Ireland Options

[adschus]

Wife is letting me go to Ireland early to golf before meeting up with her. I’ll have access to a rental car and will be going late June for maximum sunlight. I’m doing all of this solo, Lone Ranger style. I’ll have my own clubs. Below is my itinerary.

 

Day 1 - arrive via DUB at 5a. Obtain rental car and head straight to Royal Portrush for an afternoon round.

 

Day 2 - Royal County Down. Drive to Lahinch area.

 

Day 3 - Play Lahinch at least once.

 

Day 4 - Play Lahinch again or Doonbeg. Drive to Dublin

 

Day 5 - Play Old Portmarnock.

 

Is playing Lahinch twice the way to go or is there an alternative I should play instead?

 

Any suggestions for food post rounds? Any of the courses listed above have outstanding food?

[duffer987]

Have you booked RCD yet?

They are typically the toughest course to get a time on and the one you would want to sort out first IMHO before sorting out the rest of your schedule.

Usually I'm all for driving all over he11s-half-acre for a round of golf, but with only 5 days I wouldn't cross the Island twice in that time.

I adore Lahinch, but I'd either do:

A - to the Southwest for Lahinch, Ballybunion, Waterville, Tralee and then head back to Dublin to play some combo of Portmarnock/The European Club/The Island/Baltray

or

B - to the North for Portrush, Portstewart, RCD and then the Dublin area options mentioned above.

Either of those gets you 3 of Irelands traditional "Big 5" plus a couple other outstanding tracks as well :)

 

Existing food for thought:

I have a thread here: http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1501476-ireland-trip-reportreview-may-june-2017/

And this one is good too: http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1574248-our-ireland-itinerary-march-2018-please-advise-acceptability/

[puttnforthe8]

whoa....you plan to go to RCD and then drive across the country to lahinch....sorry, that makes no sense.

 

 

I would go to the west coast first, then up to PR and then RCD, and then finish in Dublin.

 

 

on the west coast - as per above - you should try to get Tralee, waterville or Ballybunion.

 

Getting on RCD as a single will be no issue....I go multiple times a year and have never had an issue in 15 years.

[AuldPLO Swiss Golftrotter]

Forget about this long return trip to Lahinch and add some rounds either in Northern Ireland (Ardglass, Portstewart) or closer to Dublin (The European Club, The Island, County Louth)

[RBurl]

I would agree with the above comments either stay north or stay south

Plan A -- Portmarnock ; PortRush; Portstewart (very close); Royal County Down. If you need a 5th course. Play County Down twice or PortRush

 

Plan B -- Lahinch, Ballybunion, Waterville, Old Head, Tralee / Doonbeg

[Bumpit]

I'd agree to make it either a north or South trip.

 

If going north I'd take it a step further and forget about Dublin altogether.

 

Within an 1:45 drive west of Portstewart there is another 7/8 championship links courses that fly under the radar. The north west hasn't quite figured out how to market itself to tourists yet so it should be more friendly on your wallet as you start o fill out the days.

 

if you stay in the North/North West you could easily do 5 - 7 courses from the following list. (I've grouped together the ones you could get done on one day with some careful planning

 

Royal County Down/Ardglass

 

Royal Portrush/Portsewart

 

Ballyliffin (Old links or Glashedy Links - the Irish open is there this year though so may be clash with your trip

 

Rosapenna (Old Tom morris Links, Sandy Hills Links)/Portsalon

 

Donegal Golf Club & Nairn and Portnoo Golf Club (N & P is an absolute classic example of old school links)

 

Personally I'd start with a day in County Donegal (Preferably both Ballyliffin courses then work my way west for a day in Portrush/Portstewart then further west for Royal County Down & Ardglass and if you want finish at Portmarnock which is near enough to Dublin.

 

The south trip mentioned in a previous post would be epic as well if a bit harder on your wallet.

[AuldPLO Swiss Golftrotter]

If going north I'd take it a step further and forget about Dublin altogether. .

I don't know if adschus already purchased flight tickets, but since he's planning to travel to/from DUB airport, is it really worth sidelining Dublin area (and some very good tracks) and add quite a lot of kilometers ?

[adschus]

Points well taken. If five people all say to stick to one area, that must be the tried and true way. Last thing I want to be is exhausted from traveling untraveled roads.

 

Going to pivot and focus solely on N. Ireland.

 

How would this itinerary shape up?

 

Day 1 - RCD

Day 2 - Portstewart

Day 3 - Royal Portrush

Day 4 - Ardglass/somewhere else?

