Golf holidays for couples: when one of you plays and one of you does not

Every golfer with a non-playing partner has run the same quiet calculation. You want the golf. They want a holiday. The trips that work all follow one pattern: you tee off at 8.30, you are back by early afternoon, and the morning belongs entirely to them. Then you share lunch, the pool, the evening.

That pattern only holds if the hotel is somewhere they would have chosen anyway, which is how this guide is organised. Six destinations, ordered by price, each judged on what the non-golfer is doing between breakfast and your back nine. Packages start at £250 (≈ €285) (≈ $335) (≈ CA$465) (≈ AU$465) (≈ NZ$575) (≈ CHF 265) pp for three nights and two rounds on the Algarve and climb to the Indian Ocean. One honest caveat before we start: a non-golfing partner pays the same hotel price as the golfer, minus the green fees, so the hotel has to earn its keep on its own. Choose for them first. The golf follows.

Start in Vilamoura. While you play, the non-golfer has the marina: café terraces, boat trips along the coast, shops, and a sandy beach beyond the moorings. Nobody needs a car. Of the hotels, Dom Pedro Marina Boutique Hotel & Golf is the one we would pick for a couple, right on the waterfront at £340 (≈ €385) (≈ $455) (≈ CA$635) (≈ AU$645) (≈ NZ$775) (≈ CHF 355) pp for three nights and two rounds. Pestana Vila Sol is the value route at £250 (≈ €285) (≈ $335) (≈ CA$465) (≈ AU$465) (≈ NZ$575) (≈ CHF 265) pp, a five-star with its own spa a few minutes inland, and the Hyatt Regency Vilamoura Algarve sits between the two at £370 (≈ €425) (≈ $495) (≈ CA$685) (≈ AU$695) (≈ NZ$845) (≈ CHF 385) pp.

On the Portimao side, Penina Hotel & Golf Resort gives the golfer three rounds for £260 (≈ €295) (≈ $345) (≈ CA$485) (≈ AU$485) (≈ NZ$595) (≈ CHF 275) pp and gives the non-golfer grounds to lose a morning in. Lunch is easy. You are back with the whole afternoon, and the marina restaurants, still ahead of you. See the £250 (≈ €285) (≈ $335) (≈ CA$465) (≈ AU$465) (≈ NZ$575) (≈ CHF 265) dates at Pestana Vila Sol.

The Riviera is for the couple whose non-golfing half wants France rather than a resort. Coffee in Valbonne’s square, the perfume houses of Grasse, Cannes and the Croisette. Château de la Begude, an old bastide beside its own fairways near Valbonne, is £495 (≈ €565) (≈ $655) (≈ CA$925) (≈ AU$935) (≈ NZ$1,135) (≈ CHF 525) pp for three nights and two rounds, and Hotel Le Cavendish puts you in Cannes itself at £655 (≈ €755) (≈ $875) (≈ CA$1,225) (≈ AU$1,235) (≈ NZ$1,505) (≈ CHF 695) pp, with Royal Mougins Golf Resort at £650 (≈ €745) (≈ $865) (≈ CA$1,215) (≈ AU$1,225) (≈ NZ$1,495) (≈ CHF 685) pp between them.

For golf and spa breaks, though, Terre Blanche is the one we recommend by name. Two courses among the pine above the hilltop village of Fayence, suites rather than rooms, and a spa the non-golfer will plan whole days around. The spa delivers. At £895 (≈ €1,035) (≈ $1,195) (≈ CA$1,675) (≈ AU$1,695) (≈ NZ$2,055) (≈ CHF 945) pp for two nights and two rounds it is the dearest per night on this page, and it is worth it. A week with its own spa for less money is Domaine de Saint Endreol at £825 (≈ €945) (≈ $1,105) (≈ CA$1,545) (≈ AU$1,565) (≈ NZ$1,895) (≈ CHF 875) pp. See the £895 (≈ €1,035) (≈ $1,195) (≈ CA$1,675) (≈ AU$1,695) (≈ NZ$2,055) (≈ CHF 945) dates at Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort.

Marrakech answers a different question: what if the non-golfer wants something to do rather than somewhere to lie? The souks fill a whole morning, mint tea and haggling included. Jardin Majorelle fills another. Kenzi Menara Palace opens the ladder at £530 (≈ €605) (≈ $705) (≈ CA$985) (≈ AU$1,005) (≈ NZ$1,215) (≈ CHF 555) pp for three nights and two rounds. Hotel & Ryads Barriere Le Naoura, £660 (≈ €755) (≈ $885) (≈ CA$1,235) (≈ AU$1,245) (≈ NZ$1,515) (≈ CHF 695) pp, sits at the edge of the medina and is the right base if your partner wants to walk everywhere, while the Fairmont Royal Palm at the same £660 (≈ €755) (≈ $885) (≈ CA$1,235) (≈ AU$1,245) (≈ NZ$1,515) (≈ CHF 695) pp is the resort answer, with the Atlas mountains behind the pool. Take the hammam. Both of you, after the second round.

