Golf is a very fashionable sport in Europe, a fashion that does not fades. The popularity of golf begins at the western extremity, in the British Isles, and reaches the eastern tips of the continent, that is Turkey, Greece, Croatia and Russia. In 2005, the sports magazine Golf Digest counted some 32,000 golf courses around the world, over 6,500 of them being in Europe and an increasing number located in Greece. According to the Hellenic Golf Federation, there are 1,200 active members registered in golf in Greece and the Greek islands apart from the thousands of occasional players who come to this country on vacation. Information about golf holidays and clubs Greece offers the ideal conditions for golf holidays, as its good weather and a good amount of hours of sunshine along the year, are more than enough to play golf, a favourite sport that many people play while enjoying their holidays. That is one of the reasons why golf in Greece has emerged and the country offers a broad variety of opportunities to play golf. As golf in Greece has been one of the sports that enjoy a remarkable popularity in recent years and has gained large numbers of fans too, several golf courses operate throughout the country today, where thousands of golfists do this relaxing sport all year round. Some of the golf courses in Greece that meet the international standard of 18 holes are found in Athens, Corfu island, Rhodes island, Halkidiki and Crete island. Although golf in Greece is not as popular as in some other European countries, it has become pretty well-known in the last decade as the Greek tourism policy focuses on finding alternative ways to attract visitors, except for traditional tourism. The cause for success in golfing has to do with some golfing projects being developed in strategic areas and combined with other forms of alternative tourism such as religious and cultural trips, eco-tourism and weekend tours.
