Alsace is well known for its beautiful scenery, good food (it has more Michelin starred restaurants than any other region of France other than Paris), wine, and welcoming people. Now it also has a growing reputation as a golf holiday destination. For the 2010 season the region has produced a new golf brochure (Let’s Go(lf) in Alsace) which includes information on a selection of Alsace’s attractive, uncrowded and value for money courses which are ready to welcome golfers of all standards from the UK.

Listed amongst the thirty most outstanding courses of continental Europe and ranked No 2 in France by the authoritative Peugeot Golf Guide is the 18-hole, championship standard, par 72 Kempferhof course (www.golf-kempferhof.com) at Plobsheim, 15 km from Strasbourg. It was designed by the famous course architect Robert Von Hagge and is set in over 200 acres. Adjoining the course is the 29 room Kempferhof Hotel, located in a 17th Century stately home. The accommodation includes five suites, each one being dedicated to a famous movie star.

Golfers who like a challenge should head for the Golf de Soufflenheim course (www.golfclub-soufflenheim.com) designed by former Masters Champion Bernhard Langer. The course, within easy reach of Strasbourg, has 18 lakes and is set in 270 acres of peaceful, undulating countryside. However bring extra balls as Soufflenheim has the reputation of being the third most difficult course in France! The course hotel has 15 rooms and there is a club house restaurant and bar. Golf coaching is available for children aged 8-18.

Golf de la Wantzenau (www.golf-wantzenau.fr)is also close to Strasbourg and is an 18-hole course which offers free lessons on Sundays and has a specially designed training school for under 18’s. The course has a clubhouse with a restaurant and bar plus a pro shop selling all the necessary gear. For beginners there is a compact four hole course and synthetic and grass practice areas.

The Ammerschwihr Trois-Epis course (www.golf-ammerschwihr.com) is only 10 km from Colmar and is situated in a beautiful setting, surrounded by vineyards and forests. The undulating 18-hole par 72 course is 5,386 yards in length and offers a range of different challenges. There is also a 9-hole compact course plus driving range and a Pro Shop and restaurant. The four-star Domaine du Golf Ammerschwihr Trois Epis hotel is next to the course.

The Alsace Golf Club course at Rouffach (www.alsacegolfclub.com) has a links feel and beautiful panoramic views of the Vosges Mountains and the stunning Alsatian wine route. The par 72 18-hole course has a practice area with three practice holes and a driving range and the clubhouse is set in a historic water mill complex.

A favourite family orientated course is Golf des Bouleaux (T: 3389555507; E: info@golf-bouleaux.asso.fr) at Wittelsheim close to Mulhouse. The par 72, 18-hole course has an academy which runs lessons for both adults and children. It was built in 1984 and claims to be the cheapest golf course in Alsace! The course has over 90 acres of breathtaking countryside and a delicious restaurant offering a wide variety of dishes and Alsatian specialities.

Another course just 30 km from Mulhouse is the Golf de la Largue (www.golf-lalargue.com) which was built in 1988. It has an 18-hole par 72 course and a 9-hole practice course designed in the heart of a magnificent forest surrounded by ponds and lakes and crossed by the river La Largue. The club features one of the best restaurants in the region and Le Petit Cohlberg hotel is a short drive from the course.

Golf Planet Holidays (www.golfplanetholidays.com 01277 824100) offers a four night self drive break at the Kempferhof Hotel from £599 pp. The price includes two rounds of golf at Kempferhof, one at Golf de la Wantzenau and one at Golf de Soufflenheim, bed and breakfast accommodation based on two people sharing and Eurotunnel travel for a car and passengers.

Independent travel to Alsace from the UK is easy with Air France flights from London City to Strasbourg while British Airways and Easyjet fly from Heathrow and Gatwick respectively to the European Airport near Mulhouse.The increasingly popular train takes just over five hours from London to Strasbourg( Eurostar to Paris and the TGV Est to Strasbourg,Colmar and Mulhouse).

