zaterdag 30 januari 2016

Single Golfers Society - Groepsreizen 2016

GROEPSREIZEN VOOR SINGLES 2016

2016

·         retourvlucht Brussel-Lissabon-Brussel per TAP Portugal

·         transfers luchthaven-hotel-luchthaven

·         7 nachten verblijf in een standaard room single use

·         verblijf op basis van half pension

·         5 greenfees per persson op CampoReal Golf Course

·         Golf Direct Tee-time Service

·         inclsuief vervoer van uw golftas

·         inclusief luchthavenbelasting

·           prijs per persoon in een double room, single use:

€ 1.405,- Leden - € 1.505,- Niet Leden

Plaatsen beperkt
Inschrijven info@golfbyratio.com

Single Golfers Society - Grouptravel 2016

VOYAGES EN GROUPE POUR SINGLES 2016

IBEROSTAR ROYAL ANDALUS**   Costa de le Luz
02 - 09 /10/2016

·          vol allez/retour Bruxelles-Sevilla-Bruxelles avec Brussels Airlines

·         transfers aéroport - hôtel - aéroport

·         7 nuits dans une chambre double en single use

·         séjour à base de demi-pension

·         5 greenfees par personne Novo Sancti Petri Courses (2)

·         Golf Direct Tee-time Service

·         incl transport sac de golf

·         incl taxes aéroport

·           prix par personne en chambre double, single use:



€ 1.385,- Membres - € 1.485,- Non-membres

places limitées
S'inscrire info@golfbyratio.com




DOLCE CAMPOREAL*   LISBOA PORTUGAL
09 - 16 /09/2016

·         vol allez/retour Bruxelles-Lisbonne-Bruxelles avec TAP Portugal

·         transfers aéroport - hôtel - aéroport

·         7 nuits en chambre double avec single use

·        séjour à base de demi-pension

·         5 greenfees par personne sur le CampoReal Golf Course

·         Golf Direct Tee-time Service

·       incl transport sac de golf

·        incl taxes aéroport**

·           prix par personne en chambre double, single use:

€ 1.405,- Membres - € 1.505,- Non-membres

places limitées
S'inscrire info@golfbyratio.com

Cruises alleen voor ouderen? Welnee!

Cruises zijn alleen voor ouderen

Dat cruises alleen interessant zijn voor senioren, is een hardnekkig misverstand. Een Amerikaans onderzoek van CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) laat zien dat 23% van de passagiers tussen de 30 en 39 jaar is, 17% tussen de 40 en 49, 24% tussen de 50 en 74. Een gelijkmatige verdeling dus! Op zich logisch, als je bedenkt dat veel cruiseschepen glijbanen, sportfaciliteiten en animatieprogramma’s voor kinderen aan boord hebben. Bij cruises die langer dan drie weken duren en de aandacht meer op comfort, gastronomie en bestemmingen ligt, ligt de gemiddelde leeftijd van de passagiers doorgaans wat hoger.

Cruisereizen zijn saai…

Een uitspraak die vakantiegangers die een cruisereis hebben gemaakt hoogstwaarschijnlijk zullen tegenspreken. Uit onderzoeken blijkt dat meer dan de helft zo enthousiast is, dat ze vaker voor een cruisereis zullen kiezen. Je ziet meerdere bestemmingen tijdens één vakantie, elke dag is anders en dus niet saai. Bovendien zijn aan boord van de schepen genoeg faciliteiten en dagelijks wisselende programma’s. Vaak zoveel dat je er tijdens een reis niet aan toe komt om alle faciliteiten en activiteiten af te vinken!

Tijdens een cruisereis ben je alleen maar op zee

Het klopt dat je vaak grote afstanden over water overbrugt, maar omdat dit doorgaans ’s avonds en ’s nachts gebeurt, heb je overdag juist ruimschoots tijd om aan land te gaan en verschillende bestemmingen te verkennen. Vaak kom je ’s morgens aan in de haven en vaart het schip rond een uur of 18.00 weer door naar de volgende plek. Dineren gebeurt dus aan boord en afhankelijk van de afstand ben je de volgende ochtend weer op een hele nieuwe bestemming. Soms, als de te varen afstand te groot is, ben je een heel dag op zee. Uiteraard kun je dan volop gebruik maken van faciliteiten als zwembaden, spa en wellness, restaurants, bars en bibliotheek.

