Dublin, Ireland course recommendations?

[hammergolf]

Looking to add a few days to my upcoming Ireland trip. Going to spend 3 days in Dublin, looking to play golf twice. I see Portmarnock GC, The Island, Royal Dublin, and Portmarnock Links. Any advice what are the best two to play?

[buckI]

If strictly on a Dublin I would do Portmarnock GC and island.   If okay with about an hour drive I really liked European Club.

[puttnforthe8]

Having lived there for many years:  Island, Baltry(Co. Louth), European Club.  

 

Less expensive inland rounds:  Play 36 at Carton House - inlands links and potentially the best parkland in Ire.

 

Portmarnock is decent, but not a course I would choose for many reasons....note:  I have played it well over 3 dozen times because of competitions.

 

Form Dublin - Royal Co Down is not that far....if you have time it is well worth the trip...

 

you say "twice", If it were me I would make the drive to Co Down and the next day play the Island.  If you don't want to travel far - I would do the Island and Baltray.  If you 'need' to play history, you can do Portmarnock and add Island or Baltray.  

 

 

[Chanceman]

The Island and The European Club

[Robber6656]

The Island for sure.

[hammergolf]

5 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Having lived there for many years:  Island, Baltry(Co. Louth), European Club.  

 

Less expensive inland rounds:  Play 36 at Carton House - inlands links and potentially the best parkland in Ire.

 

Portmarnock is decent, but not a course I would choose for many reasons....note:  I have played it well over 3 dozen times because of competitions.

 

Form Dublin - Royal Co Down is not that far....if you have time it is well worth the trip...

 

you say "twice", If it were me I would make the drive to Co Down and the next day play the Island.  If you don't want to travel far - I would do the Island and Baltray.  If you 'need' to play history, you can do Portmarnock and add Island or Baltray.  

 

 

Thanks for the advice! Would love to play Royal County down, but it will have to wait for my next trip. From Dublin will be driving over to the west coast and playing Doonbeg, Lahinch x2, Ballybunion x2, and Tralee x2. What do you think about Druids Glen?

Edited December 26, 2020 by hammergolf

[Chanceman]

Druids Glen is OK but not in the same class as the links courses. For an inland course, give Macreddin a try. Similar to DG and in the same area but about 1/4 the price. Guarantee you will love it.

[hammergolf]

9 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Druids Glen is OK but not in the same class as the links courses. For an inland course, give Macreddin a try. Similar to DG and in the same area but about 1/4 the price. Guarantee you will love it.

Just looked at it online. Looks GREAT! And the rates are very reasonable. I think I may add this one and The Island unless you could recommend a good one on the way from Dublin to Shannon. We will be driving over to Shannon after my second round to pick up the rest of our group. I’ll have enough links golf in the week. Thanks for the recommendation! As always, too many good courses and not enough time to play them all...

Edited December 26, 2020 by hammergolf

[Copacetic]

Macreddin is good value but a bit gimmicky and varied, not worth it on a trip from abroad.  It’s quite a bit out of your way too, druids glen is fine, but not amazing, powercourt probably a bit nicer. Nothing unusual though. The island and portmarnock are the right calls for links in Dublin and close to each other, so could stay near them for a night to shorten travel time. The island just had work done on a few holes and bedding in lovely. 
 

best bet is then to play somewhere on way to Shannon, k club, Palmerstown house, adare manor are probably the best or at least best destination parklands on the way. Palmerstown house slightly run down now, but great value and good course. The other two are previous and upcoming Ryder cup venues, so a bit more special than just a random parkland. K club ok value, adare manor not so much.  

[Chanceman]

We played 20 rounds of golf in Ireland over 3 weeks and Macreddin was regarded as the find of the trip. Hidden away in the Wicklow hills, it was a little gem. 

[sabram]

If you have any interest in a 36 hole day, play the Island and Corballis. They are right next to each other. The Island is one of my favorites and a must play. Corballis is a hidden gem and very inexpensive.

