Ireland Help

[aumatt87]

Will be going to Ireland in October for our honeymoon and have gotten the fiancee to let me play at least one round of golf. We are still finalizing the itinerary, but will likely spend a few days in Dublin, Galway, Kallarney (or Dingle), and potentially Cork or Kinsale. Ballybunion had stood out as a top choice, but they close play after October 6th so it is out. Can anyone recommend between Lahinch, Tralee or the potential trip down to Old Head? Also, any others I might be leaving out (Portmarnock in Dublin)? Appreciate the help!

[Chip_Unsure]

Are you sure Ballybunion is closed? I know they are relaying greens, but that should be done before high season. If you contact them and ask I am pretty sure they'd accommodate you.

 

I've played there in Nov/ Dec. My father-in-law is a life member. I am in London so play when we visit.

 

We only stay in Kerry. Tralee is also amazing. If you only have a one game pass I'd avoid Kilarney as I'd assume you would want to play links golf. However Kilarney is great for a stopping point. I wouldn't stay in Ballybunion out of season as it's a bit bleak, but it's very accessible from Tralee/ Kilarney.

[aumatt87]

Great advice. I'll definitely give Ballybunion and call and see if they can accommodate us. Would likely try to incorporate a round at Ballybunion as part of a day trip from Galway to Killarney for the night. Is that reasonable or too much driving? The other option would be to play Lahinch as we want to see the Cliffs of Moher as well.

[TerpFangolfer]

Are you doing the Ring of Kerry? If so you might want to consider Waterville? And stay at Waterville House - a beautiful B&B type place that your wife might appreciate?

I did a tour around Ireland 2 years ago with my gf (non-golfer) - and her #1 best stay of the tour was Waterville...just throwing that out.

 

The only course I played on your list is Bally - of course its worth it if you can play.

 

Does your wife enjoy hikes/nature? My gf walked the course on all 5 rounds I played. No issues/no cost - she wandered over into the wildflower fields...climbed the dunes...took tons of photos, esp of the water holes

At Bally, Waterville, Dooks, and Royal County Down.

And we still had time for other stuff - kiss the Blarney Stone, tour of Middlton distillery, 3 days in Dublin doing "tourist" stuff, etc etc

 

Because the last thing I'll say - is once you play once - its going to kill you not to play more!!!

[600nola]

I just returned from a 10 day golf trip to Ireland where I played Portmarnock Old, Royal Portrush, Rosses Point, Lahinch, Ballybunion, and Royal County Down, in that order. Can't say enough about Ballybunion, especially the back 9 holes. But Lahinch is a beautiful layout and very quirky (see holes 4 & 5!). Just don't play either course without a caddie.

[Chip_Unsure]

I've not played Waterville, but will be crossing that off when we are over in August. We are seeing family and then heading down that way so hopefully I'll play Ballybunion a couple of times, maybe Killarney for variety and also Waterville. :golfer:

[jmck]

My two cents: If your wife is going to walk with you while you play, play anywhere you want. If your wife isn't going to walk with you, play Portmarnock. It'll be a lot easier for her to entertain herself all day in Dublin than it would be in some place like Tralee. The weather's a crap shoot year-round, but you're also more likely to get better weather in October in Dublin than you are on the west coast.

[alfriday]

I've played all the courses you are considering multiple times. All are good courses. Definitely consider adding Waterville to your list. You can't go wrong with Ballybunion, Wateville or Lahinch if you want to play true, historical links courses. Old Head is a bit different. It is more of an American style resort course than a true links. The views are spectacular, and the golf quite good. At Tralee, the back nine runs through high dunes, but the front nine is rather mundane.

 

As for the wife, there is a lot to do around Waterville and Lahinch. Look for the "brown signs to nowhere." They are small brown signs directing traffic to historical sites. There are a number of ring forts close to Waterville and the town of Waterville is a nice place to spend an afternoon. The town of Lahinch is next to the course and has some quaint shops. The Cliffs of Moher are only 10 kilometers from the course at Lahinch. Although it might be difficult to fit in a round and the cliffs on the same day as the days will be getting shorter in October. Kinsale is about a half hour or 45 minutes from Old head and is a terrific little tourist town.

[tiderider]

gonna piggy back here ... am thinking about a trip to ireland next summer ... how far ahead do i need to make tee times? ... now/6 months? ... don't have any buddies going as of right now, though that's a possibility ... would like to play portrush, rcd, portmarnock, ballybunion and lahinch ... teacher, so i can stay over there a week to ten days and take a day or two of rest in between travels/etc... i've driven in scotland before, but would really like to take a hard look at trains ... what are options for getting from major cities to the courses? ... are there shuttles or other services other than uber rides? ... i've initially mapped out a plan to fly into dublin and train it to belfast ... stay there and rent a car for a few days and play rp and rcd ... then train it back to dublin for a 1 or 2 day break and play portmarnock ... then train it to limerick use that as a base to play lahinch and ballybunion ... prolly rent a car for that if buses are not all that convenient ... don't think any drive is more than an hour and half ... then back to dublin for the return (cheaper than getting a flight out of shannon) ... don't think i can make waterville ...

[6x6]

gonna piggy back here ... am thinking about a trip to ireland next summer ... how far ahead do i need to make tee times? ... now/6 months? ... don't have any buddies going as of right now, though that's a possibility ... would like to play portrush, rcd, portmarnock, ballybunion and lahinch ... teacher, so i can stay over there a week to ten days and take a day or two of rest in between travels/etc... i've driven in scotland before, but would really like to take a hard look at trains ... what are options for getting from major cities to the courses? ... are there shuttles or other services other than uber rides? ... i've initially mapped out a plan to fly into dublin and train it to belfast ... stay there and rent a car for a few days and play rp and rcd ... then train it back to dublin for a 1 or 2 day break and play portmarnock ... then train it to limerick use that as a base to play lahinch and ballybunion ... prolly rent a car for that if buses are not all that convenient ... don't think any drive is more than an hour and half ... then back to dublin for the return (cheaper than getting a flight out of shannon) ... don't think i can make waterville ...

 

I played Ballybunion and Lahinch the very end of April and I made my tee times about 3 months out. At the same time I was able to make another 8 tee times for courses in Scotland for the first 10 days of May. However, with you going at peak times in the summer then I'm guessing you better allow much more time. Sorry can't help with other information much as I flew to Shannon from Manchester and rented a car. Drive to those courses from Limerick should be pretty straight forward. I drove to Bally from the airport, going through Limerick and it took me about an hour and 45 mins or so even though it was only a little over 60 miles if memory serves. Traffic might be worse for you as both towns are seaside escapes with seasonal increases in people and congestion I didn't have to deal with.

 

Good luck

[tiderider]

thanks ... prolly make it sometime in november ...

[Handfull]

Just got back from Ireland trip. We stayed in Dublin and wife isn't a golfer so I squeezed in a round close by at the Island Golf club. Great course on sand dunes and didn't require long drive from Dublin.

[Bandy1080]

thanks ... prolly make it sometime in november ...

 

Played all the courses in south west Ireland at the end of last may. Had a hard time getting ideal tee times when I made them in November. Be cautious as done courses don't allow weekend play so plan accordingly.

[scratchITguy]

Going to Ireland in October, did you pre book your tee times well in advance? Going to try and get a round in while the wives are sightseeing in Dublin.

[ferrispgm]

What about Royal Dublin?