Romantic Destinations for the Best Couples Golf Trips
Golf is a sport with a rich history and a great way to have a romantic getaway. When we travel, we love to find unique places to enjoy Golf. While we are no longer what you might call an avid golfer, we do still love the sport. You can go on a golf trip with a group of four or eight people and have a great time, or you can go alone with your partner or spouse. We are sharing our ideas for the Best Couples Golf Trips in the World.
Attending a golf tournament, playing golf with a cart, walking a golf course, or going to a driving range can all be good sources of exercise and fun. What is most fun is playing a challenging and beautiful golf course.
Robin is demonstrating her near-perfect swing on one of our favorite courses, the TPC Danzante Bay Course in Loreto, Mexico.
Loreto is about six hours north of Cabo San Lucas and is worth the trip. For more information about Loreto, and driving in Mexico, please visit our DIY Travel in Mexico post.
Best Couples Golf Trips – Playing Golf at a Beautiful Resort Course
Playing golf, almost anywhere in the United States, can be a lot of fun. It is a better way to enjoy the great outdoors. Here in Florida, we recommend locally the Sawgrass Marriot Golf Resort and easy-reach neighboring courses in St. Augustine, and Amelia Island. In addition to our home state of Florida, we have played at other great courses on the East Coast in places like Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, and Kiawah Island. Any of these courses in South Carolina is a great place to play golf on championship courses.
But, there are also plenty of other great places to play golf on incredible golf courses in the United States. For example, other world-class golf courses are the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, Big Cedar Lodge in the Ozarks, Sea Island in Georgia, Bandon Dunes in Oregon, and Whistling Straights at Destination Kohler in Wisconsin. They can all make for a great romantic golf getaway.
But, it can also be great excitement to play in other places in the world, or even to attend a golf tournament in another country. We have done both. Certainly, playing in the British Isles, the home of golf can be exciting. Cos got to play four courses in Ireland, one of the world’s best golf destinations in the world when he visited there with seven golf buddies to celebrate his friend’s 50th birthday.
One of Our Favorites – Half Moon Bay in California
There are many great places to play golf. One that we love is the Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay. Principally, overshadowed by Pebble Beach, and the other more famous courses an hour south down on the Monterey Peninsula, this is a true Hidden Gem. It is also a fine dining experience. Certainly, hard to beat these beautiful views.
Best Couples Golf Trips – Attending a Golf Tournament
Attending a Tournament can be a lot of fun. There are golf tournaments all over the world as there are championship golf courses all over the world. Cos was a marshal at the TPC Players Championship for several years on the famous Sawgrass 17th Island Hole. He also had the opportunity to attend the Masters. In 2022 he and Robin attended the 150th Open Tournament at St. Andrews. And, most recently they both attended the Men’s Golf Championship at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Golf at the 150th Open Tournament – St. Andrews
Our most rewarding tournament experience was attending the 150th Open Tournament at Saint Andrews in Scotland. We were able to get a great picture of Tiger Woods hitting his final drive on the 18th hole (his form looks at lot like Robin’s), we spotted Cameron Smith, the winner of the tournament, waiting at the Edinburgh airport with us when their baggage system broke down and we were even able to meet Gary Player, the Black Knight. It was truly a great experience and a visit to St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf, is highly recommended.
Attending the Paris 2024 Olympics
In 2024 we took our now famous Athens to Paris 91-Day Olympic Journey. We concluded our 12-day stay in Paris by attending the Men’s Final Round Championship at one of the best Golf Courses in Europe. It was a scintillating day outside of Paris, France, with non-stop theatrics and an amped-up crowd.
Scottie Scheffler looked every bit the world’s No. 1 on Sunday at Le Golf National, adding gold to his two green jackets by winning the Olympic men’s golf competition. Scheffler played the back nine in 29 on his way to a 9-under 62 and a 19-under total.
Le Golf National, located twenty miles outside of Paris, is a great place to watch great golf. We so much enjoyed our two days there.
LPGA Golf in Florida
Not all the fun professional golf tournaments that we have attended have been with the men. The LPGA Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions takes place as the opening tournament of the year, not far from our home, at the Lake Nona Country Club in Orlando, Florida. We get invited each year because of our ownership status with Hilton Grand Vacations (see more about HGV on our Lodging Post).
Here the best lady golfers in the world compete along with well-known sports and TV stars and former golfing greats such as the lady pictured to our left, Anika Sorenstam, one of the greatest professional golfers ever. Shown below is one of the current leading lady professional golfers, Nelly Korda. They were two of our favorites at the tournament.
Best Couples Golf Trips – Exploring New Exciting Places
On a river cruise in 2021 we were traveling from Paris to Normandy. We had the opportunity to do an excursion to an incredible interesting golf course. Sainte-Mere-Eglise in Etretat, France is on a cliff overlooking the English Channel. This was a wonderful course, high on a hill, overlooking the town, but unfortunately the picture doesn’t do it justice. Next to the course, as was also the case in Half Moon Bay, there was a hiking trail. As the day progressed we came around to be playing on the holes near the trail. The crowds got thicker and before we knew it, we had an audience. This was truly a spectacular vista, and a great place to just look out into the English Channel.
Best Value in Golf -Bethpage State Park
Last but not least is what many call the best value in golf: Bethpage State Park, on Long Island, New York. Bethpage is home of the famous Black Course which is . The Black Course, like all five 18-hole courses at Bethpage, is not only a great value but also one of the best public championship golf courses in the world. It is similar in many ways to Torrey Pines near San Diego, California.
Bethpage is a perfect place for a round of golf regardless of your skill level. However, you better be a good golfer for the Black Course. The sign at the entrance to the course says “WARNING The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers”. In its July 2008 list of America’s greatest golf courses Golf Digest ranked Bethpage Black #26 overall, #6 in New York, #6 of America’s 50 toughest courses, and #5 of America’s greatest public golf courses.
The course has hosted a number of major championships in recent years, including the 2002 U.S. Open, 2009 U.S. Open, and 2019 PGA Championship. It is scheduled to hold the Ryder Cup in 2025.
