Why it pays for golf pros to plan group trips early

Whether you're taking a group of members away for a few rounds or running a coaching trip for your clients, planning early gives you more options and makes organising the trip easier.

If you've got your next trip in mind, here's why it's worth getting started early.

Finding a date that works for a whole group can be one of the hardest parts of organising a trip.

The earlier you confirm it, the more chance your members or clients have of keeping those dates free. Leave it too late, and you're competing with family holidays, golf days and other commitments already in the calender.

More notice also gives people time to plan, budget and arrange time off if they need to.

Popular courses, resorts, and tee times fill up, particularly for larger groups and during peak travel periods.

Booking early gives you a better choice of where to stay, when to play, and the room types you need. It means you can build the trip you want rather than having to work around what's still available.

There may also be early booking discounts available at selected resorts, so planning ahead can help with the price too.

Pros tend to book further ahead the further they travel. On average, our pro groups book:

• UK - 6 months before travel
• Europe - 7 months before travel
• Mid-haul - 9 months before travel
• Long-haul - 9 months before travel

If you're considering a trip, these are useful lead times to keep in mind - particularly if you have specific dates, courses or resorts in mind.

You don't need to have every place filled before you start planning.

Having the dates, destination, and outline of the trip agreed gives you something concrete to put in front of your members or clients. You then have more time to find the right people and fill any remaining places without a last-minute rush.

It also gives everyone more time to budget for the trip and spread the cost where payment options allow.

If coaching is part of the trip, there's more to consider than the golf courses.

You'll want the right practice facilities and enough access to them to run the sessions you have planned. Booking early gives you a wider choice of resorts and makes it easier to find somewhere that works for both the coaching and the golf.

With more time to plan, you can also put together an itinerary that combines practice sessions, on-course coaching and rounds of golf.

A trip gives you time with members and clients that you don't always get at the club.

Whether you're coaching or simply joining the group and playing, a few days away is a good opportunity to get to know people better. That can lead to more coaching, stronger relationships at the club and more interest in future trips.

Run a good trip, and you'll often find people asking where you're going next before you've even got home.

The more time you have, the easier it is to get the details right.

You can look at different destinations, compare resorts and courses, find suitable tee times, and work out what suits the group. For overseas trips, you'll also have more time to consider flights and transfers.

It takes some of the pressure out of organising a group and gives you a better chance of securing your preferred options.