Ireland golf trip - advice needed

[Bandy1080]

 

I have a 6 day trip planned with my father and brother to SW Ireland. Been looking at all the advice on this board and came up with what I think is the best plan of action. We will be staying 4 nights at a rented house in Tralee and then stay 2 nights at condo in Lahinch.

 

Here is the itinerary:

5/18 (Arrive Shannon @ 6:15am) – Dooks

5/19 – Waterville

5/20- Tralee

5/21 – Ballybunion

5/21 – Doonbeg

5/23 – Lahinch

5/23 – Depart

 

Couple of important questions –

 

1. You will notice Old Head is not on there. It is optional right now but I would need to toss out one of the courses above. Its about a 2.5 hour drive each way. Worth it?

 

2. How soon do I need to make tee time reservations for these courses?

 

3. Planning on getting caddies at all these courses, are the caddy reservations made through the courses reliable? And looks like they vary between $45-$55 per bag. What do you usually tip?

 

4. Any other advice on this trip? First time for all of us.

[hdr_ric]

If you are going to drop one, drop Doonbeg.

 

That said, old head is a bit of a haul to/from where you are staying. Are you self driving??

 

If you really want to play it, adding a day to the trip, and a night in Kinsale is prob the way to go.

 

Old head is visually awesome. Probably tops in the world outside of maybe Cape Kidnappers or whatever that New Zealand course is called. The golf itself is good, not great. But probably as good as doonbeg. I think they have had to redo some of doonbeg since I was there last- global warming erosion damage or something.

 

I found booking caddies through the courses went fine. I'd make tee times as soon as possible.

 

I would suggest just playing 18 a day and save some time to enjoy Ireland. I have done it both ways and personally, golf warrior-ing 36 a day is NOT the way to enjoy Ireland/Scotland.

 

 

 

Edit - fwiw, my first trip to Ireland was:

 

day 1 - fly into Shannon - drive to Kinsale and get blind drunk

day 2 - old head

day 3 - Ballybunion (36)

day 4 - Tralee

day 5 - waterville

day 6 - doonbeg

day 7 - lahinch

day 8 - depart Shannon

 

We were two nights in Kinsale, 3 I think in Killarney and 2 in Lahinch (if that adds up).

 

Looking back, we would have been better off skipping the cashen course at Ballybunion, and playing on day 1 (and moving a non-golf day to somewhere in the middle rather than day 1).

 

 

 

EDIT2: If Duffer87 or whatever his name responds with advice, I'd heed it. The guy has been over there more than most (I am jealous).

[az2au]

I've never self booked that level of trip, always used an operator. The only time I've self booked is when I've only gone over for a weekend while working in the UK.

 

To answer your four questions (IMO of course):

1. Old Head is an amazing place to play golf but given your order I don't see it as viable. Kinsale is a great town as well but I wouldn't do what you're doing unless you close at Old Head

2. We generally have everything booked by January for a July/August trip

3. Caddie reservations will mostly be honored but there's definitely no guarantee that they'll be there regardless of how you book them at most courses. General rule is 50% tip but for a high quality job I tend to be closer to 100%. Most of the time it is kids that are just bag carriers so they'll only get 50%.

4. Have you considered using a tour operator? There are many good ones and it will likely save you money rather than cost you more. We always use Eamonn at Golf Vacations Ireland and I can definitely recommend him (and have to several friends). I'm not affiliated with him in any way as an FYI, just had absolutely nothing but great experiences with him across more than 10 trips.

 

One other thing, we've always played Lahinch on the days we've flown in to SNN and finished at Old Head. You've kinda reversed that a bit. Nothing wrong with that but it may be possible to get Old Head in more easily if you do it that way.

[Bandy1080]

I always thought tour operators were for larger groups? There's only three of us.

[az2au]

I always thought tour operators were for larger groups? There's only three of us.

Well, the smallest we've used him for is 4 but I assume 3 would be fine as well. Check with a few and they will give you quotes. These guys pre-buy times so they can get you in a lot easier than you can yourself.

[Bandy1080]

I always thought tour operators were for larger groups? There's only three of us.

Well, the smallest we've used him for is 4 but I assume 3 would be fine as well. Check with a few and they will give you quotes. These guys pre-buy times so they can get you in a lot easier than you can yourself.

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice. Just reached out and we will see what they say. We were going to rent our own vehicle and had our houses picked out but even if we can just go through them for the golf deals that would be great.

[Cfd74]

I have a 6 day trip planned with my father and brother to SW Ireland. Been looking at all the advice on this board and came up with what I think is the best plan of action. We will be staying 4 nights at a rented house in Tralee and then stay 2 nights at condo in Lahinch.

 

Here is the itinerary:

5/18 (Arrive Shannon @ 6:15am) – Dooks

5/19 – Waterville

5/20- Tralee

5/21 – Ballybunion

5/21 – Doonbeg

5/23 – Lahinch

5/23 – Depart

 

Couple of important questions –

 

1. You will notice Old Head is not on there. It is optional right now but I would need to toss out one of the courses above. Its about a 2.5 hour drive each way. Worth it?

