Ireland golf trip suggestions

[golfheaven69]

Spent 5 days in Ireland several weeks ago and fell in love with the country and people. Didn't play a single hole but the plan is to rectify that in a few years. Any suggestions on the best way to plan the trip? Has anyone used a planner or travel agent you would recommend?

[adfrick]

Golfheaven 69, I planned a trip for me and 7 buddies to Ireland a few years ago and used www.perrygolf.com. They were great in setting everything up. The driver we had was a wonderful Irish gentleman who drove the US Ryder Cup team around at the K Club. Funny as heck. We played Lahinch, Old Head, Tralee, Ballybunion, Doonbeg and Waterville. It was the trip of a lifetime. Have fun planning and then going!

[golfheaven69]

[quote name='adfrick' timestamp='1369542464' post='7108642']
Golfheaven 69, I planned a trip for me and 7 buddies to Ireland a few years ago and used www.perrygolf.com. They were great in setting everything up. The driver we had was a wonderful Irish gentleman who drove the US Ryder Cup team around at the K Club. Funny as heck. We played Lahinch, Old Head, Tralee, Ballybunion, Doonbeg and Waterville. It was the trip of a lifetime. Have fun planning and then going!
[/quote]

Thanks adfrick. I wii check out perry golf.

[1iron]

I went a few years ago and booked everything myself. This included Royal County Down and Royal Portrush plus 7 other courses. We flew into Belfast and flew out of Dublin. PM and I can give you more details.

[johnnylongball]

Swing Golf Ireland. They will take care of everything. Very professional. Highly recommended. Fraction of the cost of Perry Golf and every other travel planner I contacted.

[joe perry]

It depends - are you going in a group ? or as a single ? maybe taking the wife ? How much do you want to spend ? Northwest of Ireland is by far the cheapest but still has numerous quality links courses !!!!!

Biggest question might be are you comfortable driving yourself around the countryside or do you need a driver and someone to arrange hotels and tee times etc. etc. ?

I will say this - the economy has tanked in Ireland and I have found that if you are travelling alone or in a twosome you can get out on any course pretty much any day midweek without advance reservations.

However if you want peace of mind to play 36 holes 7-14 days in a row rain or shine with mid morning tee times with limited sightseeing then disregard my advice and maybe use a tour operator to book your tee times and hotels in advance. These guys can be trusted [url="http://www.northandwestcoastlinks.com/"]http://www.northandwestcoastlinks.com/[/url]

BUT if you have the time (more than a 7 day trip) and flexibility(2 players or less) I would recommend that you base yourself in a 2-3 different cities(you will need to book hotels in advance) and play the courses as weather or your general feeling dictates.

for example if the forecast for the first day after arrival is 100% chance of rain but sunny for the remaining days then maybe do sightseeing the rainy day and play the following days. Or wake up every morning and decide what you will do that day (sightseeing or playing golf) - if it is raining in the morning there is a good chance with irish weather that it might stop by the afternoon and then you could make your way to the course and play 18 (it stays light out until very late in the irish summer !!!!). I have gone back to bed numerous times and outlasted the rain and then arrived in the afternoon without a tee time and was able to play no problem during the summertime. I will say if you are an early riser and the weather is nice when you wake up it is always best to get out ahead of any changing weather.



Example - base yourself in Portrush for 3-5 nights and use the short term forecast to decide what days you will play. Portrush has 6 quality courses within driving distance to choose from. Courses are Portrush Dunluce($$$$$) and Valley, Portstewart Strand($$$), Castlerock, Ballyliffin Old + Glashedy and Royal County Down($$$$) which you could play if you were driving up from Dublin to the Antrim Coast. The Valley, Castlerock and the 2 Ballyliffin courses would be the economical courses to play in the area.


Then base yourself in a town such as Letterkenny or Rosapenna for 3-4 nights - this area has approx 6 great golfing options within driving distance on roads that are all very scenic !!!! This part of Ireland (Donegal) is very sleepy and tee sheets will not be fully booked even in summer unless you are the type of golfer that has to play between 9am and 11am. Courses in the area would be Portsalon, Rosapenna Old and Sandy Hills, Dunfanaghy, Cruit Island, and Narin and Portnoo.


Finally do another 3-4 night stay in either as Sligo or Westport and have reasonable access to another 5 great links courses that don't require all day drives. Beautiful scenery and sightseeing options as well in County Mayo. Courses in the area would be Donegal, County Sligo, Enniscrone, Carne and Connemara.


IF you want to play the big name courses and pay the big name price then most people head to the West and SW of Ireland with a few select courses in and around Dublin (*Portmarnock* and County Louth) or Belfast (*Royal County Down* and Portrush Dunluce) at the beginning of the trip. Courses with a *_____* next to them might require an advance tee reservation but not always.


Good mixture for the Southwest of Ireland would be to base yourself in 2 areas over a 8-10 day timeframe to cover the courses in the area :


1. Stay either Killarney or Dingle Town for 4 nights (or 2 nights each) and play such courses as *Waterville*, Dooks, Dingle and Tralee.

then make your way north to

2. Stay at either Lahinch or Doolin Town for 4 nights (both towns are close together so pick one based on hotel or sightseeing factors) and play such courses as *Ballybunion* (on the drive up), Doonbeg, *Lahinch* (play here twice if you can afford) and maybe Adare Manor if you wanted to play a parkland course in a wonderful lively small town on your way back to Shannon or Dublin or onto Galway for sightseeing.

[golfheaven69]

Expecting 6-8 players. I drove last month so that is not a major issue but traversing Ireland has its challenges.

Great advice by all. Thanks.

PS. 1ironi will PM.

[parpar41]

By all means, ya gotta include Tralee.

If you have internet access, you don't need a travel planner.