July Golf Trip to Ireland

[johnspies]

I'm late to the party but have to say this will be a miserable experience, especially if there's any sort of weather at all. 36 a day ain't no joke over there and like others have said, travel time is a bigger factor than you think. We just did a group of 12 in April (14 days and 13 rounds) which was borderline nuts; yours is all but unachievable in my opinion.....but we were a group of 35-60 somethings so your mileage may vary.

I've taken several large groups (8-12) of club members to Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland and have learned that more is not better. On the next trip, we plan to play the best courses twice each to keep travel to a minimum and to improve the overall golfing experience.

 

 

 

[Frank_Kasule]

Trip has started, any updates? 

[Faucette]

[golfday]

This itinerary would kill me, but what a way to go. In reality I think I'd end up canceling 1/3 of the rounds or more. 

 

Imagine what the alternative would look like if you were to say it was in the US... Fly into Raleigh, play Tobacco Road and Pinehurst #2 on day 1, then drive to Myrtle Beach. Play Dunes Club and Caledonia day 2, drive to Kiawah. Play Ocean Course and another course day 3, then drive to Hilton Head... and so on. It's staggering to think about, you'd never recommend it to someone. 

[El Gringo]

On 6/23/2023 at 3:03 AM, jdhallissey said:

Been a good while since I have been on the board but I figured what better place to have the trip documented than here. So the trip is 8 days. We have 17 rounds of golf on the books. Absolutely bonkers I agree. This is the list of the courses. So to say the least it is a once in a life time trip that I may never want to touch the clubs again when we get done but lol. I am really looking forward to the trip tho. I will bring one pair of socks for each round of golf. I will also have 2 sets of shoes coming with. Outside of that going to be pretty epic. I will also be posting all the pictures here. I might break it down by course.

 

For the groups that have gone before anything you suggest I try and see too? I went back in 05. So it has been a few years. Thanks for the help.

 

July 15th
Group will arrive in Dublin Airport.
Drive to Porballintrae and check into The Bay View Hotel.
Play evening golf at Royal Portrush (16:48)
July 16th
Following breakfast, the group will drive to Portstewart.
Play 36-holes on The Riverside & Strand courses (River 11:30 / Strand 15:30)
Overnight again in The Bay View Hotel.
July 17th
Following breakfast, the group drive to Portrush.
Play golf on the Valley Course at Royal Portrush (08:50)
Drive to Newcastle, Co. Down.
Play golf at Royal County Down (15:48)
Drive to Dublin and check into The Grand Hotel.
July 18th
Following breakfast, the group will drive to the nearby Portmarnock
Golf Club for an early morning round (08:00)
Drive to Baltray for an afternoon round at County Louth Golf Club (14:30 as two-
balls)
Overnight again in The Grand Hotel.
July 19th
Following breakfast, the group will check out of the hotel.
Drive to Brittas Bay to play The European Golf Club (08:32)
Drive back to Dublin for an afternoon round at The Island (15:30)
Drive to Sligo and check into The Sligo Park.
July 20th
Following breakfast the group will check out of the hotel.
Drive to Belmullet and play Carne Golf Links (08:00)
Drive back to Sligo and play Sligo Golf Club (14:45)
Continue on to Letterkenny and check into The Station House.
July 21st
Following breakfast, the group will drive to Rosapenna.
Play 54-holes at Rosapenna (Sandy 07:00 / St. Pat's 12:00 / Old Tom 17:00)
Overnight again in The Station House.
Royal Portrush Dunluce
Portstewart Riverside & Strand
Royal Portrush Valley & Royal County Down
Portmarnock & County Louth
The European Club and The Island
Carne Golf Links & Sligo Golf Club
Rosapenna St. Patricks, Old Tom Morris & Sandy Hills.
Ballyliffin's Glashedy, Old Course & Pollen.
Bay View Hotel, Portballintrae, Co. Antrim
Grand Hotel, Malahide, Dublin
Sligo Park Hotel, Sligo Town
Station House, Letterkenny
July 22nd
Following breakfast, the group will drive to Ballyliffin.
Play 45-holes at Ballyliffin Golf Club (Old 08:00 / Glashedy 13:00 / Pollen 18:00)
Overnight again in The Station House.
July 23rd
Early checkout and depart for Dublin Airport.

 

 

 

To each is own and I am sure there will be some great memories. However, better you than me 😎. 

