No matter how much money you have in your bank account, finding a way to save a buck is always going to feel good. If you’re anything like our team here, you are sitting at your desk dreaming of your next golf getaway and you’re trying to figure out how you can save money to play the best golf at the best rate possible.
While we are not afraid to shell out some coin for the crème de la crème of experiences, we also love saving money whenever possible and we’ve outlined a few of our favorite ways to do so.
Hotel points
If you’re somebody who travels a lot for work, or if you utilize a credit card from a major hotel brand, there are some massive benefits to using these points to book a golf getaway. Some major resorts around the country are even members of great resort golf experiences, and you can often utilize these resorts as the hub of your trip. Don’t forget to play other nearby courses all while hopefully eliminating most or all your hotel fees from the trip.
Trip Captain incentives
If you’ve ever planned a golf trip before, then you know how much work goes into it. Trying to build a schedule that makes everyone happy, figure out payments, and finding dates that work for everyone can feel like a monumental task at times. Luckily for you, many resorts recognize that and offer discounts for the person leading the charge of your trip, especially if you go with a larger group. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about incentives for you as the trip captain of the trip, and you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised at what you can save.
BONUS: As a GolfStayAndPlays.com reader, we also provide Trip Captain incentives with our partner locations. We currently work with more than 40 destinations (including some of the incredible stops featured in this article!) and that number continues to grow year after year. Reach out to our publisher Kelly Fulford at Kelly@golfstayandplays.com and he may be able to pick up your stay-and-play costs for some (in some cases all) of your trip!
Commit to a carpool
There’s nothing like finding a great stay-and-play within a short enough drive window from where you call home that you can avoid the costs of flights and rental cars, and instead you can carpool with your crew and save a bundle of cash. Once you start doing some research, you’d be shocked how many great vacations you can find within a short drive of home giving you the flexibility to leave in the morning and be teeing it up that same afternoon. And these days, many resorts have shuttle services so once you’re onsite, you can leave the car where it is until you head home.
Double up in a room
This is one of those ones that all comes down to a personal preference. Some people refuse to share a room, and that’s perfectly fine. But when we assist golfers with booking a golf vacation, a lot of times “the hang” of the trip is one of the most important factors and bunking with a buddy is usually a plus for most golfers. At higher-end resorts that offer incredible accommodations, these hotel fees can add up in a hurry so splitting those costs between two people versus one can save you a significant amount of money and leave you with more spending cash to spend on gear from the resort or to splurge a little on the F&B side.
Time your trip
When you visit a resort can dramatically impact the price of your vacation. You’d be surprised how much money you can save by going to bucket list destinations in the shoulder and offseason versus peak season. We want to be very clear here though: peak season is peak season for a reason. If you’re looking for the ultimate experience, then it does come at a cost. But if you’re willing to sacrifice a little there to save some money then the benefits can certainly be worth it. An example of this would be in the sunbelt of the United States in markets like Arizona and Florida where you can play incredible resort courses at a fraction of the cost if you’re willing to go in the summertime.
Schedule your tee times for preferred rates
Much like the time of the year can impact the rate of your trip, so does the time of day that you are willing to tee it up. Later tee times, especially in the summer when the sun is out longer, is a great way to save a few bucks on your trip and often can be a benefit to members of your group who may have overindulged the night before during the off-course activities. Not that we’ve ever seen that happen on a golf trip…
Alternatives to baggage fees
If you’re traveling to play golf, it’s an absolute must to bring your clubs with you. There’s nothing worse than being over the ball at an incredible venue and having no idea how the club in your hands will react to a shot.
When it comes to baggage fees, it’s all about convenience. We tend to see a lot of lower cost airlines offering direct flight access into key markets, but the unfortunate side effect of cheaper upfront costs are heavy baggage fees. To combat this, look at using Ship Sticks. Not only can this be a cheaper alternative sometimes, but the incredible convenience of using their service is well worth its weight in gold and so much easier for everyone on the trip. Also, it can lead to saving money on your rental cars because if you’ve ever tried to fit golf clubs and luggage into a car for a large golf group before, then you know what kind of struggle that can be.
Another alternative is utilizing the right credit card that we will cover a little later in the story.
Travel during the week versus the weekend
Go to any major golf resort on a Friday to Sunday, and you’ll likely find a packed house and business is booming these days. The resorts know it, and for golfers who have flexibility on which days you can travel then looking at trips in the Sunday-Thursday window can often save you some money on your trip. With dynamic pricing becoming the norm these days, you can work with the sales agents at these resorts to find pockets of time where they are quite open and need the business so they may offer you incentives and better pricing to book on those dates. It’s certainly worth asking about.
Throw in a short course round
One of our favorite trends in golf course design over the last couple of decades is the emergence of the short course at many top resorts around the country. Not only are these golf courses incredibly fun to play and well-designed but playing them is usually a fraction of the cost of a full round of golf. It’s the perfect way to get in more than 18 holes without overtiring yourself for the rest of the trip.
Credit card hacks
Credit cards can certainly be a blessing and a curse. If you are somebody who is diligent about not running up crazy balances and you always pay your balance off monthly, then the benefits of these cards can be immense in the world of golf travel. We’ve been able to use our credit cards to get free flights, free flights for companions, no baggage fees on certain airlines, free hotel night rewards, preferred check-out times, free breakfasts, and so many more incentives during our travels. We’ve saved thousands and thousands of dollars over the years using the right credit cards, and we encourage you to always be on the lookout for great offers with large bonuses that can help you save as well.