Ireland Golf.

[Jim Clark]

Want info on where to play, where to stay, where to eat, what airlines, and everything else (including non-golf day tourist stuff). We prefer high-end for everything.

[2Alpha]

Watch the last Big Break. Every commercial talked about where to stay and play.

[play fair]

Jim pop me a pm and tell me what you are looking for and I will help you to the best of my ability! You can have a very reasonable priced trip and play courses as good as those featured on the show or better. With it being christmas might take me a couple of days to come back with prices etc.

ps golf in Ireland was not recession proof and prices have really dropped.There are alot of course that didnt feature on the show that are superb!

[parpar41]

I had a 10 day trip to Ireland to play links golf in 2008.

A simple reliable format: choose your courses: go to their websites: book your tee times; follow the links to the local B&Bs.

Eat breakfast at the B&B; eat lunch at the course; eat dinner at a local pub; repeat the next day.

a great time.

Be sure to play Tralee GC .

[Simp]

[quote name='parpar41' timestamp='1324671993' post='3980625']
I had a 10 day trip to Ireland to play links golf in 2008.

A simple reliable format: choose your courses: go to their websites: book your tee times; follow the links to the local B&Bs.

Eat breakfast at the B&B; eat lunch at the course; eat dinner at a local pub; repeat the next day.

a great time.

Be sure to play Tralee GC .
[/quote]

So, what are we lookin at? 5 grand? 10 grand?

[parpar41]

[quote name='Simp' timestamp='1324672809' post='3980663']
[quote name='parpar41' timestamp='1324671993' post='3980625']
I had a 10 day trip to Ireland to play links golf in 2008.

A simple reliable format: choose your courses: go to their websites: book your tee times; follow the links to the local B&Bs.

Eat breakfast at the B&B; eat lunch at the course; eat dinner at a local pub; repeat the next day.

a great time.

Be sure to play Tralee GC .
[/quote]

So, what are we lookin at? 5 grand? 10 grand?

[/quote]

the trip does not have to be expensive, by any means.

I was there in 2008 and the only really expensive things were the green fees at the big name courses.

B&B's were inexpensive and a good value in 2008 and I expect that is even more true today.

Pub food is also a good value.

I expect green fees have dropped since the Irish economy basically collapsed in late 2008.

Hint: even back then, the big name courses offered a sort of deal. For example, Ballybunion has 2 courses and if you play them both within a few days, then the price is lower. Same thing up at Royal Portrush ( I think) which has 2 courses. Tralee offered a discount, I think, on a second round played the next day or within the week.

The best research tool to start to look for bargains is the course's own website.

[EchtLoon]

[quote name='Simp' timestamp='1324672809' post='3980663']
[quote name='parpar41' timestamp='1324671993' post='3980625']
I had a 10 day trip to Ireland to play links golf in 2008.

A simple reliable format: choose your courses: go to their websites: book your tee times; follow the links to the local B&Bs.

Eat breakfast at the B&B; eat lunch at the course; eat dinner at a local pub; repeat the next day.

a great time.

Be sure to play Tralee GC .
[/quote]

So, what are we lookin at?[b] 5 grand? 10 grand?[/b]
[/quote]

Decent B&B - €50 a night
Round of golf - very few will be over €100 a round
Lunch at club - €20 if they're fleecing you
Dinner at pub - As above, expect up to €5 a pint

Not much over €200 a day, plus your flights.

Personally, I'd be heading west to the Killarney area, maginificent scenery, and superb courses.

[mizunotitty]

Remember to play galway bay class course

[jrg9]

Ballybunion was great as well as Old Head. Dooks was okay, good lesser priced course. It is easy to keep everything simple. Enjoy the pubs and drink some Guinness. All in all my dad and I played 6 courses. Played Ballybunion twice. Make sure to get caddies, they are a huge help.

[joe perry]

Jim - Golf in Ireland depends on a few things but the main thing is to stick with Links Golf


How long are you going ?

How many people in your party and are you comfortable driving on the other side of the road and possibly renting a manual car ? (drastically cheaper than an automatic)
if you have a large enough group or enough $$$$ you can hire a private driver or van

I see that you prefer High End - Do you want to play the top courses more than once ? or do you want to see as many different Links courses as possible ?

