet. (Not surprising — the Jurassic Park movies used the island as a backdrop.)
The island is edged with cliffs and sand, spiked with mountains, rippled with valleys and boasts seven distinct microclimates. It is also home to 10 golf courses including the Ocean Course at Hokuala, a Jack Nicklaus design that includes the longest continuous stretch of seaside holes in Hawaii.
Another favourite is Poipu Bay, where both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have teed it up in a tournament. Kauai is one of the golfing stops on Golf Ahoys’ 10-day Circle Hawaiian Islands cruise. It kicks off on Oahu’s north shore and then sails away to Maui, the Big Island, Kauai and then returns to Oahu and Honolulu. Golf Ahoy offers year-round Hawaiian island golf cruises. Land of ooh-la-la France is not considered a golfing nation, yet in September 2018, the land of ooh-la-la will host the Ryder Cup matches, one of the biggest competitions on the sporting calendar. The Cup is being played at Le Golf National, which is about a wedge shot away from the Palace of Versailles and just 30 kilometres from the Arc de Triomphe.
If you are going to attend, it might be worth checking out European Waterways, which for nearly 40 years has been offering luxury barge cruises across Europe and Britain. They are featuring a Ryder Cup special on either eight- or 12-passenger barges that cruise through Burgundy. Pre-booked tee times are available on courses dotted along the barge route, and non-golfers can opt for escorted excursions to chateaus, wine tastings and food markets. Wonders down under One way to sit out a nasty Toronto winter is with a golf cruise to New Zealand and Australia. Perry Golf is featuring a 13 night/five to six round excursion, running Feb. 22 to March 7, to some of the wonders down under. The trip includes loops to New Zealand’s North and South islands, with stops in wine country in Marlborough and Napier.
The golf includes rounds at Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers, both stunning layouts that teeter on the edge of Pacific Ocean cliffs. The cruise finishes off with a crossing of the Tasman Sea and then on to Sydney. Perry Golf is also offering a British Open cruise that runs July 11 to 24.
It sails from Southampton to Edinburgh and includes a stretch at Carnoustie to watch the 147th Open Championship. Other stops include a round on the Palmer Ryder Cup Course at the K Club in Ireland and another at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland which is hosting the British Open in 2019.