Sound familiar? Have you been on the receiving side of a less than perfect golf vacation? In all fairness, most golf packages are good. Some are great. But they truly are packages designed for the mass market with little flexibility and no individual flair.

A standard golf vacation package provides lodging and one round of golf per day, including a cart. The lodging usually means motel or hotel accommodations with two people per bedroom. In most cases, you can choose from several different courses, and select your advance tee times. They will even throw in a continental breakfast. The prices are fair, but varying from the standard package starts adding cost in a hurry.

Again, “the package” will yield a good to great vacation, but we need to discuss the perfect vacation. Envision this:

-A beautiful vacation house with a separate bed or bedroom for each person.
-Gourmet dining each evening.
-As much or as little golf as you want, where you want and when you want.
-Evening entertainment.
-Maximum camaraderie.

I have been setting up this type of annual golf vacation for my old high school and college friends since 1988. Over those 18 years, we have refined Our Event to what we think is the perfect annual outing. Our first few years were terrific even though we had to keep the costs down. Each new year improves on the last.

We have settled on a full seven days, Saturday to Saturday. In general, we schedule 36 holes per day, and modify that day by day to wind up with an average of about 27 holes per day. Our smallest group was five gents one year, and the largest group was sixteen. The perfect group size is eight, but anywhere from six to twelve works great.

We buy most of the food and beverages the day of arrival to support breakfasts, snacks, sandwiches between rounds, and gourmet evening meals for the entire week.

Your perfect group golf vacation is not going to be identical to ours, but the general organization will be. There is going to have to be a “go to guy” that organizes the event. My guess is that will be you. You will need to:

- Get the ball rolling early.
- Have everyone stay in the same house that has a full kitchen.
- Get the shopping list together ahead of time.
- Have a general schedule and loose assignments.

1. Get the ball rolling. Pick out a window of time and get the word out to everyone you think might be interested AND not interested (next year, they may be). I send a fun, whimsical email about five months ahead of a proposed block of time. It is written such that the wives enjoy the comedy as much as the guys. If you are not a writer, there are examples in my upcoming free Ebook. Additionally, this book will take you through setting up and conducting the whole event from scratch.

Follow up emails get commitments and solicit recommendations and special requests. Armed with all this, you will select the ideal house, set up tee times, and arrange rental vehicles. Further emails from you will ask what food, snacks and beverages they will want for the outing. Here is a good time line:

-5 months: Announce.
-3 months: Receive all commitments and solicited recommendations.
-3 months: Let everyone know when to fly in to coordinate travel.
-2 months: Arrange house, tee times and rental cars.
-1 month: Receive all food, snack, and beverage requests.
-1 month: Confirm house, tee times and rental cars.
-1 week: Finalize food and beverage list.
Zero hour: Have the time of your life.

2. House with a full kitchen. This allows several things:

- Preparing your own evening meal. Every group has at least one “chef”.
- Rehashing the day as a group (yes, this includes an appropriate amount of trash talk and begging for strokes on upcoming rounds.)
- Having evening entertainment as a group. We watch a sports event on TV, watch videos, play cards, tell tales and get caught up, or all of the above.
- Getting sandwiches, snacks and beverages ready for the next day.

3. Shopping List. In my free Ebook I provide a sample shopping list and sample emails to send requesting input. Your various emails to the group should provide a “fill in the blank” type of requested reply. You will ask what they want for breakfast, what they want for sandwich lunch, what they want to drink for the week, and any snacks they like.

4. General Schedule and Assignments. Your first year will be a terrific learning experience. Your “chef” will emerge and others will gravitate to where they are needed. Putting together a list of what needs to be done and having volunteers will work just fine. Over the years, you will find what works best.

Think about bringing a laptop and uploading each day’s results on your website so that the unfortunate people that did not make the trip can live vicariously by following the daily action. If you don’t have a website, a free blog will work about as well and will be much easier to update. An idea that our group has not yet acted on is having a masseuse come in one evening later in the week to help our aging muscles.

You will have almost as much fun setting up this event as you will have during your vacation. I set up a little eight page website with history, photos, schedule, past scores, etc. to hold everyone’s interest and attention throughout the year. An example is in my free Ebook.

Building your own special vacation not only allows you to really tailor your outing to your group’s tastes, but also allows you all to get together as a true group for a great week of camaraderie. As a bonus, it should wind up being less expensive! Once you set your own up, I doubt you will ever buy “the package” again.

