The golf trip is changing shape. A new study out this week from 18Players, conducted jointly with the International Golf Travel Market (IGTM), confirms something a lot of destinations have been feeling anecdotally for a while: the course is still the reason for the trip, but it’s no longer the whole trip.
Nearly 8 in 10 respondents — 78.9% — said they’d rather book a destination that combines golf with strong lifestyle offerings than one known purely for its courses. That’s not a minor preference shift. It suggests golfers are increasingly shopping the way any other traveler shops: for a full experience, not a single amenity.
Food Is the New Front Nine
If there’s one category driving that shift, it’s dining. A striking 83.6% of respondents said high-quality local cuisine and upscale dining would do the most to elevate a golf holiday — putting food ahead of nearly every other trip consideration in the study. Resorts already leaning into that expectation, like Costa Navarino in Greece and Hotel Finca Cortesin in Spain, are treating their restaurants as a core part of the golf product, not an amenity bolted on afterward — seasonal menus and regional wine programs built with the same intention as the course itself.
It’s a notable evolution for an industry that has spent decades marketing yardage, slope ratings and signature holes. Increasingly, the fairway is the appetizer.
Culture, Wellness, and the Non-Golfer in the Group
Just over half of respondents (56.3%) rated wellness programming, scenic surroundings, and cultural experiences as very or extremely important when choosing a golf trip. Properties like Cornelia Hotels Golf & Spa in Turkey have leaned into that demand with heritage tours, guided excursions, and artisan workshops layered into their packages — giving guests reasons to leave the course without leaving the property’s orbit.
That matters more than it might have a decade ago, because golf trips increasingly aren’t solo golf trips. Nearly 8 in 10 respondents (79.2%) said they’d consider traveling with a larger group of friends or relatives, and when it comes to picking a destination that works for golfers and non-golfers traveling together, quality dining (73.1%) and a genuine mix of non-golf activities (70.9%) topped the list of deciding factors.
In other words: the person booking the trip is thinking about the whole group, not just the tee sheet.
What It Means for Destinations
Fiona Ashton, Event Manager for IGTM, put it plainly in comments tied to the study: the modern golf traveler wants more than tee times, and that’s reshaping how resorts, destinations, and travel companies have to market themselves. Golf remains the anchor — but the destinations winning right now are the ones that can also answer the dinner question, the “what does my spouse do at 2pm” question, and the “is there anything to actually see here” question.
For destinations and resorts building out their next season’s marketing, the takeaway is straightforward: leading with the course and hoping the rest sells itself is no longer enough. The trip has to be pitched — and built — as a whole experience.
The research will be discussed further at IGTM 2026 in Cannes this October, where golf travel suppliers, buyers, and media convene to compar
