As I may have mentioned earlier in the year, when I book trips for my group we prefer to stay in a house over a hotel. It's cheaper for the stay and allows us to have a kitchen, BBQ, bedrooms and a common area. This year was no different and using Golf Zoo as our booking agent, they had plenty of options.
I'll get this part on the table right away. The booking of the house was not as smoothe as I would have liked it. We booked our trip with one house and after we were all paid (about 30 days prior to our trip), Golf Zoo contacted me saying we couldn't have the house we had booked. Frustrating yes but more important was finding a new home. We went through two more houses before settling on the one below. In one case I was told we had the house, I sent an e-mail to one of the guys in our group to show him the house and then received an e-mail from Golf Zoo stating we could not have that house. A little frustrating but the people at Golf Zoo did work with me and the "crisis" was resolved a couple of weeks before we went.
(Our house at Bayside Golf Resort)
Arrival & The House
Checking in was easy. ResortQuest, the property manager, had everything ready for us when we arrived at 12:30pm. Check-in wasn't until 3pm and the house was not ready so we played a round whole waiting. One of the benefits of staying where you're playing is the course is right there.
The house was exactly as described to us by Golf Zoo and ResortQuest. It had 5br, 5.5 baths, BBQ area, screened in porch, balcony from 2nd floor bedrooms, and a game room with a pool/ping pong table, large flatscreen, arcade game and bar. The house had more TV's than we could ever use in a month but it's always a nice feature especially during college football season.
(Table on the screened in porch. A couch was to my left and you can see the gas grill in the back)
(Patio in back with table, chairs and gas grill)
Location, Location, Location
I believe those are the three most important things in real estate and it holds true for when you book your house or hotel. We wanted to stay on one of the courses we were playing and be close to the other courses. This house, at the Bayside Resort in Selbyville, DE, allowed us to do that. The furthest course (Rum Pointe) was in Berlin, MD, about 30 miles away. When we played Bear Trap Dunes, it was just under 10 miles and finally Bayside was our front yard.
(A view of the Bayside Resort 18th Green and Clubhouse from our 2nd floor balcony.)
Staying on one of the courses we played was great. We did this in 2008 when we played in Ocean City, MD. We had a house on River Run Golf Course and it worked out perfectly. Here at Bayside, there was a clubhouse (restaurant/bar) on the site and , a Harris Teeter (grocery store), Subway, and PNC Bank connected at the entrance. The liquor store and gas station were less than a mile from the entrance. Having everything so close was ideal and made the trip more enjoyable.
In the end the house worked out perfect and it may have been a blessing the first few houses didn't work out. It had everything we needed and the location was excellent. I would highly recommend this house for any golf trip.
Want more information about this house? Visit the site here: ResortQuest Signature Blvd House
Recap for Booking Your House
- Know where you want to play: If you know the location of where you're golfing, you can find a house to fit your needs close by.
- Know your group: Know how many people do you have? How many bathrooms/bedrooms do you need? What's most important in a house? Will you be eating in or dining out?
- How many beds do you need: Just because a house "sleeps 12" doesn't mean it sleeps 12 adult men on a golf trip. It could be 6 king size beds. Be sure to ask about how many beds and sleeping situation.
- What can't you live without: For us, it's a bbq (grill). We used it 3 of the four nights and used the kitchen to cook breakfast. If there is something that's a priority to you, find a house that has it.
Want more golf tips? Check out my updated Golf Trip Page!
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