 

Corballis Links Photo Tour

 

The Island Photo Tour

 

 

Corballis #3 par 3 

 

 

The Island #18 from tee

Edited December 27, 2020 by sabram

[hammergolf]

3 hours ago, Chanceman said:

We played 20 rounds of golf in Ireland over 3 weeks and Macreddin was regarded as the find of the trip. Hidden away in the Wicklow hills, it was a little gem. 

How would you compare Macreddin to Palmerstown House? Palmerstown is a little move convenient travel wise, but the layout at Macreddin looks better.

[puttnforthe8]

O'Meara Carton

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by puttnforthe8

[puttnforthe8]

14 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

How would you compare Macreddin to Palmerstown House? Palmerstown is a little move convenient travel wise, but the layout at Macreddin looks better.

If you are going for a round near Dublin, then the O'Meara course at Carton House is an excellent choice.  Way better than those 2.  

 

While Macreddin is decent, it is not worth a trip.  I lived in Ire for 5+ years and Macreddin wouldn't even be top 50.

 

You could make a slight detour and stop at Adare Manor which would be awesome.   

Edited December 27, 2020 by puttnforthe8

[hammergolf]

52 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

If you are going for a round near Dublin, then the O'Meara course at Carton House is an excellent choice.  Way better than those 2.  

 

While Macreddin is decent, it is not worth a trip.  I lived in Ire for 5+ years and Macreddin wouldn't even be top 50.

 

You could make a slight detour and stop at Adare Manor which would be awesome.   

We will be leaving Dublin in the morning heading to Shannon., I’m looking for somewhere to play that’s on the way. Seems like Palmerstown House is the most convenient and also a nice course.

[puttnforthe8]

12 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

We will be leaving Dublin in the morning heading to Shannon., I’m looking for somewhere to play that’s on the way. Seems like Palmerstown House is the most convenient and also a nice course.

 

Yeah...it is ok.  The Heritage is also on the way and IMO a little better than PT.   While not the greatest course you could play Royal Curragh to say you played the oldest course in Ire.

[azmx]

Agree with the advice here but I will say Royal Dublin is also pretty good. I’d play it 9 times out of 10 vs Portmarnock which is probably the my personal favorite for most overrated course In the world. 

[Copacetic]

O’ Meara is fine too but it’s not really on your way to Shannon, Palmerstown is 5 mins off the motorway you will be on, only issue is it’s quite close to Dublin, so not far on your way. It’s a nice layout, fair off the tee, but as hard as you like with proper tee options. A great deal of money was spent on building it and most holes you can’t even see another hole.  Was out there 6 or 7 times this year and always enjoyable, pic from September. 

[DoubleorQuits]

Baltray and The Island.  

[Ray Ray Got Game]

On 12/25/2020 at 10:15 PM, buckI said:

If strictly on a Dublin I would do Portmarnock GC and island.   If okay with about an hour drive I really liked European Club.

Have to agree with this given your time restraints. Glad the Island is finally getting the recognition it deserves from overseas visitors.

[Copacetic]

Few pics of the Island this week via head green keeper..

[Lefty_89]

I played Portmarnock back in March and it was incredible. A front blew in the night before and there were steady 45-50mph winds from 8am onward...brutal.

 

I wanted to loop another course in the afternoon and got a round in at Luttrellstown Castle; obviously not well known, but a great inexpensive inland track. Very enjoyable.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Lefty_89

[ND2005]

On 12/25/2020 at 8:04 PM, puttnforthe8 said:

Having lived there for many years:  Island, Baltry(Co. Louth), European Club.  

 

Less expensive inland rounds:  Play 36 at Carton House - inlands links and potentially the best parkland in Ire.

 

Portmarnock is decent, but not a course I would choose for many reasons....note:  I have played it well over 3 dozen times because of competitions.

 

Form Dublin - Royal Co Down is not that far....if you have time it is well worth the trip...

 

you say "twice", If it were me I would make the drive to Co Down and the next day play the Island.  If you don't want to travel far - I would do the Island and Baltray.  If you 'need' to play history, you can do Portmarnock and add Island or Baltray.  

 

 

 

Portmarnock was the least impressive course of our ~10 course trip. 

