Wives/Golf Ireland Trip

[eboettne]

I am looking to go to Ireland at the end of September this year for a week.  If it were up to me, I'd be playing golf every day at as many courses along the coast as possible.  

 

However, it will be me and a friend bringing both the wives and I so I'd like to come up with an itinerary that has 3-4 rounds of golf and some great cities and other things to do.  We would be flying into Shannon and arriving at 730am local time the first day.  It seems I could either drive towards Doonbeg/Lahinch or Ballybunion/Tralee/Waterville.  The wives will probably play 1 of the 2 rounds with us as well, they both plays 7-10 times a year and hit it well enough/keep up with a good pace so no need to worry there but don't want to golf every day.

 

Looking for direction on how to best take advantage of all 7 days. 

[Chanceman]

This is one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions.

Most obviously play Ballybunion then on to Tralee, Waterville and Killarney. Plenty to see, drive the Ring of Kerry. Pretty cool. Classic trip.

But then you could go Lahinch/Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Connemara/Clifden, Westport, Carne, Enniscrone/Sligo. That's nice too, very scenic, but the golf is a tad wilder.

Lots of other options though.

[eboettne]

On 1/2/2023 at 3:59 PM, Chanceman said:

This is one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions.

Most obviously play Ballybunion then on to Tralee, Waterville and Killarney. Plenty to see, drive the Ring of Kerry. Pretty cool. Classic trip.

But then you could go Lahinch/Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Connemara/Clifden, Westport, Carne, Enniscrone/Sligo. That's nice too, very scenic, but the golf is a tad wilder.

Lots of other options though.

Thanks! Kind of thinking start towards lahinch, stay in Galway, backtrack to cork, swing over to Killarney, Dingle, Ballybunion before returning to Shannon. 

[puttnforthe8]

Staying in Galway is a good option:  great place to be, nice town, great food (it is on a culinary rise by chefs).  But it is a bit out of the way for your destinations.

 

I would consider staying in Killarney Area or Adare Manor or near the water someplace (I personally love Lahinch).  

 

You could do trips like this and cover a lot of great golf and sites.

 

 

 

[hammergolf]

You could certainly do County Kerry. For golf you have Adare Manor, Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, Waterville, and Killarney as options. You could base yourself in Listowel or Killarney with plenty to see and do besides golf. While Cliffs of Moher gets the publicity, the Kerry Cliffs are amazing in there own rite. Would absolutely recommend doing the Ring Of Kerry in the clockwise direction to avoid the buses. Lots of nice sights around Killarney as well. I’ve included some pics of Kerry Cliffs, 

[eboettne]

4 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Staying in Galway is a good option:  great place to be, nice town, great food (it is on a culinary rise by chefs).  But it is a bit out of the way for your destinations.

 

I would consider staying in Killarney Area or Adare Manor or near the water someplace (I personally love Lahinch).  

 

You could do trips like this and cover a lot of great golf and sites.

 

 

 

That looks like a good route.  Mine was the same except I had us going all the way up to Galway and over to Cork/Kinsale as well BUT I had cut out the Waterville offshoot you added there.  

 

I'd like to stay in some larger cities for a night or 2 but otherwise I'd like smaller towns like Lahinch.

 

I'm also not a huge fan of driving so I don't imagine I'll want to drive more than 2 hours at a time before stopping somewhere.

[eboettne]

2 hours ago, hammergolf said:

You could certainly do County Kerry. For golf you have Adare Manor, Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, Waterville, and Killarney as options. You could base yourself in Listowel or Killarney with plenty to see and do besides golf. While Cliffs of Moher gets the publicity, the Kerry Cliffs are amazing in there own rite. Would absolutely recommend doing the Ring Of Kerry in the clockwise direction to avoid the buses. Lots of nice sights around Killarney as well. I’ve included some pics of Kerry Cliffs, 

Kerry Cliffs look amazing, thanks for the recommendations. 

 

I looked at the prices for Adare and it was like $2k for my wife and I to do a stay and play for 1 night so that's out.

