Argentina isn’t on the GPS of most golf travelers, but it should be, and here’s why.

The outskirts of civilization hold particular appeal to me – especially those off-the-beaten-track places where you’ll find few human footprints, or in this case, cleat marks from golf shoes. When it comes to golf, you can have your Floridas and Myrtle Beaches and all the other same-old destinations. I say, vive la difference!

Recently, I dragged my Cobra driver and Hogan irons to Tunisia in North Africa, and the Czech Republic. Both are hardly golfing hotbeds, but in each case, the challenging courses, and the wonderful après golf was a pleasant surprise. We’re talking legacy stuff here. Trips to tell your kids and grandkids about. Which brings me to the subject of this travel-golf piece. Instead of “vive la difference”, perhaps I should start by saying, “Bienvenidos a Argentina!” I’m talking about one of the best and most out-of-the-way golfing venues in the world – a place where 99.9 per cent of Canadians may never set foot – let alone leave their cleat marks. And that’s a big mistake.

Argentina has everything a golfing troubadour desires. Courses: There are nearly 300 in a country that stretches 5,000 kilometers from north to south. Weather: Golf is played here 12 months a year, and although weather conditions vary, the country is located in the southern hemisphere, meaning: while Canadians are freezing their butts off, Argentina in January and February is at its hottest and most golf-friendly. After-golf fun: this country offers history, art, amazing natural terrain, spectacles galore, great gastronomy, and perhaps the finest wines and wine tours on the planet. And its courses might be the best-kept secret in golfdom.

Golf vacations can be pre-designed to fit any player’s wants. There are 12-day packages to Buenos Aires and Cordoba that include golf at the historic Jockey Club, Olivos Golf Club, Cordoba Golf Club (home to two-time majors champion Angel Cabrera), and dozens of other world-class venues. The package also includes Tango dinner shows, and stays at some of the finest hotels in Argentina. The country is divided into golfing zones, with Buenos Aires front and centre on any itinerary, but other zones like Tandil, Cordoba, the Atlantic coast, Mendoza and Patagonia are equally intriguing and dotted with first-class golfing venues.

At first blush, Canadians might balk at the extra-long distance to get there. It’s because few know much about this country of 40 million. Fewer still might recognize the golfing hotspots.

But the rich experiences that await you there are endless, says another golfing vagabond, David Wood. “Argentina might well be the most underrated golf destination in the world,” he bubbles. “From Ushuaia Golf Club at the southern tip of the continent to Salta Golf Club at the base of the Andes to numerous world-class layouts in and around Buenos Aires, Argentina is filled with wonderful locales to tee-it-up.”

Wood, an American with a single-digit handicap, knows well of what he speaks. This former stand-up comedian with several David Letterman appearances once wrote a seminal book on golf and travel: ‘Around the World in 80 Courses.’ He chased his golf ball from the Land of the Midnight Sun to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. It was a funny, insightful and historical romp over land, sea, desert, tundra and mountaintop. One of his most obscure stops was the 9-hole Ushiaia Golf Club in Argentina, the southernmost course in the world. It was one of his greatest experiences in a 60,000-kilometer, 22-country trek. But Wood is a serious golfer, and his Argentine trip also included plenty of time in the “regular” part of the country. He quickly fell in love with the whole experience.

“As a golf destination, Argentina combines glorious sights, beautiful people and a prevailing zest for life,” he says. Wood’s advice to winter-weary Canadians looking for a unique golf experience: “Get down there [Argentina] as quick as you can with golf clubs in tow.”

Here is a Reader’s Digest synopsis of the top destinations in the country.

Buenos Aires: the courses here run the gamut, from traditional clubs that are 100+ years old, to modern-day American-style layouts like Buenos Aires Golf Club, one of the hosts of this year’s World Amateur Championships.

Patagonia: breathtaking landscapes and courses like the first Jack Nicklaus design in South America, the Chapelco Golf & Resort.

Mendoza: How about a round at the Club de Campo Mendoza, surrounded by the Andes Range? And what would a round be without an after-18 tour of one of the exquisite Argentine wineries?

Cordoba: More than 20 courses dot the area, including Cabrera’s club in Ville Allende.

Mar del Plata: The courses named after the area is a traditional golf links. Wood tried to drink in his Argentinean golf experience in one gulp. His still remembers his most tasty round. “I loved the Campo Publico de Golf Juan B. Segura – one of Argentina’s truly public golf courses – right in the middle of bustling Buenos Aires with high rise apartment buildings surrounding the vast city park. It’s like having a great public golf course right in Central Park of New York City. Plus with the exchange rate, I think the green fee was $6 USD.” For North Americans, Argentina is still considered terra incognita, but that’s changing as travel times are shortened.

Golfers with a lust for something different are starting to look farther south than Florida or the Caribbean for their golfing fix. Is golf on in the ascendancy in Argentina? You bet. New courses are springing up every month. More than 100,000 Argentineans are now playing the game – thousands more since Cabrera scored his stunning success as a Masters and U.S. Open champ.

Argentina is a safe country, and this vast land space has a delightful variety of landscapes to visit and marvel at – from the Andes to the west, to the vast Pampas plains in the centre, and the wildness of the Tierra del Fuego region in the wild south. Of course, the other draw, the main draw, is Buenos Aires, the Paris of South America, and golf central for the sports minded traveler. With the 2016 Olympics coming to South America (Brazil), and golf re-emerging as a medal sport, there’s no doubt that Argentina will continue to produce world class players.

If you have a lust for the game, and a curiosity about playing far from the maddening crowds of North America, then South American might be just the ticket. Patagonia Golf is the largest golf and travel company in Argentina, providing tailor-made itineraries. Based in Buenos Aires, it allows you to play the best private clubs in the country. How about a round at the historic Jockey Club, a visit to the incredible Iguazu Waterfalls, and/or a lovely little side trip to a local winery?

It’s all available in a country just now emerging as a golf and travel destination. Wood, for one, recommends it highly. He says his book just wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to South America’s greatest golfing destination.

The Traveling Golfer will be reporting on his visit to Argentina commencing with the November issue. Over a 10 day period the Traveling Golfer will be visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina’s wine region Mendoza, Patagonia and a special side trip to visit the most southerly golf course in the world in Usuahia the world’s most southerly city.

For more general information on golf in Argentina visit www.argentina.travel or to customize a vacation visit www.patagoniagolf.com.

By By Rick Drennan