IRELAND INPUT

[Pete1976]

So in late June, I am headed to Ireland and my goal is to play as much golf as possible. For those who have made the trip, please take a look at my tentative itinerary and fire away with suggestions. I have played there previously and this time around I am looking to start out West in Co. Mayo( family to visit with there) and work my way up north a bit and then back towards Dublin. Please share your thoughts, all info in greatly appreciated.

 

6/21 - Arrive in Dublin, drive out to Co Mayo to family house.

6/22 - Play Achill Island

6/23 - Drive up and play Carne. Played here before, thinking of buying the all day pass for 95 Euro. After golf, drive to Enniscrone and spend night.

6/24 - Play Enniscrone morning and Strandhill in afternoon, spend the night.

6/25 - Play Rosses Point. Drive back down to Achill to hang out with the family for a few more days.

 

6/29 - Train up to Dublin, get rental car and head towards Newcastle, check into Sleive Donard

6/30 - Play Royal Co. Down, once in am and again in the afternoon. After golf, drive down towards Co. Louth where I am to spend the night in one of the rooms at their on property B&B

7/1 - Play in the Open Competition at Co. Louth, want to possibly play Seapoint that afternoon.

 

7/2 - Free to play or hang around Dublin

7/3 - Play Portmarnock Golf Club at 8:15am, free rest of the day

7/4 - fly back to San Diego at 1230.

 

Recommendations? Is Royal Co. Down and must or would I be better off passing on it? Is this all too ambitious? Anything you can think of, please share. I just want to get the most out of my time.

 

Thanks for any guidance you can offer,

 

Pete G.

[leerob3]

Royal County Down is a must play as is Royal Portrush. Maybe a bit ambitious as you have to consider the pub factor, that is the pints taste way better and go down way to easy~~Slainte!

[MikeMcM]

Maybe fly into Belfast, then out of Dublin with your itinerary, rent car in Belfast to drop in Dublin. Carne is not to be missed, Enniscrone, even County Donegal instead of Standhiil. Royal County Down and Royal Portrush are must plays, Portstewart near RPR is also excellent. The Island just north of Dublin is excellent, and it's just me, but if I'm anywhere near Dublin, the European Club is a must play. Ping me back with any questions. Cheers!

[BrianL99]

[quote name='Pete1976' timestamp='1397951281' post='9127221']
Recommendations? Is Royal Co. Down and must or would I be better off passing on it? Is this all too ambitious? Anything you can think of, please share. I just want to get the most out of my time.

Thanks for any guidance you can offer,

Pete G.
[/quote]

Royal County Down is an absolute, positive MUST play.

Portmarnock? Not so much in my opinion ... I wouldn't play again, if it was free. The most over-rated course I've ever played.

How could you not play here:

[UW Alumni 94]

Royal County Down is an absolute must, as other have mentioned. So is Royal Portrush if you have the time to fit it in. I would skip Portmarnoch and play Portrush in its place 100 times out of 100.

[MikeMcM]

RCD and RPR are absolute musts, if you have time Portstewart nearby RPR has a front nine which rivals the others. I'd skip Portmarnock as well, the Island is better if you're around Dublin, there's also the European Club which is superb

[Harrowgolf]

Here was our trip Aug 2012

Arrived in Dublin Aug 14

Rented a car booked by ourselves on the net from Avis. I believe it was $500 U.S. for a car that held 3 sets of clubs and luggage no problem.

My brother and Dad rented clubs from [url="http://clubstohire.com"]http://clubstohire.com[/url]/. Paul McGinley is the owner ? of this business. A representative arranges to meet you at the car rental, hands over the clubs and then arranges to meet you again at the end of the trip to pick them up. My brother rented a full set of Rocketballz cheaper than it was for me to take my own.

Drove to the west coast and stayed at [url="http://www.cromleach.com"]http://www.cromleach.com[/url]/ for 3 nights.

Aug 15 played [url="http://www.carnegolflinks.com"]http://www.carnegolflinks.com[/url]/ I booked this on my own as there was an internet special. We were only able to play 9 as we experienced all the rain Ireland could offer. Received a refund, but really wished we could have finished as it was quite the course.

Aug 16 played at [url="http://www.enniscronegolf.com"]http://www.enniscronegolf.com[/url]/ This was my second favourite course of the trip. 1st and 18th holes finished next to the parking lot but the complaints stop there. Felt and looked what I thought Ireland golf should be, I highly recommend.