How many days in a row do you enjoy playing golf ? Can your body handle playing 1 week or 2 weeks in a row playing everyday ?

Do you want to add some sightseeing ? if you go in the summer and are an early riser then sightseeing can be combined with golf

Do you live on the east coast of the USA - if so you might be able to fly into Dublin airport and out of Shannon airport or vice versa (cuts down on driving)

[joe perry]

consider arranging a caddie for some of your rounds - certain courses won't be able to supply caddies but the top courses will

plan to get there 1 or 2 days before your first round to adjust your body clock and leave time in case your clubs get delayed

take advil or aleve before and after rounds or whatever helps - your body will ache

bring enough golf balls - purchasing them in Ireland will be expensive - consider a lower launch tour level ball with slightly lower spin TM red ldp's if you can find them

there is no such things as a cart girl - pack your food and drink with you when you tee off

if you will rent your own car see if your credit card will cover you in Ireland and specifically Northern Ireland for insurance purposes - of not get a card that does

power carts with the exception of Carne and maybe Rosapenna will be non existent without a medical certificate - get a lightweight stand bag or you can rent a pull trolley

low bounce wedges !!!!!!

get lightweight breathable rain gear if you are going in summer - rain gloves or fresh cord grips

enjoy the blonde in the black dress - have her often

[joe perry]

Courses that you don't want to miss and might consider playing twice - of course you will probably fly into Dublin and get settled and the courses to consider would be Portmarnock Old !!! and Portmarnock hotel course, County Louth Golf Club, The European Club, The Island Golf Club and Royal Dublin

Once you head out of Dublin I would suggest travelling to Northern Ireland and then towards the Northwest of Ireland and finally end up in the Southwest of Ireland where you might possibly be able to fly out of Shannon



1. Royal County Down - hotel choice Slieve Donard http://www.hastingshotels.com/slieve-donard-resort-and-spa

secondary course in the area to consider would be Ardglass - not a true links but hard by the water with beautiful views

Sightseeing - Belfast (great city) - Titanic exhibition - Shankhill and Falls road



2. Royal Portrush Dunluce - hotel choice Bayview Hotel http://www.bayviewhotelni.com/ or B&B choice http://www.linksviewportrush.co.uk/

secondary courses in the area Portrush Valley course , Portstewast Strand course !!!! , Castlerock golf course

Sightseeing - Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Bushmills Distillery and the Bogside in the walled city of Derry



3a. County Sligo Golf Club - hotel choice Radisson Blu http://www.countysligogolfclub.ie/radisson_blu
3b. Enniscrone Golf Club - hotel choice Ice House Hotel http://www.icehousehotel.ie/

secondary courses in the area worth playing Carne !!! or Donegal golf club

Sightseeing - Ballyshannon or Lough Erne - others might have some better suggestions



4. Lahinch - hotel choice http://www.vaughanlodge.ie/ or stay at the famous town of Doolin - hotel choice http://www.hoteldoolin.ie/

secondary courses Doonbeg and possibly Connemara

Sightseeing - Cliffs of Moher, town of Doolin , The Burren - farther away the great town of Galway



5. Ballybunion Old Course - hotel choice http://www.cliffhousehotel.com/ or http://www.ballybuniongolf.com/

secondary courses nearby Tralee !! and Dingle Golf Links

Sightseeing - nothing that compelling near Ballybunion but nearby Banna Strand, The Conor Pass on your way to the not to be missed town of Dingle



6. Waterville - hotel choice http://www.watervillegolfclub.ie/html/watervillehouse.asp or http://www.qcbar.com/QCs_Seafood_Restaurant_and_Rooms/Home.html

secondary course to consider Dooks golf club

Sightseeing - The Ring of Kerry, The Ring of Skellig , the cool town of Killarney



You could end up at Old Head Golf Links - not a true links course and not a world class course but a unique setting

[joe perry]

My above suggestion totally neglects my favourite place in all of Ireland - that being County Donegal

Donegal might not have the absolute top golf courses or hotels but it is very scenic and has a remote and rustic feeling - you could base yourself in 1 or possibly 2 towns or hotels and enjoy glorious drives to the various courses throughout County Donegal over a 5 or 6 day stretch

