Ireland trip 2018

[short game]

i have signed up for an Ireland trip through Morton golf in August of 2018. The trip is being done through Carolina Golf Association. The trip includes play at

 

Ballybunion (Old and Cashen)

Lahinch

Tralee

Waterville

Trump Doonbeg

 

The trip total is being done for a reasonable price and looks great.

 

Any thoughts from the more experienced travelers?

Any experience good or bad with Morton golf?

Worth coming a couple days early to play Royal County Down?

[mtufenk]

That's a great lineup but a long way from Newcastle Northern Ireland where RCD is located. Would need more than a couple of extra days to do it justice. I assume you are flying into Shannon?

[short game]

yes - although we are responsible for the air travel side of things. don't know that we could allocate more than 2 days though. we would only have time to play RCD once. plus thats a lot of consecutive days of golf for us older fella's....

[mtufenk]

With limited time I would fly in\out of Shannon and concentrate on SW Ireland where your courses are. Plenty of non-golf things to do: Galway,Burren,Cliffs of Moher,Muckross Park, Kenmare, Gap of Dunloe, Ring of Kerry, etc...

[AuldPLO Swiss Golftrotter]

If you have time in Waterville, it could be worth trying Hog's Head that should open early next year.

Closer to Shannon, you could try Adare Manor, a beautiful parkland. It should also reopen early 2018 after a major refurbishment program.

[gussie]

I live in south west Ireland

Like your travel plans

Shannon is great for golfers very close to lahinch and doonbeg (40 min)

Bring extra balls wet gloves etc

Golf gear pricey in Ireland

Weather in August should be good (summer ?)

You will have daylight till 1030 ish so no excuses for not doing 36 holes

Royal County Down is probably 4 hrs from Shannon depending on traffic

Portmarnock should be considered also if your coming early

Ireland has some great links courses

Do some research but trip your doing in sw Ireland is excellent

Adare manor will reopen in march/April after €200 million refurb

Don't be surprised if it gets a Ryder cup

[short game]

thanks for the input. we sent our deposit in and we are looking forward to the trip next summer.

[jmurdock81]

Old Head should be looked at and is in the Southwest. We will be there in late June and playing Tralee and Waterville as well. Galway has a nice course and the city is really fun

[short game]

i think we have given up on any thoughts about heading north to RCD. We are liking the idea of trying to play Adare on the day of arrival. Should be awesome after the Fazio re-design.

[puttnforthe8]

i have signed up for an Ireland trip through Morton golf in August of 2018. The trip is being done through Carolina Golf Association. The trip includes play at

 

Ballybunion (Old and Cashen)

Lahinch

Tralee

Waterville

Trump Doonbeg

 

The trip total is being done for a reasonable price and looks great.

 

Any thoughts from the more experienced travelers? good trip...nothing else needed

Any experience good or bad with Morton golf? no comment...always handle my own trips

Worth coming a couple days early to play Royal County Down? yes, 1000%

 

you could also come in early and get other golf in like ennicrone, rosses point, galway, carne.

[short game]

the new opening of Adare has peaked our interest. One of Fazio's design team is a member at our club and he said the course is awesome and a "can't miss". So we are going to arrive a day early and probably stay in Limerick or Adare - then play Adare on Sunday morning and from there catch up with our group.

 

any good paces to stay in Limerick?

 

i am a little worried about travel from Shannon to Adare and then back to lahinch on sunday pm. But I guess we can work that out.

[imakaveli]

Last year I played Waterville, Tralee, Ballybunion and Dooks, I would rate it like this:

- WW

- Tralee

- BB

- Dooks

[Chigolfer2]

I would also do Old Head since it is a bit closer. I'm thinking of a separate Northern Ireland trip around RCD, Portrush and Portstewart. We planned our own trip with the same courses with Old Head instead of Doonbeg. Best decision was getting a driver.

[short game]

went back and forth between old head and Adare. But figured Adare would be a nice change of pace given that the rest of the courses will be all links.

[Chigolfer2]

I would not call Old Head a links course it is a cliffs course. go one more day early and do both

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

I’m going to Ireland in a few days for the first time. Golf digest has county down World #1 & portrush #7. Your thoughts on this?

[AuldPLO Swiss Golftrotter]

Loved both, solid tracks ! Portrush probably even better since two new holes have been added.

[davep043]

I'm going to Ireland in a few days for the first time. Golf digest has county down World #1 & portrush #7. Your thoughts on this?

I'm laughing, the time to ask for opinions is when you're planning! Ireland is a brilliant place, I've enjoyed every place I've gone and every course I've played there I've enjoyed golf at little-known courses just as much as at the more famous and highly ranked courses. Whether a course is #1 or #7 or #100 in someone's opinion shouldn't matter, just enjoy yourself. Be sure to have a pint of the black stuff, and strike up a conversation with the fellow next to you at the bar.

