Pioneer Golf, Inc., specializes in private golf tours, designed for parties of four to twenty or more.  Our office is in Austin, Texas. We customize itineraries along the lines of what our clients - whether they be a group of old friends, fellow club members, or a corporate/incentive group - may specifically have in mind. Our area of specialization is the British Isles, about which we safely claim to have extensive knowledge.  

Pioneer was established in 1971 but hasn't always concentrated on golf tours. For many years, as Pioneer World Travel, Inc., we operated customized corporate incentive, special interest, and purely sightseeing groups to destinations worldwide. Over the years, many of those special interest groups had a sporting theme, such as golf.  In 1997 we began to actively market golf-specific trips to Scotland and Ireland.  For this purpose, a separate company, Pioneer Golf, Inc. was formed.  In 2000, the larger worldwide group division of the company was divested, leaving us to concentrate only on golf. It is this background as tour operators that lends itself well to what we are doing in the world of golf.

Peter Hazelton, Founder & President

Peter was born and raised in Scotland and is an immigrant to the United States.  He is a 1968 economics graduate of the University of Texas and a golfer.  Peter's own golf and British background supplement our technical expertise. Peter has spent 35 years in the tour operating industry. His early years included some guiding and plenty of traveling. He soon struck out on his own and has handled many corporate incentive trips, study abroad programs for universities, alumni trips, and general sightseeing excursions. He sold this company in 2000 with the intent to focus on his passion… golf. Pioneer Golf was started in 1997 and began to gain momentum in 2000 once its larger parent company was sold. It is now one of the largest and most reputable golf tour operators that specialize in Scotland and Ireland. Peter and his wife Laura live in Austin. They have two sons, Mark and Stephen. Stephen is a fund manager in New York.

Mark Hazelton, Vice President

Mark, Peter’s son, was also born in Scotland but has spent the majority of his life in the US. He is a graduate of the University of Texas with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (Summa Cum Laude) and Masters (Summa Cum Laude) degree in Accounting. He is a CPA and spent seven years with Ernst & Young, specializing in International Mergers & Acquisitions, in Dallas and Washington, DC. He then spent a few years in France pursuing his first love, cycling. He owned and managed a tour operator that specialized in trips to France, specifically to races such as the Tour de France. Returning to the US at the end of 2005, he joined his father, and is responsible for most financial matters, IT, marketing, and thrashing his Old Man on the golf course. Mark is a member of the St. Andrews Golf Club and also spends his time competing in triathlons. Mark is well traveled and speaks French and Spanish.

Stephanie Emory, Vice President of Operations

Stephanie is also graduate of the University of Texas and during her time there was president of the fencing club. Thanks to her French mother, she speaks the language fluently and spent her junior year at the University of Lyon. Stephanie was actually with Pioneer World Travel (Pioneer Golf’s then parent) in the late nineties. In 2000, when that company was sold she was too (as she periodically points out). In early 2006, she was lured back to be our much appreciated head of operations. Stephanie’s many years of experience ensure that our trips always run smoothly.

Katy Larkin, Tour Coordinator

Jamie MacWilliams, Tour Coordinator

Jamie is proud graduate of the University of Texas, where she received her Bachelor’s in Communications while concentrating on Human Relations and Deaf Studies. In the six years since graduation, Jamie has lived life to the fullest starting with an extended stay in Hawaii before returning to Texas to pursue her love of teaching American Sign Language. After welcoming her first child, she dedicated a year to motherhood before taking on the tech world as an event coordinator at Advance Micro Devices (AMD). Jamie has since found a great fit with Pioneer Golf maximizing her strengths in coordination and customer service. During her free time she lives passionately, finding a balance between exploration with her son, humanitarian efforts, and triathlon training.

Cristin Neil, Operations Coordinator

Originally from Pennsylvania, Cristin has spent the past four years adjusting to life in Texas. A 2005 graduate from DePauw University (not DePaul) in Greencastle, Indiana, Cristin devoted her first year in Austin to mentoring youngsters on local golf courses for AmeriCorps. After spending the next two years in the international work exchange and specialty coffee industries, she is excited to join Pioneer Golf, a company that unites two of her passions, golf and travel. When Cristin isn’t busy tying up our loose ends, she dabbles in foreign languages (Spanish, French, and German), frequents Sing-Alongs at the Alamo Drafthouse, reads voraciously, and enjoys exploring the variety of restaurants and activities that Austin offers.

Anthony Guagliardo, Sales Consultant

Steve Reist, Sales Consultant

Steve is a former PGA golf professional who resides in Cincinnati, Ohio and has been around the game of golf his entire life. He started as a caddie/shop assistant and later spent seven years as an assistant golf professional. He has returned to the golf industry after a successful 20+ years as a sales representative in the commercial printing industry. Based out of the Cincinnati, his territory includes the entire eastern half of the United States.

Steve recently celebrated his 50th birthday in Scotland along with 23 fellow club members and friends, playing some of the best courses in the world.
Their trip started in Troon and finished in St.Andrews playing the likes of Western Gailes, Prestwick, Royal Troon , the Old and New Courses at St.Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

Steve has experience working with larger groups and would be a valuable resource to ensure that your group has the "experience of a lifetime," as so many do.

Eric Weine, Sales Consultant

Eric is a graduate of the University of Michigan receiving a Bachelor's in History.  He is an avid southpaw golfer always working to lower his single digit handicap.  Before landing at Pioneer Golf, Eric worked in the investment community managing research projects for hedge and mutual fund firms. He enjoys talking golf, playing golf, competing in volleyball tournaments, traveling, and spending weekends cycling around Austin.

Nicole, Sales Coordinator

This website, we hope, will offer you enough information to prompt you to give us a call. We’ll then fill you in on the more subtle aspects of your proposed trip: when to go, how to go, what to avoid, types of accommodations, which courses, and so on. We'll try to instill a sense of comfort on your part, making sure you receive the very best possible attention on a personal basis. To read more click here: Our Approach.