Golfing in Ireland

eltigrecda

Planning a golf trip to Ireland this summer and looking for advice on tour companies to use and golf courses to play. Will be landing and leaving from Dublin sometime in July or early August, so mostly looking at courses on the east coast, which could include a course or two in Northern Ireland. I used Hidden Links last year for a trip to Scotland and was quite satisfied, so I will certainly talk to them again this year - but just wondering what else is out there and which courses to play.

ode

I hope to see many, many pics ....and don't have much of anything of worth to say. I know RCD is booked well in advance if that's one on the list. If using a booking agent then you might be good to go! That course along with Lahinch and Ballybunion are on my dream list to play as well as many of the coastal/links courses up, down, and around Scotland, England, and Wales. Also really interested in the Heathland courses inland as well!

sdandrea1

Post pics! Don't forget you'll have to learn a new language 🤣

Bravopilot

sdandrea1 We have a new guy at work, UK Royal Air Force, but could not figure out his accent since not British. Father is Irish and mother is from Uruguay. Red headed strong Irish accent. Plus, last name is Gonzales. 😂😎 Good dude since a pilot.

Walterjn

Bravopilot wow, now that is a combination red headed Irishman with that last name...

eltigrecda

UPDATE: Booked my trip. Playing Royal Dublin, The Island, Corballis Links, Portmarnock Old Course and County Louth. All of them are links-style course near Dublin. If anyone has played these courses I would appreciate some feedback. I'm wondering specifically if any of them have a lot of blind shots where hiring a caddie would be recommended. Played Prestwick (near Glasgow) last year and I think I would have gotten lost without a caddie to help me!

brownmoose13

too bad you are missing some really nice courses in the Southwest. Did you try to get on Royal County Down...one of the finest in the world

eltigrecda

brownmoose13 Yes I did, but the British Open is at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland this year so a lot of the courses up north are booked solid this summer. There was a package that included a round at Royal County Down and weekend tickets to the British Open, but it was double the cost of the package I ended up taking.

ode

eltigrecda are you still going to the open?

eltigrecda

No, I've see the pros play multiple times so I wasn't really looking for that. It would have been a nice perk, but at my age this trip is more about doing some things on my bucket list while I am still healthy enough to do so. Most golf courses in the British Isles have a limited number of golf carts and many require some sort of medical certificate to rent one - so you are expected to walk the course. Next year I will look at courses closer to home where golf carts are more readily available.

eltigrecda

UPDATE: Just got back. Flight delays caused me to miss my tee time at Royal Dublin, which I was really looking forward to playing. The Island was a very enjoyable course that I could see from my hotel window in Malahide - though it was a 15-minute drive around Malahide Bay. The Portmarnock Old Course was excellent and I would highly recommend it (caddies were mandatory here, but the course was playable without one). County Louth was also in excellent condition, but there were a few blind shots and it was not always evident where the next tee was, so a caddie would be recommended. Corballis Links was a cheap muni that was not worth playing - in hindsight I should have skipped it and spent the day sightseeing in Dublin.