7 Hints For Great Golfing Breaks
By Charles Gill

If you are planning a golfing break, especially with your buddies please make a little time to read this article. Golfing trips are sometimes quite fragile and there may be a hint below which could change things from disaster to great. Sadly it is more common to recall the worst rather than the best golfing holidays but it can be fun as long as the person who suffers is not you.

Having been on a number of golfing tours I offer the following suggestions;

1. Do NOT forget your passport if your golfing breaks are overseas - you can generally survive without anything else but an up to date passport is essential. Oh and if you are from certain states make sure that you are unarmed especially in these anti terror times.

2. Do not overdo things early in your golfing breaks - this applies to food, tobacco (if you indulge), alcohol and of course golf. The initial three will destroy your stamina and by playing too many rounds you could spoil your golfing scores due to a strained ligament or some other type of RSI injury

3. Ensure that you pack different styles of clothing for your golfing breaks - both the weather and 'circumstances' can change. We once travelled to the south of France and were thankful that we had packed sweaters and waterproofs. On another golfing

getaway while playing a course on the outskirts of London we were invited to a society wedding and were glad that we had packed formal outfits , something we did not normally do for our impromptu golfing vacs.

4. If you are going with a group of guys and are sharing rooms on your golfing sojourns take ear plugs. Someone will snore, probably you, and you don't want to keep yourself awake!

5. Vary the scene of your golfing adventures - especially if you have a non-playing partner. While you and the guys might enjoy strolling over the same site, the same hotel and town can be tiresome. A non- golfing partner will generally be pleased if they have a different location to explore and new shops to visit than on previous golfing trips. Personally I detest shopping but love buying.

6. Make sure that you have sufficient spare equipment for your golfing breaks - It is amazing how something may be damaged on golfing holidays, even if you are not boisterous types and it is likely that even the most common gear will NOT be available at the pro shop.

7. Try to think outside of the box when planning your golfing breaks - we have found some wonderful courses which are a reasonable distance from the 'grand courses' but considerably cheaper to play and far less crowded.