Cruisevakanties zijn erg duur

Een hardnekkig misverstand, want de meeste cruisereizen zijn niet duurder dan andere typen vakanties van dezelfde kwaliteit (dat wil zeggen: vanaf viersterrenkwaliteit). Soms zijn ze in verhouding zelfs voordeliger. Bedenk dat tijdens een cruisevakantie je accommodatie, vervoer en tenminste ontbijt, lunch en diner is inbegrepen. Als je dat afzet tegen je vakantiebestedingen per dag, zullen de prijzen je verrassen. Bovendien staan er veel faciliteiten tot je beschikking (denk aan gratis zonnebedden en handdoeken, waarvoor je op een strand meestal veel betaalt). Elk cruiseschip is anders wat betreft kwaliteit, sfeer, grootte en faciliteiten. Dat geldt ook voor de prijs. Zie je een cruise die op het eerste oog duur lijkt, ga er dan van uit dat je keuze is gevallen op een luxe vakantie naar bijzondere bestemmingen, waarbij je eenmaal aan boord nauwelijks geld zult besteden.

Op een cruise word je zeeziek

De moderne cruiseschepen zijn zo goed en uitgebalanceerd dat een cruise vrijwel geen deining kent. Zelfs als het buiten stormt, merk je daar als je binnen zit relatief weinig van. Bij een hele stevige wind kan het schip wat deinen.

Mocht je onverhoopt toch misselijk worden of het gevoel krijgen dat je last krijgt van zeeziekte, aarzel dan niet om het personeel om een pilletje te vragen. Het helpt ’t beste als je deze inneemt enkele uren voordat je wegvaart, bijvoorbeeld tijdens een excursie aan wal. Vaar je op zee, blijf dan niet binnen zitten, maar ga het dek op en richt je blik op de horizon. Grote kans dat je lichaam snel aan het geschommel went en je nergens meer last van zult hebben!

In je uppie op vakantie, met het hele gezin naar de zon of in voor een avontuurlijke reis?

zondag 24 januari 2016

Opnieuw uitzonderlijke prestatie Thomas Pieters op European Tour

Thomas Pieters heeft in Abu Dhabi opnieuw voor een uitzonderlijke prestatie gezorgd. Op zijn eerste tornooi van dit jaar maakte hij opnieuw indruk met rondjes van 69, 73, 64 en 67, goed voor een totaal van -15 en een tweede plek in de eindstand. Niet te onderschatten als je weet dat het deelnemersveld bestond uit de absolute wereldtop, met o.a. Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson.

dinsdag 19 januari 2016

Leadingcourses.com will be announcing their 4th Annual Golfers' Choice Awards in March 2016

At the beginning of each year, Leadingcourses.com announces their unique Golfers' Choice Awards. These awards are based on the reviews and opinions of actual golfers throughout the previous year. In 2016, The Golfers' Choice Awards have been created for 15 countries, six more than in 2015. Rankings will be released for the following countries: The Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, Wales, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Cyprus, Turkey and Tunisia. Prizes and certificates will be awarded to all qualifying clubs!

The official rankings will officially be released in March 2016.

Golfers' Choice Rankings most up-to-date and transparent
Every year numerous rankings circulate, announcing the best golf courses in a specific country. We believe that this is great as it provides golfers a tool to decide where to golf. But, most of these rankings are determined by golf journalists and experts and not by real golfers. The majority of the golfers are above handicap 15 and they value other things than scratch players or golf experts.

In our opinion, the Golfers' Choice Awards, presented by Leadingcourses.com, stand out because they are based on the opinions of actual golfers. All of the reviews written are available online at any time. This makes the Golfers' Choice Awards the most up-to-date, transparent and independent in the golf industry. Rankings are only compiled if enough reviews have been gathered for a given country. Reviews given by golfers depreciate over time and the impact of each review differs based on the status of each golfer on our website. As we appreciate the fact that all golfers are different. Therefore, golfers can also check the review-score per handicap and per sub-item (so, course, facilities, hospitality, maintenance, etc).

Golfers' Choice Awards now for fifteen countriesIn order to have honest and fair rankings, the Golfers' Choice rankings are only created if enough reviews have been gathered in a specific country. These reviews must also be spread over a large quantity of golf clubs in that country. In 2016, rankings will be made for fifteen countries in total. A steady growth of reviews by our growing community across Europe has enabled us to construct reliable rankings for six extra countries compared to 2015. Sweden, Scotland, Wales, Morocco, Mauritius and Tunisia are the six new countries. Leadingcourses.com will proudly announce the new Golfers' Choice rankings in March of 2016. Announcements will be done per country; in every country a leading media partner will be chosen to publish the rankings.