[puttnforthe8]

2 hours ago, hammergolf said:

You could certainly do County Kerry. For golf you have Adare Manor, Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, Waterville, and Killarney as options. You could base yourself in Listowel or Killarney with plenty to see and do besides golf. While Cliffs of Moher gets the publicity, the Kerry Cliffs are amazing in there own rite. Would absolutely recommend doing the Ring Of Kerry in the clockwise direction to avoid the buses. Lots of nice sights around Killarney as well. I’ve included some pics of Kerry Cliffs, 

 

Good call...I love this area; love staying in Portmagee and fishing. 

[hammergolf]

Just now, eboettne said:

Kerry Cliffs look amazing, thanks for the recommendations. 

 

I looked at the prices for Adare and it was like $2k for my wife and I to do a stay and play for 1 night so that's out.

Yeah, Adare is very pricey. I would be more than happy playing Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, and Waterville. All GREAT courses and very convenient to Listowel (a traditional Irish village) or Killarney (small tourist city with plenty to see and do as well as tons of great restaurants. You also have the National Park in Killarney with Torq waterfall, Rosses Castle, and Muckross Abbey and house. Really beautiful spot.

[Petethreeput]

My wife and I went in September of '21.  We stayed in Lahinch, I wouldn't do that again, nor did I ask my wife to play it.  The course is tough, and would not be fun for her.  That day we also walked the Cliffs of Moher.

Then we drove to Killarney and used that as our base for 3 nights.  One day to Ballybunion (again, wife didn't play) and I was glad she wasn't asked to try and navigate the course, and then we spent a day in Dingle and took a boat ride which was really fun.

Then we did the Ring of Kerry.  Got up really early and missed the buses, stopped at Waterville and played it, and it was a good course for my wife and she enjoyed it, and then after lunch we continued around the Ring and missed the buses again, so as the driver it was perfect and my wife thought it was a perfect day.

Then we drove to Kinsale and played Old Head which was pretty difficult for her, but even when she picked up she could walk around and take in the views and she really enjoyed it.

 

Not sure where this puts you in relation to Shannon, we had to fly into Dublin because Shannon was closed, but I got my 4 rounds in and my wife got her couple of Irish rounds in, and we saw quite a bit.

 

I am not a travel guru, but this is what our travel guru recommended for us knowing my wife doesn't really golf.

[eboettne]

16 hours ago, Petethreeput said:

My wife and I went in September of '21.  We stayed in Lahinch, I wouldn't do that again, nor did I ask my wife to play it.  The course is tough, and would not be fun for her.  That day we also walked the Cliffs of Moher.

Then we drove to Killarney and used that as our base for 3 nights.  One day to Ballybunion (again, wife didn't play) and I was glad she wasn't asked to try and navigate the course, and then we spent a day in Dingle and took a boat ride which was really fun.

Then we did the Ring of Kerry.  Got up really early and missed the buses, stopped at Waterville and played it, and it was a good course for my wife and she enjoyed it, and then after lunch we continued around the Ring and missed the buses again, so as the driver it was perfect and my wife thought it was a perfect day.

Then we drove to Kinsale and played Old Head which was pretty difficult for her, but even when she picked up she could walk around and take in the views and she really enjoyed it.

 

Not sure where this puts you in relation to Shannon, we had to fly into Dublin because Shannon was closed, but I got my 4 rounds in and my wife got her couple of Irish rounds in, and we saw quite a bit.

 

I am not a travel guru, but this is what our travel guru recommended for us knowing my wife doesn't really golf.

 

Really good information, thank you!  It sounds like Waterville and I was thinking maybe Dooks would be a good course for my wife to play.  Then I can play Ballybunion and Lahinch by myself, would they be fairly easy to get on as a single the day before?   

 

Also, I'd like to set up some sort of base so we're not moving around every single night so Killarney sounds like a winner.  

[Petethreeput]

22 minutes ago, eboettne said:

 

Really good information, thank you!  It sounds like Waterville and I was thinking maybe Dooks would be a good course for my wife to play.  Then I can play Ballybunion and Lahinch by myself, would they be fairly easy to get on as a single the day before?   

 

Also, I'd like to set up some sort of base so we're not moving around every single night so Killarney sounds like a winner.  

