Around the World Golf Tour
Five continents, five of the best golf courses in the world, one ticket. That was the idea behind this tour in 2012 and it still holds. What has changed is getting a tee time. Two of the five take anyone who pays, two take visitors under conditions, and one needs a member to take you.
All tours can be customized just for you, exactly how you want to go and for how long.
The route
London to Shannon for Doonbeg, back through London, then San Francisco, Osaka, Melbourne and Johannesburg, and home to London. The 2012 version flew into Dublin, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Sydney. The airports above are the ones closest to the courses.
AirTreks puts those flights at about $3,461 to $5,280 per person in economy. That is a planning estimate from AirTreks fare history, checked 1 October 2026, and an AirTreks specialist will price your exact route and dates. The original tour ran 24 days, which is about the least you'd want with a round on each course and a few days to recover from the long flights.
Europe: Doonbeg, Ireland
The rolling green hills and windswept headlands of the west of Ireland are perfect for golf courses, hence classics such as Lahinch and Ballybunion. Doonbeg, designed by Greg Norman, opened in 2002, but from the first hole you feel it has been there for centuries. The fairways follow the natural contours of the terrain, so holes range from a clifftop par three of 100 yards to a 600-yard par five flanking a mile or so of golden sand.
Donald Trump bought it in 2014, and it is now Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland. Visitors can book tee times online. The Amgen Irish Open is being played there from 10 to 13 September 2026, and the course is closed to visitors until 15 September. Shannon Airport is in the same county, County Clare.
America: Pebble Beach, United States
Most of America's finest courses (think Augusta, Pine Valley and Cypress Point) are closed to all but a handful of members. Pebble Beach in California is the exception, being open to all who pay the green fee. Jack Nicklaus said that if he had only one more round to play in his life, he would play it here. Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, it opened in 1919 and hugs the Pacific coast, with narrow fairways, sloping greens and ocean views. The most famous closing two holes in golf were played here (Tom Watson's chip-in at the 17th in the 1982 US Open, and Jack Nicklaus's one iron that hit the flagstick on the same hole ten years earlier). The US Open comes back in 2027.
The green fee is US$695 until 31 March 2027, plus $60 for a cart. To book more than a day or two ahead you have to stay at least two nights at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay or Casa Palmero, and three nights for Thursday to Sunday play from September to November. Without a stay you can only book at short notice and hope there is a time left. The route flies into San Francisco, which is much closer to Pebble Beach than Los Angeles.
Asia: Hirono, Japan
Hirono Golf Club is Japan's most distinguished golf club, near the port city of Kobe. The course was built in 1932 by C.H. Alison and is his masterpiece, on an estate that once belonged to a feudal warlord. Top 100 Golf Courses ranks it first in Japan and in Asia, and 14th in the world.
Hirono is a private club, and you can only play as a member's guest, with the member playing alongside you. It is the hardest tee time on this trip, so arrange it first and build the Japan dates around it. Being near Kobe, the route flies into Osaka rather than Tokyo.
Oceania: Royal Melbourne, Australia
The East and West courses are said to be the finest in the southern hemisphere. The West Course was laid out to the design of the legendary Dr Alister MacKenzie, who came to see the site in 1926, and was finished in 1931. The fairways and greens are not as benign as they look. Strategically placed bunkers and fast, contoured greens mean only the best achieve a good score. Flanked by deep bunkers, the green at the fifth hole on the West course looks inviting, but its tilt from back to front means any hit short of the flag races back down the glassy surface.
Visitors must be members of a golf club at home, and visitor tee times are on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday afternoons. While the course was being renovated from April to August 2026, the club kept its visitor times for overseas golfers only.
Africa: Leopard Creek, South Africa
Being a bit wild off the tee takes on a new meaning here, since some of the water hazards are moving ones, from the Big Five to more than 200 species of bird, plus baboons, crocodiles, giraffes and warthogs that come to drink in the streams of Leopard Creek, on the edge of the Kruger National Park. The pick of the holes are two par fives. The fourth, more than 600 yards long, sits 100ft above the edge of the Crocodile River and is a popular resting point for both elephants and errant drives. The dramatic final hole has an island green that seems to shrink as the crowds gather with their sundowners to watch.
Leopard Creek is private too, but it has a way in. Stay at one of its 13 associate lodges, such as Buhala Lodge or Jock Safari Lodge in the Kruger, and the lodge books your round on certain Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sunday afternoons. The green fee is ZAR 8,500 a person including a cart, valid until 28 February 2027. With the Kruger on the doorstep, it is easy to add a few days of safari.
Tags: RTW, travel the world, low cost rtw, best golf courses, golf around the world, rtw golf courses, rtw packages
Planning a round-the-world trip? AirTreks has built multi-stop itineraries since 1987. See sample routes or ask a specialist.