DESTINATIONS LESSER-KNOWN GOLF SPOTS | SPORTS TRAVEL
LIKE THIS? PORTUGAL
Portugal is a golfer’s go-to, with around 100 courses suiting a wide range of price points and skill levels. Whether clients are searching to perfect their strokes by the crashing waves of the Atlantic, or keen to soak up the laid-back southern European lifestyle in the Algarve following a thrilling day on the fairway, Portugal is a perennially popular option.
TURKEY
WHAT TO EXPECT: For a golf break with an endless choice of places to play, zoom across to the opposite side of the Mediterranean to Turkey. The coasts near Antalya are framed by the spectacular Taurus mountains, with plenty of PGA tour-standard golf facilities on offer.
WHY GO: In the past couple of decades, many top golf architects and former players have designed courses at this beauty spot, including British star Sir Nick Faldo, whose 27-hole Cornelia Golf Club eases its way through an ancient pine forest. Belek is also home to plenty of great-value (and, frequently, all-inclusive) golf resorts. The family-friendly Cullinan Belek (pictured) is open year-round and is home to two courses that were extensively remodelled in 2022 to include a total of 36 holes. Players who need a helping hand can take lessons at Belek’s Golf Academy.
BOOK IT: Jet2 offers seven nights’ all-inclusive at the Cullinan Belek for £2,719 per person, based on two sharing. The price includes flights from Manchester on April 12, four rounds of golf, transfers and a 22kg baggage allowance.
jet2holidays.com
TRY THIS BERMUDA
This Atlantic destination punches well above its weight when it comes to golf: it has a land mass of only 21 square miles, but seven world-class courses to its name. Taking one’s eye off the ball is no bad thing, as pink-sand beaches, charming wooden seafront houses and bright-blue waters lie just beyond the putting green.
BARBADOS
WHAT TO EXPECT: A Caribbean getaway with sun, sea and steel pans is a given on Barbados, but it’s also a fabulous destination for golfers, with its undulating terrain and warm weather providing ideal playing conditions.
WHY GO: Barbados is making a name for itself as one of the Caribbean’s top golf destinations. The opening of Apes Hill resort – and a major redesign of its golf course – late last year is the Caribbean’s newest offering. But the island has plenty of stalwarts too, including Royal Westmoreland and Sandy Lane’s world-renowned Green Monkey course (pictured). At the latter, golfers can admire views of green forest and the blue horizon as they tee off from the top of a hill, while a ‘green monkey’ grass sculpture supervises the 16th hole – a playful homage to the monkeys that roam freely across Barbados.
BOOK IT: Inspiring Travel offers seven nights’ B&B in a Luxury Ocean Room at Sandy Lane Resort from £4,425 per person, based on two sharing, flying on September 2. The price includes transfers, a round of golf, a massage and a candlelit dinner.
inspiringtravel.co.uk
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travelweekly.co.uk
7 MARCH 2024
41
PICTURES: Shutterstock/Alex Glover, Serhiy Stakhnyk, rusty426
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