Sadly, I've not played in Northern Ireland, but some day I'd love to add my own opinion of RCD and Portrush.

[imakaveli]

RCD is on the opposite side of Ireland, one of the best courses in the world but I would leave it for another trip with the others like Royal Portrush, Portmarnock...

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

I got back from Europe last week. Great trip and the weather was pretty good!

 

Countries visited: England, Ireland, Northern Ireland

 

Courses played: Portstewart, Royal Portrush, Royal County Down (all in N. Ireland)

 

Recommended hotels: Portrush Atlantic, Slieve Donard, Portmarnock Hotel & Golf

 

Fun Attractions: Cerrick-a-Rede rope bridge was great

 

Portstewart:

Very cold. The course was open despite snow on it. Temp greens were disappointing. I'd probably rate it higher if the weather was better and we played the real greens. Walked without a caddy. I used an electric trolley for the first. Good course. Very nice clubhouse. Front 9 is thru the dunes. Back 9 is flatter but has scenic views and a lot fairer. In my top 30 ever but I probably would play Ballybunnion, Lahinch or Old Head on my next trip to Ireland instead of Portstewart. It's nice that Portstewart is only about 15 mins west of Royal Portrush.

 

Royal Portrush:

Very interesting but playable. My favorite course of the trip. Great caddies and pace of play. The course wasn't busy. They gave us a $20 pro shop merchandise credit b/c holes 8 & 9 were closed. Calamity is a great par 3 and the finishing holes were very fun. I think 18 will be a birdie for next year's Open.

 

Royal County Down:

The primary reason why I went to Ireland. Golf Digest's world #1 course. It was very high on my bucket list. The UK model of private clubs being accessible is so much better than in the US. We stayed at the Slieve Donard. Good caddies not great. Frost delay in the morning. The front 9 is fantastic. The finishing holes are weak. It's a great course but imho it has weaknesses: too hard for the average player, weak finish, greens were a bit bumpy. Definitely a great course but I prefer Royal Portrush (more playable) and Pebble Beach (ocean is in play).

[short game]

Couple questions to the more experienced.

 

1. Car service. Does anyone have an auto service they recommend? Or is it best to use local tai service. I know there is no Uber there.

 

2. What courses would be best to take a caddy? I was thinking Lahinch and Ballybunion - but any others? (Tralee, Waterville, Doonbeg)

 

Thanks

[Bandy1080]

I’ve played all those courses and had great caddies at all of them. If you can swing the $$ I recommend it. Ask for mike at ballybunion.

[short game]

ok got back from the emerald isle on sunday and i will give you the redux

 

weather: overall good, we had 5 good days and 2 that were marked by high winds and rain.

 

courses

 

1. Adare Manor: the new course is nothing short of spectacular and was the highlight of the trip. It looks and feels very Augusta like. It is on a great setting on the estate and was fun to play. The word id the 2026 Ryder Cup will be there - but if the course in Italy is not ready then 2022.

 

2. Doonbeg: Fun layout. trump has done a great job with this one. The greens were a bit scratchy but the course was in good condition overall. great 18th finishing hole with water on the right

 

3. Lahinch: everything you want in Irish links golf and more. Fun holes, blind shots. The wind was stiff and it made it very tough.

 

4. Ballybunion: The old course was great. A couple quirky greens. The finishing holes are awesome.

 

The fairways at Lahinch and Bally were very thin and scratchy. They suffered from over 6 weeks without rain.

 

5. Ballybunion Cashen: Hated it.

 

6. Waterville: weather was not great here and they may have affected my overall review of this course but this is a strong and fun layout. Most of the trouble here is played out in front of you and it was fun to play.The 18th is a reachable par 5 that usually plays down wind.I hit my first tee ball right in the Atlantic and re - tee'd hitting my 3rd. Hit a 5 wood to the green and drained a putt to save par!

 

7.Tralee: We had perfect weather here. Arnie did a great job laying this baby out. The back has 2 holes that I classify as "quirky" but its a great layout overall. The 10th is a brut of a par 4 requiring 2 big shots to get to the green.

 

Hotels

 

Savoy Limerick: great

 

Lahinch Golf and Leisure : it sucked

 

International in Killarny : very good

 

Rain Gear: Galvin Green (Allen jacket, Alf pants) we had cold stinging rain at waterville and this stuff really protected you. Kept me warm and dry.

 

Flew in and out of Shannon. No problems except that my clubs were delayed at JFK and came in a day late. However Delta got them to me the next morning. Nice having customs right there at the airport.

 

Don't fly through JFK if you can avoid it.

[dhc1]

Anyone know if cell phones work at the following courses as I want to see if it makes sense to get Golf Genius scoring, which requires internet access.....

• Lahinch
  
• Hogs Head
  
• Tralee
  
• Waterville
  
• Ballybunion Old
  
• BB Cashen
  
• Dooks
  

Thanks.