 

2. How soon do I need to make tee time reservations for these courses?

 

3. Planning on getting caddies at all these courses, are the caddy reservations made through the courses reliable? And looks like they vary between $45-$55 per bag. What do you usually tip?

 

4. Any other advice on this trip? First time for all of us.

 

I plan our trips every year for my wife and me. It is quite easy to get it all together if you have the time to do it. I would start now in emailing the respective club secretaries regarding tee times. Caddy reservations have been good for me. Always get one on your first pass through any of those courses. As for tips, i would always give a minimum of 20 euros. If i played well, I would go higher. You will know when to tip more. As for Old Head, I have had the chance to play there and loved it. It isn't a typical links course per say but the setting is second to none. If you can work it out, i would definitely give yourself a full day down there. The trip over there along the Ring of Kerry is gorgeous. i am attaching a link below that you might find useful. I do blogs from all of our trips as well as all my photography. Please feel free to PM me with any questions. Best of luck and know that whatever you decide, you will have a wonderful time.

 

http://www.fairwaysndreamsgolf.com

[Bandy1080]

Wow, looks like I am already running into some serious speed bumps.

 

On saturday and Sunday, Ballybunion, Tralee, and Waterville seem to be all booked up. The whole point of the trip was to play those specific courses. People must seriously plan ahead. Any inside advice on how to get a tee time there on weekends? Is it worth calling in a favor with my head pro or something, i noticed there are a lot of "member" tee times? Advice is welcome.

[az2au]

Wow, looks like I am already running into some serious speed bumps.

 

On saturday and Sunday, Ballybunion, Tralee, and Waterville seem to be all booked up. The whole point of the trip was to play those specific courses. People must seriously plan ahead. Any inside advice on how to get a tee time there on weekends? Is it worth calling in a favor with my head pro or something? Advice is welcome.

Yep, again, that's why you need to talk to some tour operators. In some cases these courses won't allow guests on certain days, in others they'll already have all of the tee times. Even if you don't use the guy I listed reach out to some others and see if they have times on those days. You can likely find an agenda that works that way.

[Bandy1080]

Thanks. Sent Golf vacations Ireland a request yesterday and haven't heard anything back. Do you have a direct contact information for him?

[az2au]

Thanks. Sent Golf vacations Ireland a request yesterday and haven't heard anything back. Do you have a direct contact information for him?

Sent you a DM with the info.

[hdr_ric]

I have used a couple in the past - I particularly liked swinggolfireland.com

 

But I suspect they are all pretty similar.

[duffer987]

Thanks for the nice words HDR :)

 

OP, just like the proverbial *hole that everyone has, here comes another opinion ;)

If you've already sorted everything the last few days fair enough, then fair enough, but I'll cobble some stuff down anyways.

 

Firstly, why did you choose midweek to midweek? Are there work, school, other domestic considerations? Because with what looks like only 5 days on the ground to play golf - according to what you wrote - you've only got 3 weekdays out of that.

 

These are member's clubs first and foremost, that do a deal with the devil (namely us), to keep their dues low and top up their coffers. But really keeping weekend times largely for themselves shouldn't be a surprise or a complaint.

 

If you had 5 weekdays to play with, you'd have no problems getting what you'd ideally like. Leave Friday, land Sat, you could play Doonbeg and Lahinch that arrival weekend and be done with Co. Clare and able to move onto Co. Kerry for the rest of the trip.

 

As it stands the most likely way I'd see getting tee times to play all those courses on those days would be:

18th: Fly in + Dooks

19th: Ballybunion/Tralee

20th: Doonbeg

21st: Lahinch

22nd: Waterville

23rd: Fly home (or add one of Ballybunion/Tralee in the morning if a late flight)

 

BTW, I also only count 5 nights in total, not 6, but then I ain't so good at the numbers.

 

Read through UK and Ireland threads on here, lots of good stuff! Most importantly, once you are there, just have fun :) Should be obvious, but sometimes folks fret over scores or weather or whatever.

[Bandy1080]

Thanks so much for all the advice.

 

As duffer pointed out, the weekend tee times really threw a wrench in our plan. We had to go over a weekend in order to combine this with a business trip. But through some musical chairs and a favor called into a member at Ballybunion I was able to confirm the following schedule.

 

We are staying at a house on the Tralee course from 5/18 until 5/21 and then making our way up to Lahinch for two nights

 

5/18 – Arrive Shannon and drive to house in Tralee. 12:54pm tee time @ Tralee

5/19 – Early morning drive down ring of Kerry to Waterville – 7:40am tee time

5/20 – Dooks @ 1:40pm

5/21 – Drive north to Doonbeg – 1pm tee time stay at hotel in Lahinch

5/22 – Lahinch at 10:10am

5/23 – Fly home

 

Overall I am quite pleased with our itinerary. Not thrilled about the early morning drive to Waterville and the fact that we play Tralee right off the plane on the 18th.

 

Now I wait five months!