You could stay and play Ballyliffen http://www.ballyliffinlodge.com/
and visit the Trasna House hotel for food and pub atmosphere http://www.facebook.com/TrasnaHouseHotel

and then make your way somewhere more central like the town of Downings http://www.beachhotel.ie/ or even Letterkenny http://www.radissonblu.ie/hotel-letterkenny and this could be your base to explore the rest of Donegal and its links courses

Ballyliffin golf club - 2 great courses - each very different - great atmosphere in the clubhouse

Portsalon golf club - located on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world with some very unique golf holes not seen anywhere

Rosapenna Sandy Hills and Old Tom Morris links - contains historic 9 holes and has an absolute brute in the modern links known as Sandy Hills

Dunfanaghy GC - quirky with 4 or 5 great holes and stunning scenery

Cruit Island golf club - 9 holer that seems like you have reached the end of the earth - you like wind ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRSnKl7rzsk&feature=related

Narin and Portnoo GC - tough and quirky and probably the most scenic course in all of Ireland in my opinion (County Down, Dooks, Tralee are close)

[joe perry]

One last word of advice

if your party is small - 2 or less golfers - you might not want to make tee times especially if you go in the summer when there is lots of daylight

Why ?

1. the economy has tanked in Ireland and tee times are readily available - exception weekends and some of the big courses (County Down, Portrush, Portmarnock)

2. the weather constantly changes - could be good in the morning or bad in the afternoon weather wise or vice versa - you could wait until the day before or day of to make a tee time accordingly and spend the rest of the day sightseeing - if weather forecast is bad all day you could just hang around the course waiting for a possible break in the weather ???

if you don't want to arrange a trip by yourself I have used this website with good results http://www.northandwestcoastlinks.com/

[parpar41]

[quote name='joe perry' timestamp='1324728742' post='3982977']
One last word of advice

if your party is small - 2 or less golfers - you might not want to make tee times especially if you go in the summer when there is lots of daylight

Why ?

1. the economy has tanked in Ireland and tee times are readily available - exception weekends and some of the big courses (County Down, Portrush, Portmarnock)

2. the weather constantly changes - could be good in the morning or bad in the afternoon weather wise or vice versa - you could wait until the day before or day of to make a tee time accordingly and spend the rest of the day sightseeing - if weather forecast is bad all day you could just hang around the course waiting for a possible break in the weather ???

[/quote]

+1

this is excellent advice.

I went with a group of 8 guys (before the economy tanked) so we had to pre-book and pre-pay our tee times.

We had a great time BUT we played Carne in a hurricane and we played Royal Portrush is weather that a local told us was the "worst weather I have seen in my 22 years as a member of this course".

At Carne, the wind was so strong, when we arrived at the course by car it was very difficult and required great strength just to open the car door.

At Portrush, my stand bag was lying [b]flat on the ground [/b]and the wind was so strong, it caused the bag to roll away ! At their famous par three hole on the back nine ( Calamity?) , the wind was blowing from the tee toward the green ( usually called a helping or a favourable wind) but it was so strong, I could not make a backswing since the wind pushed you forward. After the round, the weather report said that there was a hurricane going on in the North Atlantic ocean.

Granted we were there late Sept/ early October so we were pushing the weather envelope.

the point of all of the above is: we were basically forced to tee it up in hugely inclement weather because we had pre-paid the green fees months in advance and we were not about to throw away the money we had paid.

If we had not pre-paid, we would have had more options.

That said, it was a great 10 day trip.

[french bum]

[quote name='Jim Clark' timestamp='1324669538' post='3980487']
Want info on where to play, where to stay, where to eat, what airlines, and everything else (including non-golf day tourist stuff). We prefer high-end for everything.
[/quote]
Rich enough to go "high-end" on everything, to cheap to get a travel agent....

[joe perry]

As for where to eat ?

There is nothing wrong with Irish food or the local cuisine BUT it won't compare to what can be had in North America or even a major European city like London.

To be honest there will be some smaller places in Ireland where it will be difficult to get a top class or high end meal if that is what you are looking for.