High reliabilityAt the end of 2015, more than 319,550 reviews of golf courses (in 8 languages) were available on Leadingcourses.com. All reviews written by the Leadingcourses.com community are manually verified and approved by a dedicated content team. A golfer who has reviewed multiple golf clubs will receive a higher status and his or her review will therefore have more weight in the overall score of a golf club. And, to stay accurate, reviews depreciate over time. So, a review written a year ago has less impact than a new review.

To avoid any manipulation of its rating, various signaling systems are in place to be able to track questionable conduct by users. A golf club is only included in the rankings if they have reached a pre-defined threshold. Based on our own research, this threshold indicates a level which we find high enough to display a reliable rating.

About Leadingcourses.com
Leadingcourses.com aims to help golfers discover their desired golfing experience based on their skill-level, location, wants and needs. We believe in the wisdom of the crowd. We believe it helps people throughout the world, who are all pressed for time, to make better choices and in effect create desired experiences. Experiences that really count and which people are willing to share with others. We are able to collect, translate and combine our data and ratings into valuable and reliable information which golfers can use to make thought-out personal choices.

We provide an efficient tool for golfers which helps them to choose and book their next golf experience via our platform. We are an interactive platform for golf courses to attract well-informed and desired golfers and to help them to improve their service and offering.

The site was founded in 2007 and has an active and growing golf community. At the end of 2015 more than 315,000 reviews were placed on the site and more than 19,698 golf clubs were mapped in more than 124 countries. As Leadingcourses.com values cultural differences, the site is available in eight different languages.

Check The Golfers Choice rankings for 2015 here.

vrijdag 15 januari 2016

From enchanting culture to exquisite food, Morocco entices golfers with its off-course appeal

Offering three dozen golf courses around the country, Morocco has plenty to enthral visitors on a golfing break. But the country’s allure extends far beyond its verdant fairways and greens.
There’s a world of possibilities waiting for those who want more from their golf holiday – and you don’t even have to travel far to enjoy Morocco’s other delights. Whether you prefer to visit cultural sites and historic attractions, admire its Moorish architecture, go shopping in ancient souks or modern retail centres, enjoy mouth-watering cuisine, hit the beach or simply relax at your hotel, everything is close to the fairways, giving the chance to enjoy them at leisure after a round.
Even if you fancy going off exploring, the country’s system of fast, new toll expressways makes it easy to get around and take in other places in next to no time.
These are some of the options on offer:

History
Morocco’s fascinating past is everywhere. Its four imperial cities – Marrakech, Fez, Meknes and Rabat – are all historical capitals, Rabat being the present-day capital, and all have golf courses. Ancient medinas (centres) and kasbahs (forts) are iconic and popular attractions. Marrakech is called the Red City for the colour of its crenellated city walls; its ancient edifices include the ornate Bahia Palace, decorative city gates and preserved Jewish quarter. The medinas of Marrakech, Fez, Meknes, Tetouana and Essaouira all have UNESCO World Heritage Site status, as do El Jadida’s Portuguese Mazagan city fortifications. Also UNESCO-listed are the Volubilis Roman ruins, reachable from Rabat.
Where to play: Morocco’s largest golf complex, the 45-hole Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, hosts the prestigious Hassan II Trophy event again from May 5-8, having staged the annual tournament from its inception in 1971 until 2010, when it became part of the PGA European Tour calendar.

