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3300 (!) for an Ireland trip ?


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41 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

We were, and apparently we agree on most of this stuff.  One more thing, and it follows on some of the factors we mentioned, for a first-timer, I'd recommend spending a week in St Andrews.  Lots of golf nearby, a lovely town with great restaurants and pubs, not far from either main airport.

I am looking to set up trip for 2021. Really like the idea of staying in St. Andrews and branch out. Got some ideas for itinerary?

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For @Rchang, first, if you think about booking it all yourself, or even if you don't, get Allan Ferguson's book here:

http://fergusongolf.com/pages/book.htm

I recommend you do the Advance Reservation Application.  You'll get your stuff ready next summer, and send the application in sometime in September, I think.  You can get an idea of the process by clicking Quick Reference Guide here https://www.standrews.com/Play/Courses/Old-Course/Booking-the-Old-Course

When you hear back about whether you've got a guaranteed time on the Old Course, you can plan the rest of your trip.  At St Andrews itself there are 3 championship courses, Old, New, Jubilee.  Castle is up on the hill, relatively new, I've read its pretty severe but lots of people enjoy it.  Kingsbarns is a short drive east, great golf course, pretty high price.  Beyond that there are two courses at Crail, then Elie, Lundin and Leven.  Going the other way you'll find three courses at Carnoustie, including the Championship, along with nearby Panmure and Monifieth.  There are two courses at the Fairmont Hotel justpast the Castle Course.  I think the longest drive to any of these is maybe 45 minutes from St Andrews.  I think you can find enough golf with that group to last you for a week or more.

I like staying in a guesthouse or B&B.  The prices are typically lower than a hotel, you get a fool cooked breakfast every day, the rooms are often fairly simple, but how much time do you want to spend in your hotel?  Many people like AirB&B or similar, and you can save money, but I like my breakfast.  You can rent a car and drive yourself, its simple really.  

Enough for a start?  If you want to pick a second base, its a short hop to either Ayr (Prestwick, Troon, Turnberry, Western Gailes, , Dundonald and others) or East Lothian (Muirfield, North Berwick, Dunbar, Gullane, etc).  My personal favorite is Royal Dornoch, but that's about 4 hours driving each way.  

Edited by DaveP043

:titleist-small: Irons Titleist T200, AMT Red stiff

:callaway-small:Rogue SubZero, GD YS-Six X

:mizuno-small: T22 54 and 58 wedges

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:Sub70: 5-wood

 B60 G5i putter

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Reston, Virginia

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18 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

For @Rchang, first, if you think about booking it all yourself, or even if you don't, get Allan Ferguson's book here:

http://fergusongolf.com/pages/book.htm

I recommend you do the Advance Reservation Application.  You'll get your stuff ready next summer, and send the application in sometime in September, I think.  You can get an idea of the process by clicking Quick Reference Guide here https://www.standrews.com/Play/Courses/Old-Course/Booking-the-Old-Course

When you hear back about whether you've got a guaranteed time on the Old Course, you can plan the rest of your trip.  At St Andrews itself there are 3 championship courses, Old, New, Jubilee.  Castle is up on the hill, relatively new, I've read its pretty severe but lots of people enjoy it.  Kingsbarns is a short drive east, great golf course, pretty high price.  Beyond that there are two courses at Crail, then Elie, Lundin and Leven.  Going the other way you'll find three courses at Carnoustie, including the Championship, along with nearby Panmure and Monifieth.  There are two courses at the Fairmont Hotel justpast the Castle Course.  I think the longest drive to any of these is maybe 45 minutes from St Andrews.  I think you can find enough golf with that group to last you for a week or more.

I like staying in a guesthouse or B&B.  The prices are typically lower than a hotel, you get a fool cooked breakfast every day, the rooms are often fairly simple, but how much time do you want to spend in your hotel?  Many people like AirB&B or similar, and you can save money, but I like my breakfast.  You can rent a car and drive yourself, its simple really.  

Enough for a start?  If you want to pick a second base, its a short hop to either Ayr (Prestwick, Troon, Turnberry, Western Gailes, , Dundonald and others) or East Lothian (Muirfield, North Berwick, Dunbar, Gullane, etc).  My personal favorite is Royal Dornoch, but that's about 4 hours driving each way.  

That's great advice. Scotland also interests me, my wife's family is from Saltcoats, which is about a 40 minute drive north from Ayr, so that would be cool to visit at the same time. With Troon and Prestwick around there it would be worth the trip too.

