Another Ireland Itinerary - working on the bucket list!

[SpacklerLives]

Hi all!  Long time reader, first time poster.  Finally planning a first trip to Ireland for next May/June and need help deciding on an itinerary.  There was a recent topic by coolcucumber_1 that was especially helpful.  I’ve narrowed the bucket tracks list to:  Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Tralee, Old Head, Waterville, Carne, and Enniscrone.  The challenge is, we have 6 full days for golf, and while we can play 36 several days running, 23 hours of driving seems prohibitive.  Should we drop Royal County Down and Royal Portrush, saving 5 hrs of driving?  If so, any thoughts on the following itinerary?

 

Day 1 - Arrive in Dublin, Old Head afternoon (stay in Killarney) 
Day 2 - Waterville / Dooks (2nd night in Killarney)
Day 3 - Tralee (3rd night in Killarney)
Day 4 - Ballybunion (stay near Lahinch)
Day 5 - Lahinch (stay in Ballina)
Day 6 - Carne / Enniscrone (2nd night in Ballina)
Day 7 - afternoon flight Dublin
 

All feedback will be rewarded in positive golf karma.  Thanks!

[ND2005]

45 minutes ago, SpacklerLives said:

Hi all!  Long time reader, first time poster.  Finally planning a first trip to Ireland for next May/June and need help deciding on an itinerary.  There was a recent topic by coolcucumber_1 that was especially helpful.  I’ve narrowed the bucket tracks list to:  Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Tralee, Old Head, Waterville, Carne, and Enniscrone.  The challenge is, we have 6 full days for golf, and while we can play 36 several days running, 23 hours of driving seems prohibitive.  Should we drop Royal County Down and Royal Portrush, saving 5 hrs of driving?  If so, any thoughts on the following itinerary?

 

Day 1 - Arrive in Dublin, Old Head afternoon (stay in Killarney) 
Day 2 - Waterville / Dooks (2nd night in Killarney)
Day 3 - Tralee (3rd night in Killarney)
Day 4 - Ballybunion (stay near Lahinch)
Day 5 - Lahinch (stay in Ballina)
Day 6 - Carne / Enniscrone (2nd night in Ballina)
Day 7 - afternoon flight Dublin
 

All feedback will be rewarded in positive golf karma.  Thanks!

 

Day 1 is just a brutal travel day especially when you throw in jet lag.

 

Remember that driving in Ireland is very different than the US. You aren't cruising at 70mph on a highway. It's tiny roads, lots of twists and turns, especially as you get further away from major cities. 

 

If you must play Old Head on day of arrival, I would at the very least book a hotel in Kinsale rather than traveling onward from there to Killarney. 

 

Dublin airport to Old head is almost a 4 hour drive, and Old Head to Killarney is another couple hours. Combine with the hours for golf and you are talking a miserable day. 

 

If I were doing it, I'd just fly into Dublin, see the city that day (or play Portmarnock), and stay in Dublin for 1 night, then depart for Kinsale fresh on day 2 and play Old Head that day. 

 

 

 

 

[hammergolf]

That first day will be a beast…. 7+ hour flight with 6hr time change, then 3.5hr drive to Old Head. 18 holes of golf on very little sleep then another 2hr drive to Kilarney. That’s ALOT. Then the plan to play 36 the next day on top of that. I would recommend you add a couple days to your trip so you reasonably fit in all the courses on your itinerary. 

OPTION I 

 

Day 1 Arrive in Dublin drive to Old Head play 18 stay in Kinsale

Day 2 Drive to Waterville play 18 holes stay in Killarney

Day 3 Drive to Dooks play 18, drive to Tralee play 18 stay in Listowel

Day 4 Drive to Ballybunion play 18, stay in Lahinch

Day 5 Play Lahinch, drive to Ballina

Day 6 Play Carne stay in Ballina

Day 7 Play Enniscrone stay in Balliba

Day 8 Drive to Dublin Airport and fly home

 

OPTION II

 

Day 1 Arrive in Dublin drive to Old Head play 18 stay in Kinsale

Day 2 Drive to Waterville play 18 holes stay in Killarney

Day 3 Drive to Dooks play 18, stay in Killarney

Day 4 Drive to Tralee play 18, stay in Listowel or Ballybunion

Day 5 Play Ballybunion drive to Lahinch

Day 6 Play Lahinch, drive to Ballina

Day 7 Play Carne stay in Ballina

Day 8 Play Enniscrone stay in Ballina 

Day 9 Drive to Dublin Airport and fly home

 

 

These  itineraries give you time to relax and enjoy your golf without exhausting yourself. 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by hammergolf

[stanford88]

I think both hammergolf and ND2005 make great points. 

 

RCD and Portrush are amazing places, but I think Old Head is far too south to entertain them.

 

We've done RCD, Portrush, Portmarnock/Euro club, Bally, Lahinch in one week trip.  A lot of driving though. 

T

[mshills]

Question for those who have some experience here….is self-booking, I.e.: taking a weekend to research and make the lodging and golf reservations without too much analysis paralysis the way to go? Or are package operators worth checking out?

