Golf in the Sun for couple in Late November... any ideas would be welcome

bmay529

We are a couple (M/F) with a free 3rd week Nov looking to get away for some golf and sun. We are keen "senior" golfers (h/c 12/28) used to going on organised golf/social trips with groups but haven't found anything similar for above week. Our preference would be an organised trip as it would save all the hassle but would welcome any recommendations or ideas for that time of year. Thanks in advance

Russman

bmay529 wrote: »

We are a couple (M/F) with a free 3rd week Nov looking to get away for some golf and sun. We are keen "senior" golfers (h/c 12/28) used to going on organised golf/social trips with groups but haven't found anything similar for above week. Our preference would be an organised trip as it would save all the hassle but would welcome any recommendations or ideas for that time of year. Thanks in advance

That late in the year the choice is a bit more restricted than, say, now.
A lot will depend on budget.
I don't know how warm/sunny Portugal would be in November but there's great and reasonable golf in the Lisbon area, plus you have the city nearby to explore. There's a little village about an hour south of Lisbon called Sesimbra and there's organised senior citizen holidays there which I think were quite reasonable. I'll try to remember the name of the travel agent. I was staying in the same hotel as some of them a couple of years ago and they were telling us about it. We were a group of 12 playing the local courses in October - Aroeira 1 & 2, Quinta do Peru and Montado, all excellent. Didn't get out to Troia but it has a great reputation.
Further south in Vilamoura there's great golf, but IMHO its overpriced for what you get. You can still get good deals slightly outside the town, eg Morgado.

You'd be more guaranteed the weather somewhere like Tenerife but the courses wouldn't be fantastic, they're not bad, but its just not really a destination geared for golf. Costa Adeje is very good and Golf las Americas is decent too.

More exotic would be the States, Florida has endless golf and Myrtle Beach is golf central. I'm not sure what the November weather is like in MB, I've only ever been in October, but, they've just had record rainfall and a state of emergency since the weekend, so you might actually pick up a deal if courses are less than pristine after the storms and they're looking to make up lost bookings.

Maybe try one of the tour operators eg Cassidy, for ideas too.

First Up

If you want everything organised you are best off with a specialist operator like Cassidys or Yourgolftravel but there's loads of them. Its a bit of a production line but the better ones offer a good choice to suit your budget.

I like the Lisbon area for the variety and access to the city but if you want something a bit different, Belek in Turkey is worth a look. Also some good options in Agadir in Morocco, although the town lacks character and not a lot else to do apart from getting pestered in the bazaar.

You always have the "old reliables" of the Algarve or Spain but I think you can get better value and more interesting spots.

First Up

Russman wrote: »

That late in the year the choice is a bit more restricted than, say, now.
A lot will depend on budget.
I don't know how warm/sunny Portugal would be in November but there's great and reasonable golf in the Lisbon area, plus you have the city nearby to explore. There's a little village about an hour south of Lisbon called Sesimbra and there's organised senior citizen holidays there which I think were quite reasonable. I'll try to remember the name of the travel agent. I was staying in the same hotel as some of them a couple of years ago and they were telling us about it. We were a group of 12 playing the local courses in October - Aroeira 1 & 2, Quinta do Peru and Montado, all excellent. Didn't get out to Troia but it has a great reputation.
Further south in Vilamoura there's great golf, but IMHO its overpriced for what you get. You can still get good deals slightly outside the town, eg Morgado.

You'd be more guaranteed the weather somewhere like Tenerife but the courses wouldn't be fantastic, they're not bad, but its just not really a destination geared for golf. Costa Adeje is very good and Golf las Americas is decent too.



More exotic would be the States, Florida has endless golf and Myrtle Beach is golf central. I'm not sure what the November weather is like in MB, I've only ever been in October, but, they've just had record rainfall and a state of emergency since the weekend, so you might actually pick up a deal if courses are less than pristine after the storms and they're looking to make up lost bookings.

Maybe try one of the tour operators eg Cassidy, for ideas too.

We are obviously of like mind!