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What I love about the discussions about going to the British Isles is it is always Scotland vs Ireland... I have made 2 trips to Wales. The nicest people you will ever meet. Yes nicer than the esteemed Irish. Some great golf too. Royal Porthcawl the best with Pennard , Royal St David, Aberdovey, Southerdown and a few others. The biggest loser in this discussion is England...Some of the best golf is there. And better weather.  And yet you will hardly ever hear anyone chat about going to golf there.  I've made two dozen trips to the Isle...Have hit the N/S/E/W of both Scotland and Ireland. St Andrews is the big draw. It is fabulous. I'm going back next year. Have apt down town and 10 teetimes. What happens with me is guys who have intimated they will go some day...When they finally agree...they want to go to the big name places...So I go back to previous haunts about every other trip.  And yes Fergusons book is the best reference for self help for newbies for Scotland. All good stuff. My best advise...Go while you still have game. Not later in life when you are teeing it up.... 

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13 minutes ago, Flog4 said:

What I love about the discussions about going to the British Isles is it is always Scotland vs Ireland... I have made 2 trips to Wales. The nicest people you will ever meet. Yes nicer than the esteemed Irish. Some great golf too. Royal Porthcawl the best with Pennard , Royal St David, Aberdovey, Southerdown and a few others. The biggest loser in this discussion is England...Some of the best golf is there. And better weather.  And yet you will hardly ever hear anyone chat about going to golf there.  I've made two dozen trips to the Isle...Have hit the N/S/E/W of both Scotland and Ireland. St Andrews is the big draw. It is fabulous. I'm going back next year. Have apt down town and 10 teetimes. What happens with me is guys who have intimated they will go some day...When they finally agree...they want to go to the big name places...So I go back to previous haunts about every other trip.  And yes Fergusons book is the best reference for self help for newbies for Scotland. All good stuff. My best advise...Go while you still have game. Not later in life when you are teeing it up.... 

this is really the best advice, go while you can still enjoy walking a round of golf.  And go again, and one more time.

:titleist-small: Irons Titleist T200, AMT Red stiff

:callaway-small:Rogue SubZero, GD YS-Six X

:mizuno-small: T22 54 and 58 wedges

:mizuno-small: 7-wood

:Sub70: 5-wood

 B60 G5i putter

Right handed

Reston, Virginia

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  • 2 weeks later...

My buddy and I doing County Donegal in August. Played Lahinch on a non golf trip last summer with my wife and it was life changing.  I declared to her that I am going to British Isles every year for next 15 years or as long as I can walk 18/36 a day (I am 56 and walk 18 3-4 times a week). We have our entire trip for 2 of us for  7 days and 10-11 rounds of golf including airfare, self drive car, lodging, food (even $500 built in for SWAG) and it comes out to 3500.00 ea. (I actually paid an additional 1500.00 for business class). 

I am going to Bandon for 6 days in March and actually driving this year and its going to cost about 3000.00 all inclusive. Ironically, last year,  when we flew to Portland from San Diego then drove down it was almost 14 hours from door to door which is exactly same amount of time it took for us to get to Dublin in September. 

 

Its all expensive but I have seen too many people wait to go on the trip of a lifetime only to get sick or have significant other get sick and Jack ends up dying a dull boy never having gone anywhere.

 

If you can afford it, go. We have given our kids the tools they need to be successful (education) and have told them we are going to spend our money and they are all on board with the idea.

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  • 1 month later...

The real moral of the story is that if you use a tour operator, just like any business, they make money on margin.   40-50% margin.   If you don't mind calling hotels, requesting tee times, coordinating with transportation companies (I highly recommend you don't self drive), it is WAY cheaper to go it alone.  Mix in some off the beaten path courses as well to keep costs reasonable.  You can even get Old Course times if you do your research and request when the online ballot opens, so don't believe the operator's pitch about having exclusive access anywhere, that's not true.   So a $4,000 golf trip through an operator can probably be done for $2,500-$2,800 (not including airfare), but there are many hours involved and the planning process should start a year in advance if going in high season.

If it's worth 1500 or so per person to have everything taken care of for you, then by all means use an operator and sit back and enjoy.

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Couple points....tour operators get volume discounts from hotels/golf courses..average about 15%. . Yes there is advance apps, but hitting that is more luck if traveling high season. I have submitted 8 advance apps...I'm 0 for 8. The Old was pretty much controlled by The Old Course Experience for many years...And then some allotments were made to the 5 star hotels. Having played the Old 6 times...2 via day before ballot, now 2 day before. 3 walk on once via advance guarantee by tour operator. Have many friends who went to St Andrews and thought no problem I'll play and came home empty. Like so many things....There is a learning curve to proper execution. I'm going with 8 in August. Apt in town for week. I have told my group. You will play if you are motivated...We will ballot as we were shut out on advance app....But ultimately it may come down to go to walk on line...which means if you really must play you'll probably sleep at the starter shed...So what $ is that worth for not doing? Playing the Old off season. much easier...But who wants to be in Scotland in April/November...and possibly hit off matts.  Last point, not all tour operators upcharge 40/50%....That is more true Scotland than anywhere else but some research could find a much better deal. 