Culture
Nowhere else offers such an exotic cultural experience so close to Europe’s capitals as Morocco. In Marrakech, crowds gather every day in its colourful Jemaa El Fna square to watch snake charmers, acrobats, musicians and storytellers alongside street food stalls and merchants selling everything from Moorish-style lamps to human teeth. Wandering the labyrinth-like souks that wind through the heart of Marrakech and other cities including Essaouira, Rabat, Fez, Meknes, Tetouan and Tangier is a joy. They are not only places to buy goods; you can see craftsmen busy hammering metal, cutting cloth, stitching leather and suchlike to create their wares. In Berber villages, life continues as it has done for generations, and visitors are often welcomed to join locals for traditional sweet mint tea.
Where to play: Choose from two 18-hole hole layouts in Fez, Royal Golf Fez and Oued Fez Golf, or the nine-hole Meknes Royal Golf Club, set inside the grounds of a royal palace.
Gastronomy
The delicate flavours of Morocco’s cuisine are legendary. Its salads are like a meal in themselves. Moroccans love pastries, none more so than pastille – pigeon pie with almonds cooked in a delicate filo pastry case. But its tagines are the real stars, cooked slowly in earthenware pots with conical lids that trap the steam. Lamb, chicken and beef are traditional tagine dishes, although the brave can even try camel tagine in restaurants such as Le Mauresque in Agadir. There are restaurants for all budgets, in locations ranging from historic riads tucked down cobbled alleyways – among them Riad Kniza and Dar Moha in Marrakech, accompanied by traditional music, or Dinarjat in Rabat – to gourmet restaurants in luxury hotels, such as Fouquet’s in Marrakech hotel Naoura Barriere and in the cosy Wine Bar at Tangier’s historic El Minzah Hotel, where photographs of famous guests adorn walls. With its French heritage, Morocco has a lot of French cuisine. You can also find Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Italian and Indian restaurants, and Moroccan-Thai fusions in chic lounge restaurants.
Where to play: Golfers can savour tapas in Spanish restaurants in Tangier after playing Morocco’s oldest golf course, the Royal Country Club of Tangier, which celebrated its centenary in 2014.
Shopping
Morocco is shopping heaven. Shop till you drop in malls featuring designer-label boutiques and international-brand stores in cities, offering items such as jewellery, beauty products, leather goods, clothing and shoes at prices well below those back home. New centres include Casablanca’s Morocco Mall – the largest shopping centre in Africa and opened by pop superstar Jennifer Lopez in 2011 – and the Carre Eden and Menara malls in

Marrakech. If you like haggling for bargains, search out souks in the cities. Want to take back curly-toed slippers, a tassled fez hat, decorative plate, leather bag or shisha pipe as a memento of your visit? You can find them all in the maze of alleys in these fascinating markets. Agadir’s Souk El Had is reputedly the largest in Africa; here, you can be measured and have a jacket or suit hand-made for you in a day or two.
Where to play: Casa Green Golf Club.

Wellness
Hammams, or bathhouses, are an intrinsic part of Moroccan culture and life. You can find traditional ones throughout the country and they are an amazing experience. They are often found in hotel spas. Many hotels from large resorts to small boutique hotels such as riads offer spas, generally open for both guests and non-guests. Hotels by the coast may also have thalassotherapy centres, using sea water for their pools and treatments. One of the largest thalasso centres is at the Atlantic Palace Hotel in Agadir, which owns the nearby 27-hole Golf de l’Ocean complex. Spa treatments offered there include a Berber massage, with two therapists using wooden logs made from argan trees and locally-produced argan oil. An essential oil now widely used by cosmetic companies in beauty and healthcare products for its anti-ageing and health-giving properties, argan is made from the nuts of trees only endemic to the Agadir and Essaouira area. Co-operatives run by women from Berber villages in the region hand produce the oil from local trees, turning it into different products visitors can buy in on-site shops at a fraction of the price of those from major brands.
Where to play: The Royal Palm Marrakech, part of the luxury Beachcomber Hotels group, has a Cabell B Robinson golf course and a Spa by Clarins, where you can relax and unwind after golf.
Beaches
Morocco is blessed with wonderful beaches lapped by both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean – its Med coastline alone stretches 500km. Besides its traditional coastal resort destinations such as Agadir and Essaouira, new resort developments are springing up around the country’s coast, with golf as part of the mix. Hotels in Agadir are mostly all-inclusive, and some include green fees.
Where to play: The Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, which has the Gary Player-designed Mazagan Golf Club course alongside, is set on a 7km stretch of beach fronting the Atlantic at El Jadida.

Natural splendour
Much of Morocco’s Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines provide wonderful and dramatic scenery to visit, including sand dunes near Agadir, which you can ride across on camels. You can also take excursions into the Sahara Desert, visiting towns such as Ouarzazate and outposts beyond. Take four-wheel-drive tours into the High Atlas Mountains from Marrakech and Agadir, visiting remote Berber villages, verdant river valleys and dramatic canyons. From Fez and Meknes you can take tours into the Middle Atlas Mountains. Tours into the Rif Mountains go from Tangier and Tetouan.
Where to play: The venerable Royal Golf Marrakech course is lined by cypress, palm, eucalyptus, olive and fruit trees and is a haven for birds.

Music & festivals
Morocco’s evocative Gnawa music is known throughout the world and you can hear it everywhere in the country. Essaouira is regarded as the Gnawa capital and is where the Gnaoua World Music Festival takes place each May, celebrating the traditions of the sub-Saharan music genre as well as featuring jazz, pop, rock and other contemporary styles with free and paid-for concerts. The annual Marrakech International Film Festival in December attracts many of the world’s top movie stars.
Where to play: Golf de Mogador, in Essaouira, has an 18-hole Gary Player course with a second nearing completion.

