Having just joined the Golfbreaks.com team, I have been amazed at the quality of feedback coming from clients who have visited the States for their annual golf break.

Golfers from around the globe associate America with some of the world’s most inviting fairways and prestigious resorts and the state of Florida, with in excess of 1,400 golf courses, typifies this. The Marriott Doral Golf Resort and Spa, located just west of Miami, is a current favourite. With five championship golf courses on site, Doral represents a diverse challenge to suit golfers of all skill levels. Those brave enough to take on the TPC Blue Monster Golf Course, Doral’s flagship course and host to the Cadillac World Golf Championship, will walk in the footsteps of such players as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Greg Norman.

Further up the coast towards Jacksonville is the resort of Sawgrass Golf Resort. Host to the Players Championship and boasting an unforgettable history on the PGA Tour, it has been a firm favourite with Golfbreaks.com clients since its inclusion in 2008.More...

If I had been asked to write about my favourite courses when I was a young PGA Professional I would have probably chosen the amazing Championship courses that at the time had little or no other amenities nearby. Since those ‘heady’ golf tournament days I have spent most of my working life advising amateur golfers where to play their ‘winter vacation’ golf in the sun. This means that I now see golf courses in a totally different light. For a start, each of the resorts I have chosen below have the great benefit of being able to fall out of bed and on to the first tee.

Situated in the famous Costa Brava Region of Spain famous for its stunning views and gastronomic restaurants – The PGA Catalunya lies just an hour’s drive from Barcelona or 10 minutes from Girona Airport. It has 2 magnificent golf courses and a practice facility second to none! I know of nowhere else where you have an enormous rolling putting surface surrounded by various different replica bunkers ‘from the world’s top golf courses’ such as Augusta and St Andrews, containing similar sand composition as well! There are also all the various types of grasses from around the world on the fringe of the practice putting green, to test your skills in every sort of lie – good or bad.

Ranked No. 3 in Europe, The Stadium Course is a tough challenge in anyone’s book and I strongly suggest that mid handicappers play from the forward tees to enjoy the course at its best. If you are good player then by all means play from the back – but be warned because you will need your best game in the bag for this course!More...

On a recent golf trip to Portugal I was fortunate enough to play a round at Palmares Golf Club. It’s not often that I’m moved to put finger to key board but this gem of course should be on everyone’s playlist when in the Algarve.

The course is situated in West Algarve, just 20 minutes drive from Portimao, but probably more relevantly 15 mins drive from Le Meidien Penina. It has recently undergone major reconstruction which has transformed the golf course from being a very pleasant round, into a really quite inspiring test of golf that throws some of the very best golf architecture at you.

One of the key features of the new Palmares is the variation of holes; the golf course really does boast it all.  From the mature, undulating front nine through to a finishing nine that runs along the coast to quench any Links lovers thirst.  The greens run fast and true rewarding an accurate putt but have a habit of hurting if you miss. More...

On Saturday 6th August Nick carried out the third stage of The Ultimate Tuition Break. Here is his account of his experiences at St Omer...

Having spent the last month since The London Club trying to accurately retain the knowledge imparted and diligently follow the drills supplied by Simon Holmes and JJ Rivet, I felt quietly confident that my swing had started to take shape. The personalised exercise program had started to pay dividends in that my initial physical restrictions had began to be removed and I was able to get in the positions that Simon and JJ were trying to get me into.

We arrived at what must be the premier golfing venue in France, St Omer, and had the opportunity to test the course prior to the reassessments the next day.  Having recently staged a European Tour event we knew that we would have our games severely tested.

The golf course at St Omer is very challenging with numerous changes in elevation, though it is very fair from the tee. Club selection is tested throughout the round with every club in your bag in play. The greens were large, a nice pace and with lots of very tricky putts you will need to putt well to put a score together. More...

Recently, I got the chance to play this year’s Open Championship venue, Royal St George’s. I’d played the course before a few years back, and despite playing awfully on a perfect day with no wind, this time I was quite happy with the fact that there was a stiff breeze as this would give me a chance to see the course with a bit more teeth and get a better idea of the kind of challenge the pros will be facing in July.

I’m not sure if anyone else is the same, but I’m not a massive fan of having lots of people watch as I tee off, especially on the first with the wind blowing straight back at you. This may be something to do with the fact I’m never 100% sure where the ball is going… Anyway, as we waited to tee off on the first, I wasn’t exactly over the moon to see a large group approach and take their positions behind the first. As it turned out, as part of the preparations for The Open the R&A has invited camera crews from all over the world to visit the course to discuss camera positions etc. Despite the gallery, I was happy to find the fairway along with my playing partners, although slightly less pleased when the group decided to follow us down the first! More...

When Dean Bennett, a member of our Customer Service team, went on a whistle stop tour to Wales to visit The Vale Resort on a sunny weekend, he took note of some useful information and tips for when visiting this venue.

One of the many perks of going on a fam trip (a familiarization trip) is that we are fortunate enough to play on some superb golf courses. When visiting The Vale, it was a beautiful sunny day and we were raring to tackle a round on The Wales National, one of the longest courses outside of the USA!! The Wales National course provided a rather interesting challenge for the whole group, which were a mixture of all sorts of handicaps. As a beginner golfer, I found the par 3 14th a really interesting hole. After landing the tee shot from a raised platform off of the green, a delightful chip sank for the only birdie of the round!! More...

After lunch at the Vale had settled, we jumped into cars again for the short half an hour drive down the M4 over to Newport. Driving through the opening gates and going up the winding uphill road to the Celtic Manor Resort had me buzzing with anticipation. The 400 room resort looms over Christchurch Hill, offering long distance views of Newport and its surrounding areas. Driving around the hotel over to the main entrance, you are rewarded with views of The Montgomerie, formerly the Coldra Woods course, and it’s impressive “Lodge”, which serves as a clubhouse for The Montgomerie and Roman Road courses.

The car was left with a very friendly valet, our golf clubs were checked in to a golf storage area, and we went to check in to our rooms. While I was waiting to check in, I realised that this was possibly the nicest hotel I’d stayed in, and I was only in the lobby at this point! It’s not every day someone parks the car for you, and looks after your golf clubs the second you step in to the hotel. 10 minutes later and I was up on the 6th floor walking down to my room, More...