The borders are open, and the coast is seemingly clear to resume life as a wandering golfer. Here are our picks of the destinations you need to add to your list this year, with some valuable advice thrown in.

We call it ‘avoiding the inertia trap’, a nod to how there are two types of golfers: those who seek new courses and those who don’t. Global pandemics notwithstanding, inertia is what keeps people at home. Maybe a membership has been paid for and each round increases some divisor of utility. Maybe someone in your life keeps your calendar with too sharp a pencil. Maybe you’ve found enough fascination in trying to replicate shots in a game where no two are ever quite alike. 

We can almost understand not travelling to play. There’s comfort in familiarity. Yet as the saying reminds us, “A ship in a harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Equally, golf clubs – and golfers – are designed for journeys. 

Throughout the rest of this special travel section are hints, location options and stories that might inspire you to take your clubs across the world. Wherever you go, you’ll be reminded of one truth: the biggest trap in golf isn’t made of sand, it’s playing nothing but the same course over and over. 

Go somewhere new 

Returning to favourite destinations is comforting for golfers, creatures who by nature tend to gravitate towards what and who they know. Yet the thrill of discovering a course for the first time is one of the game’s great delights. So, make 2023 the year you aim to play more courses that are new to you than time-honoured options. By lengthening the list of places you’ve played, you’ll of course then get to feel that warm fuzzy returning feeling more frequently.

Grape escape 

The Hunter Valley wine region is near the two largest cities in New South Wales and features a pair of Top 100-ranked golf courses only a few kilometres apart. The Vintage and Cypress Lakes offer a brilliant double act with complementing challenges in a setting that constantly reminds you where you are. Bold, brash and full of flavour, the two courses are reminiscent of a good Hunter shiraz, one of which you would be well recommended to sample at the end of any round at either course. In fact, part of the lore at Cypress Lakes is to offer up a bottle to your playing partners should you fail to clear the…