Proposed England-Ireland Golf Trip for my father and me

[ColeFlinn]

*looking for feedback on our planned schedule: suggestions for courses, places to stay, eat, drink, car rental services to use, attractions, ANYTHING!*

 

So my dad and I were looking to go to Ireland in late May for a golf trip. When we went to Scotland four years ago we used Hidden Links and received a relatively reasonable price from them for Scotland. What we found was that Ireland was extremely expensive. We threw quotes out to four or five different golf tour companies and each one seemed to be $10,000+ for two people, eight courses, and only in Ireland.

 

I decided to see how expensive it would be for us if we did more and I booked it myself. Here is the schedule I put out:

• May 20th: fly into Manchester and drive into Liverpool. Renting an Airbnb.
  
• May 21st: Play Royal Lythan & St. Annes.
  
• May 22nd: Play Royal Liverpool, Hoylake.
  
• May 23rd: Play Royal Birkdale.
  
• May 24th: check out of Liverpool Airbnb, take ferry from Liverpool to Belfast, check into Belfast Airbnb.
  
• May 25th: Play Royal County Down.
  
• May 26th: Play Royal Portrush. Afterwards, check out of Airbnb and drive to our Killarney Airbnb.
  
• May 27th: Play Ballybunion.
  
• May 28th: Play Tralee Golf Club. Check out of Airbnb and drive to the Kinsale Airbnb.
  
• May 29th: Play 36 holes at Old Head.
  
• May 30th: Play 36 holes at Old Head.
  
• May 31st: Check out of Airbnb early in the morning, drive to Dublin Airbnb. Play Portmarnock in the afternoon.
  
• June 1st: Play Royal Dublin Golf Club.
  
• June 2nd: Free day throughout Dublin.
  
• June 3rd: Check out of Airbnb, return to Seattle.
  

The final cost for 13 rounds of golf, lodging, and cars (but not including food or the inevitable purchases of clothing and hats) came out to be $8,355.57. This was $1,349.01 cheaper than the cheapest estimate we received, and that estimate only included eight Irish courses.

 

Any thoughts? The amount of golf is not an issue as we are used to that kind of volume.

 

I'd also love some suggestions on sight seeing, good ways to drive, if the timing seems a little screwed up, etc.

 

Thank you all for your help (and I am bringing my 1 iron!)!

[justin10784]

Couple suggestions:

-Play Portrush before RCD and stay near RCD, it will save you driving time to the Southwest.

-Why play 72 holes at Old Head? Lahinch is awesome, also Waterville.

-Play The Island and/or County Louth instead of Royal Dublin.

[hdr_ric]

*looking for feedback on our planned schedule: suggestions for courses, places to stay, eat, drink, car rental services to use, attractions, ANYTHING!*

 

So my dad and I were looking to go to Ireland in late May for a golf trip. When we went to Scotland four years ago we used Hidden Links and received a relatively reasonable price from them for Scotland. What we found was that Ireland was extremely expensive. We threw quotes out to four or five different golf tour companies and each one seemed to be $10,000+ for two people, eight courses, and only in Ireland.

 

I decided to see how expensive it would be for us if we did more and I booked it myself. Here is the schedule I put out:

• May 20th: fly into Manchester and drive into Liverpool. Renting an Airbnb.
  
• May 21st: Play Royal Lythan & St. Annes.
  
• May 22nd: Play Royal Liverpool, Hoylake.
  
• May 23rd: Play Royal Birkdale.
  
• May 24th: check out of Liverpool Airbnb, take ferry from Liverpool to Belfast, check into Belfast Airbnb.
  
• May 25th: Play Royal County Down.
  
• May 26th: Play Royal Portrush. Afterwards, check out of Airbnb and drive to our Killarney Airbnb.
  
• May 27th: Play Ballybunion.
  
• May 28th: Play Tralee Golf Club. Check out of Airbnb and drive to the Kinsale Airbnb.
  
• May 29th: Play 36 holes at Old Head.
  
