3 Top Trips for Golfers Who Cruise - From Close to Home to Around the World

Suddenly, everyone is golfing again.

With only a few minor tweaks that courses have easily implemented, the game checks all the boxes for a COVID-safe pastime. So it’s no surprise that even less committed golfers have dusted off the clubs, rediscovering the delights to be found on the greens.

As we rediscover travel, the same features that make golf the ideal pursuit in our own neighborhoods also make it an excellent theme for your post-COVID travels.

Golfers have one chance in May to enjoy this unique American cruise. AQSC’s ‘American River Golf Classic’ 9-day cruise from Memphis to New Orleans gives golfers the chance to play at 4 of the most prestigious courses along the Lower Mississippi River, with an option to play in New Orleans after you disembark, too.

While American Queen sails the country’s largest paddleboat, on this journey, you’ll sail on her sleek and contemporary sister ship, the American Countess, complete with custom Italian fabrics, rich walnut wood, premium linens, a host of sociable or secluded verandas with comfy seating in the tradition of Southern hospitality, floor to ceiling windows with panoramic views of Ol’ Miss, and fresh, regional cuisine. You’ll be one of the first to experience her elegant décor as she makes her way down the mighty Mississippi.

Iconic cities of the South on this golf cruise include Natchez, Mississippi, St. Francisville and Baton Rouge Louisiana, with included overnight stay in Memphis before the cruise departs and disembarking in NOLA. The Lower Mississippi River has stories to share – a legacy that flows from Memphis to the Gulf of Mexico. A new chapter – and a new golf course - awaits around each river bend.

Golfers enjoy four top-rated local courses along with the history, culture and memorable scenery of the South, including:

·     Colonial Country Club in Memphis;

·     Copper Mill Golf Club in Zachary, Louisiana;

·     Black Bear Golf Club near Vicksburg;

·     The Bluffs Golf & Sports Resort in St. Francisville, an Arnold Palmer designed course;

·     With an option to play at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans after disembarkation.

That’s up to 5 top courses in different cities in 9 days, with the relaxation of a river cruise and the company of fellow cruise travelers and golfers – with your golfing made easy. The cruise line’s ‘Rounds on the River’ package includes lunches, special giveaways, a special guest appearance from a recognized golf expert and professional, all equipment transportation and club cleaning prior to play.

AmaWaterways’ Concierge Golf Program offers the same opportunity to golf at world-class courses all in one trip. Along the storied Danube, that means golfing in multiple countries during a 12-night journey that includes pre- and post- cruise stays in Prague and Budapest at either end of a 7-day voyage on AmaWaterways’ flagship AmaMagna. At twice the width of any other river ship, it has re-imagined river cruising with more personal space, more dining venues, more leisure space and activities than any other ship sailing the rivers of the world.

There are nearly a dozen departures of the Concierge Golf Program from May through October that include the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. The route features some of Europe’s premier UNESCO sites, fabled culture, architecture, beer gardens, local wines and scenic sailing. 

Even if you’ve sailed the Danube before, the exciting golf programming is a whole new way to enjoy the region. Golfers on the program play at:

·     Albatross Golf Club in Prague, host of the Czech Open, featuring 7 lakes and bordering on a nature reserve;

·     Quellness Golf Resort in Bad Griesbach, Germany, host of the Porsche European Open

·     Diamond Country Club on the outskirts of Vienna, Austria;

·     Penati Country Club in Slovakia and host of the Slovakia Open, a ‘Nicklaus Design LEGEND COURSE’ that meets world PGA standards with a fantastic view; and

·     Pannonia Country Club in Budapest, and host of the Hungarian Open, designed by famous Austrian course designer Hans. G. Erhardt.

It’s the European golf trip of your dreams where your luxury hotel follows you from one dynamic destination to the next. The program makes the cruise – to – golf experience seamless and easy for golfers. Guests are transferred from ship to course and back by private luxury Mercedes. Your tee time, practice balls and golf cart are prepared in advance, and after your round, you enjoy lunch in the course clubhouse with beer and wine all included. When it’s time to transfer back to the AmaMagna, your clubs will be cleaned and ready for the next course on your golf odyssey.

Azamara, the boutique ocean cruise line, doesn’t just offer a single golf itinerary. For a decade, it’s been partnered with luxury golf vacation company PerryGolf to offer a selection of golf cruises that just keeps growing. There are now two dozen golf voyages that include play at over 70 marquee courses in 23 countries, including some of the top 100 courses in the world, like Ireland's Royal Portrush, Scotland's Turnberry and New Zealand's Cape Kidnappers.

The voyages follow the sun and the prime golfing seasons around the world, beginning in the New Year Down Under in Australia and New Zealand, plus a new South Africa golf cruise, followed by Spring and Summer in Europe, in the Med as well as the Baltics including St. Petersburg, plus a new itinerary to Norway, as well as flagship itineraries in the British Isles with country-intensive voyages to Scotland and Ireland, then in the Autumn, the dramatic courses of the Arabian Gulf countries and South America late in the year, including a first-time sailing from Rio to Buenos Aires.

Depending on the destination, cruises range from 7 to 17 nights, with between 3 and 6 rounds of golf on a cruise. There’s a full-time PerryGolf program manager on board your cruise as well as onsite at each course, and you’re taken care of at every step, including tee times, carts or caddies, pairings, competitions, social events for fellow golfers on board, handling of your golf equipment, transfers and tips. It’s like an international floating golf club that’s unparalleled in cruising.