 

I'll stay somewhat central to the S. and N. coast in Belfast, as I have many Hilton points to expend.

[duffer987]

Castlerock is next door to Portstewart and neat enough track.

Ardglass has a really cool start to it and some fun holes down along the water. Fun fact: back in the day I had the wheelcovers stolen off my rental car there, lol.

 

That said, personally I would still play one or two of The Island/Baltray/Portmarnock instead of any course in the North after those first three.

I know Portmarnock doesn't get a lot of love due to the lack of dunes, but I really enjoyed it and it felt like playing an Open rota course.

[AuldPLO Swiss Golftrotter]

Day 1 - RCD

Day 2 - Portstewart

Day 3 - Royal Portrush

Day 4 - Ardglass/somewhere else?

 

It's exactly what I did + County Louth on the other side of the "border", I really enjoyed all courses.

On top of that, you can't be wrong adding 1-2 rounds in Dublin area

[adschus]

Day 1 - RCD

Day 2 - Portstewart

Day 3 - Royal Portrush

Day 4 - Ardglass/somewhere else?

 

It's exactly what I did + County Louth on the other side of the "border", I really enjoyed all courses.

On top of that, you can't be wrong adding 1-2 rounds in Dublin area

 

Thanks for the advice! Getting it all to work out is another task in itself.

 

BTW, awesome pictures. I went to Thailand for my honeymoon so that was nice to relive some of those courses. I placed Cape Kidnappers higher on my golf bucket list but looking at your RCD pics makes me rethink the list.

[alfriday]

Have you considered playing RCD two times? I did on my last trip and am glad I did.

 

RCD is one of my favorite courses. I've played it a total of four times, but it was many years between rounds two and three. It has a number of blind tee shots and hidden features. My first round I was just following the caddies suggestions to the best of my ability. On the second round, I felt like I was really playing the course. My caddie and I spend much more time talking strategy on the second round and it deepened my appreciation for the course.

[RBurl]

Points well taken. If five people all say to stick to one area, that must be the tried and true way. Last thing I want to be is exhausted from traveling untraveled roads.

 

Going to pivot and focus solely on N. Ireland.

 

How would this itinerary shape up?

 

Day 1 - RCD

Day 2 - Portstewart

Day 3 - Royal Portrush

Day 4 - Ardglass/somewhere else?

 

I'll stay somewhat central to the S. and N. coast in Belfast, as I have many Hilton points to expend.

You're missing Portmarnock. Don't miss that one

[RBurl]

Have you considered playing RCD two times? I did on my last trip and am glad I did.

 

RCD is one of my favorite courses. I've played it a total of four times, but it was many years between rounds two and three. It has a number of blind tee shots and hidden features. My first round I was just following the caddies suggestions to the best of my ability. On the second round, I felt like I was really playing the course. My caddie and I spend much more time talking strategy on the second round and it deepened my appreciation for the course.

I would second that too

[greihing]

I'd agree to make it either a north or South trip.

 

If going north I'd take it a step further and forget about Dublin altogether.

 

Within an 1:45 drive west of Portstewart there is another 7/8 championship links courses that fly under the radar. The north west hasn't quite figured out how to market itself to tourists yet so it should be more friendly on your wallet as you start o fill out the days.

 

if you stay in the North/North West you could easily do 5 - 7 courses from the following list. (I've grouped together the ones you could get done on one day with some careful planning

 

Royal County Down/Ardglass

 

Royal Portrush/Portsewart

 

Ballyliffin (Old links or Glashedy Links - the Irish open is there this year though so may be clash with your trip

 

Rosapenna (Old Tom morris Links, Sandy Hills Links)/Portsalon

 

Donegal Golf Club & Nairn and Portnoo Golf Club (N & P is an absolute classic example of old school links)

 

Personally I'd start with a day in County Donegal (Preferably both Ballyliffin courses then work my way west for a day in Portrush/Portstewart then further west for Royal County Down & Ardglass and if you want finish at Portmarnock which is near enough to Dublin.

 

The south trip mentioned in a previous post would be epic as well if a bit harder on your wallet.

 

 

I'm doing doing this trip almost exactly in early May. Can't wait.

[puttnforthe8]

Anyone play Anthem or Foothills in the past few weeks?

 

Quite the contrast there....Anthem is Anthem...always good. No idea on FH, I have given up...but last report was not terrible.

 

 

Playing with a friend who isn't all that good and doesn't want to spend much money. It's close to his house so it's just convenient. He said it was in good condition but I think his good and my good are two different things. Supposedly new owners.