Aug 17 left Cromleach and drove directly to [url="http://www.donegalgolfclub.ie"]http://www.donegalgolfclub.ie[/url]/ We all liked this course with a friendly staff and it was a very easy drive into the town of Donegal.

Stayed for 2 nights at [url="http://www.donegalmanor.com"]http://www.donegalmanor.com[/url]/ This was a B&B just outside of town. Basic lodging, maybe a little outdated.
Ate here [url="http://www.oldecastlebar.com"]http://www.oldecastlebar.com[/url]/ Fantastic food, filled with locals. It was here that I discovered [url="http://www.guinness.com/en-ie/midstrength/"]http://www.guinness.com/en-ie/midstrength/[/url] I'm not man enough to finish a Guinness but this was very good.

Aug 18 played at [url="http://www.countysligogolfclub.ie"]http://www.countysligogolfclub.ie[/url]/ We had to actually drive farther past Donegal to get here because of scheduling issues between this and Donegal. This was a Saturday and the round was 5+ hours. I was surprised that pace of play in general the whole trip was not as fast as I expected. Very wide open course with views for miles on the 3rd tee.

Aug 19 left Donegal Manor and drove to [url="http://www.narinportnoogolfclub.ie"]http://www.narinportnoogolfclub.ie[/url]/ This first hole and clubhouse were surrounded by a trailer park and we teed off after a mens Sunday morning league.On a couple of greens we found ourselves not 10 feet away from grazing cows. We invited a couple of 12 year old kids from Dublin that were down for the weekend at their trailer to join us on the back 9. They were very impressed by the rented Rocketballz and were thrilled to be able to hit them. Although it had a muni look, I would play there again in a heartbeat.

After golf at N&P we drove to [url="http://www.rosapenna.ie"]http://www.rosapenna.ie[/url]/ to stay 2 nights. I booked the hotel and golf myself as there was an internet special. The hotel was fantastic where we had a great dinner and the best buffet breakfast of the trip. There are 36 holes on site - Old Tom Morris Links and Sandy Hills. Aug 20 My brother and I played Old Tom Morris in the morning in 3.5 hours and after the round we ran in to the 2 locals that played behind us and commented on how surprised they were that 2 foreigners could get around so quickly. I played 13 holes in the afternoon at Sandy Hills and would recommend that if you can only play 18 it would be here. In 2005 Rory McIlroy won the Senior Scratch Cup at Rosapenna, and there are numerous pictures in the clubhouse and Pro Shop of a young Rory.

Aug 21 we departed Rosapenna and played at [url="http://www.portsalongolfclub.com"]http://www.portsalongolfclub.com[/url]/ This was the cheapest course of the trip and was my least favourite, although my brother and Dad both enjoyed it very much. It just seemed as the holes were squeezed in too small of an area, at least compared to what we had played previously. The second hole was one to remember though.

After Portsalon we drove to the seaside town of Portrush, where we stayed 1 night at [url="http://www.adelphiportrush.com"]http://www.adelphiportrush.com[/url]/ This town reminded me of downtown Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Arcades, restaurants, bars all crammed in to a very small area. We had to circle the town a few times to get parking close to the hotel. Had a great Gammon steak at the Harbour Bar with a [url="http://www.beercitizen.com/photos/1476"]http://www.beercitizen.com/photos/1476[/url]

Aug 22 from Portrush we drove to [url="http://www.portstewartgc.co.uk"]http://www.portstewartgc.co.uk[/url]/ We played behind a group of 16 from California that turned the round into 5+ hours.This was a tale of 2 nines, the front was spectacular with a great opening hole and big elevation changes with massive sandhills. The back nine was flatter with a more meadowy feel.
My Dad did not play this day and he took in the town and had lunch in the Portstewart clubhouse where he said the food was second to none.

From Portstewart we drove to [url="http://www.glassdrummanlodge.com/hotel-overview.html"]http://www.glassdrummanlodge.com/hotel-overview.html[/url] A B&B run by 2 sons and their Mother. We had second floor accommodations that consisted of 2 bedrooms and a bathroom.