I can't speak to Dooks since I didn't play it but we did like Killarney and stayed at Killarney International Hotel.  It was nice, but the highlight was my wife learning how to bet on the horses with a bunch of senior citizens at a local watering hole and after each race running across the street to the sports book.  She followed their lead and won, but then since she is a profligate drink buyer we actually didn't win anything.  Oddly enough they wanted us/her to return the next night, but we were pretty spent.  We were able to find good food in Killarney and while nothing was close (Ring of Kerry, Dingle, Ballybunion), it was a good mid-point for what we wanted to do, which was to be in a place with a nightlife and options.  Lots of small towns along the coast and we didn't want to be limited in options.

 

We got to Dingle around 9:30AM and had been told how magical it was.  After about 2 hours of walking around and shopping we got bored.  We booked a high speed boat trip out into the harbor and I would recommend doing this.  The cliffs from the water was spectacular, we got to see dolphins, sea lions, and some other stuff.

 

One thing I will say, We drove over to Ballybunion together and my wife who didn't feel comfortable driving found there was nothing to do there.  She walked up and down the beach and walked into town and then headed back to the course.  At the end of the round she had seen what she wanted and was sitting the car reading waiting for me to finish.  

 

Also, I went through an agency so I am not sure about availability for singles, I had a tee time for each round we played.  At Waterville we played by ourselves and at Old Head they put us with another twosome of very serious golfers, so when my wife picked up on 2 and started walking they were a tad flummoxed.  At Lahinch I played by myself and a caddie which wasn't ideal, but it tells me there could be room for late adds, though there were a lot of folks milling around.  I was surprised there were no other singles/doubles with whom I would have been paired.  At Ballybunion we played in a foursome.  Myself, two engineers from Stuttgart (Mercedes employees), and an assistant pro who found an opening and came out to play.  He fired a smooth 4 under but after 12 was 6 under, but my game can drag down the best of them.  It was a really enjoyable round but again would indicate a single might be able to get on as a late add.

 

Lahinch and Ballybunion were really difficult courses, and I was so happy my wife wasn't out there slogging about.

 

Lastly, about us a little.  We live in MT, we see natural beauty every single day so a slow walk through the Killarney National Forest was a non-starter for us.  We don't shop, we buy.  We make a list of who needs/wants what, we buy it and then we are done with that, we don't spend hours in a 100 square foot sweater store feeling every sweater, we see what we like, see if it looks/feels comfortable and then leave.  I only say this because we saw a ton of people just sitting on benches along the walkways of the ocean looking at waves and this might be perfect for you.  We are more movers, so keep that in mind if the boat trip seems like too much.

 

 

[eboettne]

1 hour ago, Petethreeput said:

I can't speak to Dooks since I didn't play it but we did like Killarney and stayed at Killarney International Hotel.  It was nice, but the highlight was my wife learning how to bet on the horses with a bunch of senior citizens at a local watering hole and after each race running across the street to the sports book.  She followed their lead and won, but then since she is a profligate drink buyer we actually didn't win anything.  Oddly enough they wanted us/her to return the next night, but we were pretty spent.  We were able to find good food in Killarney and while nothing was close (Ring of Kerry, Dingle, Ballybunion), it was a good mid-point for what we wanted to do, which was to be in a place with a nightlife and options.  Lots of small towns along the coast and we didn't want to be limited in options.

 

We got to Dingle around 9:30AM and had been told how magical it was.  After about 2 hours of walking around and shopping we got bored.  We booked a high speed boat trip out into the harbor and I would recommend doing this.  The cliffs from the water was spectacular, we got to see dolphins, sea lions, and some other stuff.

 

One thing I will say, We drove over to Ballybunion together and my wife who didn't feel comfortable driving found there was nothing to do there.  She walked up and down the beach and walked into town and then headed back to the course.  At the end of the round she had seen what she wanted and was sitting the car reading waiting for me to finish.  

