When it gets faster and easier to travel to great golf destinations, there's cause for celebration.
And in recent years, there's been a bunch to celebrate.
New highways, airplane routes -- even new ferry services -- have shaved off a lot of the time and hassle to reach these hotspots.
Check out some of our favorite "shortcuts" below.
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.
Bandon has never been easy to reach by air, but now you can fly nonstop from Denver (DEN) to Southwest Oregon Regional Airport (OTH), in North Bend, just under 40 minutes north of of the resort. Operated by United Airlines, the flights will run on Sundays and Wednesdays from June 12 to October 5, via 70-seat CRJ-700 jets.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
A new road option, toll road Highway 1D, was completed in the middle of last year and it shaves 20 minutes off the trip from Los Cabos International Airport to the Cabo San Lucas resort district. Previously, this trip required a stop-and-go, 45-minute ride along old Route 1.
Dominican Republic
The Autopista del Coral -- "Coral Highway" -- has slashed travel times between the two leading golf hotspots: Punta Cana and La Romana (home of the Casa de Campo resort), so you can play courses in both areas on a single trip. What used to be a two-hour drive now takes a mere 40 minutes, thanks to the highway's wide lanes and 70 mile per hour speed limit.
Palm Springs, Calif.
The airport (PSP) in this hotbed of golf is now reachable via nonstop flights from John F Kennedy Airport (JFK) in New York on JetBlue. Furthermore, previously-seasonal flights from San Francisco (SFO) are now serving Palm Springs year-round, courtesy of Virgin America.
New York, NY
If you find yourself in New York City and you want to play the new Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx, forget your car or even a car service...and hop a New York City Bus. The Q44 and the Q50 (which may expedite the trip due to dedicated bus lanes) stop near Ferry Point Park.
Puerto Rico
Nonstop flights into Aguadilla (BQN) airport bring one of our favorite resorts, Royal Isabela within a 30-minute drive (the ride from San Juan airport (SJU) takes nearly two hours). Starting on July 1, 2016, you can fly from New York's Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) in Islip to Aguadilla on National Airlines. National will also be starting service between Aguadilla and Orlando's secondary Sanford airport (SFB).
Orlando, Fla.
Speaking of Sanford Airport, it is becoming an increasingly legitimate alternative for golfers looking to visit the Orlando area, especially if you are originating from cities served by up-and-coming Allegiant airlines. The carrier recently announced flights between Sanford and Akron, Ohio; Wichita, Kansas; El Paso, Texas; and Evansville, Indiana, which will commence as early as May 19, 2016.
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Allegiant will also be starting summer service to Myrtle Beach (MYR) from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (MDT); Toledo, Ohio (TOL); and Stewart/Newburgh (SWF), New York. These flights will also commence as early as May 19.
Scotland
There are a number of magical links up in the west of Scotland, but they also happen to be among the toughest-to-reach golf courses in the world. But if you want to access the links at Machrihanish on the Mull of Kintyre or The Machrie on the Isle of Islay, look into the Kintrye Express ferry service, which shortens the trip from several hours to about 45 minutes from the Northern Irish city of Ballycastle. Once at your port of call, Kintyre Express can arrange transportation to your golf destination of choice. And since that part of the world is famous for its whiskey distilleries, that sort of tour can be arranged as well.
What shortcuts do you know that make it faster or easier to get to your favorite golf destinations? Please share them with us and your fellow Golf Vacation Insider readers below!
A great many Canadian Golfers travel to Myrtle Beach at this time of year hoping to start the golf season a little earlier than we can at home. Flying Porter Airlines out of the Toronto Island Airport is so much less stressful and time consuming (you can be there just an hour before flight time - not 3 hours) than flying out of Pearson Airport. Try it - I guarantee you'll like it - and with an early morning flight - you will be playing golf by 1:00pm !!
Ireland: The Shannon Estuary Ferry (easily arranged online for €20) makes Doonbeg and Lahinch accessible to a Killarney based trip to Ballybunion,Tralee etc. This probably saves at least 90 minutes each way.