• May 30th: Play 36 holes at Old Head.
  
• May 31st: Check out of Airbnb early in the morning, drive to Dublin Airbnb. Play Portmarnock in the afternoon.
  
• June 1st: Play Royal Dublin Golf Club.
  
• June 2nd: Free day throughout Dublin.
  
• June 3rd: Check out of Airbnb, return to Seattle.
  

The final cost for 13 rounds of golf, lodging, and cars (but not including food or the inevitable purchases of clothing and hats) came out to be $8,355.57. This was $1,349.01 cheaper than the cheapest estimate we received, and that estimate only included eight Irish courses.

 

Any thoughts? The amount of golf is not an issue as we are used to that kind of volume.

 

I'd also love some suggestions on sight seeing, good ways to drive, if the timing seems a little screwed up, etc.

 

Thank you all for your help (and I am bringing my 1 iron!)!

 

 

1. Zero need to play 4 rounds at Old Head. Two is probably one more than enough. It is awesome visually, the course is fun (check out my avatar). But there are many "better" courses over there. Since you are already headed southwest for Ballybunion and Tralee - add in Waterville, Dooks, Lahinch, maybe Doonbeg (or whatever its called now).

 

2. $5000 each for 8 rounds in Ireland seems very high, even for the packagers ... unless that also included airfare. I just checked Google and the first one I pulled up (irelandgolf.com) had a 5 round package (golf, car, lodging) for 1,800EUR ($1,980 dollars) for Lahinch, Tralee, Ballybunion, Waterville, and Old Head. And you can lower that by dropping the lodging down one star level (what I did my first trip over there).

 

$5000/each sounds off. You might want to check different packagers or something.

 

3. Might be easier to fly back out of Shannon. Play the east coast irish courses, then old head, then head west coast courses (Belfast, then Dublin, then Kinsale, then Killarney). You already have a lot of driving as it is.

[jmck]

HDR's advice is spot on. One round at Old Head is plenty--great setting, mediocre layout. If there's one course you're going to play over and over again, make it Royal County Down. The prices you found are either way too high or include air fare--don't be afraid to book everything yourself, it'll be cheaper and give you more flexibility. Fly into Manchester (downwind), take a puddle jumper to Belfast, rent a car and make a loop (adjust your plans accordingly), then fly out of Shannon (into the wind). When in doubt, stop in a pub (or ask the owner of your B&B) and find out where the locals play. In fact you should leave yourself at least a day or two open for doing just that. The courses the locals play--and the locals you end up playing with--will be more memorable in the long run than the bucket list places that everyone plays.

 

Double whatever travel time you have in mind--and I mean that in the most literal sense of the word "double." You can easily cover 75 or 80 miles in an hour in America. Covering 40 miles an hour in Ireland is making good time. If google maps says it'll take two hours to get from Tralee to Old Head, do not believe them for a minute--double it. Going from Portrush to Ballybunion is easily a full day. Keep in mind that if you're booking yourself there is no guarantee anyone is going to be around to let you in to your next B&B at 10:00 at night, so you can't count on playing 18 in the morning, then driving all day and expecting your evening lodgings to be available when you've underestimated your travel time by several hours.

 

Frankly, I would seriously consider contracting the loop you're making. You can throw a dart at the coast of Ireland and find enough good courses to keep you entertained for a week, all within an easy drive of where your dart lands. You have a bucket list worth of courses on your list, but I think you're seriously underestimating the amount of driving (instead of golfing) that you'll be doing. And driving over there is tiring--you won't be able to zone out and wake up 50 miles later like you can on American interstates. For example, if you leave Old Head in the morning, you're not going to feel like teeing it up by the time you get to Royal Portmarnock.

 

All that said, I'm sure you'll have a great time whatever you end up doing. It is truly golf the way it's meant to be played.