 

I am a veteran business traveler but this is a whole different thing. I’d always gravitate to booking on my own, but I am not sure what the premium is for the aggregator so I’ve never really looked into it. 

[SpacklerLives]

Hammergolf and ND2005 - many thanks for the guidance!  Making our way to Old Head on day one and spending the night there seems like just the right call.  Followed by 18 on day 2, allowing for time to drive in the morning, and 36 on day 3.

 

stanford88 -  As much as we want to play those in the north, looks like they will have to wait until the next trip.  Your trip sounds epic as well.

 

mshills - I am a vet business traveler as well and actually enjoy doing the research on my own, narrowing the best courses, figuring out logistics, etc.  My main concern is getting the tee times to line up to match the schedule.  With several courses centered around Killarney, we have some flexibility.  That said, if we're having trouble getting times to line up over the coming weeks, I wouldn't hesitate to reach out to a tour co for help.  

 

[hammergolf]

20 minutes ago, SpacklerLives said:

Hammergolf and ND2005 - many thanks for the guidance!  Making our way to Old Head on day one and spending the night there seems like just the right call.  Followed by 18 on day 2, allowing for time to drive in the morning, and 36 on day 3.

 

stanford88 -  As much as we want to play those in the north, looks like they will have to wait until the next trip.  Your trip sounds epic as well.

 

mshills - I am a vet business traveler as well and actually enjoy doing the research on my own, narrowing the best courses, figuring out logistics, etc.  My main concern is getting the tee times to line up to match the schedule.  With several courses centered around Killarney, we have some flexibility.  That said, if we're having trouble getting times to line up over the coming weeks, I wouldn't hesitate to reach out to a tour co for help.  

 

You’ll have enough adrenaline running to get you through the drive to Old Head and golf, but you will hit the proverbial wall late that afternoon. Take a nice shower after the round, but try to avoid taking a nap. Have a good dinner and try to stay up until at least 9 or 10 pm. Then you’ll sleep like a baby, and when you wake up in the morning you’ll be adjusted to Ireland time for the rest of your trip.

[ND2005]

31 minutes ago, SpacklerLives said:

Hammergolf and ND2005 - many thanks for the guidance!  Making our way to Old Head on day one and spending the night there seems like just the right call.  Followed by 18 on day 2, allowing for time to drive in the morning, and 36 on day 3.

 

stanford88 -  As much as we want to play those in the north, looks like they will have to wait until the next trip.  Your trip sounds epic as well.

 

mshills - I am a vet business traveler as well and actually enjoy doing the research on my own, narrowing the best courses, figuring out logistics, etc.  My main concern is getting the tee times to line up to match the schedule.  With several courses centered around Killarney, we have some flexibility.  That said, if we're having trouble getting times to line up over the coming weeks, I wouldn't hesitate to reach out to a tour co for help.  

 

There is on site lodging at Old Head but it’s $$$$

 

Kinsale is about 20 min drive and is a nice small town, actually known as a “foodie” town. Had a great date night with my wife at the Black Pig wine bar. 

[njlam]

I just returned from a similar 1^st time to Ireland trip where we visited:

Ballybunion/Waterville/Lahinch/County Sligo/Portstewart/Royal Portrush/RCD (in that order)

For our trip, we wanted a few things:
1. To try to keep the daily time driving to less than a round of golf (4-5 hours)

2. To play historic courses which are over 100 years old.

3. As our trip include 8 players, to have a driver/tour operator to handle all the logistics.

A few random thoughts regarding the OP’s itinerary.

In my opinion, if this is a bucket list trip, it would be hard to miss Royal Portrush and Royal County Down. I felt these courses were a cut above the other courses we played.

If you are flying into Dublin, Portmarnoch is an easy place to start without too much travel on the first day.

Old Head, while an impressive piece of land/scenery, many have said it is quite an average golf course with no historic value (it is less than 25 years old). It would be criminal to miss RP and RCD just to play this course.

We put County Sligo on the itinerary to bridge the travel gap between southern and Northern Ireland. Carne and Enniscrone were considered for similar reasons, but there was too much brain damage travel wise compared to Sligo.

If you go the tour operator route, I can’t recommend Travelling the Fairways, run by a guy named Fraser Cromarty more highly. Knowledgeable, connected and gentlemanly, this guy is the best and will politely tell you what is possible and what is enjoyable when it comes to ambitious golf trips.

just my $.02, YMMV…

[SpacklerLives]

In an effort to close the loop, while we were unable to get our act together for 2023, we are all set for June 2024.  With Portrush/RCD basically having zero available times all next summer, we will plan on a return trip in a few years.

