Where To Golf This Winter

Escape to warming climes without travelling forever or breaking the bank

It’s definitely winter.  Christmas is around the corner and we’ve got three wet and cold months ahead of us.   But not too far away there are golfers in short sleeves playing on perfect fairways and holidaymakers enjoying a thirst-quenching G&T before dining on the hotel terrace.    Don’t get jealous, get even…You can join them by flying as little as 90 minutes from the UK.

Let’s go through the list of the best winter sunshine destinations, starting with the nearest and working our way further afield.

Southern France.  Fly to Nice and you’ll be amazed at how sunny, bright and warm the French Mediterranean is throughout the entire year.   I’ve had many al-fresco lunches in and around Cannes in the so-called winter months.  The hotels and courses are still in fine fettle but priced as “low-season”, as are the hire cars and flights.   You won’t be skinny-dipping or sunbathing on the beach but you’ll get a very welcome dose of warm sunshine on your arms and face whilst enjoying the classy French Riviera at bargain rates.

Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica.  These Mediterranean islands all boast very good golf courses and direct flights of under three hours from the UK.  They are all stunning and boast mild weather too.  To escape from everything, Is Arenas on Sardinia is an absolute gem (at incredibly attractive rates too) and the golf resorts on Sicily and Corsica are at much-reduced rates.   These are the places to choose to recharge your batteries and to enjoy the wild, rugged scenery and drop-dead gorgeous coastlines without seeing another golfer all day.

Spain.  The south-east of Spain escapes any winter harshness coming in from the Atlantic and you can’t go wrong by choosing La Manga or Las Colinas.  Fly to Murcia or Alicante and you’re in for a golfing treat at great value.  And if you fancy exploring, head slightly north to Valencia and its environs where food is king and there are some good golf courses dotted around the coast – including El Saler and La Galiana, two courses that will please even the most discerning of golfers.

The Canary Islands is now a much-loved and thoroughly-respected golf destination throughout the year.  It comes into its own from October to the end of March with its generous climate and four-hour flight from the UK.  However, prices can  be a bit steep if you don’t know where to look.  Tenerife and Gran Canaria have several courses apiece and the full-range of hotel types and prices (we know two on each island that can give you a lot of fizz but a lot less money than the bigger resorts).  La Gomera is the smallest of the Canary Islands to have a good golf course and it’s prices are the smallest too.   A deserved favourite.

Marrakech in Morocco is an Aladdin’s cave of everything that is good about the great continent of Africa: the warmest of welcomes, a fabulous fusion of Asian, African and European cuisine, top- (and even world-) class hotels, enviable weather and the best concentration of quality golf on the continent after South Africa.  Play Assoufid, Ourika, Royal Palm, Noria….and several more and you can’t go wrong.  Marrakech is only a four hour flight away and our rates are eye-blinkingly good.  The daytime temperature will never go below 60 F even in winter and you’ll be playing in “summer gear” on most days even in December and January.  Night time temperatures do drop (it is the desert after all!) but on come the log fires in ornately-decorated lounges, bedrooms and restaurants.  It’s a fabulous destination with Le Naoura Barriere being one of the finest.

Just over five hours from London is Hurghada on the Red Sea.  We’ve got two particularly good hotels which offer All Inclusive and very nice golf on site: The Westin Soma Bay and the Steigenberger Makadi.  It will reach 70 F even in January and the prices represent great value for money.

Abu Dhabi is  7 1/4 hours’ flight  from London and it can reach 77 F in February and 83 F in March.  There are three very fine golf courses and a lovely long line of quality hotels on Saadiyat Island.  Avoid school holiday times and you get a lot of buck for your dollar.

So don’t suffer anymore.  Book a winter-sunshine golf holiday on 0207 8701258.