[Tipsy McHooker]

I would add Waterville and Lahinch to that list and not play 4 rounds at old head...just do one round or play 36 one day at Old Head. The drive from Old Head to Waterville should be made while the sun is out. Very claustrophobic coastal road and pitch black at night. Hit Fishy Fishy restaurant in Kinsale for dinner...the fishermen drop off the days catch to the front door from the docks in kinsale---across the street.

[North Butte]

It really does look like a "cost is no object" trip to check as many well-known and high-priced courses as possible off a list. Only you can judge if the cost is justified by the feeling of having seen 10 courses without ever dipping below the American golf tourism A-list. The price tag does seem at first glance to be unreasonable but if you're paying rack rate for that many of the most expensive courses in England and (especially) Ireland it's going to add up no matter what you do.

 

I doubt very much you could get the cost of golf for that many rounds on those courses for two golfers to be anything other than super-expensive. What's your total green fee subtotal out of that $8,355? It's gotta be well over $5,000 and probably more like $6,000 am I right?

 

And I totally agree that your traveling is going to at some point leave you stranded and either calling around/banging on doors to find after-hours lodging or maybe even missing a night's sleep somewhere along the line. There's just way too much stuff that can go wrong putting in that kind of mileage on Irish roads (although I do see you have a couple of travel/no-golf days in there for wiggle room). Be careful as mentioned by jmck.

 

Also, keep in mind weather. Not pack-a-rainsuit kind of golfing weather but driving after dark on Irish roads in pouring rain kind of weather.

[ColeFlinn]

Couple suggestions:

-Play Portrush before RCD and stay near RCD, it will save you driving time to the Southwest.

-Why play 72 holes at Old Head? Lahinch is awesome, also Waterville.

-Play The Island and/or County Louth instead of Royal Dublin.

 

After all the advice given, 18 holes at Old Head seems like the best. I mean, when I google "Old Head aerial photos" who wouldn't want to play 72 there? But I will probably add Waterville if it isn't that great of a setup.

 

Looking at the Island right now. Royal Dublin doesn't realy seem like that excellent of course from what I've seen. I'm assuming Portmarnock is a great setup?

 

1. Zero need to play 4 rounds at Old Head. Two is probably one more than enough. It is awesome visually, the course is fun (check out my avatar). But there are many "better" courses over there. Since you are already headed southwest for Ballybunion and Tralee - add in Waterville, Dooks, Lahinch, maybe Doonbeg (or whatever its called now).

 

2. $5000 each for 8 rounds in Ireland seems very high, even for the packagers ... unless that also included airfare. I just checked Google and the first one I pulled up (irelandgolf.com) had a 5 round package (golf, car, lodging) for 1,800EUR ($1,980 dollars) for Lahinch, Tralee, Ballybunion, Waterville, and Old Head. And you can lower that by dropping the lodging down one star level (what I did my first trip over there).

 

$5000/each sounds off. You might want to check different packagers or something.

 

3. Might be easier to fly back out of Shannon. Play the east coast irish courses, then old head, then head west coast courses (Belfast, then Dublin, then Kinsale, then Killarney). You already have a lot of driving as it is.

 

I was worried that because we sent in the quotes around the time of the Open that they may have hiked the prices up.

 

Would you want to go England - Belfast - Dublin - Kinsale - Killarney? That sounds like a better layout.

 

HDR's advice is spot on. One round at Old Head is plenty--great setting, mediocre layout. If there's one course you're going to play over and over again, make it Royal County Down. The prices you found are either way too high or include air fare--don't be afraid to book everything yourself, it'll be cheaper and give you more flexibility. Fly into Manchester (downwind), take a puddle jumper to Belfast, rent a car and make a loop (adjust your plans accordingly), then fly out of Shannon (into the wind). When in doubt, stop in a pub (or ask the owner of your B&B) and find out where the locals play. In fact you should leave yourself at least a day or two open for doing just that. The courses the locals play--and the locals you end up playing with--will be more memorable in the long run than the bucket list places that everyone plays.