 

BTW...I know links golf is the predominant option for golf while in Ire. But I do recommend people play Lough Erne if they have the time...it is a really good course. While not links, it is around a lake.

 

 

 

[crcraig]

In June you've got about 17 hours of daylight, so you need to think about how to make the best use of it. If you're physically up to it, you should try to get in at least a couple of 36 hole days. RCD is absolutely 100% worth playing twice (my first time there I played it 5 times). Portrush probably is too, but you could also easily combine it with Portstewart or Castlerock. Also, the Valley course at Portrush is well worth playing too.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that unless you are really good at sleeping on airplanes, you're going to be pretty wiped out the first day, so I suggest not going crazy that day. With that in mind, I'd try something like this:

 

Day 1: play The Island or Baltray, then drive to Newcastle.

 

Day 2: play RCD twice.

 

Day 3: Drive to Portrush, play Portstewart. (Probably time for another round this day too, if you're up to it.) Otherwise check out Dunluce Castle.

 

Day 4: play Royal Portrush twice (or Portrush plus Valley)

 

Day 5: drive to Dublin, play The Island or Baltray or Portmarnock on the way.

[Bumpit]

If going north I'd take it a step further and forget about Dublin altogether. .

I don't know if adschus already purchased flight tickets, but since he's planning to travel to/from DUB airport, is it really worth sidelining Dublin area (and some very good tracks) and add quite a lot of kilometers ?

 

Yeah that's a fair point, Portmarnock in particular would be fine travel wise as its to north of Dublin. You could probably drive from RCD to Portmarnock in 1.5 hrs. Still if I had the choice I'd fit in two north west courses then make my way East Finishing up at RCD. That would really be finishing on a high!

[duffer987]

If going north I'd take it a step further and forget about Dublin altogether. .

I don't know if adschus already purchased flight tickets, but since he's planning to travel to/from DUB airport, is it really worth sidelining Dublin area (and some very good tracks) and add quite a lot of kilometers ?

 

Yeah that's a fair point, Portmarnock in particular would be fine travel wise as its to north of Dublin. You could probably drive from RCD to Portmarnock in 1.5 hrs. Still if I had the choice I'd fit in two north west courses then make my way East Finishing up at RCD. That would really be finishing on a high!

 

Based on the OP - I am assuming he's got 4/5 days to muck about before returning to Dublin airport to pick up his wife and start their holidays, hence the options he offered up.

Ballyliffin is nice enough, but that's a good 3.5hr round trip from Portrush, on top of any other toing and froing.

[Chanceman]

Personally I'd start with a day in County Donegal (Preferably both Ballyliffin courses then work my way west for a day in Portrush/Portstewart then further west for Royal County Down & Ardglass and if you want finish at Portmarnock which is near enough to Dublin.

 

I would be pretty careful heading West from Ballyliffin if you were hoping to find Portrush or RCD.

[Malvern]

Day 1 - RCD

Day 2 - Portstewart

Day 3 - Royal Portrush

Day 4 - Ardglass/somewhere else?

 

It's exactly what I did + County Louth on the other side of the "border", I really enjoyed all courses.

On top of that, you can't be wrong adding 1-2 rounds in Dublin area

 

Reading some Ireland threads here and there, I'm surprised there is not more "love" for County Louth/Baltray, I think its a standout course.

 

Given you have to get back to Dublin, Baltray is an easy option and a significantly better track than Ardglass

[joe perry]

I would play Royal Portrush twice - the first round might be a bit of a blur because you are landing at 5am and then rushing/driving to the course - get some sleep and play it again on day 2 when you are more fresh. 2 rounds at an Open venue is not a waste of time or money and I find Portursh slightly better than RCD as it doesn't beat you up as much.

 

day 3 play Portstewart or Castlerock (close to Portrush) or drive and play Ballyliffin (2 courses, lively clubhouse)

 

day 4 RCD

 

day 5 Portmarnock

[az2au]

Anyone play Anthem or Foothills in the past few weeks?

 

Quite the contrast there....Anthem is Anthem...always good. No idea on FH, I have given up...but last report was not terrible.

 

 

Playing with a friend who isn't all that good and doesn't want to spend much money. It's close to his house so it's just convenient. He said it was in good condition but I think his good and my good are two different things. Supposedly new owners.

 

BTW...I know links golf is the predominant option for golf while in Ire. But I do recommend people play Lough Erne if they have the time...it is a really good course. While not links, it is around a lake.

 

 

 

And so much better than any of the Killarney courses.