Ireland Conditions

[dhc1]

Celtic Whiskey Bar & Larder on New Street: 1200 types of whiskey and very good food

Lord Kenmare's on College Street: good food, need reservations

Hannigan's Bar on Kenmare Place: quintessential Irish pub

The Porterhouse: slightly touristy but good casual pub

 

Thanks. I'm grateful

[MMB1500]

Anybody have any first hand experience on the course conditions? I've seen a couple pictures of Lahinch and Ballybunion looking pretty rough from lack of rain. We are heading to SW Ireland in about 6 weeks for Lahinch, Ballybunion, Waterville, Old Head, etc and wondering if the turf is as bad as the few pictures I have seen. I know it isn't going to be green and perfect and that's fine but the few pictures I have seen look like the entire course is burned.

 

@henniga -- I wonder if I will bump into you. We're heading there that week as well. Playing the Island, Lahinch, Ballybunion, Bantry Bay, and Old Head.

 

We will be there 8/20 - 8/28. Playing Old Head, Ballybunion, Hogs Head, Waterville, Dooks, Tralee, Doonbeg, Lahinch and Killarney. We may play an emergency 9 at Spanish Point after Doonbeg.

 

Just returned last night. Courses are getting green but still fast. Had a wonderful time. Super foggy at Old Head, so that was a real bummer. Rained sideways for about 12 holes at Hogs Head. That is a first class facility with their 2 helicopters (also have a private jet) bringing in members one after the other. I think we were the only guests on the course that day as their practice round for the member/member tourney was that day. Tralee day was as perfect a day as one can ask. That is a fantastic track. Front 9 designed by Arnold Palmer, back 9 designed by God. Hard to beat Irish golf, but you spend a lot of time in a car doing that SW trip.

 

Thanks. did you stay in Killarney? Any advice on where to eat/drink?

 

There's tons of places to eat and drink in Killarney. Just walk down the High Street and you'll find plenty of options. The Guinness tastes great too!

[henniga]

Celtic Whiskey Bar & Larder on New Street: 1200 types of whiskey and very good food

Lord Kenmare's on College Street: good food, need reservations

Hannigan's Bar on Kenmare Place: quintessential Irish pub

The Porterhouse: slightly touristy but good casual pub

 

Thanks. I'm grateful

 

We ate at Mac's and Porterhouse and they were good. Also ate at Murphy's and had the Guinness Irish stew and it was fantastic. We wanted something a little different one night as many of the restaurants basically have the same menu so we went to Golden Chopsticks for Chinese and that was a very nice change of pace. I can't look at another French fry for at least 2 weeks.

[az2au]

I love Ireland and as far as I can tell I’ve spent at least a year of my life on golf trips there when you add it up (not kidding). Killarney, while still in Ireland and thus automatically great, might be my least favorite place there. I refer to it as “Disney Ireland” because it feels like something you’d see in Epcot more than real Ireland. If you can I strongly encourage you to spend time in places like Lahinch, Sligo, Kinsale or Ballybunion instead.

 

Again, all good, just a lot less touristy in the other spots.

[dhc1]

I love Ireland and as far as I can tell I’ve spent at least a year of my life on golf trips there when you add it up (not kidding). Killarney, while still in Ireland and thus automatically great, might be my least favorite place there. I refer to it as “Disney Ireland” because it feels like something you’d see in Epcot more than real Ireland. If you can I strongly encourage you to spend time in places like Lahinch, Sligo, Kinsale or Ballybunion instead.

 

Again, all good, just a lot less touristy in the other spots.

 

Bummer to hear. I think the die is already cast as we decided on a hub and spoke trip rather than packing up and staying at multiple places.

[az2au]

I love Ireland and as far as I can tell I've spent at least a year of my life on golf trips there when you add it up (not kidding). Killarney, while still in Ireland and thus automatically great, might be my least favorite place there. I refer to it as "Disney Ireland" because it feels like something you'd see in Epcot more than real Ireland. If you can I strongly encourage you to spend time in places like Lahinch, Sligo, Kinsale or Ballybunion instead.

 

Again, all good, just a lot less touristy in the other spots.

 

Bummer to hear. I think the die is already cast as we decided on a hub and spoke trip rather than packing up and staying at multiple places.

Well, I hate to be a bummer and that's why I wanted to make it clear that I still like Killarney just fine. We never found packing up to be an issue, especially on trips where we had a large bus because our clubs were always in the bus unless we needed to put them in a drying room. Also, I travel virtually every single week of my life and have for the last 23 years with 2 or 3 in there where I traveled less because I moved to a different country to run programs. Therefore, I may be a bit of an outlier in that I'm extremely proficient in packing and not bothered by it like I imagine a lot of other people would be.

 

For first timers Killarney is very easy. Lots of pubs, lots of places to eat and the people are great just like the rest of the country. It isn't a bad place at all (see Limerick for less pleasant Irish towns ;) ). I just really enjoy the less touristy villages and small towns we've stayed in a lot more.

[hlca]

We drove through Killarney yesterday for the first time and were bowled over by the traffic and crowds. My wife and I looked at each other and said thank goodness I booked us in Kenmare instead.

[tad950]

Living in the Bay Area of Northern California, I didn't even notice the traffic or the crowds in Killarney :) .But then again, we had two amazing bus drivers shuttling us to the golf courses.

 

We played Southwest Ireland in early-mid July. The fairways totally baked out. But it sure did help my driving stats. Seven rounds of golf. Wearing shorts every round :lol: . Not exactly the Irish golf experience, which was probably a mixed blessing. Hopefully the OP will tell us if the conditions have improved since then.

[hlca]

The drought is definitely over. We've had steady rain at least three days in the past week. The courses are mostly green, except for Ballybunion, where they didn't water the fairways at all during the drought and the fescue is totally dormant. The only green is from other undesirable stains of grass that have started to take over. One of the trustees told me they are considering resodding all the fairways in a few months.