 

Double whatever travel time you have in mind--and I mean that in the most literal sense of the word "double." You can easily cover 75 or 80 miles in an hour in America. Covering 40 miles an hour in Ireland is making good time. If google maps says it'll take two hours to get from Tralee to Old Head, do not believe them for a minute--double it. Going from Portrush to Ballybunion is easily a full day. Keep in mind that if you're booking yourself there is no guarantee anyone is going to be around to let you in to your next B&B at 10:00 at night, so you can't count on playing 18 in the morning, then driving all day and expecting your evening lodgings to be available when you've underestimated your travel time by several hours.

 

Frankly, I would seriously consider contracting the loop you're making. You can throw a dart at the coast of Ireland and find enough good courses to keep you entertained for a week, all within an easy drive of where your dart lands. You have a bucket list worth of courses on your list, but I think you're seriously underestimating the amount of driving (instead of golfing) that you'll be doing. And driving over there is tiring--you won't be able to zone out and wake up 50 miles later like you can on American interstates. For example, if you leave Old Head in the morning, you're not going to feel like teeing it up by the time you get to Royal Portmarnock.

 

All that said, I'm sure you'll have a great time whatever you end up doing. It is truly golf the way it's meant to be played.

 

I was thinking about adding a day in between Belfast and Ballybunion. Would you, like HDR suggested, go the Belfast - Dublin - Kinsale - Killarney route?

 

Do you think I am being too ambitious with 13 days and this many places? I've always wanted to play those Liverpool courses.

I would add Waterville and Lahinch to that list and not play 4 rounds at old head...just do one round or play 36 one day at Old Head. The drive from Old Head to Waterville should be made while the sun is out. Very claustrophobic coastal road and pitch black at night. Hit Fishy Fishy restaurant in Kinsale for dinner...the fishermen drop off the days catch to the front door from the docks in kinsale---across the street.

 

Fishy Fishy is now on my list. Would you spend a night in Kinsale? Or would you go straight to Killarney?

 

It really does look like a "cost is no object" trip to check as many well-known and high-priced courses as possible off a list. Only you can judge if the cost is justified by the feeling of having seen 10 courses without ever dipping below the American golf tourism A-list. The price tag does seem at first glance to be unreasonable but if you're paying rack rate for that many of the most expensive courses in England and (especially) Ireland it's going to add up no matter what you do.

 

I doubt very much you could get the cost of golf for that many rounds on those courses for two golfers to be anything other than super-expensive. What's your total green fee subtotal out of that $8,355? It's gotta be well over $5,000 and probably more like $6,000 am I right?

 

And I totally agree that your traveling is going to at some point leave you stranded and either calling around/banging on doors to find after-hours lodging or maybe even missing a night's sleep somewhere along the line. There's just way too much stuff that can go wrong putting in that kind of mileage on Irish roads (although I do see you have a couple of travel/no-golf days in there for wiggle room). Be careful as mentioned by jmck.

 

Also, keep in mind weather. Not pack-a-rainsuit kind of golfing weather but driving after dark on Irish roads in pouring rain kind of weather.

 

The cost was surprising to my father and I. When we used Hidden Links in Scotland it was far cheaper. I'll check out those quotes again.

 

In regards to the timing, I've looked at Airbnbs that allow check-ins up until 11PM, because I'm almost 100% positive that my father and I will get lost somewhere along the way.

 

Is there any particular reason that these courses are more expensive in Ireland than England?

 

 

----

 

Thank you all for your feedback so far: it looks like I am going to add Waterville and take out 54 holes from Old Head (it's just so pretty). I will also check on my travel time and put up an updated itinerary.

 

How many sleeves of balls would you guys bring? Is it still pants weather?

[North Butte]

It may be that your 36-hole day ticket at Old Head is a fairly minor extra cost compared to an 18-hole round. If so, for my part I'd probably enjoy going around twice.

[ColeFlinn]

It may be that your 36-hole day ticket at Old Head is a fairly minor extra cost compared to an 18-hole round. If so, for my part I'd probably enjoy going around twice.