 

Also, I went through an agency so I am not sure about availability for singles, I had a tee time for each round we played.  At Waterville we played by ourselves and at Old Head they put us with another twosome of very serious golfers, so when my wife picked up on 2 and started walking they were a tad flummoxed.  At Lahinch I played by myself and a caddie which wasn't ideal, but it tells me there could be room for late adds, though there were a lot of folks milling around.  I was surprised there were no other singles/doubles with whom I would have been paired.  At Ballybunion we played in a foursome.  Myself, two engineers from Stuttgart (Mercedes employees), and an assistant pro who found an opening and came out to play.  He fired a smooth 4 under but after 12 was 6 under, but my game can drag down the best of them.  It was a really enjoyable round but again would indicate a single might be able to get on as a late add.

 

Lahinch and Ballybunion were really difficult courses, and I was so happy my wife wasn't out there slogging about.

 

Lastly, about us a little.  We live in MT, we see natural beauty every single day so a slow walk through the Killarney National Forest was a non-starter for us.  We don't shop, we buy.  We make a list of who needs/wants what, we buy it and then we are done with that, we don't spend hours in a 100 square foot sweater store feeling every sweater, we see what we like, see if it looks/feels comfortable and then leave.  I only say this because we saw a ton of people just sitting on benches along the walkways of the ocean looking at waves and this might be perfect for you.  We are more movers, so keep that in mind if the boat trip seems like too much.

 

 

 

A lot of good information.  My family has a place in Big Sky, beautiful state!  We are more movers as well(on vacation at least) and would rather do activities like hiking, golfing, going to pubs/restaurants, etc.  Especially on a trip like this where we don't know when we'll be back, we'd like to see as much as possible(without feeling too rushed). However, I do think we'd be ok in a smaller town for 1 night but probably not multiple.  

 

The speed boat to see the cliffs sounds like a great time as long as the seas aren't too rough, neither of us do well with big waves on a boat.  We learned this on a cruise ship and again on a catamaran in cancun last April, we were essentially incapacitated by the waves. 

[puttnforthe8]

2 hours ago, eboettne said:

 

Really good information, thank you!  It sounds like Waterville and I was thinking maybe Dooks would be a good course for my wife to play.  Then I can play Ballybunion and Lahinch by myself, would they be fairly easy to get on as a single the day before?   

 

Also, I'd like to set up some sort of base so we're not moving around every single night so Killarney sounds like a winner.  

 

Not sure how well the wives play - but if they are not very good or super into it, I would avoid the big links courses.  

 

I would recommend either they paly at Killarney Golf and Fish as mentioned by Pete.  Or if they want to play links, Dingle (Ceann Sibeal) is a good little links that does not torture people.  Also, even if you don't stay at Adare Manor, the course would be a good option too.

 

 

[Petethreeput]

36 minutes ago, eboettne said:

 

A lot of good information.  My family has a place in Big Sky, beautiful state!  We are more movers as well(on vacation at least) and would rather do activities like hiking, golfing, going to pubs/restaurants, etc.  Especially on a trip like this where we don't know when we'll be back, we'd like to see as much as possible(without feeling too rushed). However, I do think we'd be ok in a smaller town for 1 night but probably not multiple.  

 

The speed boat to see the cliffs sounds like a great time as long as the seas aren't too rough, neither of us do well with big waves on a boat.  We learned this on a cruise ship and again on a catamaran in cancun last April, we were essentially incapacitated by the waves. 

Not golf, but a little from Dingle, so different than MT.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Petethreeput

[Petethreeput]

2 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

 

Not sure how well the wives play - but if they are not very good or super into it, I would avoid the big links courses.  

 

I would recommend either they paly at Killarney Golf and Fish as mentioned by Pete.  Or if they want to play links, Dingle (Ceann Sibeal) is a good little links that does not torture people.  Also, even if you don't stay at Adare Manor, the course would be a good option too.

 

 

You have spent a ton of time over there, what do you think?  I was just there a quick visit and some Irish Pilsners, you were there for an extended time.  Is there a better location than Killarney that would still offer some stuff to do for the none golfer(s)?

