ALMERIA CLASSIC (ALC.10)
Saturday, Feb 6-13, 2010
Saturday, Feb 13-20, 2010
(Package must be booked by 8 days in advance)

The Almeria Classic package through Lorrin Golf offers golfers an exciting start to their 2010 season – with 5 green fees and 4 days instruction at Valle del Este Resort, Almeria, Spain. 

Hotel Valle del Este is base camp for the Almeria Classic (ALC.10).   The hotel, which opened in 2004, is modern, spacious and the perfect base to rekindle the appetite for your golf game.  Golfers can enjoy the extensive leisure facilities and excellent hotel cuisine, with breakfast and evening dinner included with your Almeria Classic package.     

Golf 5 green fees are included with the Almeria Classic (ALC.10), 3 games at Valle del Este and 1 each at Desert Springs and Aguilon – exciting desert courses unique to this part of southern Spain.   Golfers will also benefit from on-course professional tuition, in addition to a feature Tournament towards the end of your week, to test-drive your swing changes and improvements.  

Golf Instruction PGA Professionals Kevin Hale and Stephen Sweeney of St Andrews Links Golf Academy will again provide the instruction.   Tuition takes place on 4 days, typically in the morning, with 2 hours long game and 2 hours short game in groups of 8 students to 1 professional.    

Flights Golfers should arrange for their own flights for the Almeria Classic (ALC.10).   Hotel Valle del Este is located from the following Airports: Almeria (70km), Murcia (115km), Alicante (200km)  

Ground Transport The Almeria Classic Package (ALC.10) includes Car Rental from Almeria, Murcia or Alicante Airports, or arranged transfers from/to Almeria or Murcia Airport.  Golfers who intend to play the courses away from Valle del Este (Desert Springs & Aguilon) should avail of the Car Rental option.  For those who prefer Arranged Transfers, Green fees at Valle Del Este will replace Desert Springs & Aguilon.  

ITINERARY
Week 1 – Saturday Feb 6 – 13, 2010
Week 2 – Saturday Feb 13 – 20, 2010 

Timetable is indicative of the programme, and subject to change. 
Handicap Limit, Men 28 / Ladies 36 

Package Prices  

ALC.10 Package to be reserved through LorrinGolf.com, Tour Operator. 

Tel: +44 (0) 1344 88 50 76
E: golf@lorrin.com
W: www.lorringolf.com

If you’re feeling inspired, and looking for a golfing challenge of your own in the coming months – why not forget about the local winter league for at least one week, and head for some winter sun and heart warming competition in an open tournament instead.

In Spain’ next week, the Murcia Turistica Open will take place – a 54-hole stableford event for standard amateurs like you and me at the famous La Manga Resort.   There are prizes awarded each day for three handicap categories and the non-golfers get tailored programmes of spa treatments and local excursions.

Elsewhere, Portugal’s got the four-round Cascais Golf Trophy at Hotel Quinta da Marinha and the five-round Vila Gale Trophy at Vila Gale Tavira coming up in January and February respectively. Both promise to be a lot of fun with a gala dinner, cocktail reception and lots and lots of golf in the perfect Portuguese climate.

Or if a pro-am’s more your thing then the five-star Abama resort in Tenerife is running just that in February over its impressive Dave Thomas course. It’s a 36-hole strokeplay event with groups of three amateurs and one pro. February’s the perfect time to play golf in Tenerife with temperatures sitting at an average of around 25 degrees celsius (77 fahrenheit).

Perhaps the pick of the bunch though is the St Andrews Golf Week, running from April 11 – 17.  This really is a golfer’s heaven. You’ll get to play the hallowed turf of the Old Course itself as well as the lauded Kingsbarns and the New, Jubilee and Eden courses. If you’re needing to sharpen up your game, there are four days of instruction from PGA professionals and there will be plenty of free time to really savour the experience of the Home of Golf. You can visit the golf museum or soak up some of the many other historic sights in the town, such as the famous castle or cathedral.

Of course, if you really want to whet your appetite for the coming season then there’s nothing better than watching the professionals in action. There are plenty of packages for early-season tournaments in the US where you can combine watching the stars with playing a bit of golf yourself.

Top of the list here is the Masters. You can have a front-row seat to the final day’s action while being treated to VIP hospitality. You’ll stay at the luxurious Ritz Carlton Reynolds Plantation and play two rounds on its excellent courses .

Before that there’s a chance to see the World Golf Championship at Miami’s Doral Golf Resort and Spa.  From March 11 - 14 the world’s top 50 players will battle over the Blue Monster course. You can take in the action as you stay on site then try to emulate the pros as you play the resort’s Great White and Gold courses.

