Resort, links or desert: which kind of golf trip is right for you?

The biggest decision on a golf trip isn't the hotel or the flights — it's the kind of golf you're signing up for. A windswept links, a manicured resort and a target-golf desert course are three different games, and matching the trip to your group's ability and appetite is what separates a great holiday from a frustrating one. Pick the wrong one and your high-handicap mates spend the week losing balls in gorse while the low-markers are bored on a flat resort track. Here's how to choose, and what each demands of you.

It's worth being honest about what each trip costs you physically and mentally, not just what it looks like in the brochure. A links week is an endurance event as much as a golf holiday — wind, walking and weather grind you down across several days, and a group that hasn't reckoned with that fades by the back half. A resort trip lets you bank energy for the evenings; a desert trip spends most of yours just coping with the heat. The smartest planning decision is to match not only the golf to your group's ability, but the intensity and rhythm of the whole week to how much punishment your fourball actually wants to absorb before they'd rather be by the pool.

Links: the purist's trip (and the hardest)

A links trip — Scotland, Ireland, England's coast — is golf's great pilgrimage and its toughest test. Firm running ground, relentless wind, fast-changing weather and blind shots reward creativity and punish ego. It's the dream for good, patient players who'll embrace bump-and-runs and brutal weather; it can be a miserable, ball-haemorrhaging slog for high-handicappers who hit it high and aren't ready for it. Go if your group can laugh off a wild-weather round and wants the real thing. The kit is non-negotiable: a proper GORE-TEX shell, waterproof shoes and a lower-flighting ball. We break down the full links kit and mindset in playing links golf for the first time.

Resort: the all-rounder (and the safest bet)

Resort golf — think Algarve, Spain, Florida — is the most forgiving choice for a mixed group, and the easiest to organise. Courses are generally playable, well-conditioned and scenic, accommodation and food are on-site, and the weather is reliable. It's the right call for groups with a wide spread of handicaps, families, or anyone who wants the golf to be a pleasure rather than a battle. The trade-off is that purists can find polished resort tracks a touch samey. The kit is straightforward: all-round gear and sun protection, plus a light carry bag if you'll walk.

Desert: the spectacle (and the heat test)

Desert golf — Dubai, Arizona, parts of Spain — is target golf at its most dramatic: lush green ribbons carved through sand, with severe penalties for missing. It's visually stunning and a genuine test of accuracy, but the heat is the real opponent, regularly pushing past anything you play at home. Go if your group wants the wow factor and can handle 35-degree-plus afternoons. The kit here is about surviving the climate: sunglasses, a cooling cap, serious hydration and sunscreen — the full list is in our hot-weather golf holiday kit.

Match the trip to the group, not the photos

The honest filter is your group's range of ability and what they actually enjoy. A spread from scratch to 24? Resort, every time — everyone has fun. A tight group of low-single-figure obsessives? Links will be the trip of their lives. Want spectacle and guaranteed sun over scoring? Desert. Mixing a brutal links with a beginner is how you ruin both the course for them and the trip for everyone. One versatile choice covers most bags regardless: a tour ball that behaves in wind and heat, and a light bag that travels well anywhere.

Plan the rounds, not just the resort

The mistake even seasoned groups make is treating a trip as a stack of tee times rather than a structure. A links pilgrimage on firm, windy ground asks far more of body and concentration than a benign resort track, so the right number of rounds is not fixed — it flexes with the type of golf you've chosen. On a brutal links you'll get more out of one full round a day with a relaxed evening than two grinding marathons; on a forgiving resort you can comfortably stack thirty-six and still enjoy dinner. Front-load the hardest, most-anticipated course early in the trip while legs are fresh and morale is high, and leave a softer, more sociable round for the day everyone's a little weary. A trip that escalates in difficulty by the third morning is a trip that ends with sore backs and short tempers.

Transfers and pacing matter just as much as the courses themselves. Two hours in a minibus before a 7am tee time wrecks a round before the first drive, so cluster venues geographically rather than chasing a scattered wish-list, and build a genuine rest day or a loose nine into the middle of a longer trip. There's also a strong case for mixing course types deliberately within one holiday — a links morning and a parkland afternoon, say — so the golf never goes stale and a wider spread of the group gets a course that flatters their game. If you do combine, pack for the most demanding conditions on the itinerary; our packing checklist covers the kit that travels regardless of where each day takes you.

The decision, simplified

Choose links for the purest, hardest golf with a strong group; resort for the safest, most sociable trip across mixed abilities; desert for spectacle and sun if you can take the heat. Be honest about your group's golf, pack for the conditions that choice brings, and you'll come home wanting to book the next one. Whichever you pick, our packing checklist covers the kit that travels with you regardless.