You’re having breakfast on the teak veranda of your suite aboard
the Silver Whisper, Silversea’s newest six-star floating hotel. The port of Nice
slowly comes into view as you mentally prepare for your round at Royal
Mougins Golf Club, one of the finest courses in Europe.The previous day,
you teed off at one of Spain’s best, the heather-lined PGA Golf de Catalunya,
before embarking on a seven-day Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona. And
tomorrow, after a five-course meal in Le Champagne, an onboard oenophile’s
delight, followed by some gambling in the ship’s casino as you cruise the
French Riviera, you’ll play Le Fregate Golf Club, with its stunning views of the
Mediterranean.
If Pebble Beach is “the most felicitous meeting of land and
sea in creation,” as Robert Louis Stevenson reportedly once said, these floating
country clubs may just be the most luxurious. And they combine the best of
both kinds of golf vacations. Like road trips, you can play a variety of courses
from day to day. At the same time, you can benefit from the convenience,
amenities and luxury of a resort stay—everything you need, including
port-to-course transportation, is included.
While the Mediterranean is
certainly one of the most desirable destinations, there are plenty of
itineraries available to seafaring golfers. Silversea, which offers large-ship
amenities aboard intimate vessels, drops anchor at 45 courses in 25
countries aboard 15 cruises throughout Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico.
The
10-day “Caribbean Kaleidoscope” voyage, which departs in late October from
F.t Lauderdale, Florida, boasts Casa de Campo’s Teeth of the Dog in the
Dominican Republic and White Witch in Jamaica, among others, on its itinerary.
Peter Deilmann Cruises offers a 20-day golf cruise from Phuket, Thailand, to
Hong Kong aboard the six-deck, 513-passenger MS Deutschland, which gives the
feel of a grand European hotel and has two putting greens and a driving range
topside. Courses of call include Raffles Country Club in Singapore and China’s
Mission Hills, the world’s largest golf resort with 10 courses.