For more information on golfing in Alsace visit www.golfsinalsace.com or to discover all that the region of Alsace has to offer visit www.tourism-alsace.com. Copies of the new Lets Go (lf) in Alsace brochure are available from both organisations.

The award-winning country house hotel, Headlam Hall, is to be the base for a range of Golf Coaching Breaks and Holidays this year.

Guests will have the chance to improve their game whilst enjoying a relaxing short break at Headlam Hall, one of the north east’s leading country house hotels. Headlam has a £2.5 million Spa, tennis court, croquet lawn, and is situated in 250 acres of rolling Teesdale countryside, near the market town of Barnard Castle.

Headlam Golf Course, which lies adjacent to the hotel and spa, is a superb USGA specification 9-hole course set over mature rolling pasture land, with an abundance of natural features. There is also a 10-bay covered driving range, a chipping area and practice putting green. The resident professional is Steven Carpenter, who has been qualified and teaching for over 20 years in both the UK and Germany.

The two night Golf Coaching Package is available throughout 2010, and includes accommodation in a double or twin room, full English breakfast daily, two-course a la carte dinner each night, 3 ½ hours’ golf tuition, and unlimited use of the excellent 9-hole course and the hotel’s spa facilities. The tuition can include long game, short game and putting, and 9 holes on course with the Pro for visualisation, golf strategy and shot execution, is per couple and is taken in 30-minute sessions.

Book to stay at Pine Cliffs Residence before 15 January 2010 for a stay between 15 May and 15 October 2010 and you will save 20% off the cost of your accommodation. To qualify for this offer you just need to pay 50% before 15 January 2010, and name changes are not allowed once the deposit has been paid.

All Pine Cliffs Residence apartments are fully air-conditioned/heated and feature a fully equipped kitchen, washing machine, and dryer. Layouts range from two to three bedrooms and offer assorted views over the resort of the golf course, the superb garden areas or the surrounding mountains.

At the resort guests can escape from it all and unwind with a range of massages and body treatments from the à la carte menu at the Health Club, improve their swing on the landscaped driving range, take a round on the cliff-top nine-hole golf course, play a match on the newly-refurbished tennis courts, take a dip in one of five swimming pools or simply stroll along the beach, accessible by a discreet lift set back in the cliffs, which is unique to the resort. Pine Cliffs offers a wide variety of bars and restaurants to choose from and the resort’s restaurants all have special children’s tableware as well as healthier menu options. In three of the restaurants, the O’Grill, Corda Café and Jardim Colonial, a special dinner buffet is prepared for kids every evening.

Pine Cliffs Resort is just 25 minutes from Faro airport and flights are available with Aer Lingus from £40 return www.aerlingus.com flying from London Gatwick.

The CEO of the prestigious La Manga Club resort in south-east Spain is backing the decision to include golf within the Olympic Games from 2016.

La Manga Club’s Adrian Constant applauded the announcement, commenting: “We are absolutely delighted with this news as golf is in need of re-energising and this development will give the sport a substantial boost.

“It will certainly influence our future investment strategy as we believe having golf as an Olympic sport will lead to a new breed of youngsters wanting to learn the game and a global expansion in golf participation.”

La Manga Club has a distinguished pedigree in providing world-class golf and sporting facilities which include three 18-hole golf courses with state-of-the-art practice facilities and a dazzling selection of professional sports pitches and 28-court tennis centre. Notable guests have included some of Britain’s most decorated Olympic athletes, including Sir Steve Redgrave and Daley Thompson.

Constant added: “We have been at the forefront of golf resort development for almost 40 years and this is excellent news for everyone involved in the game, from major equipment suppliers to the local golf club or driving range and for professional golfers, amateurs and beginners alike.”

To celebrate, La Manga Club has launched a number of golf-specific promotions for the coming winter including “Unlimited Golf” and “Best Golf & More” packages. Prices start from €99 per person per night and include breakfast, a daily green-fee on a choice of the three courses, 50 per cent savings on buggy and club hire and complimentary sunshine. More details available on www.promotions.lamangaclub.com