Holidays to destinations with celebrity endorsed courses, rural courses, mountainous courses and even island courses where the views are as thrilling as the game.
We have the inside track not only on some of the best golf courses in Asia, Iceland, Morocco and The Maldives but also exciting and culturally uplifting alternatives ensuring a fulfilling holiday all round. Here is a selection of some of Wix Squared’s favourite golf courses:
With its dramatic landscapes, Iceland offers an exciting setting for golf with courses amidst lava fields and by the sea. Here you can try midnight golf in the summer for an incredible golfing experience.
Vestman Island Golf Club – established in 1938 and set inside an extinct volcano on the islands off the southern coast, is considered to have the best greens in the country. Playing in the crater, up the volcanic walls and across the sea makes for a challenging course.
Keilir Golf Club – a links course with the front nine surrounded by lava and the back nine played on a small peninsula with spectacular views to the Snaefellsjokull glacier and the Alftanes peninsula. Located in Hafnarfjordur town just 15 minutes from Reykjavik.
Brautarholt Golf Club – located 10 km east of Reykjavik. The club was established in 1934 and is the oldest and largest golf club in Iceland. The golf course is a fabulous 12-hole golf course that opened in 2012 and has played host to many European tournaments.
Alternative activities that we can arrange include: trekking, cycling, horse riding, snow sports including heli-skiing, snorkelling and diving, exploring volcanoes, viewing the northern lights in winter and bathing in the healing waters of the blue lagoon.
Golf has existed in the Kingdom since the beginning of the 20th century, but during King Hassan II reign, he makes his sport a true Moroccan tradition.
Assoufid Golf Course (image) – an environmentally-friendly, first-class golf experience in Marrakech designed by former European Tour player, Niall Cameron. Set against the backdrop of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, Assoufid Golf Club’s 18-hole, par-72 golf course winds its way through a unique, naturally undulating desert landscape.
Royal Dar Es Salam – Traced by Robert Trent Jones and located in the heart of a cork oak forest just 15 minutes from the centre of Rabat. Its estate covers some 440 hectares of trees, flowers, water and courses appreciated by true connoisseurs.
The Mazagan Gary Player Golf Course – located an hour from Casablanca, is Morocco’s longest course at 6,885m. This provides a unique challenge for champion golfers. The dunes featured throughout this links course have been entirely created with sand from the region and Paspalum grass is used.
Alternative activities that we can arrange include: trekking, skiing, camel and horse riding, mountain biking, quad biking and even hot air ballooning, surfing, kiteboarding, exciting souks to explore and hammams to relax in.
With over 17,000 islands, Indonesia has much to offer every traveller and with nearly 150 golf courses to choose from, this is the perfect place for golfers of all abilities.
Bali National Golf Club – offers visitors to Bali a truly luxurious golfing experience which three distinct playing environments throughout the 18-hole course. From creeks, canyons, native vegetation filled with tropical birds and lush sculptured fairways to the island green and lakeside hole.
Royale Jakarta Golf Club – just 15 mins from the centre of Jakarta is one of five great new golf courses in Asia, designed by Bob Moore Jr. & JMP Group. With its green paradise concept of expansive meadows, exotic plants and lake waters throughout its 27 holes, makes it simply a beautiful and challenging golf course within the heart of Jakarta city.
Bali Beach Golf Course – set in an environment of very mature, tall trees, with the introduction of lakes, mounding and features, including newly designed and constructed greens. It is a course that will provide challenges to golfers of all skill levels with the wind factor coming into play on a few holes.
Alternative activities that we can arrange include: Island hop between smouldering volcanoes, haggle in Ubud’s markets with a personal shopper, sail east on a private liveaboard to discover world class diving with a marine biologist or relax on secret, rugged, untouched beaches.
There are around 250 golf courses in Thailand with over 60 in Bangkok alone. Destination diversity and the choice of golf courses throughout the country are key factors attracting the large numbers of golfers to the country. And Golf in Thailand is always played with your own personal caddie.
Royal Golf & Country Club – is the closest 18-hole standard golf course to Bangkok’s airport offering slick greens, tricky doglegs and water hazards. Designed by Chohei Miyasawa from Japan to preserve the natural environment throughout with an abundance of colourful plants and trees.
Phoenix Gold Golf & Country Club – site of 2016 Kings Cup European Tour and 2017 Ladies European Tour events. A strong Dennis Griffiths design, Phoenix plays on wooded, rolling terrain. This 27-hole Pattaya golf course comprises three nines – Ocean, Lake and Mountain, and has magnificent views of the surrounding hills and the Gulf of Thailand.
The Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club & Resort – is a Peter Thomson designed parkland course set in the scenic countryside. The beauty of this course is the abundance of greenery and mature trees while still keeping in harmony with the natural scenery and rolling countryside.
Alternative activities that we can arrange include: sustainable elephant interactions, watersports, tuk tuk driving, cycling, trekking, sightseeing in cultural cities, culinary and world class spa experiences.
Even some of these idyllic Maldivian paradise islands with white sand beaches surrounded by turquoise lagoons and home to incredible marine life also offer some courses with the most tropical of views.
Velaa Private Island – with nine different tees, six greens, seven bunkers, and a lake, Velaa Golf Academy by Jose Maria Olazabal, renowned for his short game prowess, provides an unequalled backdrop for guests to develop their game on this unique private island.
Shangri-La Villingili Resort (image) – has a breath-taking nine-hole golf course called Villingili, designed for the enjoyment of seasoned golfers and beginners alike. This course is the only one of its kind in the Maldives and includes par three and par four holes, which average a length of 112 metres.
The Meeru Golf Club – Located in the centre of Meerufenfushi island, next to the Golf Driving Range and Putting Green, you can play nine holes over 480 yards on this 2000 sqm course. There are nine tee boxes and six greens which allow you to play 18 holes while working on your short game.
Alternative activities we can arrange include: diving and snorkelling with whale sharks, watersports, tennis, star gazing, private open air cinema viewings, world class spas and culinary experiences.