Jump to content
2024 Houston Open WITB Photos ×

Ireland on a Budget?


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 15
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Best time no doubt is September

You can do plenty on a budget...key is to do BNBs along the way...rent a car and just take your time.

You could do Baltray, and Corballis on the East coast; then head inland and play Carton House and Esker Hills; then head to play Enniscrone, Galway Bay. In the south you can do Fota Island and Cork; Dingle in the far southwest. There are plenty more and I could go on. You can do all of these for under 100e if you are flexible.

I can recommend a way to get even better deals...you can PM me if interested.

If you do things right, your cost could be about 100-160e a day (50-80 BNB, 50-100 golf) - all this depends on you willing to do things basic and drive.

Problem becomes when you do want to play the better courses, they will jump up in cost.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We went at the end of April and played 8 rounds in 7 days. All in, including airfare was around $3000.

There were two of us so that helped with the shared costs (car, AirBnBs) but we played pretty much all of the top courses in the south west. Courses were Cork, Old Head (x2), Tralee (x2), Dingle, Ballybunion, Lahinch. AirBnB is absolutely the way to go. You can find really nice places cheap. The only hotel we stayed at was Old Head and that was because they had a stay and play package where you basically got one round free.

I found that the courses in Ireland where actually more hilly than I was expecting. Still easily walkable but compared to the courses we played in Scotland (St Andrews area) there was a lot more up and down around the links. That said, I actually preferred the courses in Ireland that we played overall to what we played in Scotland.

Driving in Ireland, at least where we were, is not for the faint of heart. Road widths range from 1-car wide (pull into cutouts to allow cars to pass) to divided highways.

We ended up with perfect weather for our trip. The day we arrived it was in the mid 70's and we could have worn shorts. After that it was consistently in the high 50's to mid 60's. We only had two holes of rain in the entire 8 rounds. That is not the norm. Bring good rain gear.

Depending on where you are coming from you should be able to get an overnight flight into Shannon/Cork or Dublin. Arrive in the AM and play that afternoon.

Ping G430 LST 10.5* : Ventus Red TR 7S

Titleist TSR2 4W : Tensei 1K Black 85-S

Mizuno CLK 19*: Ventus Blue HB-8S

Srixon ZX Utility #4: Nippon Modus3 125-S

Wilson Staff CB 5-PW : Nippon Modus3 125-S

Cleveland Zipcore 50, 54, 58: Nippon Modus3 125-S 

Piretti Potenza 370g : Breakthrough Technology Stability Shaft - 34"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been to the southwest of Ireland, and loved it, but that's a popular area, and in general the prices show it. A few years back I went to the north and northwest, and prices were significantly less. We played both courses at Ballyliffin while styaing in Ballyliffin, then played Enniscrone and Carne while staying at Enniscrone. I'd recommend any or all of those. In between are the courses around Sligo town, and all of Donegal, and you could spend your entire stay in that area and be perfectly happy. You could look at the general itinerary here, but you can plan and book this all on your own:https://www.hiddenlinksgolf.com/tours/the-un-beaten-path/

As for lodging, I'd select B&Bs. I'm sure you could save some money at something like AirB&B, but I like having my breakfast prepared for me before golf each day. I'd recommend staying in a town, as opposed to out in the countryside, so you can walk to the pubs and restaurants.

Hire a car, if its just you and your clubs a small car will be just fine. As was said earlier, many of the roads are a bit narrow, but they feel a tiny bit roomier in a small car.

I've been to Ireland in May, June, and September. We had the worst weather on our September trip, catching the tail end of two hurricanes that had come up the east coast of the US and followed the Gulf Stream across the Atlantic. We had great weather in May and in June, with just one or two days of rain each time. But its impossible to predict, bring your waterproofs and two pairs of waterproof shoes.

That's my two cents, for what its worth. Have a great time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Joining a club might make some sense, and there are a few clubs who make it easy and cheap to join so you can get the GUI card. But usually the course itself is not great. Also the GUI will not help at the big courses where everyone pays the same although from memory lots of other places like Donegal and Connemara accept it for a discount. You will find, I think, that using the online booking will always show you how to get a good rate. We considered this strategy when we went in 2018 and it was line ball after the cost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To keep the prices down and enjoy some fantastic links golf, at a minimum you should do this:​"Situated in the Boyne Valley, County Louth Golf Club are one of three links courses in the region. The Boyne Valley links pass is a mid week 3 course package which offers players a chance to experience all three courses for €250, County Louth Golf Club, Seapoint Golf Club and Laytown & Bettystown Golf Club. Anyone wanting to avail of the package should contact: [email protected] ​View Courses  "