[Drwoods2017]

Piggybacking off this a bit.  Do people have any travel planners they recommend or just go at it yourself.  We're planning an 8 days trip in 2024. First time going so I want to be able see Ireland as well as play a couple rounds of golf.  I'm thinking of just doing lahinch and ballybunion.  Is adare manor a good place to book for a couple nights to explore out from there? Looking at the maps posted it seems like its a bit of drive from there to the places to visit.  We're planning on starting in Dublin moving south west and then across back to Dublin. Also for people who have played I know its completely different styles but Lahinch or Adare?

[jvincent]

7 hours ago, Drwoods2017 said:

 Also for people who have played I know its completely different styles but Lahinch or Adare?

 

Lahinch a millions times to one over Adare.

[eboettne]

7 hours ago, Drwoods2017 said:

Piggybacking off this a bit.  Do people have any travel planners they recommend or just go at it yourself.  We're planning an 8 days trip in 2024. First time going so I want to be able see Ireland as well as play a couple rounds of golf.  I'm thinking of just doing lahinch and ballybunion.  Is adare manor a good place to book for a couple nights to explore out from there? Looking at the maps posted it seems like its a bit of drive from there to the places to visit.  We're planning on starting in Dublin moving south west and then across back to Dublin. Also for people who have played I know its completely different styles but Lahinch or Adare?

 

Don't get me wrong, it would be awesome to have a travel planner but I got one quote and ho-ly crap it's quite a bit more than I imagined.  I expected a decent margin built in but I plan to do our trip for the about half of what they quoted me.  So far I have Ballybunion and Lahinch booked.  Also staying at Ballyseede Castle for a night. 

[Petethreeput]

8 hours ago, Drwoods2017 said:

Piggybacking off this a bit.  Do people have any travel planners they recommend or just go at it yourself.  We're planning an 8 days trip in 2024. First time going so I want to be able see Ireland as well as play a couple rounds of golf.  I'm thinking of just doing lahinch and ballybunion.  Is adare manor a good place to book for a couple nights to explore out from there? Looking at the maps posted it seems like its a bit of drive from there to the places to visit.  We're planning on starting in Dublin moving south west and then across back to Dublin. Also for people who have played I know its completely different styles but Lahinch or Adare?

I used Hidden Links and I thought Michelle was excellent as she guided us through covid.  We couldn’t believe how reasonable it was and we were able to say we like… don’t like… etc and voila there it was.

 

We did the same thing, flew in and out of Dublin, stayed 7 days, and it worked out great.

[Drwoods2017]

12 hours ago, eboettne said:

 

Don't get me wrong, it would be awesome to have a travel planner but I got one quote and ho-ly crap it's quite a bit more than I imagined.  I expected a decent margin built in but I plan to do our trip for the about half of what they quoted me.  So far I have Ballybunion and Lahinch booked.  Also staying at Ballyseede Castle for a night. 

The overwhelming part is just trying to figure out where to stay in relation to the courses.  Like trying to find a central location and piece it all together. I could probably do it but since its our first trip I wanna make sure I see everything I can.

[Drwoods2017]

12 hours ago, Petethreeput said:

I used Hidden Links and I thought Michelle was excellent as she guided us through covid.  We couldn’t believe how reasonable it was and we were able to say we like… don’t like… etc and voila there it was.

 

We did the same thing, flew in and out of Dublin, stayed 7 days, and it worked out great.

Filled out an information request.  It will just be myself playing golf so hopefully that won't be an issue.

[eboettne]

3 hours ago, Drwoods2017 said:

The overwhelming part is just trying to figure out where to stay in relation to the courses.  Like trying to find a central location and piece it all together. I could probably do it but since its our first trip I wanna make sure I see everything I can.

I may change by the time our trip comes but currently have us staying in a different town each night. Staying in Ballybunion > Cork > Killarney > Dingle > Doolin > Limerick

[hammergolf]

58 minutes ago, eboettne said:

I may change by the time our trip comes but currently have us staying in a different town each night. Staying in Ballybunion > Cork > Killarney > Dingle > Doolin > Limerick

Just speaking from experience, it will get very old and tiring changing accommodations every day. I tend to try and limit my changes to a couple places. 

[eboettne]

22 hours ago, hammergolf said:

Just speaking from experience, it will get very old and tiring changing accommodations every day. I tend to try and limit my changes to a couple places. 

