Terms and Conditions – Overseas and UK Tours

All of the holidays by Golf Escapes on behalf of The Sport and Travel Group Ltd are sold subject to the following conditions:

Your Booking:

When you make your booking you must pay a non-refundable deposit of £50.00 to £75.00 per person (depending on number in party etc). Please note that we take all major cards (with the exception of AMEX).  We do levy a 2% surcharge for any deposit or balance paid by a commercial or corporate card and for any cards registered to a non-UK address.
A higher deposit may be required where we have bought additional travel arrangements specifically for your holiday, or where additional terms have been imposed on us by suppliers (eg most airlines now require air fares to be paid in full at the time of booking). You will be notified of your deposit conditions prior to confirmation by us of your booking. If an initial deposit is taken to secure the booking, it will be made clear in our confirmation when the balance of the deposit is payable.
The party leader must be at least 18 and must be authorised to make the booking on the basis of these booking conditions by all persons named on the booking. By paying monies to The Sport and Travel Group Ltd, the party leader confirms that he/she is so authorised and that all party members agree to be bound by these booking conditions. The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to us. You may make a booking by telephone or online.
If booking flights with us, it is imperative that correct passport names are given to us at the time of booking as changes in spellings often incur charges imposed on us by airlines.  Except as set out below, all telephone bookings will be provisional and will be held for 4 days pending receipt of your deposit/full payment as applicable. If your payment is not received within 4 days, the booking will automatically lapse. For telephone bookings where deposits are paid by credit/debit/charge card, a contract will come into existence once we send your confirmation invoice.
We must receive the balance of the holiday cost not less than 2 calendar months before departure. If you do not, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled, in which case you could be liable to pay us cancellation charges up to 100% of the invoice total in accordance with the cancellation charges set out below. It is therefore very important to pay before the deadline.
If the balance is paid after the due date, we reserve the right to levy a late payment fee of 2%.  If booking within 2 months of departure, the full cost of the holiday must be paid at the time of booking.
We can accept a maximum of 3 balance payments for any one individual invoice.  If more payments are made then an administration charge of £5.00 per extra payment will be levied. Please check your confirmation account, tickets, final itinerary and all other documents you receive from us immediately on receipt. You must contact us straight away if any information appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later.
When booking online, a rare instance may occur that your chosen hotel is not available. In this instance, we will offer you the option to change your holiday with relevant price decreases/increases, or an instant full refund of monies paid to us. We would suggest not committing to flights until you receive a full copy of your confirmation invoice from our office within 24 working hours. 

Price Guarantee:

The price of your holiday is that shown on your confirmation invoice, and is fully guaranteed and will not be subject to any surcharges other than any consumer levy or other new tax, duty or levy being introduced or the rate or application of any existing tax, duty or levy being increased or extended. This guarantee is subject to the conditions of payment being adhered to. We do however reserve the right to increase or decrease the web prices at any time.

If You Alter Your Booking:

If you decide to alter any booking details after we have accepted your booking and providing we are informed not later than two months prior to departure, a £50.00 per person administration fee  (according to the additional administration required) will be charged, plus any fees levied by airlines or other supplies. However, any change requested within two months will be treated as a cancellation and will be subject to charges below. Important note: name changes or departure changes are not always permitted by the carrier (the company that provides your transportation). We will do our best to help you, but most carriers treat name changes as cancellations and charge accordingly. Once airline tickets have been issued any changes made to the ticket may result in you having to pay for the cancelled ticket and purchasing a new ticket at full cost.  It is essential that the lead name on the booking is travelling on the holiday or there can be problems on arrival which we cannot be held responsible for.

If You Cancel Your Booking:

If you or any member of your party wish to cancel your booking or any part of it once it has been confirmed, you must do so by written notification to The Sport and Travel Group Ltd. To compensate The Sport and Travel Group Ltd for the expense of processing your booking, and for the risk that we may not be able to re-sell the holiday, we charge a cancellation fee as set out below. The amount payable depends on when we receive your written notice of cancellation – the more notice you give the less we will charge. In certain instances, green fees and/or flights will not be refundable.