Admittedly Seapoint is a modern 90s course that only has a few links courses, but the other two are proper links, Baltray is a top notch course and Laytown & Bettystown has a bunch of good holes and is great fun,

[url="http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTOZNxdsDKajrKxaUCRjcU8eB7URcAMpaCWN-67Bt6QG8rmBUPYW3QAQ7k87BlYizIMKJzEhuzqr9OQ/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true"]WITB[/url] | [url="http://tinyurl.com/CoursesPlayedList"]Courses Played list[/url] |  [url="http://tinyurl.com/25GolfingFaves"] 25 Faves [/url]

F.T.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My group is going in the end of September. We are playing Dromoland, Doonbeg, Lahinch, Ballybunion, and Tralee. So our green fees will be high. That being said, the rest of our trip is very inexpensive. I’m renting a 5 bedroom house for the week for $950, so Per person $120 for the week. We are flying out of jfk to Shannon non stop on Aer Lingus for $515 round trip. We always cook our own food so that normally runs about $100 per person for the week. And the rental van and gas runs about $200 per person for the week. You can certainly play other courses that are priced less. All the of the famous ones are about $300 but there are many others with green fees under $50 you can play.

TaylorMade Sim Max 9* @ 7* Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 5 Reg
Ping G425 3wd @ Flat setting Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 5 Reg 
Ping G425 7wd @ -1 Flat setting Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 6 Reg
Ping G425 22 hybrid @ Flat setting Fujikura Ventus Blue HB 6 reg
PXG Gen 4 0311XP 6-GW Fujikura Axiom 75 R2 

Cleveland CBX Zipcore 50*, 56*, 60* DG Spinner Stiff stepped soft
Evnroll ER7  33” Rosemark grip

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lahinch is brilliant, and could be a great place to play the final round of a budget-conscious trip. You could fly to Shannon and immediately drive north to County Sligo or Donegal, and work your way back south. Generally speaking, the courses in that region are less expensive than the bigger names in the southwest like Waterbille, Ballybunion, Tralee, and Old Head. Lahinch is only an hour or a little more from Shannon, so its not a bad spot for the last night in Ireland, and the course would make a great splurge to cap off the trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...

I did the Republic as a single in May 2019 before joining a 12some for the North.  For golf courses - I loved Lahinch and the town was great.  The only hidden gem we played was in the North - Ardglass.  All 12 of us loved it. Super cheap, right on the water, and something like 6,100 yards from the tips.

 

I see a bunch of people recommending AirBNB to you.  I use AirBNB a lot in my travels. I did not use it for Ireland. First, none of the hotels were at all expensive. As a single I was playing and driving everyday. So quite often I am getting to my hotel at 10/11 pm and teeing off at 9:30am. I didn't want to have to deal with cleaning up/exchanging keys etc. and it was nice to always be in stumbling distance to the pub.

 

Both Lahinch and Ballybunion have a second course (across the road) that is cheaper to play so you can either try 36 in a day or plant yourself in one spot for two days.  Note: Old Head is fantastic, but it is not Links.  It is the most spectacular piece of land I have ever played golf on, but it feels very American. It felt like Pebble Beach on Steroids.

 

Driving - Heed the warnings.  The Irish definition of a road differs greatly than North America.  My wife came over after the golf for a vacation and her comment was that there are no bad drivers in Ireland. They are all dead.  The one absolute route to AVOID is...  If you are going down to Waterville on the Ring of Kerry stay on the N70 along the coast. DO NOT follow Google down the middle through the Ballaghisheen Pass.  It is not a road. It is not faster.  I have driven all over North America and Europe and I don't get anxious driving very often, but that was the most unnerving route I have driven anywhere.

 

I love the golf in Ireland. Have a great trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/4/2020 at 9:53 AM, jvincent said:

We went at the end of April and played 8 rounds in 7 days. All in, including airfare was around $3000.

There were two of us so that helped with the shared costs (car, AirBnBs) but we played pretty much all of the top courses in the south west. Courses were Cork, Old Head (x2), Tralee (x2), Dingle, Ballybunion, Lahinch. AirBnB is absolutely the way to go. You can find really nice places cheap. The only hotel we stayed at was Old Head and that was because they had a stay and play package where you basically got one round free.

I found that the courses in Ireland where actually more hilly than I was expecting. Still easily walkable but compared to the courses we played in Scotland (St Andrews area) there was a lot more up and down around the links. That said, I actually preferred the courses in Ireland that we played overall to what we played in Scotland.

