Golf Holidays

Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it, and if you cannot do either, do what is fair.

It's the principle that underlies the great game of golf and it's a principle to be proud of. So what to do if the "course as you find it" could do with a change? You could always take a golfing holiday.

Ever increasing in popularity and a fantastic way to experience wonderful new courses as part of a relaxing and enjoyable holiday, golf tours and breaks can combine the best parts of the best holiday with the best parts of a round of golf or two.

We've collected together some helpful sites who can offer you a great choice of golfing holidays at home and abroad as well as great value deals.

First up we have GolfBreaks.com - Europe's largest golf travel company - with breaks covering the UK, Ireland, Europe and locations all over the rest of the world like Dubai, South Africa and the USA among others. There are winter deals, offers of the week and also a range of European Golf & Spa breaks so there's no problem travelling with non-golfers!

Golfbreaks also offer the very useful Teeofftimes service. Teeofftimes advertises tee times online to over 300 golf clubs throughout the UK. The website offers tee times all year round with great discounts giving you outstanding value for money as well as other benefits for members.

Another excellent site that specialises in golfing holidays is Your Golf Travel. They have offers for golf breaks in the UK & Ireland, Europe and Worldwide, last minute deals and special 5* golf & spa deals as well.

A very good directory style website is GolfHolidaysAbroad. This website is aimed at any individual wishing to plan a golfing holiday or a single tee time reservation, through to a golf society organiser trying to plan that perfect golf vacation. Find golf courses and suitable nearby accommodation contacts.

You can also buy gift vouchers from both Golfbreaks and Your Golf Travel if you're struggling to find a gift for the golfer in your life.

And if you need a bit more equipment to make sure you're kitted out for your golf break JJB Golf offer the largest number of golf departments of any sports retailer in the UK. JJB deliver throughout the UK and Ireland, with orders over £50 eligible for FREE delivery (terms and conditions may apply). And for your convenience, returns can be made at any local JJB Sports store.

JJB stock the full range of big brand products. Top of the range equipment, balls and clothing from companies such as Callaway, Nike, Adidas, Mizuno, Titleist, Footjoy, PING and their own exclusive brand Slazenger.

Golfing wisdom

• 99.99% of the universe is empty space, but that last .01% will stop a golf ball dead
• A schoolteacher was taking their first golfing lesson. "Is the word spelt p-u-t or p-u-t-t?" they asked the instructor. "P-u-t-t is correct," he replied. "Put means to place a thing where you want it. Putt means merely a vain attempt to do the same thing."
  
• If you're having a bad round just remember - you're getting more value per stroke than anyone else is.
• A golfer was at the 150 marker, pulled a club, turned to his friend and said "Do you think I can get there with an 8 iron?", the other chap replied, "Absolutely... how many times are you going to hit it?"
• There are four forces affecting the motion of a golf ball:
  1. Gravity, which causes the ball to drop suddenly into hazards
  2. Electromagnetism, which makes the ball curve sharply towards whichever of the earth's poles is closest to the Out of Bounds stakes
  3. The Weak Force, which makes the ball dribble to the ladies' tee
  4. The Strong Force, which propels the ball directly towards a foursome of personal injury- lawyers in the adjacent fairway
• A ball at rest on a steep slope will tend to remain at rest until the moment it is addressed

find more golfing jokes at www.golfjokes.co.uk