 

 

[duffer987]

Good stuff Bandy :)

Always great to hear someone's worked something out. Ya that is early, but on the plus side, it's light out from 5am, so you will be able to enjoy the sights on the drive down. Just watch for the early morning farm machinery traffic ;)

[gussie]

Thanks so much for all the advice.

 

As duffer pointed out, the weekend tee times really threw a wrench in our plan. We had to go over a weekend in order to combine this with a business trip. But through some musical chairs and a favor called into a member at Ballybunion I was able to confirm the following schedule.

 

We are staying at a house on the Tralee course from 5/18 until 5/21 and then making our way up to Lahinch for two nights

 

5/18 – Arrive Shannon and drive to house in Tralee. 12:54pm tee time @ Tralee

5/19 – Early morning drive down ring of Kerry to Waterville – 7:40am tee time

5/20 – Dooks @ 1:40pm

5/21 – Drive north to Doonbeg – 1pm tee time stay at hotel in Lahinch

5/22 – Lahinch at 10:10am

5/23 – Fly home

 

Overall I am quite pleased with our itinerary. Not thrilled about the early morning drive to Waterville and the fact that we play Tralee right off the plane on the 18th.

 

Now I wait five months!

[gussie]

Thanks so much for all the advice.

 

As duffer pointed out, the weekend tee times really threw a wrench in our plan. We had to go over a weekend in order to combine this with a business trip. But through some musical chairs and a favor called into a member at Ballybunion I was able to confirm the following schedule.

 

We are staying at a house on the Tralee course from 5/18 until 5/21 and then making our way up to Lahinch for two nights

 

5/18 – Arrive Shannon and drive to house in Tralee. 12:54pm tee time @ Tralee

5/19 – Early morning drive down ring of Kerry to Waterville – 7:40am tee time

5/20 – Dooks @ 1:40pm

5/21 – Drive north to Doonbeg – 1pm tee time stay at hotel in Lahinch

5/22 – Lahinch at 10:10am

5/23 – Fly home

 

Overall I am quite pleased with our itinerary. Not thrilled about the early morning drive to Waterville and the fact that we play Tralee right off the plane on the 18th.

 

Now I wait five months!

you have packed some great courses into your holiday

I'm liking your last few days around doonbeg and lahinch

Lahinch town and course are special

Shannon airport is easy 40 min drive from lahinch

If you get a chance try the castle course in lahinch it will surprise you

Also doonbeg has a fantastic practice ground

Stop in Spanish point at armada hotel

Great food

Enjoy

[FaReal87]

Planning my Ireland trip now as well for the week or so after you. Secured my first round at Portmarnock (before i even booked flight or housing), and am now planning when to play lahinch/tralee.Have you looked into Airbnb for you trip at all? You can find some steals.

[FaReal87]

Also, for those of you that have done the trip, what other non golf activities have you done aside from generic tourist stops? I fully intend on the generic stops, but would love to hear some other things to do. I could search further in the archives, but aside from landscapes, bars and cities change and I would like to know what places are still worth going to. Thanks in advance.

[Mob]

All good advice above. We did essentially the same courses this past September. The "must play" in my mind are Ballybunion and the back 9 at Tralee. Ballybunion is an amazing golf course and the back 9 at Tralee maybe the most amazing 9 holes of golf I have ever played. All the other courses listed are great. We did not play Old Head just because it was hard to fit in logistically, without adding days to the trip.

[duffer987]

Also, for those of you that have done the trip, what other non golf activities have you done aside from generic tourist stops? I fully intend on the generic stops, but would love to hear some other things to do. I could search further in the archives, but aside from landscapes, bars and cities change and I would like to know what places are still worth going to. Thanks in advance.

 

Pubs? Pubs are a good start-middle-finish ;)

Mulligans, Doyles, Doheny & Nesbitt, O'Neills, Kehoes, McDaids... sooo many to choose from in Dublin! And obviously littered throughout the country.

 

Seriously though, it depends if you have any knowledge/interest in Irish history or are more interested in the countryside in general. I'd always point/take folks to Glendalough, Sugar Loaf, and then Johnny Foxes for a 1/2 day jaunt from Dublin. The Rock of Cashel is a slight detour from the fastest Dublin to the Southwest route, but I think it's one of the coolest sites in the country. Kilmainham Gaol is very interesting in Dublin itself.

None of these are unique or "hidden gems" but they are sure all something you're not going to see in North America... well OK maybe the jail you would. And then you really cannot go wrong with the coastline, pretty much anywhere.

 

One non-tourist thing that I would highly recommend is to attend a GAA (hurling or football) match. I was never much into hurling, but enjoyed the football, and that can make for a fun afternoon or be the start of a very boozy evening :) We're going to be over at the end of May and hope to find a match that fits into our schedule.

Another thing would be to attend a Republic of Ireland WC Qualifier or friendly. Unfortunately they are playing in June on the day we fly out, otherwise we'd have gone to that.

[az2au]

I love hurling. Great spectator sport. Definitely worth attending a live game. We usually adopt a team and follow it closely. Great suggestion.