Driving in Ireland, at least where we were, is not for the faint of heart. Road widths range from 1-car wide (pull into cutouts to allow cars to pass) to divided highways.

We ended up with perfect weather for our trip. The day we arrived it was in the mid 70's and we could have worn shorts. After that it was consistently in the high 50's to mid 60's. We only had two holes of rain in the entire 8 rounds. That is not the norm. Bring good rain gear.

Depending on where you are coming from you should be able to get an overnight flight into Shannon/Cork or Dublin. Arrive in the AM and play that afternoon.


 

$3000 a piece or $3000 total for the both of you? Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Jlender21 said:


 

$3000 a piece or $3000 total for the both of you? Thanks.

 $3000 each.

 

That's a ball park because I converted from CDN $ to US since the majority of the folks here are in the US. Also worth noting that the CDN to Euro exchange can be a b**** sometimes.

Ping G430 LST 10.5* : Ventus Red TR 7S

Titleist TSR2 4W : Tensei 1K Black 85-S

Mizuno CLK 19*: Ventus Blue HB-8S

Srixon ZX Utility #4: Nippon Modus3 125-S

Wilson Staff CB 5-PW : Nippon Modus3 125-S

Cleveland Zipcore 50, 54, 58: Nippon Modus3 125-S 

Piretti Potenza 370g : Breakthrough Technology Stability Shaft - 34"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Our picks

    • 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Discussion and links to Photos
      Please put any questions or Comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Monday #1
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Monday #2
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #1
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #2
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #3
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Thorbjorn Olesen - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Ben Silverman - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jesse Droemer - SoTX PGA Section POY - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      David Lipsky - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Martin Trainer - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Zac Blair - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jacob Bridgeman - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Trace Crowe - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jimmy Walker - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Daniel Berger - WITB(very mini) - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Chesson Hadley - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Callum McNeill - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Rhein Gibson - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Patrick Fishburn - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Peter Malnati - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Raul Pereda - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      Tom Hoge's custom Cameron - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Piretti putters - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Ping putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Kevin Dougherty's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Bettinardi putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Tony Finau's new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
       
       
       
       
       
      • 9 replies
    • 2024 Valspar Championship WITB Photos (Thanks to bvmagic)- Discussion & Links to Photos
      This weeks WITB Pics are from member bvmagic (Brian). Brian's first event for WRX was in 2008 at Bayhill while in college. Thanks so much bv.
       
      Please put your comments or question on this thread. Links to all the threads are below...
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 31 replies
    • 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #1
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #2
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #3
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Matt (LFG) Every - WITB - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Sahith Theegala - WITB - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Cameron putters (and new "LD" grip) - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      New Bettinardi MB & CB irons - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Custom Bettinardi API putter cover - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Custom Swag API covers - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 15 replies
    • 2024 Cognizant Classic - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #1
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #2
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #3
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #4
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Brandt Snedeker - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Max Greyserman - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Eric Cole - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Carl Yuan - WITb - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Russell Henley - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Justin Sun - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Alex Noren - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Shane Lowry - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Taylor Montgomery - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Jake Knapp (KnappTime_ltd) - WITB - - 2024 Cognizant Classic
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Super Stoke Pistol Lock 1.0 & 2.0 grips - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      LA Golf new insert putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      New Garsen Quad Tour 15 grip - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      New Swag covers - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Jacob Bridgeman's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Bud Cauley's custom Cameron putters - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Ryo Hisatsune's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Chris Kirk - new black Callaway Apex CB irons and a few Odyssey putters - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Alejandro Tosti's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 2 replies
    • 2024 Genesis Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Monday #1
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Monday #2
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #1
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #2
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #3
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #4
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Rory McIlroy - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Sepp Straka - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Patrick Rodgers - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Brendon Todd - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Denny McCarthy - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Corey Conners - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Chase Johnson - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tommy Fleetwood - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Matt Fitzpatrick - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Si Woo Kim - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Viktor Hovland - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Wyndham Clark - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Cam Davis - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Nick Taylor - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Ben Baller WITB update (New putter, driver, hybrid and shafts) – 2024 Genesis Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Vortex Golf rangefinder - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      New Fujikura Ventus shaft - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods & TaylorMade "Sun Day Red" apparel launch event, product photos – 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods Sun Day Red golf shoes - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Aretera shafts - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      New Toulon putters - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods' new white "Sun Day Red" golf shoe prototypes – 2024 Genesis Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      • 22 replies

×
×
  • Create New...