The following week’s Transitions Championship is another one for the diary.  Staying at the fabulous Innisbrook Resort you can combine watching the pros on the final two days of action with golf on the Highland and North Courses before taking to the famed Copperhead layout on the Monday to see just what the stars had to deal with.

So there’s no need for those winter golfing blues. With a programme of tournaments like that, the amateur golfing calendar just never stops!

An increasing number of holiday resorts are doing their bit to help enjoy the off-season with an exciting array of All-Inclusive packages. For the golfer – the final challenge of the season may be in trying to figure out what exactly is included, with All-Inclusive!

In Dubai, the All Inclusive (AI) concept, is still taking off.  The Jebel Ali Golf Hotel is a leader in the field, with an All Yours package that includes a Full Board meal plan, along with soft drinks all day. Alcohol is included but only with dinner up until 10pm. 

All-inclusive at The Jebel Ali Golf Resort offers a particularly wide range of extras

What really makes this package stand out though are the non-alcoholic extras such as free shuttles to the local water park, golf clinics, free water sports and a junior soccer academy. There are even free camel rides, if that floats your boat.  All in all you may well find that the savings made on those extras easily cover what you’d spend on the odd afternoon beer or a quick nightcap.

The Caribbean is more in tune with the AI golfer, with traditional AI resorts at Crystal Cove Barbados and Rose Hall Hilton in Montego Bay Jamaica. The Ritz Carlton Rose Hall and Half Moon Resorts both offer luxury AI packages, full board, unlimited golf with transfers and an open bar throughout the resort, to help toast the play of the day!   

The resorts of Spain are catching on also, at Montecastillo in wine-rich Jerez, and at La Caleta in Tenerife.  The drinks plans there aren’t so comprehensive, but if you enjoy the local ales and brews, there’s a good chance that AI will also suit you just fine there too.

So remember, value is personal. It’s worth finding out exactly what’s included in all inclusive deals during these tough times. You may just find you can get more than you expect!

AND FINALLY..

So the Race to Dubai climaxed with a victory march for the imperious Lee Westwood. The Englishman’s flawless final round of 64 meant no one else had a look-in despite the best efforts of Ross McGowan and Rory McIlroy. Perhaps Westwood’s fabulous form was down to the fact that the large galleries seemed to be so full of British ex-pats and holiday-makers that it almost felt like he was playing back home in Worksop on a particularly sunny day.

At the end he certainly had plenty to celebrate. Lee’s week in Dubai saw him pocket £1.6million, the accolade of European Number One and perhaps even a free camel ride, depending on his deal.

Stephen Ames, right, took the honours at Disney World after "wishing for a 64"

So the secret to great golf is out! Stephen Ames, winner of the PGA Tour’s Children’s Miracle Network Classic, trailed the leaders by 3 shots with 1 round to go at the impressive Disney World’s Magnolia Course. In preparation for his final round, Ames simply stood at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom and wished for a 64. What did he get? That’s right, a 64. Easy. So maybe we should all be ditching the lessons and instead turning to divine inspiration for help – specifically from a giant mouse!

Some might be slightly amused to see the PGA Tour at Disney World. It’s not an association you’d immediately make. But the layouts there are far from Mickey Mouse. The Magnolia is the toughest of no less than five courses which wind their way through the unique golfing environment of the Magic Kingdom. They may be kings of the entertainment industry, but you can bet Disney takes its golf seriously. 

It can be quite therapeutic watching golf at this time of year. The cream of the European Tour will this week be rounding off their season in the warming temperatures of Dubai. The Dubai World Championship is of course more than a tournament, serving also to showcase how the Middle East has developed into a leading international golf destination. Only 25 years ago staging any golf event there would have been inconceivable. Now it’s relatively common place and the number and quality of courses is constantly growing. The winter months are the perfect time to visit. Go after May and you’ll need asbestos covered irons to deal with the heat, but in December daytime temperatures sit at an ideal 18 degrees (65fahrenheit).

The venue for the Dubai World Championship will be the Greg Norman-designed Earth Course. The clubs may not come out as often as they used to for the Great White Shark but course design has really taken off for him in the past few years. Greg’s set himself apart from many leading designers by taking an environmental approach. He prides himself on disrupting the surrounding landscape as little as possible with his layouts and it’s proving popular. In total Greg Norman Golf Course design has now completed more than 70 tracks on six different continents. They include top layouts like the International at Championsgate in Florida, the aptly named Great White at Doral and El Camaleon in Mayakoba, Mexico. I suppose that’s the thing with top sportsmen, you’d think two majors and being world number one for 331 consecutive weeks would be enough, but they’re always looking for the next challenge. We mere mortals can just enjoy the fruits of their labours. And that’s not a bad deal!