Itinerary help - North Ireland/Northern Ireland - which courses?

[SpacklerLives]

Just got back from an incredible first trip to Ireland and am already planning the next!  Targeting 2026 as RCD and Portrush are likely fully booked next year.  Besides these must-plays, we're also planning to hit Rosapenna St. Patrick's and/or Sandy Hills, Ardglass, and Cruit Island.  For our first trip we played Old Head, Dooks, Waterville, Tralee, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Carne, Enniscrone.  While each track was great, we liked Old Head, Carne, and Tralee the best given the dramatic dunes/scenery on each.

 

We need help deciding between several courses.  If we could extend the trip by 2-3 days, which of the following would you consider must-play or skip?  Cost/drive time is not an issue.

 

Ballyliffin Old & Glashedy 
Castlerock Mussenden & Bann
County Louth Baltray
Donegal 
Narin & Portnoo 
Portmarnock 
Portsalon    
Portstewart 
The European Club 
The Island Club

 

Also, for the RCD and Portrush days, should we try to play 36 and include RCD Annesley and Portrush Valley?  Many thanks!
 

[jvincent]

I was just up in the north west of the republic this spring and have played several of the other courses on your list. 

 

My first comment would be to definitely play both St Patricks and Sandy Hills at Rosapenna. 

 

From your list, I'd rank the one's I've played from top to bottom as follows:

 - Ballyliffin (make it a day, play both)

 - Portmarnock

 - The Island

 - Narin and Portnoo (this would be higher if the first three holes were better) 

 - The European Club (beautiful, but tough)

 - Portsalon

 - Donegal

 

I've heard really good things about Baltray.

 

[hammergolf]

8 hours ago, SpacklerLives said:

Just got back from an incredible first trip to Ireland and am already planning the next!  Targeting 2026 as RCD and Portrush are likely fully booked next year.  Besides these must-plays, we're also planning to hit Rosapenna St. Patrick's and/or Sandy Hills, Ardglass, and Cruit Island.  For our first trip we played Old Head, Dooks, Waterville, Tralee, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Carne, Enniscrone.  While each track was great, we liked Old Head, Carne, and Tralee the best given the dramatic dunes/scenery on each.

 

We need help deciding between several courses.  If we could extend the trip by 2-3 days, which of the following would you consider must-play or skip?  Cost/drive time is not an issue.

 

Ballyliffin Old & Glashedy 
Castlerock Mussenden & Bann
County Louth Baltray
Donegal 
Narin & Portnoo 
Portmarnock 
Portsalon    
Portstewart 
The European Club 
The Island Club

 

Also, for the RCD and Portrush days, should we try to play 36 and include RCD Annesley and Portrush Valley?  Many thanks!
 

You’re already playing a lot of golf, so I wouldn’t play 36 on your RCD and Portrush days. There are so many better courses on your list than The Valley and Annesley. If I was going to rank the courses, here is what my list would be:

1 RCD

2 Portrush

3 Portstewart

4 Ballyliffin Glashedy

5 Portmarnock

6 Baltray

7 The European Club

8 Donegal

9 Ballyliffin Old

10 The Island

11 Narin & Portnoo

12 Portsalon

13 Castlerock

 

How long are you planning for your trip? 

Edited July 2, 2024 by hammergolf

[SpacklerLives]

Thanks for the input so far! On the first trip, we left on a Thursday and returned the following Thursday with six full days of golf including 2, 36-hole days.  

[hammergolf]

31 minutes ago, SpacklerLives said:

Thanks for the input so far! On the first trip, we left on a Thursday and returned the following Thursday with six full days of golf including 2, 36-hole days.  

Ok, so if I had 6 days this is how I would set up the itinerary:

 

Day 1 Arrive then play either The Island, Portmarnock, or Baltray then drive to NewCastle, N.I. 

Day 2 Play RCD then drive to Portrush

Day3 Play Portrush and Portstewart then drive to Ballyliffin

Day 4 Play Glashedy then drive to Letterkenny

Day 5 Play Portsalon and Narin & Portnoo then drive to Donegal

Day 6 Play Donegal then drive to Dublin

[ESOX ZO]

Donegal would get a vote for me

[El Gringo]

On 7/1/2024 at 5:21 PM, SpacklerLives said:

Just got back from an incredible first trip to Ireland and am already planning the next!  Targeting 2026 as RCD and Portrush are likely fully booked next year.  Besides these must-plays, we're also planning to hit Rosapenna St. Patrick's and/or Sandy Hills, Ardglass, and Cruit Island.  For our first trip we played Old Head, Dooks, Waterville, Tralee, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Carne, Enniscrone.  While each track was great, we liked Old Head, Carne, and Tralee the best given the dramatic dunes/scenery on each.