 

 

Here's our schedule:

 

Day 1 - Arrive DUB 8am, [3hr25mn] 4:15pm-Old Head [1hr40mn] (Ross Hotel-Killarney)
Day 2 - [35mn] 12:20pm-Dooks, Ring of Kerry (Killarney)
Day 3 - [1hr15mn] 11am-Waterville, Ring of Kerry (Killarney)
Day 4 - [45mn] 7:30am-Tralee, [40mn] 1:50pm-Ballybunion [2hr includes ferry] (AirBnB-Lahinch)
Day 5 - [20mn] 8:06am-Lahinch / Cliffs of Moher, Matt Molloys [3hr30mn] (Talbot Hotel-Belmullet)
Day 6 - [10mn] 8am-Carne, [1hr10mn] 3:20pm-Enniscrone [2hr15mn] (Annebrook House Hotel-Mullingar)

 

The first day will be long but would rather get to Killarney and stay in the same place for 3 nights.  Don't love getting up super early Day 4, but would rather stay in the same hotel instead of switching and saving 30 mins drive in the morning.  Lahinch to Carne is a haul, but with an early tee time we have all afternoon to get there.

 

Now I just need to figure out which courses we need caddies for, how many caddies, whether any of those tracks have carts, and get 2 other friends to commit! 

 

Greens fees are getting nuts.  With 8 rounds in 6 days our average cost per round of the above tracks is $311.

 

Thanks again to everyone on this forum, the info here has been super helpful!

[hammergolf]

22 hours ago, SpacklerLives said:

In an effort to close the loop, while we were unable to get our act together for 2023, we are all set for June 2024.  With Portrush/RCD basically having zero available times all next summer, we will plan on a return trip in a few years.

 

 

Here's our schedule:

 

Day 1 - Arrive DUB 8am, [3hr25mn] 4:15pm-Old Head [1hr40mn] (Ross Hotel-Killarney)
Day 2 - [35mn] 12:20pm-Dooks, Ring of Kerry (Killarney)
Day 3 - [1hr15mn] 11am-Waterville, Ring of Kerry (Killarney)
Day 4 - [45mn] 7:30am-Tralee, [40mn] 1:50pm-Ballybunion [2hr includes ferry] (AirBnB-Lahinch)
Day 5 - [20mn] 8:06am-Lahinch / Cliffs of Moher, Matt Molloys [3hr30mn] (Talbot Hotel-Belmullet)
Day 6 - [10mn] 8am-Carne, [1hr10mn] 3:20pm-Enniscrone [2hr15mn] (Annebrook House Hotel-Mullingar)

 

The first day will be long but would rather get to Killarney and stay in the same place for 3 nights.  Don't love getting up super early Day 4, but would rather stay in the same hotel instead of switching and saving 30 mins drive in the morning.  Lahinch to Carne is a haul, but with an early tee time we have all afternoon to get there.

 

Now I just need to figure out which courses we need caddies for, how many caddies, whether any of those tracks have carts, and get 2 other friends to commit! 

 

Greens fees are getting nuts.  With 8 rounds in 6 days our average cost per round of the above tracks is $311.

 

Thanks again to everyone on this forum, the info here has been super helpful!

Fantastic itinerary! Yes, the first day will be longggggggg but definitely worth it. Maybe you can get some sleep on the flight and in the van to Old Head. When you land you’ll be running on adrenaline and will hit “the wall” around 4-6 pm.

As far as caddies, I would definitely recommend one at Waterville, and Lahinch. The other courses aren’t a must as there aren’t as many blind shots, but it would definitely help with lines.
The early morning for Carne is definitely worth it. For me it’s my favorite and unlike anywhere else on earth! 

Carne, Waterville, Dooks, Tralee, Old Head, and Enniscrone have carts. Ballybunion and Lahinch do not. 
 

Enjoy!

[Chanceman]

Disagree with the need for a caddy at Waterville and I do think you may need one at Carne. Easy to get lost out there with three intersecting nines.

[st1800e]

7 hours ago, hammergolf said:

The early morning for Carne is definitely worth it. For me it’s my favorite and unlike anywhere else on earth! 

It’s at the edge of the earth!

 

[Chanceman]

6 hours ago, st1800e said:

It’s at the edge of the earth!

 

Carne is a memorable golf course. But remember you will want to play all 27 holes (the Hackett 18 and the McIntosh 9) which is roughly 6 hours taking you to 2pm which is cutting it fine to get to a 320pm tee time at Enniscrone . I would try to play a tad later at EC if possible.

[st1800e]

The 3rd nine at Carne, while decent , isn’t top notch or memorable, and quite different than the main course.  Having played it, I’d say you could pass on it. 

[SpacklerLives]

I think 36 on the final day is all we can handle.  I’m leaning caddies at Tralee/Bally/Carne since they fall on our 36 hole days.  Maybe 4caddie at Waterville and Lahinch to save a few bucks.  Otherwise, we’ll walk the rest.

[hammergolf]

4 hours ago, SpacklerLives said:

I think 36 on the final day is all we can handle.  I’m leaning caddies at Tralee/Bally/Carne since they fall on our 36 hole days.  Maybe 4caddie at Waterville and Lahinch to save a few bucks.  Otherwise, we’ll walk the rest.

The last 4 holes at Bally are a tough finish and walk, so keep that in mind. If you have a group, I definitely recommend a forecaddie instead of separate caddies. They will give you lines, yardages, and read your putts, just not carry your bag. My group had individual caddies our first day, but we preferred forecaddie after that.