[Salliesboy13]

I would say a trip to Baltray or County Down if possible to squeeze in the itinerary. However, Island and Portmarnock are tough to beat. Island is more akin to courses out West, while Portmarnock is more indicative of what you would see in the Open rota. People like to say it is unremarkable but the views of the estuary, Howth Head, and Ireland's eye make it a very special place.

[azmx]

Portmarnock is boring in every single way. Absolutely the worst “name” links course I have ever played. This is not based off one time. I’ve played it >10 times and thought it was boring every time and, yes, I’ve shot good scores on it as well. There’s no course in the world less deserving of its ranking than Portmarnock. 
 

So, yeah, that’s my opinion. If you care for decent architecture at all I’d skip it. Other recommendations here are solid. 

[jwellefson1]

To second what everyone has said about the Island, it's a lot of fun with a lot of variety for a true links. Definitely worth trying to get to.

 

One other poster mentioned driving to Royal County Down. If you have a lot of free time on one of your days you should explore driving to RCD. It's the best course I've played in my opinion. The front nine has three of my four favorite golf holes I've played. It is truly beyond spectacular.

[hammergolf]

On 1/8/2021 at 6:13 AM, jwellefson1 said:

To second what everyone has said about the Island, it's a lot of fun with a lot of variety for a true links. Definitely worth trying to get to.

 

One other poster mentioned driving to Royal County Down. If you have a lot of free time on one of your days you should explore driving to RCD. It's the best course I've played in my opinion. The front nine has three of my four favorite golf holes I've played. It is truly beyond spectacular.

How hard is it to get to from Dublin airport? We will prob land there on a Wed morning. Play golf Wed and Fri. Only thing is we will have to drive to Shannon Friday to pick up the rest of our group for 7 days of Doonbeg, Lahinch, Ballybunion, and Tralee. SO we would have to play RCD on Wed for it to work on the trip. Not sure if thats the place to play after a red eye flight with little sleep. 

[puttnforthe8]

12 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

How hard is it to get to from Dublin airport? We will prob land there on a Wed morning. Play golf Wed and Fri. Only thing is we will have to drive to Shannon Friday to pick up the rest of our group for 7 days of Doonbeg, Lahinch, Ballybunion, and Tralee. SO we would have to play RCD on Wed for it to work on the trip. Not sure if thats the place to play after a red eye flight with little sleep. 

Oh man...that is a easy drive. ..it is about 1:45 from the airport...motorway for the majority of the way.  But yeah...right off the plane is tough...but geez, you are there and that would be tough to pass up.  I am not sure you should pass it up.  

[Copacetic]

RCD is a very easy drive from the airport. 1.45 according to google, but it’s probably more like 1.15 if arriving off an early flight. Personally though I wouldn’t do it Wednesday, I’d get a hotel in north Dublin, maybe the grand in malahide. Play the island of the plane (about 15 mins from airport) or if can check in early, in the afternoon then do rcd on Thursday morning.  
 

the drive up and back is less than crossing Dublin traffic to any of the Wicklow courses. If up to it could even play RCD and the island on the Thursday. It’s bright here from 5am until 10.30pm in the summer. Then can fit in portmarnock on the Wednesday at some stage. (10 mins from malahide)

[puttnforthe8]

18 hours ago, Copacetic said:

RCD is a very easy drive from the airport. 1.45 according to google, but it’s probably more like 1.15 if arriving off an early flight. Personally though I wouldn’t do it Wednesday, I’d get a hotel in north Dublin, maybe the grand in malahide. Play the island of the plane (about 15 mins from airport) or if can check in early, in the afternoon then do rcd on Thursday morning.  
 

the drive up and back is less than crossing Dublin traffic to any of the Wicklow courses. If up to it could even play RCD and the island on the Thursday. It’s bright here from 5am until 10.30pm in the summer. Then can fit in portmarnock on the Wednesday at some stage. (10 mins from malahide)

I read the post as the only option for RCD would be Wed based on their trip. So this would not work.  Hence, yes Wednesday is doable, an easy drive and given the opportunity, it should be taken.  

Edited January 14, 2021 by puttnforthe8