 

We need help deciding between several courses.  If we could extend the trip by 2-3 days, which of the following would you consider must-play or skip?  Cost/drive time is not an issue.

 

Ballyliffin Old & Glashedy 
Castlerock Mussenden & Bann
County Louth Baltray
Donegal 
Narin & Portnoo 
Portmarnock 
Portsalon    
Portstewart 
The European Club 
The Island Club

 

Also, for the RCD and Portrush days, should we try to play 36 and include RCD Annesley and Portrush Valley?  Many thanks!
 

Sounds like views are very important to your group. In which case I would keep Narin and Portnoo, Portstewart and Portsalon in the itinerary. In terms of quality The Island is a keeper, but it is very difficult. I just played the Annesley. It is sneaky good. Quite a short course so it shouldn’t take long to play. The Valley Links was very good. I haven’t seen it since two of the best holes were sacrificed for the Dunluce. Lots more changes have happened as well. 

[ajgoodal.704]

On 7/1/2024 at 11:15 PM, hammergolf said:

Ok, so if I had 6 days this is how I would set up the itinerary:

 

Day 1 Arrive then play either The Island, Portmarnock, or Baltray then drive to NewCastle, N.I. 

Day 2 Play RCD then drive to Portrush

Day3 Play Portrush and Portstewart then drive to Ballyliffin

Day 4 Play Glashedy then drive to Letterkenny

Day 5 Play Portsalon and Narin & Portnoo then drive to Donegal

Day 6 Play Donegal then drive to Dublin

I’d actually reverse your itinerary.  Do you really want 2 of the best courses in the entire world right at the beginning of your trip? 

Try this: 

 

Thursday - Arrive DUB, Donegal Early PM, Overnight in Donegal Town or Ardara

Friday - Narin & Portnoo AM, Cruit Island PM, Overnight in Letterkenny (3)

Saturday - Portsalon PM (Enjoy Friday night out in Letterkenny and sleep in)

Sunday - Rosapenna St. Patrick’s AM, Sandy Hills PM (Recommend taking a buggy and just have fun on this Ruddy gem)

Monday - Ballyliffin (Old or Glashedy), Overnight in Portrush (2)

Tuesday - Royal Portrush

Wednesday - Portstewart AM, Ardglass PM

Overnight in Newcastle (2)

Thursday AM - Royal County Down 

Friday - The Island, Baltray or Portmarnock, Overnight in Dublin

Saturday - Depart DUB

 

 

[sabram]

I like ajgoodal’s concept of starting in the northwest and working your way clockwise around the coast to end in Dublin. That leaves at the outset a question as to whether you want to drive 4 hours at the start of your trip to get there or fly from Dublin to Donegal airport and renting your car there. The flight is less than an hour and costs around $50 plus luggage fees. You can rent a car or SUV from Enterprise at the Donegal airport and return it at Dublin airport at the end of your trip. Donegal airport is very small and easy to get your luggage and clubs. It’s also very close to Cruit Island and Narin & Portnoo.

 

Since you preferred  Old Head, Carne, and Tralee over Ballybunion and Lahinch because of “the dramatic dunes/scenery “, here’s an itinerary I’d suggest for you:

 

Day 1 – Cruit Island and Narin & Portnoo. They are close to one another (and close to Donegal airport if you go that route) and are very memorable for their setting and views

 

Day 2  Definitely play St Patricks at Rosapenna. I haven't played it but without exception, everyone I know who has played it has raved about it. For a second round play either Sandy Hills or the nearby Portsalon. Portsalon flies under many visitors radar and is worth playing if you can fit it in.

 

Day 3 -  You could do Ballyliffin. which is one of the most welcoming and fun clubs I’ve ever visited. Hanging out, drinking and sharing the “craic” in the Ballyliffin clubhouse at the end of the day can be a highlight of any trip. However, If you have limited days, there may be better choices for golf as you get closer to Dublin. So, if you skip Ballyliffin, I’d make my next stop Royal Portrush. I loved the Valley course. As El Gringo mentioned there have been some changes to the course in recent years, but I think the main ones had been completed when I was there. Dunluce and Valley make for a great day of golf. If you don’t play the Valley, nearby Portstewart is a good choice.

