The view of the 12th hole at the Crete Golf Club.

For golfers, "water" is not a pretty word. The immediate connotation is that your ball went in the drink and you're in big trouble. Boy - is that changing fast, thanks to the surging popularity of cruises catering to men and women who love the links and like to travel in style.

Back in the day, a golf cruise across the sea meant Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, and Gene Sarazen crossing the Atlantic to play in the British Open and the Ryder Cup. There were raucous times in the 1920s and 1930s on board those liners on the way back when Hagen won – which he did four times at the Open and in 1937 at the Ryder Cup – and he was the first one to underwrite the festivities. During one journey, he picked up so many bar tabs and dinner checks that when the boat docked in New York, Hagen had to borrow the allowance back from his 12-year-old son, Walter Jr., in order to unload his luggage and have it transported to a hotel.

For the non-professionals, golf on a cruise ship was pretty much confined to hitting balls into the ocean – which, of course, can add up to a good piece of change too. That lasted only until 1990, however, when the International Maritime Organization banned the dumping of plastic waste into the sea, which included golf balls. Cruise ship lines began to realize that they were losing customers to land-based resorts because those duffers wanted to be driving the ball right away, not several days away or even the next day after air travel. In 1997, a San Diego company sold the first golf simulator to a cruise line, and that has led to positive changes for those who like the ocean as well as the greens and fairways.

Real Club de Golf in Las Brisas, Spain

Still most important, though, are the resorts where you play and the enjoyment of getting to them and back. This brings us to Classic Golf Cruises, and a connection to the Hamptons. Classic Golf Cruises is a Travel Dynamics company, and it is attracting male and female golfers in a big way that not only like golf and like to travel, but want to travel to play some of the finest courses in the world. Understandably, given the high-end market that the Hamptons is the corporation is making a special push to attract travelers from here. People who live near – and perhaps have played – such world-class courses as can be found in the Hamptons know their golf and beautiful locales.

"The sophisticated, high-end Hamptons golfer is a natural fit for us," Vasos Papagapitos, co-president of Travel Dynamics International. "If you're golfing at the likes of Shinnecock Hills and Maidstone, you expect to play only the best courses in the world, which is precisely what we offer."

I have to confess, I was practically drooling when reading up on the voyages that Classic Golf Cruises offers: "In sculpting our unique itineraries, we have selected the most thrilling courses from sea to sea. Our voyages to these golf masterpieces envelop us in picturesque coastal scenery, where terraced landscapes rear up from the shimmering sea and herbs perfume the air. Capitalizing on natural pomp and circumstance, courses from the 1888 vintage layout at Royal Malta Golf Club to the new Arthur Hills design in Bay Harbor, Michigan, boast greens, fairways, bunkers and land features ingeniously hewn from their varied terrain. Throughout these game-changing journeys aboard our elegant small ships, golf hosts will provide players with feedback, tips, and impassioned stories from the field." (Give that copywriter a raise!).

Hang on a minute – "elegant small ships"? Yes. According to Papagapitos, "You're going to want to cruise in luxury and style aboard a yacht-like ship, not on some sprawling mega-liner."

I don't have anything against a sprawling mega-liner. Truth be told, I've never been on one. But part of the "classic" aspect of Classic Golf Cruises is that the experience includes the more intimate setting of the ship itself. The Callisto is a 34-guest vessel. It still has plenty of amenities – gracious lounges, restaurants, sun decks for al fresco fining, swimming platforms and outside state rooms, etc. A big advantage to a smaller ship is that it can put into the less-crowded and less-crazed ports that are inaccessible to the large and heavy ships. For those who, like Roy Scheider in "Jaws," want a bigger boat, the 100-guest Clelia II will be introduced in Spring 2009.

Tee off at the Royal Dar Es Salam Golf Club in Morocco.

What kind of cruises are available? One goes to the Greek Islands and Turkey this August. Turkey features the National Golf Club, which is an international classic in the countryside of Antalya and was the site, many moons before golf, of a tryst between Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Even if you don't play as well as you like, you'll have that and other stories to bring home. Each voyage has a host, and for this one they are Pat and Sue Reilly. Pat is a former president of the PGA of America and has chaired PGA Championships and the Ryder Cup.

Speaking of the Ryder Cup, we all know from the 1997 event at Valderrama that southern Spain is a great golf location. In December Classic Golf Cruises has a voyage there that will also include Morocco and the El Jadida Royal Golf Course with the Atlas Mountains in the background. Rick Howard of the Oakmont Country Club in Dallas is the host, and among his distinctions is being a finalist on the Golf Channel's "Big Break VI." Looking ahead to Spring 2009, a separate cruise is planned to Morocco, this time with the addition of the Costa Del Sol region of Spain.

You can also plan ahead for a trip to the Adriatic Sea to visit courses in Italy and Croatia's Dalmation Coast. (Hmmm, maybe I should write a travel book titled, "101 Reasons to Visit the Dalmatian Coast"). One of the highlights will be the Barialto Golf Club in Puglia, which is surrounded by water lilies and olive groves. The host is Bill Bondaruk, who in 2006 was named the Northern California Teacher of the Year.

There are more overseas ventures, but I'm very glad that Classic Golf Cruises is not overlooking the U.S., especially a piece of it that is a bit off the beaten path. In Summer 2009, a cruise is planned to the Great Lakes region. I've been to Michigan more than once, and it is truly a golf mecca. Those of you who journey to Traverse City can still find people who knew Walter Hagen during his retirement years there. Among the stops the cruise will make is the Grand Niagara Resort with its course designed by Rees Jones of East Hampton, one of the class acts in golf. The U.S. Open this June will be at his course in Torrey Pines, where Tiger Woods dominated just a few weeks ago at the Buick event. Hosts for this trip are Ron Lucas, who was head pro at Latrobe Country Club, Arnold Palmer's home course, and Denise Doyle, a Scottish lass who is a teaching pro at El Cabellero Country Club in California.

It makes a lot of sense that the large cruise ship companies as well as Travel Dynamics are putting a lot of new emphasis on golf. According to the National Golf Foundation, while there are over 25 million golfers in the U.S., nine million are defined as "hard core," people who will travel to play the best courses and who want to enjoy the full experience. Not surprisingly, a healthy percentage of them can be found in the Hamptons.

Imagine yourself here by the 18th hole at the National Golf Club in Antalya, Turkey.