The World’s Great Golf Courses
There are two kinds of legendary course: the ones you can play, and the ones you cannot. A golf trip begins with that distinction, because nothing is more frustrating than building a week around a club that admits members only.
The ones you can play
St Andrews, in Scotland, is a public course. The Old Course belongs to the town, and access comes through a daily ballot for unreserved tee times, or by booking that opens on a fixed date roughly a year ahead. A golfer willing to play another course in the complex the next day has far better odds.
Pebble Beach, in California, is open to the public. Tee times are booked far ahead, and priority goes to guests of the resort hotel — the most effective lever for securing a slot.
The Irish links — Ballybunion, Lahinch, Royal County Down in the north — receive visitors by reservation, with hours reserved for members.
The one you cannot
Augusta National is private, by invitation of a member. No package, no agency and no sum of money grants access to the course. The only legitimate way in is a spectator ticket for the April tournament, allocated by ballot with entry a year ahead. Be wary of any offer promising otherwise.
What a links demands, and nobody mentions
A links is not an ordinary course placed beside the sea. The ground is sandy and firm, the ball runs far further than in Quebec, and the game is played along the ground as much as through the air. Wind is not a hazard, it is the normal condition — it changes two clubs on every shot.
The practical consequence: a Quebec golfer used to soft, watered parkland courses plays a poor first eighteen in Scotland. Plan for it. The first course of the trip should be the least prestigious, not the most.
Many Scottish and Irish clubs forbid or restrict buggies and require a caddie or a trolley. You walk, often six or seven kilometres, sometimes twice a day. Fitness matters more than people expect.
What you need before booking
Serious clubs ask for a handicap certificate, or at least an official handicap number. Some set a maximum. This is not a formality: without a registered handicap, several courses will refuse the booking.
Dress is codified too, more strictly than in North America: proper trousers or shorts, a collar, no jeans. Some British clubs still have rules covering the locker room and the lounge.
Portugal, the easiest trip to organise
The Algarve packs dozens of quality courses within an hour of each other, with a climate playable year-round and direct flights from Europe. It is the simplest destination for a first golf trip, and the one where you play the most courses in a week. The rest of the country is covered in our Portugal guide from Montreal.
When should you go?
For Scotland and Ireland, May to September — June days are extremely long, which allows two rounds in one day. For California, spring and autumn, avoiding the summer coastal fog. For the Algarve, autumn and spring.
Organising the trip from Quebec
Golf is the kind of trip where the order of booking decides everything: tee times first, then flights and hotels. Golf bags travel as special baggage, with rules and fees that vary by airline. An adviser can line up the tee times, the nights and the transfers, and check each club’s handicap requirements.
Voyages AquaTerra holds a Quebec travel agency licence. Our clients are covered by the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents, under the conditions set out in the regulation. Call an adviser at 1-866-628-6241.