Bayview hotel in Portballintrae near Portrush has a lively and good restaurant (Darren Clarke is known to go there). The Bushmills Inn is supposed to have a very nice restaurant and that is close to Portrush as well

Consider having something to eat at some of the nice clubhouses after your round of golf - these clubhouses seemed to have better than decent food from what i can remember with scenic views

Royal Portrush
Ballyliffen
Narin and Portnoo
Connemara
Ballybunion

Waterville and Lahinch are not quite as good as the others mentioned above but make up for it with splendid hospitality

[timmayb]

Also, bring a sportcoat for "Covering up," in the clubhouses of RCD and Portrush. On certain days this is a requirement to access certain areas of the clubhouses.

County Louth aka Baltray a great test.
Royal County Down and Royal Portrush are unreal.
Lahinch is incredibly fun.

[kevinmarkham]

Good points being made all round, and a couple of thingsthat I'd like to add:

1. I wouldn't recommend travelling around too much…you will wear yourself out and not get to appreciate the fun and beauty ofIreland, nor Irish hospitality if you're rushing from one place to another. AsJoe says, what can your body handle? - especially as you're likely to be walkingthe courses (even if a caddie – recommended – is carrying the load).

If you're coming over for a week/10 days I'd suggest finding a maximum of two placesfrom which to base yourself and then hitting the golf courses from there. Myrecommendations would be to fly in to Shannon (if you can) and stay in Kerry.From there you can play Waterville, Ballybunion (both courses are worth a look)and Tralee are superb. There's also Dooks, a links I love, and the views arespectacular. Killarney (Killeen course) is a parkland and one of Ireland'sprettiest (lake, mountains, deer…) – it hosted the Irish Open in 2010 and 2011.

Next up you can head north to Sligo where you'll find the best value links inIreland: Rosses Point, Enniscrone and Carne are the big boys, along withDonegal (aka Murvagh). Then there's Strandhill, a quirky links that mostAmericans bypass because it doesn't have a big name. If you want parkland,there's Castle Dargan (designed by Darren Clarke and has a hotel on site), orLough Erne (Nick Faldo's design, with hotel… but pricey).<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break">

If you're looking for somewhere high-end tostay, there's Mount Falcon outside Ballina. ([url="http://www.castlesinireland.com/castle-in-mayo-mount-falcon-country-house-mayo/"]http://www.castlesin...try-house-mayo/[/url])

Donegal is also superb for golf (Ballyliffin, Rosapenna and Portsalon offerfive courses between them on the northern tip, or stay around Donegal town forDonegal, Narin & Portnoo and Cruit Island), and there are some gloriousplaces to stay: ([url="http://www.castlesinireland.com/category/castles-in-donegal/"]http://www.castlesin...les-in-donegal/[/url]).

Of course you'll probably end up in Dublin Airport, so the Dublin links will betargeted. And if you approach the K Club in the right way you can get greenfees pretty cheap. However, I believe such courses are a dime a dozen in theUS, so it's simply a question of whether you want to play the Ryder Cup course.

Northern Ireland has been well covered by others.



2. Food. I disagree with Joe – Ireland offers someexcellent food, but you won't find haute cuisine in the golf clubs. Goodquality pub grub, for sure… but somehow I don't imagine you're looking for finedining every night. The Bushmills Inn IS superb. Plenty of bars where you'll bewelcomed and handed pints of the black stuff.<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break">

3. Green fees – yes indeed, our green fees havebeen hammered and Joe has got it pretty much on the head where the trulyexpensive green fees are to be found – places like Portmarnock simply aren'tbothered about green fees and so keep them very high. Then again, if you'reprepared to do a little work you'll find days of the week and times of day whencheaper green fees are offered. There's also what I consider to be one of thebest ways to play golf in Ireland, while paying ridiculously low green fees.[url="http://golfcoursesireland.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html#1348164446860342755"]This link will take you to my blog where I've listed the majority of 'Golf Challenges'.[/url]

If you're looking for photos of these courses, take a lookat [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmarkham/"]my Flickr pages[/url] where you'll find just a few thousand pics.

Anyway, once you've got a better idea where you're headed,drop a note on here and you'll get more details on places to eat and non-golfingthings to do.

