Traveller's Guide: Golfing holidays

To misquote Tennyson, "In the spring, a golfer's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of fairways." The US Masters at Augusta earlier this month heralded the traditional start of a new season, as the nation's golf clubs are dusted down from their under-the-stairs hidey-hole. And no sooner is that first round of spring under the belt than an irresistible desire to pencil in a golf break or two rapidly follows, with UK golfers eager to make the most of it before the next dreary winter puts the dampeners on things for all but the most hardy of year-round golfing souls.

Some might simply want to play golf; others may wish to take in a bit of tuition while they've got time to work on their swings. Renowned coach Peter Ballingall (00 34 959 02 42 42; peterballingall.com) runs a golf school from 13-20 May at El Rompido on Spain's Costa de la Luz, which costs €1,660 for two (excluding flights), combining seven nights' B&B with five two-hour lessons and five rounds of golf. For non-golfing partners, many resorts boast luxury spas, sometimes even allowing treatments in lieu of golf, as with the K Club's "two-night ultimate golf experience" in Kildare, Ireland, where non-golfers get to indulge with an hour-long massage or facial.

If you're taking your own clubs, always use a purpose-designed flight cover for protection – either a hard case or a generously padded one such as Titleist's dependable Club Glove. But beware – clubs can cost almost as much as bodies on short-haul flights, with each-way charges of £20 with EasyJet, £25 on Monarch and £40 on Ryanair (both Monarch and Ryanair have a restrictive 20kg limit). British Airways makes no charge, but clubs do count towards your total luggage allowance. Most resorts will rent you a set: condition and age vary. Tour pro Paul McGinley's new business venture (clubs2hire.com) lets you hire full sets from €35 per week at selected airports – currently Faro, Malaga and Dublin – with Edinburgh due to open by early summer.

Golf courses around the globe can be captivatingly beautiful, from the heart-stopping Cape Kidnappers (00 64 6 875 1900; capekidnappers.com) – a New Zealand clifftop miracle – to the glorious Alpine spectacle that is Crans-sur-Sierre (00 41 27 485 97 97; golfcrans.ch) in the Valais region of Switzerland. Your golfing education may never be complete until you've stepped on the tee at an overseas wonder course, but many believe you need never leave these shores to savour the best links golf on the planet. If you relish the challenge of a stiff sea breeze with firm fairways and greens that demand imaginative shot-making, the Wirral and Lancashire coasts can claim an almost unrivalled concentration of premier links tracks, among them the Royal Open Championship trio of Lytham & St Annes (01253 724206; royallytham.org), Liverpool (0151 632 3101; royal-liverpool-golf.com) and Birkdale (01704 552020; royalbirkdale.com). The area is designated "England's Golf Coast" (englandsgolfcoast.com), and Golfbreaks.com (0800 279 7988) is offering two nights' B&B at Southport's Ramada Plaza and three rounds at Royal Birkdale, Southport & Ainsdale and West Lancashire for £459 per person in May.

Yorkshire golf boasts everything from the links and cliff-top layouts of the coast to the moorland courses of the Dales. It's the only ancient county with three separate Ryder Cup venues in the classic heathland trio of Moortown (0113 268 6521; moortown-golf-club.co.uk), Ganton (01944 710329; gantongolfclub.com) and Lindrick (01909 475820; lindrickgolfclub.co.uk). White Rose Golf Breaks (01943 609888; whiterosegolfbreaks.co.uk) offers a round on each plus two nights' half board at the Newington Hotel, York from £325 per person.

Yet nothing can really match the spine-tingling thrill of the Auld Grey Toon of St Andrews, with the stunning new Castle Course bringing the St Andrews Links Trust (01334 466666;standrews.org.uk) portfolio up to seven courses. The nearby Dukes course, Kingsbarns Links and Torrance and Kittocks courses at the magnificent Fairmont St Andrews hotel mean you can enjoy golfing heaven for well over a week without venturing more than a few miles. The "Golf, Golf and More Golf" package at the five-star Fairmont St Andrews (01334 837000; fairmont.com/standrews) offers two nights' B&B with unlimited golf, buggies (on the Kittocks course) and range balls from £349 per room per night until 31 October. See the website at StAndrewsGolf.org, or call 01334 474799 for a full range of packages at the Home of Golf's 11 courses.

Emerald greens

The Celtic Tiger may have fled across the Irish Sea, but one lasting legacy is a wealth of new, first-rate golf facilities scattered throughout the Emerald Isle. The K Club (00 353 1 6017 200; kclub.ie) of 2006 Ryder Cup fame in Kildare and the spectacular cliff-top Old Head Golf Links (00 353 21 4778 444; oldhead.com) near Kinsale in the south, are among the headline newcomers at the top end of the market. But where the green fee alone on the K Club's Ryder Cup course was once over €300, its "ultimate golf experience" now offers two nights' B&B, a round on both courses, plus full use of the "K Health & Fitness" facilities from €350 per person in April and October, based on two sharing. These modern arrivals complement long-established classics, such as Royal Portrush (00 353 287 082 2311; royalportrushgolfclub.com) and Royal County Down (00 353 28 4372 3314; royalcountydown.org) in the north.

If you were to pick just one area of Ireland, head for the Atlantic coast, where within an hour of Shannon airport you'll find the 19th-century links at Lahinch (00 353 65 708 1003; lahinchgolf.com) and its 21st-century neighbour, Doonbeg (00 353 65 90 55603; doonbeglodge.com). The accommodation at Doonbeg is impressive, and the magnificent Greg Norman-designed course, set amid towering dunes, is one of the finest tracts of links-land you could ever wish to play over.

Ballybunion (00 353 6 827 146; ballybuniongolfclub.ie), with its renowned Old links and mesmerising late 20th-century sister, The Cashen, lies south of the Shannon Estuary in County Kerry via the Killimer Ferry (shannonferries.com). Arnold Palmer's cliff-top treat at Tralee (00 353 66 713 6379; traleegolfclub.com) is an hour and a half further south, and the isolated golfing sanctuary of Waterville (00 353 66 947 4102; watervillegolfclub.ie) a similar distance.

If you're up for a spot of competitive holiday golf, the inaugural Great Irish Links Challenge (00 353 65 905 5685; greatirishlinkschallenge.com) from 22-25 May takes some beating. Doonbeg is offering packages from Heathrow from €1,650 per person or from Manchester at €1,665. The price includes flights, transfers, four nights' B&B in a two-bedroom suite, welcome reception, daily transfers to the three competition courses at Lahinch, Ballybunion and Doonbeg and a gala dinner.

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