 

I think it was a little less than double, so not the most reasonable. I was thinking of playing a 7:45AM round and then making my way to Waterville for an afternoon round.

[North Butte]

Playing mostly in England I've seen it both ways. I remember at Walton Heath years ago the cost of 36 holes was maybe 20% more than 18 (and the lunch in between was quite good). But a lot of big-name courses don't even offer a day ticket or if they do it's like Old Head and no bargain.

[hdr_ric]

I personally would do this in two trips. Play the 3 English courses and Dublin/Belfast in one trip. Do SW and maybe NW Ireland in another. However, you are going to have fun no matter what.

 

Kinsale is pretty cool town. I'd spend a night there at least on the front end. Also worth checking to see if you can't work out a better discount for a second round at Old Head. You are certainly paying enough for the first one. If you could get a replay at 1/2 or less, might be worth it to play 36. I got it on a chamber of commerce day - but if the fog is in, they will close the course to prevent people from falling over the cliffs.

 

As to costs in Ireland - you are literally picking the A#1 US tourist/most famous courses. But I still think you can do better than you were quoted with a different packager. If you looked at NW Irish links, you'd find the most expensive were ~$130 EUR, and most are under $100EUR

 

If you keep the trip as is, then yes, I would do England, Belfast, Dublin, Kinsale, Killarney, Shannon (departure). That at least saves doubling back and eliminates that one super long drive.

 

You aren't going to want (or be able to probably) to play Old Head, drive to Waterville, and then play Waterville, all in the same day. At least I don't think.

[ColeFlinn]

I personally would do this in two trips. Play the 3 English courses and Dublin/Belfast in one trip. Do SW and maybe NW Ireland in another. However, you are going to have fun no matter what.

 

Kinsale is pretty cool town. I'd spend a night there at least on the front end. Also worth checking to see if you can't work out a better discount for a second round at Old Head. You are certainly paying enough for the first one. If you could get a replay at 1/2 or less, might be worth it to play 36. I got it on a chamber of commerce day - but if the fog is in, they will close the course to prevent people from falling over the cliffs.

 

As to costs in Ireland - you are literally picking the A#1 US tourist/most famous courses. But I still think you can do better than you were quoted with a different packager. If you looked at NW Irish links, you'd find the most expensive were ~$130 EUR, and most are under $100EUR

 

If you keep the trip as is, then yes, I would do England, Belfast, Dublin, Kinsale, Killarney, Shannon (departure). That at least saves doubling back and eliminates that one super long drive.

 

You aren't going to want (or be able probably) to play Old Head, drive to Waterville, and then play Waterville. At least I don't think.

 

Fair. If I added two days to the trip, do you think it would be reasonable? We've done 13 straight days of golf before.

 

I'll also look into adding a day into Killarney and play Waterville the day after Old Head.

[jmck]

Once again, HDR's advice is absolutely spot on. You really have two trips worth in your itinerary. One is western England/northern Ireland, and the other is fly into Dublin, head south and then west and then north, then fly out of Shannon.

 

I really can't stress enough how challenging and time consuming driving around Ireland is. Bouncing from Lytham to Hoylake to Birkdale is just silly easy compared to getting from course to course in your Irish itinerary. It's not the 11 or 13 days of golf that's going to wear you out, it's the driving around Ireland that will. Just my opinion, but seriously consider contracting that part of your trip--geographically speaking, not time-wise--and playing courses you've never heard of before.

[duffer987]

Once again, HDR's advice is absolutely spot on. You really have two trips worth in your itinerary. One is western England/northern Ireland, and the other is fly into Dublin, head south and then west and then north, then fly out of Shannon.

 

I really can't stress enough how challenging and time consuming driving around Ireland is. Bouncing from Lytham to Hoylake to Birkdale is just silly easy compared to getting from course to course in your Irish itinerary. It's not the 11 or 13 days of golf that's going to wear you out, it's the driving around Ireland that will. Just my opinion, but seriously consider contracting that part of your trip--geographically speaking, not time-wise--and playing courses you've never heard of before.