Winter is the season here, when greens at home are roped off and Marrakech is shirtsleeve weather. See the £530 (≈ €605) (≈ $705) (≈ CA$985) (≈ AU$1,005) (≈ NZ$1,215) (≈ CHF 555) dates at Kenzi Menara Palace.

Belek is the all-inclusive case, and in January it is hard to argue with. Most British courses spend midwinter on mats and temporary greens. Belek stays open. Its hotels were built for exactly this trade, with indoor pools, spa floors and more restaurants than you have nights, so the non-golfer’s morning runs itself while you play.

Sueno Golf Hotel opens the list at £625 (≈ €715) (≈ $835) (≈ CA$1,165) (≈ AU$1,185) (≈ NZ$1,435) (≈ CHF 665) pp for five nights and two rounds, with Sirene Belek close behind at £640 (≈ €735) (≈ $855) (≈ CA$1,195) (≈ AU$1,205) (≈ NZ$1,465) (≈ CHF 675) pp. The couples pick is Voyage Belek Golf and Spa at £790 (≈ €905) (≈ $1,055) (≈ CA$1,475) (≈ AU$1,495) (≈ NZ$1,815) (≈ CHF 835) pp for a full week, pools and spa for one of you while the other plays. If the golfer wants four rounds, Cornelia Diamond at £855 (≈ €985) (≈ $1,145) (≈ CA$1,595) (≈ AU$1,615) (≈ NZ$1,965) (≈ CHF 905) pp is built for it. Worth knowing: the sea is cold in January, so you are there for the pools and the spa rather than the beach. See the £625 (≈ €715) (≈ $835) (≈ CA$1,165) (≈ AU$1,185) (≈ NZ$1,435) (≈ CHF 665) dates at Sueno.

Mauritius is where the question stops mattering, because the island is the holiday and the golf comes with it. Tamarina Golf & Spa Resort is the value route at £650 (≈ €745) (≈ $865) (≈ CA$1,215) (≈ AU$1,225) (≈ NZ$1,495) (≈ CHF 685) pp for seven nights and five rounds, a four-star above Tamarin Bay where dolphins pass close to shore in the early morning. The five-stars climb in steps from there: The Bay Club at Anahita at £775 (≈ €895) (≈ $1,035) (≈ CA$1,445) (≈ AU$1,465) (≈ NZ$1,775) (≈ CHF 825) pp, Heritage Le Telfair at £890 (≈ €1,025) (≈ $1,185) (≈ CA$1,665) (≈ AU$1,685) (≈ NZ$2,045) (≈ CHF 945) pp, Constance Belle Mare Plage at £920 (≈ €1,055) (≈ $1,225) (≈ CA$1,725) (≈ AU$1,745) (≈ NZ$2,115) (≈ CHF 975) pp with two courses of its own, and Heritage Awali at £940 (≈ €1,085) (≈ $1,255) (≈ CA$1,755) (≈ AU$1,775) (≈ NZ$2,155) (≈ CHF 995) pp. All are seven nights with a round for every day.

It is far. Around twelve hours in the air, and flights are an ATOL-protected add-on we quote separately rather than part of the package price. What the non-golfer gets in exchange is the Indian Ocean outside the room every morning for a week. See the £650 (≈ €745) (≈ $865) (≈ CA$1,215) (≈ AU$1,225) (≈ NZ$1,495) (≈ CHF 685) dates at Tamarina Golf & Spa Resort.

One more deserves its place: Costa Navarino on the west coast of the Peloponnese, where the Westin Resort starts at £665 (≈ €765) (≈ $885) (≈ CA$1,245) (≈ AU$1,255) (≈ NZ$1,525) (≈ CHF 705) pp and The Romanos at £920 (≈ €1,055) (≈ $1,225) (≈ CA$1,725) (≈ AU$1,745) (≈ NZ$2,115) (≈ CHF 975) pp, with four courses and enough beyond them, Voidokilia beach, the harbour town of Pylos, that we wrote a separate guide: Costa Navarino for couples.

The shortlist, one pick per destination:

We have been arranging golf travel since 1981 and hold 4.9 from 98 Google reviews. One named specialist handles your trip from first email onwards and replies personally. Tell us who plays and who does not, and which of these places your non-golfer would pick. We price it. Start with the Costa Navarino couples guide if you are leaning Greek.