When discussing the world’s top golf destinations, enthusiasts often mention Scotland, California, or Florida. This October, US-based Kalos Golf tour company (in partnership with TCS World Travel) will add to the conversation with the Best of South America Golf Tour, a 20-day itinerary that allows golfers to play links located in Barbados, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. The trip kicks off in Florida, where guests spend the night at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando before boarding a Boeing 757 bound for the Caribbean. With room for only 52 guests, the trip promises to be an exclusive opportunity for avid golfers.
During a two-day stay at Sandy Lane in Barbados, golfing aficionados get to experience the whimsical Tom Fazio–designed Green Monkey course, which is carved from a former limestone rock quarry and available exclusively to hotel guests. In Peru, tourists can choose between taking a historic, privately chartered train to Machu Picchu (a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the new seven wonders of the world) or staying in Lima to play at the members-only Los Inkas Golf Club, where pre-Inca ruins run along several of the holes. Santiago, Chile, is next on the itinerary. While in the capital city, travellers can embark on a wine-tasting tour, visit the neoclassical Metropolitan Cathedral, and explore the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts. They will then head to Hacienda Chicureo Golf Club, a unique course in the high desert, before retiring to swanky accommodations at the Ritz-Carlton, Santiago.
For the next leg of the journey, golfers will head to Buenos Aires to hone their skills at Olivos Golf Club, an exclusive destination that is considered by many experts to be the finest course in Argentina. Characterised by tree-lined fairways and flawless greens, the course continues to be a major draw for avid golfers. The Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires will serve as the home base during the three-day stay. While there, the group will also explore the community of Recoleta (including its mausoleum-laden historic cemetery) and catch a tango show.
The next three days will be spent in Bariloche, a gorgeous lake community known for its chocolate and hiking trails. Accommodations are provided at the Llao Llao Hotel & Resort in Nahuel Huapi National Park. The five-star property is home to a stunning golf course that offers 360-degree views of the surrounding vistas and snow-covered mountains from every hole. Altitude and elevation make the course a challenging yet rewarding undertaking that is not for the faint of heart. Golf gurus will then head to Chapelco Golf & Resort, a grand getaway sequestered in the foothills of the Andes, where they will play on a picturesque course surrounded by pine trees and multiple lakes.
Brazil is the next-to-last stop on the schedule. In between strolling down the colourful streets of Rio de Janeiro, admiring the Christ the Redeemer Statue, and relaxing at Belmond Copacabana Palace, fans of the greatest game ever played will battle the twisty terrain at Gávea Golf and Country Club (located near Tijuca National Forest) and play at the Olympic Golf Course built for the 2016 summer games, which is hewn into a natural reserve.
An adventure in the Dominican Republic will bookend the action-packed experience. Guests will stay at the Eden Roc at Cap Cana and play golf at Punta Espada Golf Club at Cap Cana, a Jack Nicklaus–designed course with several ocean-side holes at the water’s edge. The jet will then transport players to Orlando, where they will take flights back home.