[2ball]

[quote name='jrg9' timestamp='1324701895' post='3982395']
Ballybunion was great as well as Old Head. Dooks was okay, good lesser priced course. It is easy to keep everything simple. Enjoy the pubs and drink some Guinness. All in all my dad and I played 6 courses. Played Ballybunion twice. Make sure to get caddies, they are a huge help.
[/quote]

When playing links courses look for 2 things; 1. courses measured in meters or yards 2. look or ask for markers on the courses. At Ballybunion they have white stones (about the size of 2 bowling balls) that mark the end of the fairways. A member pointed them out to me because so many shots are blind. i.e. a dogleg left but there was a stone 185 yards out marking the end of the right edge of the fairway before it dropped off to the beach below.

[knothead63]

Royal County Down (my favorite course on God's green earth) is a must play as are..
Royal Portrush
Ballybunion
Lahinch (a lot of fun!)
Portmarnock

[Sean25rp]

[quote name='kevinmarkham' timestamp='1325365460' post='4010611']
Good points being made all round, and a couple of thingsthat I'd like to add:

1. I wouldn't recommend travelling around too much…you will wear yourself out and not get to appreciate the fun and beauty ofIreland, nor Irish hospitality if you're rushing from one place to another. AsJoe says, what can your body handle? - especially as you're likely to be walkingthe courses (even if a caddie – recommended – is carrying the load).

If you're coming over for a week/10 days I'd suggest finding a maximum of two placesfrom which to base yourself and then hitting the golf courses from there. Myrecommendations would be to fly in to Shannon (if you can) and stay in Kerry.From there you can play Waterville, Ballybunion (both courses are worth a look)and Tralee are superb. There's also Dooks, a links I love, and the views arespectacular. Killarney (Killeen course) is a parkland and one of Ireland'sprettiest (lake, mountains, deer…) – it hosted the Irish Open in 2010 and 2011.

Next up you can head north to Sligo where you'll find the best value links inIreland: Rosses Point, Enniscrone and Carne are the big boys, along withDonegal (aka Murvagh). Then there's Strandhill, a quirky links that mostAmericans bypass because it doesn't have a big name. If you want parkland,there's Castle Dargan (designed by Darren Clarke and has a hotel on site), orLough Erne (Nick Faldo's design, with hotel… but pricey).<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break">

If you're looking for somewhere high-end tostay, there's Mount Falcon outside Ballina. ([url="http://www.castlesinireland.com/castle-in-mayo-mount-falcon-country-house-mayo/"]http://www.castlesin...try-house-mayo/[/url])

Donegal is also superb for golf (Ballyliffin, Rosapenna and Portsalon offerfive courses between them on the northern tip, or stay around Donegal town forDonegal, Narin & Portnoo and Cruit Island), and there are some gloriousplaces to stay: ([url="http://www.castlesinireland.com/category/castles-in-donegal/"]http://www.castlesin...les-in-donegal/[/url]).

Of course you'll probably end up in Dublin Airport, so the Dublin links will betargeted. And if you approach the K Club in the right way you can get greenfees pretty cheap. However, I believe such courses are a dime a dozen in theUS, so it's simply a question of whether you want to play the Ryder Cup course.

Northern Ireland has been well covered by others.



2. Food. I disagree with Joe – Ireland offers someexcellent food, but you won't find haute cuisine in the golf clubs. Goodquality pub grub, for sure… but somehow I don't imagine you're looking for finedining every night. The Bushmills Inn IS superb. Plenty of bars where you'll bewelcomed and handed pints of the black stuff.<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break">

3. Green fees – yes indeed, our green fees havebeen hammered and Joe has got it pretty much on the head where the trulyexpensive green fees are to be found – places like Portmarnock simply aren'tbothered about green fees and so keep them very high. Then again, if you'reprepared to do a little work you'll find days of the week and times of day whencheaper green fees are offered. There's also what I consider to be one of thebest ways to play golf in Ireland, while paying ridiculously low green fees.[url="http://golfcoursesireland.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html#1348164446860342755"]This link will take you to my blog where I've listed the majority of 'Golf Challenges'.[/url]

If you're looking for photos of these courses, take a lookat [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmarkham/"]my Flickr pages[/url] where you'll find just a few thousand pics.

Anyway, once you've got a better idea where you're headed,drop a note on here and you'll get more details on places to eat and non-golfingthings to do.
[/quote]


What course/hole is this? Looks epic!