Trip to Ireland - seeking advice

[Pupini]

My oldest is graduating from High School this year and I decided to take him to Ireland as a present. Kinda a mini guys vacation before he heads off to college. Anyway, we plan to play a round or two while we are there and I wanted to see if anyone could share their experiences. We are staying in Dublin to start and may travel to another area. Everything is a little up in the air right now, but guess is that we will be there for 4 days. I would love some course recommendations (modest $$), did you bring your clubs or rent?, should I rent a car while there, any advice or suggestions. My son is 18 so the Jameson distillery and Guinness Brewery will be on the list of sites to see. 

[DaveP043]

With just 4 days, I'm not sure I'd recommend going very far from your initial stopping point.  The famous golf courses in the Southwest, like Waterville, Ballybunion, and Lahinch are amazing, but you're looking at 7 or 8 hours round trip driving to get there and back from Dublin.  Northern Ireland courses may be a little closer, Royal County Down is maybe 4 hours round trip.  I'd recommend that you look for courses closer to Dublin, which is a region I've never visited.  Looking at Google Earth quickly, I see what might be a nice Irish links experience at Laytown and Bettystown Links, within about an hours drive north.  Just a bit further is Seapoint Golf Links. Once you identify courses, check to see if they offer club rentals, and what the clubs are, that should inform your choice of renting or taking your own with you.  As for a hire car (using the Irish term), you may not want or need it while touring Dublin, maybe you'd consider getting a car for only a part of the trip.  Maybe you'd like to spend a day away from Dublin, allowing you to play one course after driving a bit, overnight in a B&B, visit village pubs, another round the next morning, and drive back to Dublin.  You have lots of choices, but my recommendation is to limit "windshield time", and limit the number of places you stay.  

[PBH3]

 If you haven't already booked your travel I'd recommend for a 4 day trip to scrap Dublin and fly into Shannon and make Galway your base of operations.  Galway and the West Coast of Ireland are more of the "traditional" Ireland you see from post cards and there are some great courses in the area.  Definitely get a car to do some exploring.  

[DaveP043]

15 minutes ago, PBH3 said:

 If you haven't already booked your travel I'd recommend for a 4 day trip to scrap Dublin and fly into Shannon and make Galway your base of operations.  Galway and the West Coast of Ireland are more of the "traditional" Ireland you see from post cards and there are some great courses in the area.  Definitely get a car to do some exploring.  

I'd say the same, except the birthday boy is interested in the Guinness factory and the Jameson distillery.  

[GaDawg]

Check out Ferguson Golf below. He has some good information that may help you regarding both Ireland and Scotland.

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

[Paul Hedrick]

Sadly, I have only played one course in Ireland: The K Club. This was on a company trip and we all played there.   It thought it was a top notch course.

https://www.kclub.ie/?utm_source=Google My Business&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=GMB

 

 

 

[Pupini]

On 2/17/2022 at 1:57 PM, PBH3 said:

 If you haven't already booked your travel I'd recommend for a 4 day trip to scrap Dublin and fly into Shannon and make Galway your base of operations.  Galway and the West Coast of Ireland are more of the "traditional" Ireland you see from post cards and there are some great courses in the area.  Definitely get a car to do some exploring.  

Thank you. We haven't booked anything yet. I was looking for some advice before doing anything. I appreciate the advice. I'm going to look into it.

[Eat My Divots]

Oh man, Ireland is my dream golf destination and has been on my bucket list for at least a decade. Hopefully I can finally make this happen in the next few years while I'm still physically able to swing a club! Please report back on your trip after the fact!

[geralndionio]

Ireland is my favorite country. I've been there a couple of times. The weather there is awesome. Not too hot, but not too cold - that's how you can describe the Irish weather in a nutshell. The island has a temperate climate, and there's no drastic difference between the seasons. But Ireland's weather is completely unpredictable: a rainy day can quickly turn into sunshine, and vice versa. And so on several times a day. In terms of prices . Ireland is a European Union member country, so the currency here is the euro. I like this country very much. But I have not been there that long. The last time I was there was a year ago. Because I like Spain better. And I was just looking at villas in spain for sale. But I hope to go to Ireland. Good luck with your trip!

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by geralndionio

[Michael Barlow]

I've never been to Ireland. My fondest dream is to visit this beautiful emerald country and play on its beautiful golf courses!

[RollingGreens]

Take a look at the no laying up travel series to Ireland. It is filled with a lot of info on the courses and towns 

[Tony Brooks]

Yes, Ireland is worth a trip for a round of golf. Take, for example, the Royal Dublin Golf Club. It's a huge course, located on an island at the entrance to Dublin harbor, and the views are wonderful: sand dunes, views of the majestic Howth Peninsula, Dublin Bay and Dublin itself, stretching the entire length of the bay. 
Playing on such a course is a pleasure not only from playing golf, but also from the mesmerizing scenery. 

[Felix Donovan]

We are planning a trip this year to Ireland with the family to a golf hotel. We haven't decided which one yet. 

[Fran83]

On 2/16/2022 at 1:37 PM, Pupini said:

My oldest is graduating from High School this year and I decided to take him to Ireland as a present. Kinda a mini guys vacation before he heads off to college. Anyway, we plan to play a round or two while we are there and I wanted to see if anyone could share their experiences. We are staying in Dublin to start and may travel to another area. Everything is a little up in the air right now, but guess is that we will be there for 4 days. I would love some course recommendations (modest $$), did you bring your clubs or rent?, should I rent a car while there, any advice or suggestions. My son is 18 so the Jameson distillery and Guinness Brewery will be on the list of sites to see. 

If you have 4 days and your looking to do the Guinness and Jameson distillery you wont get to play some of the more famous courses. Due to the distance required for driving.

I'm from Ireland and if your in Dublin and have prob 2 days to play golf I'd be playing the European Club in Wicklow and  Portmarnock. Be willing to drop €200 for those courses.