Go beyond a golf course - up your game with breathtaking scenery in exotic locales, wildlife viewing, luxurious accommodations, mouthwatering cuisines, and amazing activities special to the area! Let us take care of the planning for you to create a memorable golfing trip, plan those time tees for you and enjoy VIP treatment at the best hotels.
California, USA
A great American road trip between two iconic courses. Follow in the tyre tracks of Jack Kerouac to California’s Big Sur, travelling Route 101 between legendary Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines, where Tiger Woods won his last US Open.
Hugging the eastern Pacific coastline, stretching 1,300 kms from Los Angeles in the south to Tumwater, Washington, in the north, taking in San Francisco and Portland along the way, Route 101 is one America’s most iconic highways. And then there’s the golf.
One small slice of the southern half of the highway, a comparatively short but spectacular seven-hour drive, connects two of golf’s greatest, Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines, both former US Open hosts that have witnessed a Tiger Woods victory.
Pebble Beach, just two hours south of San Francisco, is consistently ranked the best public course in the USA and among the top ten in the world, first held the US Open in 1972 when Jack Nicklaus took the title, and most recently in 2019, with the four in between including wins for Tom Watson (1982) and Woods' show-stopper 15-stroke win in 2000.
Set atop craggy headlands with uninterrupted views of the Pacific, even those that have played the best in the world, have been struck by Pebble Beach. Nicklaus said of the course: “If I had only one more round to play, I would choose to play at Pebble Beach. I loved this course from the first time I saw it. It’s possibly the best in the world.”
Not to be outdone, Torrey Pines in San Diego has its own jaw-dropping clifftop setting, and also witnessed a Woods masterclass, albeit by far closer margins with a play-off win over Rocco Mediate in 2008, and, more recently in 2021, Spain’s Jon Rahm won his first major here.
Away from the golf, the drive between the two is one to be savoured, including Big Sur – named by Spanish settlers – which is a mountainous wilderness that has forever attracted creatives looking for inspiration. It’s easy to see why it inspired the likes of Jack Kerouac and Henry Miller, as you wind your way through a 90-mile stretch of twisting, cliff-hugging highway through redwoods, across bridges that seem to defy the laws of gravity and engineering, and with the great ocean following your every turn. In a country that loves its road trips, this is one that ranks among the very best, for its nature, for those that have gone before, and, of course, for the golf.
Isle of Jura, Scotland
Luxury Scottish island golf. Private Scottish golf estate on an isle where golden eagles soar and wild deer roam.
On an isle where once the famed author George Orwell would escape the rigours of city life to be immersed in nature and be alone with his thoughts, with a population of barely 200, Jura still offers exactly that.
A trio of mountain peaks – the Paps of Jura – with the highest Beinna Oir (Gaelic for Mountain of Golf) reaching 2,575 feet through the clouds, provide the perfect backdrop to the most serene of Scottish island canvasses. Nearly 6,000 wild deer (including the most perfect red deer) roam this Inner Hebrides landscape of Scotland’s western isles, while the skies are patrolled by eagles of both golden and sea varieties, and the gin-clear – but ice-cold – waters are home to plentiful supply for both the palate, and play, with dolphins, otters and seals as wise to the abundance of quality seafood as the locals.
A speck of a village in Craighouse barely musters three figures for population, yet is the nearest to a metropolis in these parts and still served with a whisky distillery, producing delicately smoky single malts famed the world over and with history dating back to the early 1800s.
While the stormy Atlantic Ocean ravages the rugged coastline of Jura – which is a smidge more than 30 miles by seven miles in size – you can find serenity at Ardfin estate, 12,000 acres of idyllic Scottish wilderness, and home to a five-star hotel with every bell and whistle you can think of, and many more you can’t. Stay in The Quad, the converted barns and farm buildings of the original estate now with 13 luxury bedrooms, a dining room, bar and Ceilidh Barn, where you return after a days hiking, kayaking or golfing for a dram of Jura whisky and a game of billiards.