 

I typically chime in on these threads cause I cannot help myself :) but really OP it looks like folks have made you see sense already.

But just to really enforce it, unless you are around Dublin or in the North, getting to and from the main courses is a right faff. The west of Ireland, for all the EU money it's seen and bypasses/ring roads around town centres can still be a right pain to drive around. You get stuck behind one or two tour buses, with no room to pass until they pull in somewhere, and you could go from the car park straight to the first tee if you are not careful.

 

I'm not a package person, so I cannot comment on whether you are getting a good deal or not, but really you're not.

I'm also not really a Killarney person, as it's simply jammers with tourists in season, so you should bear that in mind as well if it's not your cup of tea. Personally prefer somewhere like Cahersiveen or Listowel when down that far, easier to get a lock-in that way too :)

 

Oh BTW, it's always trouser weather, it just depends whether you have rain gear over top of it or not ;)

[ColeFlinn]

Once again, HDR's advice is absolutely spot on. You really have two trips worth in your itinerary. One is western England/northern Ireland, and the other is fly into Dublin, head south and then west and then north, then fly out of Shannon.

 

I really can't stress enough how challenging and time consuming driving around Ireland is. Bouncing from Lytham to Hoylake to Birkdale is just silly easy compared to getting from course to course in your Irish itinerary. It's not the 11 or 13 days of golf that's going to wear you out, it's the driving around Ireland that will. Just my opinion, but seriously consider contracting that part of your trip--geographically speaking, not time-wise--and playing courses you've never heard of before.

 

I typically chime in on these threads cause I cannot help myself :) but really OP it looks like folks have made you see sense already.

But just to really enforce it, unless you are around Dublin or in the North, getting to and from the main courses is a right faff. The west of Ireland, for all the EU money it's seen and bypasses/ring roads around town centres can still be a right pain to drive around. You get stuck behind one or two tour buses, with no room to pass until they pull in somewhere, and you could go from the car park straight to the first tee if you are not careful.

 

I'm not a package person, so I cannot comment on whether you are getting a good deal or not, but really you're not.

I'm also not really a Killarney person, as it's simply jammers with tourists in season, so you should bear that in mind as well if it's not your cup of tea. Personally prefer somewhere like Cahersiveen or Listowel when down that far, easier to get a lock-in that way too :)

 

Oh BTW, it's always trouser weather, it just depends whether you have rain gear over top of it or not ;)

 

What are Cahersiveen or Listowel like compared to Killarney? Besides being less busy. More scenic, better pubs? I'll look into it!

[ThreadJockey]

Just want to chime in as I did something similar (but in reverse order) a few years ago.

 

Put frankly, you cannot get from Belfast to Ballybunion in under a day. You seriously underestimate the Third World-ness of Irish roads. I'd recommend doing what the other commenters say and cut out a few rounds at Old Head. Add Waterville or Lahinch. Even Lahinch to Waterville/Killarney is the better part of a day, even taking the ferry across the bay. Take time to enjoy the scenery DURING THE DAY. If you drive on the roads at night I hope you have balls of steel and an iron constitution. And good car insurance.

[duffer987]

 

What are Cahersiveen or Listowel like compared to Killarney? Besides being less busy. More scenic, better pubs? I'll look into it!

 

They are just small, pleasant market towns of a few thousand people, well situated for a route making up Old Head, Waterville, Tralee, Ballybunion, Lahinch, with varying degrees of historical or cultural interest :)

Again I wouldn't want to put anyone off Killarney, but it's the equivalent of Pikes Place Market in that neck of the woods. Personally when I go somewhere else, I like to be somewhere else, and not cheek by jowel with lots of other North Americans, Germans, Japanese vacationers.