Where there are free places involved, eg 1 free in 8, there are times when a reduction in numbers will not mean a reduction in overall holiday price.

Amount of cancellation fee (shown as % of the total holiday price, excluding green fees and / or flights in certain instances) but these can vary according to your destination property:

57+ days = DEPOSIT
43 – 56 days = 50%
22 – 42 days = 75%
0 – 21 days = 100%

Some suppliers, notably Turkey and UK, have different cancellation policies – available on request.

If some members of your party are forced to cancel, cancellation charges will be levied. Remaining passengers in the party must pay any increased costs for the holiday (eg under-occupancy charges on rooms and/or transport arrangements).

Insurance:

It is a condition of our accepting your booking that you have adequate personal travel insurance. It is your responsibility to ensure any insurance policy you take out meets your particular requirements. 

Changes & Cancellation by The Sport and Travel Group Ltd

Occasionally it may be necessary to amend the arrangements you have selected and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes are minor, but where they are substantial we will inform you as soon as is possible. A substantial change is one that we make to your holiday arrangements before departure that involves changing your airport of departure, or a difference of more than twelve hours in your departure time, or a change on your resort hotel, (a substantial change does not include any Government approved change of airport or schedule or change of accommodation imposed on The Sport and Travel Group Ltd by a supplier). You then have the choice of either: (a) accepting the changed arrangement as notified to you; (b) purchasing another available holiday from The Sport and Travel Group Ltd (c) cancelling your holiday, which may incur some charges (eg non-refundable air tickets).

Force Majeure:

Compensation payments do not apply where performance of our contract with you is prevented by risk of war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, technical problems to transport, closure or congestion of airports or ports, cancellations or changes of schedules by suppliers and similar events beyond our control.

Extraordinary Circumstances:

Extraordinary Circumstances would be a situation beyond the control of either party and the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. This may cover such eventualities as warfare, terrorism, risk to well-being such as the outbreak of a serious disease at the travel destination, or natural disasters which make it impossible to travel safely to the destination. If, as a result of Extraordinary Circumstances, you are unable to travel to your destination, your refund will be in the form of a holiday voucher with unlimited validity. We will be unable to accept responsibility if we have to change your booking after departure, or if we cannot provide services as booked, or if you suffer any loss, as a result of Extraordinary Circumstances.

Special Requests:

Please note all special requests clearly on the booking form at the time of booking. We will pass these on to the supplier(s) concerned.

Liability:

We have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that proper arrangements have been made for the holidays offered in this brochure and accept full responsibility for the quality of your holiday as confirmed to you. The Sport and Travel Group Ltd accepts responsibility for the acts or omissions of its employees, agents, suppliers and sub-contractors whilst acting within the scope of or in the course of their employment, agency or contract of supply. In the event that you or a member of your party suffers illness, injury or death as a result of any negligence on the part of our staff, agents, suppliers or their employers, we accept full responsibility as understood in English Law. We will not be liable where this was caused by the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or those of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday arrangements and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or an event which either ourselves or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have foreseen or avoided even with all due care. All holiday arrangements are subject to the conditions of the relevant supplier, some of which limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with international conventions. You are deemed to have accepted these conditions, which are available on request from the suppliers direct.

Covid-19: Limitation of liability:

Whilst acknowledging the COVID-19 pandemic and our associated responsibilities, we will have no liability for any refunds, costs, expenses, compensation or any other losses incurred by you in the following circumstances:

1) If you, or anyone in your booking party, test positive for Covid-19 and have to quarantine for a period of time, or have or may have, come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 (or where they otherwise suspect they may have Covid-19) and have to self-isolate for a period of time.

2) If you, or anyone in your booking party, live in an area under local lockdown restrictions and are unable to travel as a result.

If this happens within 14 days of your travel date, you must contact us and we will offer you these options:  

–          Postponing your holiday to a later date. There may be cost implications due to seasonal price changes and/or cancellation charges for the original reservation(s). If not everyone on the booking is affected, you will have the right to transfer your place on the holiday to another person nominated by you.

–          Cancelling your holiday, in which case our standard cancellation charges will apply. You may be able to re-claim these costs back from your travel insurance.