[jdhallissey]

So I  am late in updating everyone. We actually ended up playing 18 rounds. The other 3 guys played 19. 13 rounds I walked and carried my bag. 2 rounds walked with a caddy. Then 3 rounds on carts. ended up being 133.69 miles walked not including the 3 cart rounds. The hardest part was there was so much travel and bs that eating actual meals was impossible. Had a rental car issue so I grabbed my own also. but all in all I had a great time. Tho when I go back I will not be doing that trip again. The only course/clubhouse I actually got to enjoy was ballyliffin. I really regret not being able to enjoy and see RCD as it should be enjoyed. 2 pair of shoes rotated for the rounds. With new socks every round. Still ended up with 2 blisters in really weird spots but didnt effect anything. I have so many pictures I have to sort and upload so give me some time for that.

 

If anyone wants true honest opinions on the courses I played I will give you the good/bad and well the ugly dash courses that will truly disappoint you. Which was really only 2 lol

[jvincent]

13 hours ago, jdhallissey said:

If anyone wants true honest opinions on the courses I played I will give you the good/bad and well the ugly dash courses that will truly disappoint you. Which was really only 2 lol

 

I'm waiting for the blow-by-blow review of each course and logistical nightmare.

[Chanceman]

Glad to hear you made it. The idea of having no actual meals fascinates me! Please explain further.

[jdhallissey]

On 8/1/2023 at 6:15 PM, Chanceman said:

Glad to hear you made it. The idea of having no actual meals fascinates me! Please explain further.

Well I ate at every gas station. I had to stop at lol. One night for dinner I s*** you not I bought a package of deli sliced cheese and deli sliced chicken and rolled it up and ate it at 2330. Then had to be up the next morning and out of the room at 6am for 45 holes on the last day lol. There was a lot of snacks/peanuts/candy bars tho. 

[jdhallissey]

On 8/1/2023 at 10:11 AM, jvincent said:

 

I'm waiting for the blow-by-blow review of each course and logistical nightmare.

I am flying to Cali right now. I will start getting them all broken down and pictures up. 

[jvincent]

2 hours ago, jdhallissey said:

I am flying to Cali right now. I will start getting them all broken down and pictures up. 

 

Looking forward to it.

[AltC]

C’mon JD spill the beans!

[jdhallissey]

On 8/8/2023 at 8:52 AM, AltC said:

C’mon JD spill the beans!

Sorry man been swamped. MY parents bought a new house and i have been slaving helping them get all settled lol. I am working on it. Hard when you are away from the computer for weeks on end

[AltC]

5 hours ago, jdhallissey said:

Sorry man been swamped. MY parents bought a new house and i have been slaving helping them get all settled lol. I am working on it. Hard when you are away from the computer for weeks on end

No worries JD - life often gets in the way of stuff - willing to wait patiently for all the lurid details- hehe

[jdhallissey]

On 8/29/2023 at 8:30 PM, AltC said:

No worries JD - life often gets in the way of stuff - willing to wait patiently for all the lurid details- hehe

Port Marnock... 13 perfect holes. 1/2 hole of pouring rain. Then 2 holes of perfect golf then 2 holes of being the wettest I have ever been in my life lolol.  Port Marnock was a truly hidden gem. Absolutely a fantastic golf course. Yes it was raining so hard to finish up that the camera was picking up the drops coming in

Edited August 31, 2023 by jdhallissey

[jdhallissey]

Royal county down

 

[jdhallissey]

On 8/1/2023 at 10:11 AM, jvincent said:

 

I'm waiting for the blow-by-blow review of each course and logistical nightmare.

 

So the logistical nightmare was on the end of the night getting to the next hotel. Also not being able to hit golf balls to warm up in the morning was rough very rough. We ended up having 2 rental cars. That was a nightmare for me as we played 45 holes then I had to jump on a train to belfast to get the other rental. got back to the room at 2am. I skipped the valley course at royal portrush on the monday morning. I ended up just driving myself for the entire trip which was fine but also kinda sucked. The 1100 miles on the rental car for 8 days was amusing lol.

[jdhallissey]

On 8/8/2023 at 8:52 AM, AltC said:

C’mon JD spill the beans!

Alright what do you want to know about the trip? Will I ever do it again? not a chance in f****** hell. Getting in early and leaving later was also a blast. The true idea of playing more golf before I left was a really hard bug to kick lol. I was itching to get another round in after a day break.

[jdhallissey]

On 7/16/2023 at 6:17 AM, Faucette said:

 I can tell you I played 1 week after coming back. I didnt touch the clubs or anything. Hit a few balls on the range and was like wow my body is still feeling that trip lol. My right hand still gets sore a month later.

[Chanceman]

We told ya so !! But you survived so fair play to you. What’s next??

