Preparing for a regular holiday consists of a fairly standard to do list. A golf holiday requires some extra action items to confirm in the week before departing that will help the holiday go smoothly and ensure you get to golf. The following items cover the fundamentals for most holidaying golfers.

Wellbeing: Prepare a simple first aid kit for the trip with headache tablets, sun block, indigestion/diarrhoea tablets, plasters and insect repellent. Even minor injuries can worsen when golfing over a number of days as they don’t receive enough time to recover/heal.

The first aid kit could be purchased on arrival at your holiday destination but in truth that would be cutting into your holiday time and may work out more expensive (depending on the destination). After your holiday the first aid kit can be useful or kept in your car. For extra comfort during your holiday, try to also bring hot and cold packs (there are several varieties; re-usable/single use/etc).

Tee-time Bookings: Phone or email the courses you are playing to confirm the tee times and bookings are still valid. Take a print out of all the course information you will require. This includes directions on how to get to the course, tee-times, any booking codes or references. You may already have this information if booking via an web-based booking system.

Clothing and Shoes: Check the dress code for each club you intend playing and prepare some suitable clothing. Pack a variety of clothing layers so you may add/subtract garments should the weather require it. Look up the short range weather report to see if you need to alter the balance of items (e.g. to include more layers if it is going to be cold/raining).

Inspect your rain gear for any damage and pack it in with your golf bag (so that it is always to hand). Clean your shoes of any soil (see the paragraph below) and inspect the cleats at the toe of the shoe are in good condition. Rotate damaged cleats to the heel so that the toe of the shoe has enough grip during the transition at the top of your back swing. Pack away wool hats, baseball caps and sunglasses.

Documentation: Read over the golf course websites you will be visiting to see if they have any course guides, specific rules (out-of-bounds/dress codes/etc) and yardage information. If you are used to playing in meters as opposed to yards (or vice versa) then prepare your own crib sheet for yard-to-meters translation. Check if courses require proof of your handicap and pack away your P.G.A. handicap proof. This can be required on championship courses.

Golf Equipment: Check all your clubs are in a fit state and clean clubs and golf bag of any grit. Contaminated soil is a major concern in countries such as Australia and Ireland were farming industry can be decimated by bovine cattle diseases that can be brought into the country by visitors. Golden rule is to clean your shoes & clubs before departure.

Then there is the regular golf paraphernalia to stock up on. Check you have plenty of pencils, tees, golf balls and gloves.

The goal of this list is to ensure you can enjoy your golfing holiday to the utmost from the first to last day.

Looking for European golfing breaks? For the perfect golf holiday Algarve, Estoril and the other Portuguese regions have it all. Visit the Golf Holidays Portugal website to learn more.