If this happens whilst you are away, please advise us as soon as possible and we will assist as we can. However, we will not be responsible for covering the cost of any curtailment of your holiday, missed travel arrangements, extra accommodation costs, or other associated costs incurred by you.  It is your responsibility to ensure that you have travel insurance for these eventualities.

3) If you fail any Covid-related tests or fail to submit for testing or assessment when requested to do so, and as such you are denied access to any contracted supplier or if you are unable to proceed with the holiday, or that part of the holiday.

Our contracted airlines, accommodations, golf courses and airline suppliers may well have measures in place to limit the impact of Covid-19 locally including but not limited to social distancing and mask wearing. We do not expect these measures to have a significant impact on your enjoyment of the holiday and all measures will be taken with the purpose of securing your safety and those around you.

Flights:

The times quoted on your final itinerary are local times. It is essential for you to check in at least 2 hours before the flight departure time. You must check your tickets and/or final itinerary very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after documents have been dispatched – we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs. The vast majority of airlines operate a no smoking policy on flights and increasingly, many airlines do not actually have paper tickets, just a computer generated reference number.

Baggage Allowance:

Luggage and carriage of golfing equipment is at each airline’s discretion and charges are now commonly made. Only in extremely rare occurrences is carriage refused and in such cases clubs left behind are flown out as soon as possible. The baggage allowance on most airlines is 20 kgs with extra varying allowances for carriage of golf clubs.  Baggage allowances vary depending upon destination and airline. We will endeavour at all times to inform you of each airline’s policy on carriage of golf clubs, but we cannot be held responsible for charges made direct to clients by airlines for carriage of clubs.

Descriptions:

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of descriptions and information. However, we are not always able to control all the components of the holiday arrangements and it is possible that an advertised facility may be withdrawn or changed, due to weather conditions, lack of demand or for maintenance, renovations, etc. We will advise you if we become aware of a major change.

Building Work & Noise:

Building work and the resulting noise from sites adjacent to any properties featured in the brochure/on the website may occur at any time during the season. Many resorts are continuing their development and at times local works may be taking place or may be planned. Where we are aware that such works are likely to occur during your holiday and may in our opinion significantly affect your enjoyment of it, we will advise you. If you are unhappy with the situation, we will endeavour to offer you alternative accommodation (with you paying or receiving a refund in respect of any price difference). As you will appreciate, building works are often carried out by third parties over whom we have no control. Furthermore they are frequently intermittent and we may only become aware that they are taking place when they actually commence. Unless building works are being carried out by our own suppliers or sub-contractors, we regret we cannot pay any compensation or otherwise accept liability even if you are offered alternative accommodation or a refund as a result. If the building works are being performed by or on behalf of our own suppliers or sub-contractors and will have a significant effect on the enjoyment of your holiday, we will pay you compensation accordingly.

Car Hire & Transfers:

Details of car insurance cover and any extra charges will be advised at the time of booking.  Where a car is booked, unless otherwise specified in your travel documents, it will be waiting for you at the airport and should be returned there at the end of the holiday. If you want to have your car delivered to your accommodation, an extra charge may be payable. Each car hire company has its own terms concerning the provision and payment of petrol, which is not included in the holiday cost. Cars will be insured locally subject to local requirements and will be equipped in accordance with that country’s laws. We have arranged car hire with reputable car rental firms whose standard form of contract (which may limit or exclude the car hire firm’s liability to you) you will be asked to sign on arrival. This specifies the minimum required insurance cover (note: if personal accident insurance is required it is payable on collection of the car). Out of hours charges and insurance excess waivers may be payable – again we will advise you. You should be aware that in certain countries insurance cover will be invalidated if the driver is found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Further, car hire firms reserve the right to refuse to hire a car if in their opinion you are or appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Additional drivers may be added to a car rental contract at the point of rental subject to proof of identity and possession of a valid driving licence.

If you prefer not to drive on holiday, we can arrange transfers for you. All transfer prices are based on groups arriving on the same flight, supplements may apply if your group is arriving on different flights. When airport transfers are quoted, it is assumed you will be flying to the nearest airport to your accommodation.