The golf is next level, a clifftop to shoreline work of art from Bob Harrison, already troubling the higher echelons of every ‘best golf’ listing you’ll ever read. A course you’ll never tire of, but you should drag yourself away to make the short hop across to Islay and play The Machrie, a classic links designed originally by Willie Campbell in 1891 and remastered by DJ Campbell.
Lacaula Island, Fiji
Golf in the world’s largest private island resort. Set adrift among the big blue of the Pacific Ocean, is the intimate Fijian island of Laucala, where golf is played in the most breathtaking of settings.
When a billionaire decides to buy an island, they have a tendency to go for a good one, and it's hard to fault the choice of Red Bull’s Dietrich Mateschitz who snapped up Laucala Island for a bargain $10M almost 20 years ago, from the late Malcom Forbes.
The 3,500-acre Fijian island has everything you’d want from your five-star, away-from-it-all Pacific Ocean paradise, with private villas speckled across a land of rainforest, hilltops, and lagoons, but he’s also added a few personal touches, including an 18-hole golf course, designed by the architect behind Bandon Dunes, one of the world’s finest.
You can horse ride along the beach and into the mountains, you can dive to see the spectacular soft coral for which Fiji is world-renowned, you can take a tour of the island from which the orchards, wagyu and local pork comes from to fuel the farm-to-fork ethos of Laucala.
There are other islands to explore, including Taveuni Island, just 30 minutes away and the place for spectacular hikes to stunning falls. Or just stay at home, trek into the forested interior, play tennis, mountain bike or just relax in your village with the Pacific as your soundtrack.
Leopard Creek, South Africa
Big Five safari and Leopard Creek golf. Play a course from which elephant, hippos and crocodiles are often seen, and spend nights inside Kruger Park.
A golf course next to the world’s most-famous safari park is both brilliant and yet slightly worrying, especially when a round at Leopard Creek Country Club can include sightings of elephant, crocodile, buffalo and hippo. But you’re perfectly safe on this 360-hectare site, on the border of South Africa’s wildlife-rich Kruger Park and the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga.
Incredibly private – its exclusivity has been likened to Augusta – it has hosted the Alfred Dunhill Challenge on the DP World Tour for the better part of 20 years, and is so meticulous with its course care that it has the South African rights to specific grass brought in from the USA. While you can get lucky and see some of safari’s ‘Big Five’ from the confines of this luxury enclave – not to mention birdies, albatross and eagles – it’s better to book one of their private guides, who can increase your chances of crossing leopards, rhinos, elephants, lions and buffalo off your list.
The Condor, Loire Valley, France
A private course on your own Loire Valley estate. Exclusive use of an 18th century Château with its own private golf course.
The morning dew still rests, untouched, on the pristine grass of this picturesque course as you tee off for the first time that day. The course has been crafted with the help of Arnold Palmer and Paul McGinley and your backdrop is the French countryside, specifically Loire Valley countryside. And it’s all yours. You’re the first and last to play for the duration of your stay, and it comes with the considerable bonus of the 18th-century Château at your disposal. Here, the Michelin-standard chefs create menus based on the very best of French produce, always paired with the finest wines made from the vines that surround you in this stunning region of France and taken from the 250-year-old cellar. Should limbs need reinvigorating after a round (or two), there’s also a swimming pool and gym at your disposal. Plus, the pool’s always empty; it is, after all, yours, just like the golf course.
Private tours can be arranged to the best wineries nearby or perhaps even a balloon ride across the Loire Valley region. But, that would mean leaving the luxury and splendour of this special Château, built in 1775 during the reign of Louis XVI, the last King of France. Fittingly, The Condor is fit for a king, especially one with a passion for golf.
Contact us today if you're interested in creating an itinerary around any of these spectacular golf courses, or any other amazing golf destinations around the world!