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Okay, so being out of your budget... I say spend a lot less money and go play Sand Valley and Erin Hills. No, it's not Ireland, but Man are they great!!

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Driver:  :ping-small: G400 (8*) with Diamana Kai'li X-stiff

Fairway:   :ping-small: G400 (14.5*) with Diamana Kai'li X-stiff

Irons: :ping-small: Crossover 3 iron (19*) with TT Dynamic Gold 120 S400 shaft

            :titelist-small: AP3 (4/5) and AP2 (6-PW) with TT Dynamic Gold 120 S400 shafts

Wedges: Scor 50*, 54*, and 58* with TT Dynamic Gold 120 S400 shafts

Putter:  :cameron-small: Pro Platinum Newport 2 Midslant

Handicap: 3

Location: Illinois...until i can get my wife to move to a warmer climate

Right Handed: Although sometimes I wonder if left handed would suit me better :blink:

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  • 3 months later...

I know this is an old thread, but wanted to give my experience. Went on a buddy's trip to Inverness area of Scotland in Sept. In Scotland for 6 days, we played a total of 9 (yes NINE) rounds of golf - Castle Stuart 2x, Brora, Golspie, Royal Dornoch 2x, Nairn 2x, and Moray. We stayed in combination of inexpensive hotels (Premier Inns), and an AirBnb, moving to be closer to the various golf courses. Rented 2 cars (I've been to UK many times, don't mind driving there). Total cost for golf, hotels, food, cars & drinks = 2200. Airfare from San Francisco to Inverness = $600. 

We got good deals on replays, which is why we played 2-a-day.  In hindsight, we would have either only played 1 round a day every day, or 2x/day and skip a day in between. We were pretty beat up by the end. Not used to walking so much.

Hope this helps with budgeting and planning.

 

PS. The experience of playing in Scotland was remarkably similar to Bandon Dunes. The wind, grasses, bunkers, rough, etc. very similar in feel to Scotland.  In 2018 golf alone in peak summer was about $1500 for 5 rounds over 3 days. $325 & $175 replay, if I recall correctly. We rented an airBnB for 14 of us that went on this trip, about a mile from the resort, cooked our own food for breakfast & dinner, saved a lot of money.

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I have played in ireland and Northern Ireland a number of times. and the number your buddy is quoting you is not far off. You can go cheaper and there are a few ways to do that. One would be to stay away from most of the more famous courses, maybe play one then book some hidden gems, there are lots of great courses there that just do not get to be in the spotlight. Also, many packages book you into hotels or boutique hotels, look for guest houses and B&B instead, somewhat cheaper, more friendly with lots of local knowledge. You might even run into a club captain from a course like we did, he got us on Royal Portrush for free. Inniscrone is a great hidden gem as is Carne, much cheaper to play than the big names and just as much fun.

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Sorry the correct spelling is Enniscrone.

:taylormade-small: M5 9° Driver Hzrdus Smoke 6.0 Stiff

:taylormade-small: SIM Max 3 Wood VA Raijin 74 Four

:taylormade-small: SIM Max 5 Wood  Fuji Ventus Blue 6 Stiff

:honma: 19° 3 Hybrid Patterson Balistic Hut30

:honma: TW-X Irons Aerotech Steelfiber i110cw S

:honma:TW Wedges 54°/60° Aerotech Steelfiber i110cw S

:odyssey-small: EXO Putter

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

My nephew put a trip together for a foursome about 3 years ago. He did all the arraignments himself, no tour group, no package. We played 4 rounds of golf in 5 days, stayed at two different hotels(3/4 Stars). Flew into and out of Shannon. The whole thing cost about $1400. We drove ourselves, that would be the only thing I would change. We played Lahinch, Trump's Doonebeg, Port Marnock and Howeth . 

Edited by Danno505

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3W, 5W-:ping-small: G400

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irons- PW-5-:ping-small: G30

Wedges - :callaway-small: Mack Daddy- 52,54,60

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I went to Ireland a few years back and paid more than $3,500.  I thought we could've done the trip for $3,000, including airfare.  So your quote isn't that far out of line.  You just have to decide how important certain aspects of the trip are related to accomodations and transportation.  I've previously gone to Ireland / N. Ireland on a solo trip where I self drove, stayed in B&B's, didn't eat out all that much, but played almost all the great courses.  It was cheap, but I've got the memories of playing all the great courses, but that isn't for everyone.

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