Thanks for the tip, I was kind of thinking I was overdoing it.  Out of those towns I mentioned(or maybe ones I didn't like Kinsale) which would you most recommend staying at?  Looking for a more authentic experience, not necessarily touristy spots if that helps. 

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, eboettne said:

Thanks for the tip, I was kind of thinking I was overdoing it.  Out of those towns I mentioned(or maybe ones I didn't like Kinsale) which would you most recommend staying at?  Looking for a more authentic experience, not necessarily touristy spots if that helps. 

Killarney is close proximity to Ballybunion and Dingle so that would be a good base for that area. Plus, Killarney has more to do than the other towns. Cork would be a good base to see Blarney and that area. Really not a ton to see or do in Limerick, however I would recommend Lahinch or Doolin as a base for Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, etc. 

[eboettne]

1 minute ago, hammergolf said:

Killarney is close proximity to Ballybunion and Dingle so that would be a good base for that area. Plus, Killarney has more to do than the other towns. Cork would be a good base to see Blarney and that area. Really not a ton to see or do in Limerick, however I would recommend Lahinch or Doolin as a base for Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, etc. 

Thanks! I was thinking Ballybunion the first night because I have a 7:24AM tee time at the Old Course the 2nd day we're there.

 

Thinking besides that maybe Killarney, Cork and Lahinch or Doolin and call it good.

[hammergolf]

3 minutes ago, eboettne said:

Thanks! I was thinking Ballybunion the first night because I have a 7:24AM tee time at the Old Course the 2nd day we're there.

 

Thinking besides that maybe Killarney, Cork and Lahinch or Doolin and call it good.

Oh, in that case staying the night in Bally makes sense since it would be an hour drive from Killarney. If you’re not playing Lahinch, Doolin might make more sense. 

Edited January 12, 2023 by hammergolf

[Hawkeye77]

Staying in a wide variety of places in one week would be a big mistake, IMO.  Treat the wives to a decent couple of nights don't be pikers, and stay at Ballyseede Castle just outside Tralee.  You can get to Ballybunion from there easily enough and play Tralee and be closer for a day trip to Dingle for sightseeing.  Then base in or near Killarney.  Plenty of shopping for all to enjoy and good food. Lahinch was wonderful (and we were in Doolin for two nights), but Tralee is plenty darn good.  Dooks has incredible views and the first nine in particular are terrific.  We had to cancel our round and dinner at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club because the wife was ill, but drove back in there anyway to look around --- I'd take the wives there for a round on an amazingly beautiful venue.

 

Plenty of self catering lodging available around Killarney, we stayed in a super cottage in the countryside.  The National Park is fantastic, Muckross Abbey and other sights to see.  We did the boat, horse carriage tour in additional to seeing plenty of other things, and enjoyed it very much.  But no way to see all Kerry had to offer.

 

Face it, you are only there a week and 4 rounds of golf with all involved in getting to the course, playing, getting back aren't really going to give you much time for real sightseeing, which would a shame but it is all about choices.  Don't make it a death march and always needing to be in a hurry to get anywhere (which will always take lounger than you think) won't be fun at all.

 

Pic of our carriage (driver was fun) and pic of the vistas at Dooks.

 

Edit:  if you have an early a.m. tee time in September, better stay near the course instead of driving up.  Then head for the castle, pamper those wives, have a classy dinner or two, and the breakfasts are incredible. You can run off and play Tralee and drop them off in town - plenty to do in and around downtown, but it has more of a big city vibe, IMO, vs. Killarney which is way more touristy but way more charming and likely will be in September but without the crowds.  There are nice places just to walk around and near the castle grounds, afternoon tea, cool rooms to hang out in if you want to read a book, great garden, so may not even want to walk about Tralee.  

 

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Hawkeye77

[eboettne]

Great tips, thanks.  I think we'll stick to 3 rounds of golf. The 2 husbands will play Ballybunion(2nd morning we're there) and Lahinch(Last afternoon we're there, then play Dooks with the wives as that seems more their speed.  Should leave us 2-3 days to sightsee without being interrupted by golf.