Hot topic: Give us your dream destinations

Cortijo Golf course in Gran Canaria

At this time of the year, with frost forcing us on to temporary greens or icy blasts sweeping our tee shots into deep, crisp rough, it's a burning topic of conversation among golfers in spike bars around the nation to dream of playing in a more favourable climate.

And with my regular golf partner headed for Christmas in New Zealand and having myself just returned from a short break in Gran Canaria - what better time to consider our nominations for favourite golf destinations?

At the bottom of the page we have created a forum link to offer Golfmagic members a chance to vote for their favourite resorts and destinations.

It's just a bit of fun but will give us and the travel industry a good idea as to where you like to play your sunshine golf and perhaps where you aspire to play.

And it was a fascinating opportunity to meet representatives of literally hundreds of thousands involved in the golf travel industry worldwide.

A growing number of countries rely on our sport and our business to bolster their economies and every nation among the dozens represented has golf courses under construction or at least in the planning stage.

Investment, it seems, is not a problem. Governments often offer healthy support and concessions to those prepared to inject money to help improve tourism.

Golf has been targeted because it tends to attract major hotel chains and luxury home-builders to site their properties around and close to quality facilities.

Anfi Tauro resort

Whole mountains are being dynamited at Anfi Tauro to make way for fairways and greens, while agricultural land, which grew much of Europe's supply of aubergines, bananas, tomatoes and winter cut flowers, is being replaced by homes, hotels and a motorway network.

Environmentalists might find the prospect disturbing but Island president Jose Manuel Soria admitted: "This is a big gamble for us. But we are aware that we are only at the beginning of something and we aim to make Gran Canaria one of the most important golf destinations in the world."

And from my first impressions there's more than enough mountainous, arid and featureless terrain to hide dozens of purpose-build resorts to feed a growing demand for golf in the sun, four hours from Gatwick.

The IAGTO awards covered a wide variety of countries with Egypt named the 2005 'Undiscovered Golf Destination' and Thailand 'Emerging Golf Destination' of the year.

The Westin Turnberry (Scotland), Pebble Beach (California) and Mission Hills (China) were voted top golf resorts for Europe, North America and rest of the world respectively, while Portugal's Algarve was rated 'Established Destination' of the Year.

Following in the footsteps of Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones Jr and Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo was given IAGTO honorary status for his burgeoning course designs around the world.

Now it's your turn to nominate your favourite destinations as well as tell us the places you aspire to play golf.

We look forward to hearing from you.

	Award categories, winners and nominees
Undiscovered destination: Egypt (also nominated Alabama, Azores, Brazil, Czech Republic, Australian Gold Coast, India, Nova Scotia, Oregon, Canada's Prince Edward Island). Emerging Golf Destination: Thailand (Canaries, China, Spain's Costa de la Luz, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Malaysia, Mexico, Turkey). Established destination: The Algarve (Andalucia, Arizona, California, Cost Brava, Dubai, France, Lisbon Coast). Golf Resorts of the year: Turnberry (Europe), Pebble Beach (USA), Mission Hills (Rest of the world).