I've done Myrtle Beach (over Thanksgiving) and apart from one fog delay it was fine. Loads (and loads) of courses but the only cultural attraction for miles is outlet shopping.

Russman

First Up wrote: »

We are obviously of like mind!

I've done Myrtle Beach (over Thanksgiving) and apart from one fog delay it was fine. Loads (and loads) of courses but the only cultural attraction for miles is outlet shopping.

Clearly !

Yeah, its probably my favourite golf destination (not that I've been to too many), but I'd never get tired of the choice there. What is it, something like 120 courses in 50 miles ?
But you're right, if you're not there for golf, you have no business being in Myrtle Beach !

bmay529

Thanks very much for the ideas guys. First thing when I said "seniors" we are fit and active in our late 50's so not in the grave quite yet.

I have been to the Lisbon area around Estoril and there are some great courses there... penna Longa, Estoril (old style), Aroeira, etc... but I think weather would be iffy and not sunny in Late November.

Villamura is great, or even Marbella but I think the weather again would be very iffy in Late Nov.

I was thinking we might have to go to Tenerife to get good weather and was wondering if anyone could offer any recommendations... have been there a few times on organised trips and got the point about the quality of the courses.

I rang Cassidy and Yourgolftravel... neither had anyone able to help and was promised someone would ring back... but nobody did... bad customer service and obviously not interested!!! Maybe I will try them again, Are there any other good travel agents that specialise in golf hols?

Russman

The only time I was in Tenerife we used Cassidy but there was 20 of us. I'm sure for a couple you could easily do it DIY. We stayed in Compostella Beach Golf II, something like that anyway. It was actually pretty nice. You could walk to the main centre of Playa de la Americas and the golf course was just out the back.
Re golf, we played three courses twice each. Golf las Americas is pretty good, Costa Adeje is excellent and Amarilla Golf is ok too (there's a lovely short par 3 over a cove). None of them were "bad", just not the quality of a Vilamoura or Lisbon.

First Up

bmay529 wrote: »

Thanks very much for the ideas guys. First thing when I said "seniors" we are fit and active in our late 50's so not in the grave quite yet.

I have been to the Lisbon area around Estoril and there are some great courses there... penna Longa, Estoril (old style), Aroeira, etc... but I think weather would be iffy and not sunny in Late November.

Villamura is great, or even Marbella but I think the weather again would be very iffy in Late Nov.

I was thinking we might have to go to Tenerife to get good weather and was wondering if anyone could offer any recommendations... have been there a few times on organised trips and got the point about the quality of the courses.

I rang Cassidy and Yourgolftravel... neither had anyone able to help and was promised someone would ring back... but nobody did... bad customer service and obviously not interested!!! Maybe I will try them again, Are there any other good travel agents that specialise in golf hols?

All their stuff is on their websites. If you want guaranteed and warm sun you need to go further. Florida, Cape Town, Thailand etc.

bmay529

Russman wrote: »

The only time I was in Tenerife we used Cassidy but there was 20 of us. I'm sure for a couple you could easily do it DIY. We stayed in Compostella Beach Golf II, something like that anyway. It was actually pretty nice. You could walk to the main centre of Playa de la Americas and the golf course was just out the back.
Re golf, we played three courses twice each. Golf las Americas is pretty good, Costa Adeje is excellent and Amarilla Golf is ok too (there's a lovely short par 3 over a cove). None of them were "bad", just not the quality of a Vilamoura or Lisbon.

Costa Adeje seems to be golf course plus hotel. Has anyone any experience of or stayed in the hotel?

Russman

bmay529 wrote: »

Costa Adeje seems to be golf course plus hotel. Has anyone any experience of or stayed in the hotel?

Course is very good, hilly in places if remember correctly, unfortunately I've no idea about the hotel, sorry.

franknottaken

Just back from 8 days in Mallorca playing golf. Stayed in Santa Ponsa. Really nice courses over there. You would need to check weather for your dates though. Booked with golfbreaks.ie

Also check out Son Vida course. 3 courses in one setup with free golf when you book into the shearton hotel.

May not suit but worth checking out the destination.