Best golf holidays for beginners – where to go?

Firstly, welcome to golf! A sport that some describe as a good walk spoilt, so to make your walk slightly more enjoyable, why not head abroad for your first golf holiday?

We could easily list the best courses in the world you need to play, however in my opinion why would a beginner want to play a course that charges £150+ per round, has a long carry off many of the tee boxes and will be spending most of your time searching for balls through the thick rough that is close to the fairway?  So, as a beginner golfer, if you are looking for a fair test of golf, good weather and even better prices please carry on reading!

Now you have the golfing bug and want to play and practise as much as possible I would always recommend staying and playing at a golf resort. Most of our golf resorts offer onsite bars and restaurants, short walks to practise facilities, and at least 18 holes of good quality golf. Below are a couple of resorts I’d definitely recommend for beginner golfers looking for good value packages.

Amendoeira Golf Resort

Amendoeira Golf Resort is in the heart of The Algarve, Portugal. Only a short 30-minute transfer from Faro Airport, Amendoeira boasts luxury 5* apartments and villas, a large clubhouse facility and excellent practice facilities.

There are two courses onsite, one designed by Nick Faldo (the Amendoeira Faldo Course) and the other designed by Christy O’Connor Jnr (the Amendoeira O’Connor Course). Each compliments the other very well with contrasting styles, but both with excellent quality and the surrounding countryside makes for 36 spectacular holes.

All stay and play packages at Amendoeira include buggies and unlimited use of both courses, the practice facilities as well as the 9-hole floodlit Academy course perfect for beginners to have some fun and test their short game. The 9-hole Academy course is also a favourite of non-golfers who can enjoy trying golf maybe for the first time without the pressure of playing on the 18-hole championship layouts!

2-bedroom apartments with all of the above included are available next year from £97pp per night. Further reductions apply for groups of 8+ and non-golfers!

Doubletree by Hilton Islantilla Beach & Golf

Doubletree by Hilton Islantilla Beach & Golf located in the Huelva area of the Costa de la Luz in Spain is a short transfer across the Portugal/Spain border from Faro Airport, and is also easily accessible from Seville.

Now owned and managed by the Hilton Group and their Doubletree brand following a renovation in winter 2019/2020, Islantilla offers stays on half board basis at the 4* onsite hotel that include unlimited golf from £67pp per night.

The Islantilla Golf Club is a very fair test of golf and offers 27 holes onsite, and if unlimited golf isn’t quite what you’re looking for then why not just play 9 holes followed by refreshments in the clubhouse? All three loops of 9 holes go out and back to the excellent Islantilla golf clubhouse.

We understand some beginners might be travelling with non-golfing partners/family members and as much as we love seeing the course from our balcony and walking to the first tee, some non-golfers might not get the same inspiration. So, here are a few recommendations for holidays that includes accommodation close to beaches, local towns, and facilities that everyone can enjoy. As well as excellent golf courses which are perfect for a beginner’s golf holiday.

Tivoli Marina Vilamoura

The Tivoli Marina is an excellent 5* hotel located on the Marina in Vilamoura. All rooms boast sea or marina views and can be appreciated by all, including the non-golfers! Through the day non-golfers can enjoy the shops, bars and restaurants in the Marina, the beaches, casino and daily boat tours whilst the golfers can take advantage of the free transfers to one of 5 Dom Pedro golf courses located within a 5-minute drive.

Dom Pedro Victoria (home of the Portuguese Masters) and The Dom Pedro Old Course are priced at the higher end of the scale and a much tougher test for the beginner golfers. However, Dom Pedro Laguna, Dom Pedro Pinhal and Dom Pedro Millennium are still excellent courses, also owned and operated by the Dom Pedro group and can offer significant cost-savings over the higher end Vilamoura golf courses.

Iberostar Royal Andalus

The Iberostar Royal Andalus Hotel is located between the Blue Flag beach of La Barrosa and Real Club Novo Sancti Petri in the Cadiz province of the Costa de la Luz in Spain.

The superb 4* hotel offers two swimming pools well-suited to families, children’s entertainment, and beach sports.

Real Club Novo Sancti Petri is a short 5-minute walk from the hotel, and features 2 x 18 hole courses onsite designed by one of golf’s all time legends, Seve Ballesteros and an international PGA Golf academy offering a large driving range and several short-game areas and putting greens which are perfect for beginner golfers to work on their game.  Why not ask one of 10 resident PGA Professionals for a few lessons whilst the family are enjoying the hotel facilities?

Finally, golf for many beginners is a great way to meet new people. To play golf with others of a similar standard whilst improving at the same time I would highly recommend a Golf Tuition Holiday.

The Golf Travel People’s Golf Tuition Holidays are organised by our PGA Golf Professional Stuart Smith. Stuart has over 20 years golf coaching experience and has been running several golf tuition trips for the last 6 years. Most of the tuition holidays are attended by couples or single golfers and many of the group are beginners looking to improve their game.

Please feel free to contact us on 03300 174 851 or email enquiries@golftravelpeople.com to discuss your first golf holiday and we wish you all the best n your golfing journey!

Looking forward to seeing you all on the fairways again soon!