Messinia is located on the Peloponnese mainland in the southwest of Greece. This lesser know region is full of cultural history, important archaeological sites and is rich in colourful, traditional towns and villages. It has an abundance of outstanding natural beauty and some of the best beaches in the whole of Greece. Recently Messinia has become an important area for new golf developments. In fact it will have the largest golf resorts in the whole of the Balkans and Mediterranean. Particular attention is being focused in the areas of Finikounda, Methoni and Pylos.

Petros Doukas, Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance and Dimitris Avramopoulos, Minister of Tourism are keen to see more golf opportunities in Greece. Messinia is one of the largest regions to benefit from these plans. Interest in Messinia has increased largely because the Government is actively encouraging investment here with new laws aiming to stimulate local revenue. Government studies have shown that more than 200,000 visitors to Greece annually are potential golf tourists.

Private sector investors have also been buying large parcel of land in Messinia and have been building holiday rental units. It is estimated that over the next 3 year Finikounda alone will have accommodation for over 2000 tourists. Tourists will also benefit from a new Thalasso therapy centre (seawater treatments) that will soon be completed. So it’s easy to understand the current interest in developing this high-end attraction in one of the world’s most attractive climates.

The Tourism Enterprise of Messinia (TEMES) will be constructing a state of the art luxury resort at Navarino Bay. Troon Golf, the world’s leading high-end golf development, marketing and management company will be managing both the championship and standard courses. The golf courses themselves will be designed by Robert Trent-Jones II Inc the Californian based Golf Course Architects.

Currently it takes approximately 3.5 hours to drive to the new golf resorts from Athens, but this time will be reduce to under 3 hour when new road are in place. In accordance with the government’s guidelines for the ‘Good Road Plan’ a new motorway is under construction from Tropoli to Kalamata and is nearly completed. Another new major road is planned between Kalamata and Methoni further opening up the area.

Country Club Resort - Pylos

The resort is location at Gialova to the north of Pylos and 40km from Kalamata airport. The resort is set in 148 hectares of land with rolling hills, spectacular views of the historical Navarino bay and is adjacent to the new marina.

The architects have designed the resort ensuring that it is not obtrusive to the landscape and in keeping with the traditional styles of the area. The development will include 2 luxury hotels and individual holiday homes. There will be a championship golf course, several swimming pools and terraces, surrounded by landscaped gardens with numerous pathways leading to the sandy beach.

The total capacity of this resort will be 2,400 beds for tourist. The complex will have a conference centre which will accommodate 1,200 delegates. There will also be and environmental protection and development centre.

The Family Beach Resort - Romanos

The resort will be located 50km from Kalamata airport on the beautiful beach of Romanos and will have fabulous views of the Ionian sea. The plot covers 141 hectares of land on a gently sloping plateau. The resort will have a variety of family accommodation surrounding a village street with restaurants, tavernas and shops. This complex will offer an 18 hole championship golf course, numerous swimming pools, a tennis club and an exclusive thalasso therapy centre over looking the sea. For the children there will be a children’s club, a mini golf course and a gymnasium.

This project had been on going for the last twenty years. A total of approximately 1.2 million m2 of land has been acquired from 1,300 individual holders of deeds. Already two of the largest private reservoirs have been built in order two water the golf courses. Building permits and documents have been filed with the Town Planning Department. The approximate area of the buildings amounts to some 100,000 m2. Understandably the paperwork for this project has been a mammoth task in itself. Achilles Constantakopoulos, the Managing Director of TEMES has stated that by 2015, Navarino will be Greece’s premier golf destination. There will be seven courses within half-an-hours drive of each other.

The Pylos (Gialova) and Romanos resort will be completed in accordance with the plans by spring 2008. It will have the largest hotel complex in the Balkans and Mediterranean. The investment for phase one totals

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Posted on June 30th, 2008 by faison
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You are only going to have one major golf vacation with your pals per year. Make it the best possible by designing it yourself. Forget the standard golf package and do it yourself.

In our last article we got to the minus two months point of your schedule. You have researched and found the ideal location, picked out the perfect house, sent out the word to your pals, and settled on the dates. By this time, you should have a confirmed group, any of which would just as soon lose their right arm as miss the event.

Let’s lock in the rental house. You DO need to get this done as early as you can. If you are setting up your vacation during the off-season like I do, you are in the driver’s seat. Talk directly to the property manager and negotiate a better rate. Here is a summary of my discussion a few weeks ago.

“Hey, Tiffany. Randall here. It’s that time again but our group is smaller. We really like the house at … but it is more than we need. We will be staying a full week. I figured the owner would rather have a bird in the hand and rent the house for a full week instead of taking the chance of renting it for just a couple days or not at all. We can afford $xxxx. I can pay you today.”

The result of this little conversation was that she immediately lopped twenty percent off the advertised rate! You will never know until you ask. Shoot for about a thirty percent reduction and go from there. I slapped the deposit on my credit card and emailed the group. (Yes, I was looking for praise.) You can dust off the smaller details like arranging linens (if not provided in the rate) and final payment later.