Nightlife
If you want to keep the fun going off the course, there are enough lounges, nightclubs and casinos to rock the kasbah for 1001 nights. Clubs in some Moroccan cities, such as Agadir and Tangier, are renowned for staying open through the night – even up until 7.30am – for those with the stamina.
Where to play: Golfing night owls can hit the casino or nightclub at Agadir’s Atlantic Palace Hotel after playing its nearby 27-hole Golf de l’Ocean complex
.

dinsdag 5 januari 2016

VVG News

Het aantal VVG-golfers is toegenomen naar 37.500!

dinsdag 05 januari 2016

Opnieuw kunnen we aan het begin van het nieuwe jaar een stijging waarnemen van het aantal golfers, aangesloten bij de Vlaamse Vereniging voor Golf. Eind 2015 konden we het mooie, niet afgeronde getal van 37.500 spelers opmeten, een stijging van 1,8% tegenover het jaar voordien. Klik verder voor alle cijfers over golf in Vlaanderen!

Nog steeds bevindt de grootste groep golfers zich in de categorie 50+, spelen meer mannen dan vrouwen golf in Vlaanderen en zijn de meeste aangesloten leden gehuisvest in het Antwerpse.

Billion-dollar U.S. golf tourism industry has significant capacity for growth

2016 marks IAGTO's 19th year so Happy New Year to all of our media colleagues with an interest in golf tourism! I am writing to you today from the beautiful mountainous retreat of Kandy in Sri Lanka where we have just completed inspections of three of this lush tropical island's golf courses, two dating back to the 19th Century... Tomorrow we will participate in a press conference with the Ministry of Tourism in Colombo looking to the future of this country's golf tourism potential.
The global golf tourism industry is in a good place right now, as the results from our last three annual surveys and 2015's ground breaking Quarterly surveys have demonstrated. All of our efforts will, once again, be focused on creating the conditions for growth in established, emerging and undiscovered golf destinations, from lobbying on technical issues like VAT through to helping to position golf destinations to attract more golf tourism business.

We now have more accredited golf tour operator members than ever before - 605 in 60 countries, with a further 350 IAGTO Certified Golf Travel Experts in China, and 1661 golf courses, golf resorts, hotels and tourist boards in 87 countries.

We continue to refine our events, conventions, fam and press trips and with 26 staff and international representatives we can now deliver more services for golf tourism media worldwide than we could ever have imagined 19 years ago!

Those of you in the USA will be interested in the interim results from our inaugural Brand USA partnered USA Golf Tourism Survey (see IAGTO press release below) and you can also read about the progress being made by Tourism New Zealand in its efforts to grow golf tourism (see IAGTO news item below).
Be sure to keep track of developments and press releases every week and do not hesitate to let us know if we can help you further in any way this year.

2016 has already got off to a flying start and I would like to wish you all a busy, productive and healthy year ahead.

With my best regards,
Peter Walton, Chief Executive, IAGTO

The Rolls-Royce Ghost Golf Edition Pays Tribute to the Ancient Game (golf.com)

undefined — The Rolls-Royce Ghost Golf edition is literally one-of-a-kind.

by Josh Sens

Posted: Mon Jan. 4, 2016

Sorry, Bubba, but when it comes to tricked out, golf-related transport, your hovercraft just can’t compare.

The Rolls-Royce Ghost Golf edition, which debuted at the Dubai Motor Show last month, pays homage to the ancient game with a host of golf-inspired features.

Leave it to Rolls-Royce to roll out a vehicle of such rarity and refinement. Custom-designed for a private collector by AGMC, the sole Rolls-Royce dealer in the Gulf States, the car took more than two years to build.

Its exterior paint job, a two-toned dark green-and-sand scheme, is meant to invoke a desert layout, while the interior picks up on the sporty theme with a pine green steering wheel, tartan-lined door pockets, and mahogany and persimmon wood veneers.

Other luxe accessories include lambswool floor mats, a starlight headliner and folding picnic tables for passengers in back. You get the point; no expense was spared.

In the automotive world, the word “unique” is frequently misused, but in this case, it applies. As of this writing, there’s only one Ghost Golf in existence, but Rolls-Royce is willing to build another, a company spokesperson said, provided you’re willing to pay for it.

It’ll only cost you around $400,000.

Tournaments, Travel, Places to be and more...