[hammergolf]

16 hours ago, jdhallissey said:

Alright what do you want to know about the trip? Will I ever do it again? not a chance in f****** hell. Getting in early and leaving later was also a blast. The true idea of playing more golf before I left was a really hard bug to kick lol. I was itching to get another round in after a day break.

Was it worse than what you were thinking it would be based on what we told you before the trip? 

[Hawkeye77]

So I wouldn't dream of saying I/we told you so early and often! 😀

 

Which courses weren't so good?

[jdhallissey]

On 8/31/2023 at 1:11 PM, hammergolf said:

Was it worse than what you were thinking it would be based on what we told you before the trip? 

 

 So the amount of golf truly wasnt that bad. I can play 36 a day for pretty much ever. My issues came in with not being able to warm up. Then the roughly 2hr ice bath of driving to the next course and walking to the tee. If it were layed out were I was golfing 36 holes at the same facility each day and like every 3rd day we moved home base it would of been absolutely money. This trip was I guess planned minute so the tee times and places ended up as they were. The lack of actual food really bothered me too. We truly didnt even have time for a beer in the club house before/after the rounds. Except for ballyliffin. And holyshit what a treat Ballyliffin is.

[jdhallissey]

On 8/31/2023 at 3:03 PM, Hawkeye77 said:

So I wouldn't dream of saying I/we told you so early and often! 😀

 

Which courses weren't so good?

The river course at Port Stewart was a total waste of time and energy. I skipped the valley course at royal port rush because I didnt need another short course in just ok shape. Carne was a major let down. Yes they went thru a hot spell so the course was still recovering but I did it. cool. But no reason to go back. European club was in my mind a waste also. They just dont know what they want out there. Once they figure out there identity out there they will be a much better golf course. 

 

Port marnock was a absolute SLEEPER of a golf course. For a flat piece of land literally flat.... Absolutely amazing. Royal county down was very good. Royal Portrush was a absolute treat also.

[El Gringo]

On 9/1/2023 at 11:19 PM, jdhallissey said:

 

 So the amount of golf truly wasnt that bad. I can play 36 a day for pretty much ever. My issues came in with not being able to warm up. Then the roughly 2hr ice bath of driving to the next course and walking to the tee. If it were layed out were I was golfing 36 holes at the same facility each day and like every 3rd day we moved home base it would of been absolutely money. This trip was I guess planned minute so the tee times and places ended up as they were. The lack of actual food really bothered me too. We truly didnt even have time for a beer in the club house before/after the rounds. Except for ballyliffin. And holyshit what a treat Ballyliffin is.

I guess ya live and learn. At the end of the day golf trips are holidays to be enjoyed. Plan a golf trip in a similar manner to other trips. Build in chill time. 

[golfday]

On 9/1/2023 at 6:24 PM, jdhallissey said:

The river course at Port Stewart was a total waste of time and energy. I skipped the valley course at royal port rush because I didnt need another short course in just ok shape. Carne was a major let down. Yes they went thru a hot spell so the course was still recovering but I did it. cool. But no reason to go back. European club was in my mind a waste also. They just dont know what they want out there. Once they figure out there identity out there they will be a much better golf course. 

 

Port marnock was a absolute SLEEPER of a golf course. For a flat piece of land literally flat.... Absolutely amazing. Royal county down was very good. Royal Portrush was a absolute treat also.

What did you think of The Island vs County Louth? I'm planning a trip and it looks like I'll have time for one round in the Dublin area and unfortunately it looks like Portmarnock won't have guests available on the day I would be in the area. European club is in the area too, but sounds like you're not as much of a fan of that one.

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, golfday said:

What did you think of The Island vs County Louth? I'm planning a trip and it looks like I'll have time for one round in the Dublin area and unfortunately it looks like Portmarnock won't have guests available on the day I would be in the area. European club is in the area too, but sounds like you're not as much of a fan of that one.

You couldn’t go wrong with any of those three. They are all great courses and would be only down to personal preference.

[El Gringo]

7 hours ago, golfday said:

What did you think of The Island vs County Louth? I'm planning a trip and it looks like I'll have time for one round in the Dublin area and unfortunately it looks like Portmarnock won't have guests available on the day I would be in the area. European club is in the area too, but sounds like you're not as much of a fan of that one.

Euro Club is quite a bit out of the way if you are heading north and the least linksy. I think the Island is the best of the three. However, Baltray is much more playable and is still very good. 

[st1800e]

8 hours ago, golfday said:

What did you think of The Island vs County Louth?

In my view, having played them both in June, County Louth is a better course.   Can’t go wrong with either, they’re both in or near the top ten.