Golf Arrangements:

When you book your holiday, we will ask you for your preferred Tee Times. We will then pass on your request to our offices overseas or direct to the golf courses, who will do their best to obtain tee times as close as possible to those requested. The golf included with each holiday may be changed to other courses due to non-availability of the requested course and the difference in price will be charged or refunded. Once we have received confirmation of your times from the golf clubs, we will notify you in writing.

Please note:

1. Amendments and cancellations to confirmed golf within 30 days of departure may be subject to 100% cancellation charges.
2. Once your golf times have been confirmed by the golf clubs, we reserve the right to charge an amendment fee if you decide to change them.
3. Vouchers will be issued for green fees paid to us. These will be dispatched with travel documents or provided in resort and should be presented at the golf club a minimum of 20 minutes prior to play commencing.
4. Unused vouchers will not be refunded unless course closure has prevented play. In such cases written confirmation from the club concerned or our local representative is required before a refund can be made. This also applies to tee-times booked for the arrival day if unable to play due to delays etc.
5. Local golf taxes, golf insurance and federation fees, if applicable, are payable by you direct to the golf club.
6. Some golf courses require a valid handicap certificate. It is your responsibility to ensure that a valid certificate is available for presentation locally if required and that your handicap meets with the requirements of the particular courses you wish to play.
7. Where you request specific start times we will endeavour to arrange these. We reserve the right to vary both the start times and courses after they have been confirmed. Golf course management reserve the right to change tee-times at their discretion without prior notification. You are therefore advised to check in resort in advance.
8. Many courses only permit play as 4 ball games and golfers booking in smaller parties may be teamed up where necessary. Please note that golf courses will always reserve the right to make you up into 4-balls, this could result in you playing with people that are not part of your group.
9. Unless otherwise stated, golf trolleys, carts and buggies are not included in the cost.
10. We cannot be held responsible for the actual playing condition of courses, including changes caused by periodic course maintenance. We tell the courses to advise us of any planned maintenance but this does not always happen. We will notify you if your round coincides with maintenance that we are aware of.
11. We cannot be held responsible for any accident occurring while playing golf, or taking part in any other sporting activity. It is essential that you have Travel Insurance with sufficient specific golf and sports cover to include public liability while playing.
12. We cannot be held liable for non-availability of buggies at golf courses. These should be requested at the time of booking.
13. In cases where we have invoiced incorrectly, we reserve the right to correct the client’s invoice to what was quoted.  This does not affect the cancellation terms and conditions.
14. Many hotels charge a local (City) Tax – this cannot be paid in advance by ourselves and must be paid direct to the Hotel.  We are not responsible for such payments.

If You Wish To Complain:

Should you have a complaint, you must discuss it at the time with the hotel, golf course, transfer company or car rental company, or with us or our local representatives. We are unable to consider complaints or claims for compensation if we have not been notified during your stay.  All complaints must be received in writing within 14 days of you departure from the hotel.
Should you feel your complaint has not been handled correctly, you have the right to use ABTA’s Arbitration Scheme https://abta.com/holiday-help-and-complaints/abtas-adr-scheme

Tickets & Documents:

Your travel itineraries, documents and vouchers will be emailed or posted to you approximately 10 days prior to travel. Please check your documents thoroughly when you receive them.

Passports, Visas & Health Requirements:

It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of a valid passport and, if necessary, any visa. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation.

Please note, the information and prices shown on our website may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the brochure and our website and prices at the time of publishing, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking. All on line bookings remain subject to availability until written confirmation is received from our suppliers and a confirmation invoice is issued to you by The Sport and Travel Group Ltd. Please note receipt of a booking overview email does not constitute a confirmation invoice.

Financial Security:

All monies paid to The Sport and Travel Group Ltd are protected:

When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.

We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).

If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.”

If you make your own flight arrangements, your holiday payments are protected by our bond provided to ABTA. Our ABTA number is Y1665.

For the latest travel advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office including security and local laws, plus passport and visa information, please click here 

Golf Escapes is a trading name of The Sport & Travel Group Ltd, registered address St Andrews House, Cinder Hill, Horsted Keynes, West Sussex, RH17 7BA, UK.
Registered in England & Wales Company Number 04376255