[jmck]

Oh Listowel is a lovely town. As evening sets you can see fathers and sons walking though town with wedges and putters in hand, heading to the par three course built on an old British estate, right on the edge of town. Also, Listowel has a very rich literary history, if you're into that sort of thing. It's stayed much more authentically Irish than Tralee, as it's a little further from the beaten path.

[jmck]

Just want to chime in as I did something similar (but in reverse order) a few years ago.

 

Put frankly, you cannot get from Belfast to Ballybunion in under a day. You seriously underestimate the Third World-ness of Irish roads. I'd recommend doing what the other commenters say and cut out a few rounds at Old Head. Add Waterville or Lahinch. Even Lahinch to Waterville/Killarney is the better part of a day, even taking the ferry across the bay. Take time to enjoy the scenery DURING THE DAY. If you drive on the roads at night I hope you have balls of steel and an iron constitution. And good car insurance.

 

I've been trying to be polite and positive about it, but yeah, this ^^^^^^^^^^^. Imagine the worst road you know, multiply it several times over, then put every vehicle you can imagine--tractors, horses, buses, sheep--on it. That's the only way from town to town in Ireland, excepting the 20 or 30 miles or so outside of Dublin. Like I said earlier, if you average 40 miles per hour you're making VERY good time, and--literally, no joke--DOUBLE every transit time google maps spits out. By being realistic about this you'll be doing yourself a favor when you plan your trip.

[Roadking2003]

The final cost for 13 rounds of golf, lodging, and cars (but not including food or the inevitable purchases of clothing and hats) came out to be $8,355.57. This was $1,349.01 cheaper than the cheapest estimate we received, and that estimate only included eight Irish courses.

 

Any thoughts? The amount of golf is not an issue as we are used to that kind of volume.

 

 

That price is not too high for 13 rounds of gold, lodging and cars. Lodging prices vary quite a bit depending on the quality of the hotels.

[FairwayFred]

Do not skip Lahinch. Other than RCD it will be the best course you play on the trip. It's miles better than Old Head and Tralee imo. Also don't miss Waterville. Personally I'd skip Old Head altogether.

 

Also driving isn't that bad. It doesn't take the better part of a day to get from Waterville to Lahinch. It's about 3 hours maybe a little more.

[troublelove]

For your Liverpool leg I'd skip Lytham and play either Formby, Hillside or Southport with Formby being top of the list.

This stretch of coastline has one of the best concentration of golf courses in the world.

[carrera]

Some recent threads on Golfclubatlas from a poster who just did a "quick" trip in Ireland that didn't leave much time at each location:

 

Initial thread: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,63181.0.html

 

The post-mortem: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,63216.0.html

 

Another recent Ireland trip: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,63239.0.html

 

A thread with useful advice about self-directed non-US golf trips: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,62124.0.html

 

I'd echo the advice above (and in the GCA threads) about driving in Ireland....not what you might expect. And pay special attention to the advice about insurance.

 

Have fun on your trip.

[jmck]

Do not skip Lahinch. Other than RCD it will be the best course you play on the trip. It's miles better than Old Head and Tralee imo. Also don't miss Waterville. Personally I'd skip Old Head altogether.

 

Also driving isn't that bad. It doesn't take the better part of a day to get from Waterville to Lahinch. It's about 3 hours maybe a little more.

 

Agreed about Lahinch. And don't get me wrong about driving in Ireland. I've had the opportunity to drive on six continents, and I love driving in Ireland. If you like driving, it's just an absolute blast, some of the best in the world--but if you don't like driving, or aren't very good at driving, it will be absolutely brutal. In Ireland I've rented everything from a Nissan Micra to a Mercedes Sprinter and it's a true joy to drop down a gear or two and ring those things all the way out to pass a tractor before the next hillcrest--the old maxim about how it's more fun to drive a slow car fast--I just don't want the OP to underestimate how long it takes to get from A to B, and how tiring it can be to get from A to B....plus you have to factor in a leisurely lunch at the pub of course....

