Group Trip To Scotland/Ireland

nygbrs222 · February 13, 2018

It has always been a dream to take a trip to Ireland or Scotland. I was wondering if/when is a great time to go and if, by any chance, anyone knew of any great travel services to use. I would like to keep it on the cheaper side, if there is a thing. Any ideas/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

davep043 · February 13, 2018

You can get decent weather, or horrible weather, any time, , but its best when you have longer days, say May to September. I found airfares to Scotland to be cheaper in May than in June, not sure if that still holds true. Perhaps the cheapest way to do it is to plan it yourself. Get the book by Allan Ferguson:

http://fergusongolf.com/pages/book.htm

A few ways to save some money:

Stay in a B&B, not a hotel

Drive yourself, its not that difficult.

Book lesser-known courses, they can be just as much fun, just as challenging, and much less costly.

Clambake · February 16, 2018

I echo going in May. The summer crowds haven't yet arrived, but it is late enough that all the non-golf attractions are fully open and operating (like museums, castles, etc.). The gorse is also in full bloom and makes the landscape visually stunning, especially on a lot of the golf courses. By early June the blooms have gone away and it just isn't nearly so gorgeous out. It stays light quite late in the day and makes it very easy to get in 36 or do other things if you want.

And I'll doubly echo Ferguson's book. It's a wealth of info, and you certainly don't need to use a travel service which usually only adds some cost. These days it's very easy to set up tee times for pretty much anywhere as they are almost all on line or easily reached. All the club secretaries I dealt with were wonderfully helpful and easy to deal with.

And driving there isn't nearly as daunting as it seems. I was certainly apprehensive, but that feeling went away after about 10 minutes behind the wheel. Learn to embrace the roundabouts - they're very effective and much better than dealing with traffic lights.