Aug 23 we saved the best for last. [url="http://www.royalcountydown.org"]http://www.royalcountydown.org[/url]/
We went all in and hired caddies, this was my first caddy experience and what a great way to play golf. There was a mix up with the bookings as North and West booked us here on the 2nd, not the 23rd. We had to wait until a week before departing to find out we were able to tee off on the 23rd.Supposedly a member had to give up their tee time in order for us to get on. Unless you've played here before I think a caddy is a must, quite a few blind shots and we utilized our second caddy as a fore caddy on a couple of holes. All in all just a solid golf course and if you find yourself just a few feet off the fairway or green very thick gorse and native grass.

Aug 24 depart from Glassdrumman to Dublin for an afternoon flight out.

While this seems like a lot of driving and no off days from golf, I have been more golfed out from a week in Myrtle Beach than I did in this 10 days. The longest drive to a course was 2 hours (1 time only) and the longest drive to the next lodging was about the same.

We got lucky on the weather as we only missed 9 holes and the other rounds I might have had my rain gear on for 10 holes total. Dress ranged from shorts and short sleeve shirts to long pants and 2 layers up top. Don't forget to pack rain gloves.

The roads are very narrow in some spots and the locals drive it like the Indy 500. We brought a GPS and it only let us down 1 time and we were driving on some fairly empty country roads at times.
We did no sightseeing and I don't think I would have traded a day of golf for a side trip for this.
The only thing I would change is to spend a few more days as there were a couple of courses that I would have liked to play (Portrush, Ballyliffin)

I really wanted to play this course [url="http://www.cruitislandgolfclub.com"]http://www.cruitislandgolfclub.com[/url]/ but just couldn't fit it into an afternoon and my partners weren't the most avid golfers.

[puttnforthe8]

Carton House is a consideration for the East coast...I would choose over Portmarnock - 2 courses that are top notch.!!!

[Pete1976]

Thanks for all of the great replies, consensus seems to say give up on Portmarnock. Anymore details that can be shared will greatly be appreciated.

[BrianL99]

[quote name='Pete1976' timestamp='1398178012' post='9143457']
Thanks for all of the great replies, consensus seems to say give up on Portmarnock. Anymore details that can be shared will greatly be appreciated.
[/quote]

Everyone has their own thoughts, but if I was only going to be in Ireland once in my life, I'd want to play the real classics. RCD, Waterville, Ballybunion, Tralee, Lahinch & Royal Portrush would be on my must play agenda. If you have time, some of the "newbies" are worth playing ... Old Head, Doonbeg, KClub, European and a few others.

There are plenty of "hidden gems", but I opted for the big names, first.

[Pete1976]

[quote name='BrianL99' timestamp='1398213868' post='9147573']
[quote name='Pete1976' timestamp='1398178012' post='9143457']
Thanks for all of the great replies, consensus seems to say give up on Portmarnock. Anymore details that can be shared will greatly be appreciated.
[/quote]

Everyone has their own thoughts, but if I was only going to be in Ireland once in my life, I'd want to play the real classics. RCD, Waterville, Ballybunion, Tralee, Lahinch & Royal Portrush would be on my must play agenda. If you have time, some of the "newbies" are worth playing ... Old Head, Doonbeg, KClub, European and a few others.

There are plenty of "hidden gems", but I opted for the big names, first.
[/quote]

Brian,

I completely understand your point, take in the big name courses and spread out from there. I have been over to Ireland several times but this is essentially my first primarily golf trip. On previous trips I have played Carne, Lahinch, The K Club( thought is was alright, stayed on site which was beautiful) and Mulranny and Achill Island. The basis of the first part of the trip being West/ Northwest is that is close proximity to my parents Summer home and while I love to golf, I do want to spend a bit of time with my relatives. I have decided to stay with my time at RCD(after reviewing your photos and those of Kevin Markham) and am seriously thinking about nixing Portmarnock( not hotel but old). My only other commitment is Co. Louth as I have booked a room and am to play in their Open Week which I figured could be fun. Lots of things up in the air, getting South and then back up to RCD will be difficult on my agenda so really looking West/Northwest/North/East this trip. What would be consensus top course in Dublin area as I intended on being there on the 3rd as I fly out the following day.

Thanks again for sharing, this has all been valuable info and much appreciated!

Pete

[TerpFangolfer]

I've read most of the Ireland threads...and have a question. For people who have been there, or going soon.

Regarding tee times - I'm looking always at the online websites. And all that ever seems available is either before 8 am or after 3 pm...and even just after 5 pm on the weekend! All the other times say "Internet Times not available"...

have people had experience getting better times? Do you have to go thru one of the booking services? Or does calling the club directly help?

Thanks for any advice...