[ColeFlinn]

Thank you all for your help so far - I realized my scope may be a little large, so I will take everything you guys have said and then put it forward.

 

I'll put a schedule out later today and lets see what you guys think

[ColeFlinn]

Okay, so here is the new schedule that I put together: every travel time has a multiplier of 1.5x and I am not trying to do anything to daring with driving.

• May 20th: Land in Manchester, rent a car, drive to Liverpool, check into Airbnb
  
• May 21st: Play Royal Lytham & St. Annes
  
• May 22nd: Play Royal Liverpool, Hoylake
  
• May 23rd: Play Royal Birkdale
  
• May 24th: check out of Airbnb by 10AM, return rental at ferry dock, take ferry to Belfast, pick up rental car, drive to Airbnb. Pretty much a free day in Belfast.
  
• May 25th: Play Royal County Down
  
• May 26th: Play Royal Portrush, return to Airbnb, drive 3.5 hours to Dublin. Arrive by 6:30PM and check into Airbnb.
  
• May 27th: Play the Island Golf Club
  
• May 28th: Play Portmarnock.
  
• May 29th: Check out of Airbnb by 2:30 PM, drive to Kinsale. 4 hour drive. Check into Airbnb.
  
• May 30th: Play Old Head, eat dinner at the Fishy Fishy.
  
• May 31st: wake up relatively early, check out of Airbnb, drive to Ballybunion, tee off around 11:30 AM. Drive to Killarney after the round and check into Airbnb.
  
• June 1st: Play Tralee Golf Club
  
• June 2nd: Play Lahinch Golf Club
  
• June 3rd: Drive to Dublin and go home.
  

 

I tried to give this version a more straightforward approach to driving. I never gave us any forced, super long deadline drives.

 

Is this variant of the schedule any better?

 

Thank you guys so much for all your help already, I am very appreciative of it.

[North Butte]

When you say "Drive to Dublin and go home" is it a night-time departure?

[jmck]

Looks great. My only suggestion would be, if possible, move either Portrush or RCD to the afternoon of 24th, and no golf on the 26th. It makes the 24th a long, busy day, but then your free day switches from Belfast to Dublin. IMO, Belfast is the least inspiring Irish town/city you're passing through, whereas Dublin is a world class city. If you want to play golf on the 26th, treat yourself to some sort of nine hole local layout no one's ever heard of that's right on the way from Belfast to Dublin.

[duffer987]

Couple things Cole:

- Have you checked that you can play the courses on those specific dates and also at what times visitor play is allowed? With all that toing and froing, that could throw things off some

- If you are not keeping the same car for the whole of the trip, have you looked at flying between England/NI. The only reason I'd take the ferry over flying because I was driving.

- TBH the whole 'ferry to Belfast' thing might be a bit of a gap in your otherwise sound planning or maybe a typo ;) Are you taking a bus from Liverpool to Holyhead? Regardless, taking a land route is going to make it a 1/2 day exercise.

- Have you looked at flying out of Belfast instead of Dublin, in which case you could easily keep the same car hire

- While in England, have a 36 hole day and play Formby

[ThreadJockey]

Looks great. My only suggestion would be, if possible, move either Portrush or RCD to the afternoon of 24th, and no golf on the 26th. It makes the 24th a long, busy day, but then your free day switches from Belfast to Dublin. IMO, Belfast is the least inspiring Irish town/city you're passing through, whereas Dublin is a world class city. If you want to play golf on the 26th, treat yourself to some sort of nine hole local layout no one's ever heard of that's right on the way from Belfast to Dublin.

Agreed, Belfast felt more like Eastern Europe in the 80s to me. Dublin is a much more cosmopolitan town.

 

When you say "Drive to Dublin and go home" is it a night-time departure?

Given you are A) finishin at Lahinch B) Already have a one way car rental from Belfast (which will be crazy expensive btw) and C) Already will have seen Dublin, I would recommend flying home out of Shannon. USAirways/American flys there direct from Philadelphia.