Back in 1989 Rob was asked to handle all of Johnnie Walker’s golf arrangements in South Africa, which included the regular golf days, Pro Ams and tournaments in the country, but also over 20 tours to Ryder Cups, British Opens and World Championships. Johnnie Walker was a significant worldwide golf sponsor in the 90’s and the opportunity to learn from this was immense. In 1999, Johnnie Walker pulled out of golf sponsorship and Rob decided it was time to set up his own golf management company aimed at the keen golfer rather than competitive golfers. From a very small base, he grew the company to the point where up to 17 tours were being handled annually. The South African market was close to saturation, so he started inviting golfers from other countries. By 2013 tours were being handled in Ireland and Vietnam and in just about every golf market in between.
The following year, Ray joined the company and brought his background of adventure and IT to add to the company which had developed over the previous 15 years. Ray’s interests in categories beyond golf opened the way for not only non-golfing tours but also new golfing destinations in non-traditional golf tour regions.
Big changes had been planned for 2020, but the Covid pandemic slowed down the plans. Moving the company to the Netherlands went ahead in order to offer easier access to the tour packages for travellers from around the world, and to ensure the high Dutch governance standards would add further to the company’s high ranking by its clients.
With the new company came a name change to better fit with the company’s offerings. And so The Golf Travel Company became THE TRAVEL COMPANY, with cycling, running, culture, adventure, photography & more all being added to the golfing foundations of the company.
Along with the move and the change of name, also came a big shift towards being more digitally based. Booking procedures, payment methods and client communication all went digital.
THE TRAVEL COMPANY has evolved a long way from the small travel office back in 1999. The thousands of clients who have travelled the journey with us attest to the level of professionalism we deliver, the personal touch we believe in and the high standards we demand from our suppliers. THE TRAVEL COMPANY has as its mission to make every vacation of every client the best possible experience we are able to create for them.
If you have never travelled with us and experienced it all, we sincerely hope to see you on one of our tours in the very near future.