There she goes, off the tee box. Right down the middle of the fairway on number 2 hole. The last time I was out here, she faded it right into the bunker, just next to my favorite ball placement. I missed my golden opportunity to meet her at that time. I pull hooked the ball on the opposite side of the fairway.

Maybe we’ll meet a couple holes down. She has to come back down number 3, and I should be teeing off number 2-tee box at the same time. Maybe I’ll impress her with a beautiful drive, straight and long down the fairway. Worst-case scenario will be another long hook out into her fairway this time. I wonder if she’ll stop and watch me fly the trees, hitting back to the green?

Here we go. I see that her drive on number 3 landed left side of the fairway. I better tee this puppy up and let it fly. If I’m going to impress her, now is the time. With this bright yellow golf shirt on, there is no way that she will not notice me. I’m sure I’ll stand out. This is my golden opportunity.

Great golf shot happening here! It is flying way out of sight! I see her looking over as the ball lands and rolls. Wow! I think I did it! All I have to do is proudly walk down the middle of the fairway. I feel like a pro with this yellow golf shirt on, taking the turn at the Masters. Now all I have to do is keep a straight face, as if it’s routine, and walk down the left side of the middle. That would bring me a little closer, without having to yell, to say hi. I better figure out quickly what to say, just in case she compliments me on a nice golf shot.

Oh great! I hit it so far. The foursome ahead of me is yelling and waving. I completely forgot to wait until they were out of reach. How embarrassing is this going to be? I am the only golfer in my group out on the fairway. All my golf buddies are on the other side of the fairway. How do you try to impress someone with a great golf shot, only to find out, the shot almost hit someone? This is not good. What’s even worse? I think her parents are walking my way. Great! Let’s meet the parents!

Perfect timing! My buddies need a hand on the other side of the fairway to look for a lost ball! It’s a good thing I carry an extra shirt, just in case it rains. I think I should change this bright yellow golf shirt on the opposite side of the fairway. First impression is going to have to wait.

Most clubs and courses, even the public ones, require that golfers follow a dress code. The most common rule is the collared shirt. Many courses require long pants, not jeans, and golf shoes.

5 Minutes Early Is Late

When it comes to actually starting your game, the primary rule of etiquette is to show up on schedule for your tee time. That means you will have already done everything else in preparation for the start of the golf game. You’ll need time to park your car, warm up, practice, buy balls, change, and pick up a cart. Being early is a matter of consideration for others.

Leave Cell Phones In The Real World

The exclusion of cell phones from golf apparel is another common courtesy on the links. Cell phones should be left in your car or locker. If you do need to bring 1 onto the course for emergencies, keep it turned off.

When you’re on the course, you’ll need to understand how the other golfers in your group want to play. Some let the best score tee off on the next hole, while others let whoever is ready tee off first. You can offend players by not following their rules, even if their rules are, from your perspective, wrong.

Time-Honored Conventions Make Golfing Unique

An obsession with quiet is another characteristic for which golfers are known. Like most traditions, this one is based on necessity. When your object is to hit a small object with a long pole, you need all of your concentration. Even when golfing with friends, respect the fundamental rule of keeping quiet during shots, and standing out of the direct line of vision.

Today’s golfing rules of etiquette can seem archaic — a throwback to days of old. They harken back to a slower paced time when consideration for others was perhaps easier. In the 21st century, golfing provides us a time away from the bustle of everyday living. Though golf is highly competitive, it is, nonetheless, a gentleman’s — and gentlewoman’s — game.

I remember starting out as a youngster, eager to emulate the professional golfers of the day and hoping to join the pro tour someday. Every stroke I was able to shave off made me feel like a conquering hero. My first hole in one was very was very much like my other very first time…exciting!

Buying our first new set of golf clubs became a heavily mapped out campaign, filled with the strategies of how each club we would considering buying would improve our game just a little bit more. Even now, years later, every new club bought brings more hope for an improved game. Golf is a never-ending cycle of new golf clubs, new strategies, new techniques and new found thrills every time we plant our golf cleats on a new golf course.

And, of course, everyone who takes up the game of golf imagines the possibility of becoming a professional golfer, winning golf tournaments and making money at a game we all love so much. Not everyone can do it of course, but the hope was always there. And that is the great thing about golf… there is always tomorrow.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…