Time to grab tee times. What I recommend is setting up early morning tee times for each day. You will have to get up earlier than you may like, but scheduling tee times around 8:00 to 8:30AM will accomplish several things, including:
Being close to first off the box on rain or frost delays (allowing a second 18).
Finishing your round early enough to grab a second 18 with lunch in between 18’s.
Allowing easier to change to later tee times if desired rather than to move them earlier.

Over the Internet and by talking with local pros on the phone, you have come up the courses you want to play. As with the house, you DO need to get this done as early as you can so that you can get the tee times you want. When scheduling tee times, I prefer talking directly to the head pro. In general, you will find more flexibility on prices. Other bonuses like getting a second set of tee times while only paying for a replay fee are easier. The head honcho is also more likely to bend the rules to allow advanced tee times if you are beyond the time window normally allowed.

Granted, this may be your first time in the location you picked, but you can use about the same language as I do. I have just locked in our tee times for February. I associate myself with a golf course to let them know I am a “player” and the pros seem to be more deferential in talking with a “player”. Here is a summary of a standard call:

“Hey Bucky, Randall from Snee Farm here. It’s getting to be that time of the year again for our annual golf vacation. You have always treated us so well and given us such a great rate in the past. The guys love the challenge of your outstanding spread. I was just wondering if you fit us in again on February 23rd. We are looking to play 36 and would appreciate anything you could do for us.”

With that or something similar as an opener, I forecast that you WILL get a great rate from most of the courses. Don’t make a second set of tee times at this point unless you get them for just the replay fee. If you are playing during the on-season and want to play 36, you may have to make and pay for a guaranteed set of afternoon tee times. Some of the courses may have events already scheduled when you want to play that particular course. You may have to juggle this slightly and change already made tee times, so complete your tee time set up within a couple days.

Now you have your group, your house and your tee times. It is time to get down to real business. Now is the time to get the financial commitment. Send an email spelling out the accommodations and the tee times. Ask for your troops to send you at least half of what the final cost per man will be. Our total per man is normally around $900 for all the lodging, transportation, golf, food and beverages for the week.

Dining. In general we fix whatever breakfast we personally want, make sandwiches to eat between rounds, and fix our own gourmet supper (with loads of snacks to wreck our appetites during the entire day and night). You can see our 2006 evening meals by clicking on 2006 Schedule at the sample website www.eye-mind-tricks.com/golf . To support all this, you will need to know what the group wants and prepare a shopping list. This year, I used a free survey website and built a fill-in-the-blank survey for the troops. You can see that at: www.surveymonkey DOT com/s.asp?u=256691624905 (remove the “DOT” and insert a “.” )

You can use surveymonkey like that or ask the same questions in an email. To give you an idea of what your shopping list will look like for a group of eight and assuming you follow our general plan, I put a close copy of last year’s shopping list at the above eye-mind-tricks website. Substitute the word “shop” for “golf” to see it. With your shopping list built, you will either grab the goodies before the flights of the group arrive if you live locally, or have the troops assist on the way to your house.

You are now at the minus one month point of building the perfect golf vacation. The next article will provide recipes, administration details, entertainment ideas, and odds and ends.

Randall Ulbricht is a retired Nuclear Submarine Officer. He currently works from home sharing information via several web sites, including:
http://www.article-outlet.com and
http://ezpromotes.com.

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Posted on June 27th, 2008 by faison
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When one thinks of golf, often their mind wonders instantly to the site of men dressed in their Sunday best swinging clubs with all of their might. Golf, however, knows no gender. Women all across the country are beginning to pick up this intriguing athletic and strategic game. Women are even taking golf vacations of their own, and finding that they can have their cake and eat it too in this once traditionally male arena.

What do women look for in a golf vacation? Well, the first priority is of course the golf! Avid female golfers are going to be just as concerned over the state and condition of the green. Is the course challenging? What is the course ranked? Are there restrooms available? What amenities are close to the green itself? These are the questions women ask as they investigate golf vacations.

The second thing? Location, location, location. While the green is important, another imperative aspect of choosing the right golf vacation is where the green and resort is located. There are golf resorts located all across the country from Fort Richardson, Alaska to Fort Lauderdale Florida. The area is a huge aspect to consider when booking any vacation, and a golf vacation is no different. The climate, the scenery, the time of year, all of these things play a part in the vacation decision making.

The third thing women need to look for in golf resort is, well, the quality of the resort! A golf vacation, while the focus may be golf, is still a vacation. And resorts are for relaxing. When looking for the ideal golf resort, ladies need to investigate the spas, pool areas, and workout facilities. Even though women want to enjoy golfing, the may also want to partake in a mani-pedi combo!

Finally, there is the issue of cost. This is one aspect that may last on this list but is not least in consideration. Women are known for bargain shopping and vacations are no different. The perfect golf vacation for a woman is one where the golf is good, the location is prime, the resort is to die for, and the cost is sensational!

Sara Chambers is a marketing consultant and an internet content manager for http://www.golfvacationweblog.com

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Posted on June 26th, 2008 by faison
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