Golf is a global game. As the British Empire spread around the world, taking with it the Scottish invention, the sun never set on golf. Wherever the British settled, from Africa to India and Hong Kong to Australia, golf thrived.
But in the past few decades the global game has taken on truly epic proportions. The challenge to build world-class courses, complemented by luxurious accommodation in the most remote and beautiful places on Earth, has elevated the game’s prestige and established a new reason to travel – to play the best courses in the world.
These courses with extraordinary pedigrees are, however, not geographically conveniently located. They stretch from above the Arctic Circle to Patagonia; they are on remote islands or in the middle of deserts and at the base of mountain ranges.
So in the great British tradition of exploration, London-based Club Inc. has designed an exclusive World Tour by private jet, partnered with Gama Aviation, for 36 savvy and passionate golfers to travel in complete luxury and comfort to ten of the planet’s most exceptional course locations, visiting five continents in the process.
“Through our work with many of the world’s finest clubs and resorts, and our industry partners, we know there is a great desire to travel to the most remote and unusual courses the globe has to offer. The question that arises the most is not how to finance the journeys, but how to find the time. With The Club Inc. World Tour we have made travelling the world and playing fantastic golf in complete luxury as convenient as possible,” says Niall Flanagan, managing director of Club Inc.
“When travelling long-haul across many time zones, jet lag on most commercial flights is always an issue, even in first class. With partner Gama Aviation, the 36 passengers on the World Tour will arrive at each destination as refreshed and relaxed as possible as the specially configured Boeing 757 is designed to provide the ultimate in in-flight relaxation and entertainment.”
All the stops on the Tour have been carefully selected and vetted not only for the quality of the courses, but the total ambience of the destination. The scheduled 25-day itinerary that begins in England next October 2015 stops in Italy, UAE, South Korea, Australia (Tasmania), Hawaii, Mexico, Bermuda and France, before returning to London.
The lucky 36 participants will be treated to playing courses recognised among the best in the world, staying in legendary accommodation, delighting in the freshest regional cuisine, experiencing iconic cultural opportunities, and a shared camaraderie and passion for the game.
THE MID OCEAN CLUB, BERMUDA
As the World Tour begins its final leg back to the UK across the Atlantic, it stops off at The Mid Ocean Club on the small, picturesque island nation of Bermuda – another memorable highlight, for both the golf and the island’s laid-back lifestyle.
With The Club Inc. World Tour we have made playing fantastic golf in complete luxury as convenient as possible
Referred to as the father of modern American golf architecture, Charles Blair MacDonald, whose mentors in the game included Old Tom Morris, when he was a student at St Andrews University, said of his visionary creation in Bermuda: “Again I can assure my golfing friends, a more fascinating, more picturesque course than the Mid Ocean, when completed, will not be found in a pilgrimage around the world. There is nothing commonplace about it.”
Indeed, since its inception in 1921, the course and club have played host to the world’s most influential politicians, wealthiest globetrotters, well-known international celebrities and professional athletes.
An avid golfer, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower chose the setting for two important summits with British Prime Ministers Sir Winston Churchill and Harold MacMillan in 1953 and 1957 respectively. And the prestigious PGA of America Grand Slam of Golf took place here in 2007 and 2008.
Participants will stay at the ionic Rosewood Tucker’s Point®, offering the best of British-style hospitality with a relaxed island feel.
Mid Ocean is only the start of the challenging golf found in Bermuda. This year’s Grand Slam, featuring world number one Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer and Jim Furyk, will take place from October 14 to 15 at the Port Royal Golf Club. Other courses on the island include Tucker’s Point, Riddell’s Bay, Belmont Hills, Turtle Hill and Ocean View.
Bermuda enjoyed an economic boom during the Prohibition era in the United States. In fact, it has been said that the initiative for building Mid Ocean, a world-class golf venue, was for the wealthy businessmen in north-east America to escape the harsh liquor laws. As in the past, visitors to this island nation are met with world-renown hospitality in both outstanding cuisine and libations. Be sure and try the refreshing national cocktail, the Dark ’n Stormy, made with local Gosling’s rum (Bermuda’s oldest commercial enterprise), ginger beer and a splash of lime.
With its pink-sand beaches, Bermuda-length shorts and knee socks as business attire, pastel- coloured, colonial-inspired architecture, motor scooters and a passion for enjoying the good life, Bermuda’s tourist industry is thriving.
“With our temperate year-round climate, Bermuda is a true sportsman’s paradise,” says Bill Hanbury, chief executive of the Bermuda Tourism Authority. “In addition to world-class golf, we offer the finest venues for all manner of water and land sports. Combined with the quantity and variety of welcoming accommodation options, the inclusion of Bermuda on The Club Inc. World Tour will only enhance our image as ‘the place’ the world comes to stay and play.”
From the opening night five-star reception in London to the closing night fete in Paris, participants will be treated to an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that can never be duplicated. However, the memories and friendships, forged through the love and lure of the worldwide game, will linger for a lifetime.
The Club Inc. World Tour, partnered with Gama Aviation, will take place from October 1 to 25, 2015. For more information or to reserve a place on this extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime experience, contact Ryan@clubincorporated.com
or telephone +44 (0) 1483 503 492