 

Day 4 – Ardglass – In your original post you included this as one of the courses in your plan. It is very scenic. However, I would consider dropping it in favor of Ballyliffin so as to make Ballyliffin your Day 3 and Portrush your Day 4. Or if you have an extra day do all three

 

Day 5 Royal County Down. Obviously you’ll play the Championship course. I haven’t played the Annesley, but if El Gringo liked it that’s a solid recommendation for a second round.

 

Day 6 – County Louth

 

Day 7 The Island. Note, I like Portmarnock, but based on your preferences on your prior trip, I don’t think you’ll appreciate Portmarnock as the Island has more going on visually. Also, if you have the energy for  an extra round, Corballis links is just next door to the Island and is a fun, good value.

 

Click on a photo below to see photos of the course:

 

 

Cruit Island

 

Narin & Portnoo

 

Rosapenna Sandy Hills

 

Portsalon

 

Ballyliffin Glashedy

 

Royal Portrush Dunluce

 

Royal Portrush Valley

 

Royal County Down

 

County Louth

 

The Island

 

Corballis

 

Ardglass

 

Portstewart

Edited July 4, 2024 by sabram
to correct typos

[hammergolf]

On 7/4/2024 at 11:30 AM, ajgoodal.704 said:

I’d actually reverse your itinerary.  Do you really want 2 of the best courses in the entire world right at the beginning of your trip? 

Try this: 

 

Thursday - Arrive DUB, Donegal Early PM, Overnight in Donegal Town or Ardara

Friday - Narin & Portnoo AM, Cruit Island PM, Overnight in Letterkenny (3)

Saturday - Portsalon PM (Enjoy Friday night out in Letterkenny and sleep in)

Sunday - Rosapenna St. Patrick’s AM, Sandy Hills PM (Recommend taking a buggy and just have fun on this Ruddy gem)

Monday - Ballyliffin (Old or Glashedy), Overnight in Portrush (2)

Tuesday - Royal Portrush

Wednesday - Portstewart AM, Ardglass PM

Overnight in Newcastle (2)

Thursday AM - Royal County Down 

Friday - The Island, Baltray or Portmarnock, Overnight in Dublin

Saturday - Depart DUB

 

 

 

On 7/4/2024 at 11:30 AM, ajgoodal.704 said:

I’d actually reverse your itinerary.  Do you really want 2 of the best courses in the entire world right at the beginning of your trip? 

Try this: 

 

Thursday - Arrive DUB, Donegal Early PM, Overnight in Donegal Town or Ardara

Friday - Narin & Portnoo AM, Cruit Island PM, Overnight in Letterkenny (3)

Saturday - Portsalon PM (Enjoy Friday night out in Letterkenny and sleep in)

Sunday - Rosapenna St. Patrick’s AM, Sandy Hills PM (Recommend taking a buggy and just have fun on this Ruddy gem)

Monday - Ballyliffin (Old or Glashedy), Overnight in Portrush (2)

Tuesday - Royal Portrush

Wednesday - Portstewart AM, Ardglass PM

Overnight in Newcastle (2)

Thursday AM - Royal County Down 

Friday - The Island, Baltray or Portmarnock, Overnight in Dublin

Saturday - Depart DUB

 

 

Edited July 6, 2024 by hammergolf

[ajgoodal.704]

1 hour ago, hammergolf said:

 

He’s already played Cruit Island, and the Rosapenna courses, and Ardglass.

I read his post as those are the ones they want to play in addition to RCD and RP.  

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

I read his post as those are the ones they want to play in addition to RCD and RP.  

You’re correct, I miss read it.

[burns9304]

Played quite a few Northern Ireland and Ireland course last year and how my personal rankings of some you mentioned I would go:

1. RCD (Favorite Course I've ever played, tier above compared to everything else in list)

2a. Ballyliffin Glashedy

2b. Portmarnock

3. Royal Portrush

4.Portstewart The Strand

5. Ardglass (much lower tier than the above courses) 

6. Royal Dublin

7. Old Head (Great views but didn't like the course)

[sabram]

12 hours ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

I read his post as those are the ones they want to play in addition to RCD and RP.  

Correct

[SpacklerLives]

Thanks for all the feedback so far!  With tee sheets for 2026 opening soon, we are back at it with the itinerary planning.  For those interested in non-tour operator times, Portrush bookings for next year open at 4am EST on March 3 and Royal County Down opens at 4am on April 1.

 

While our plan will depend on whether we can lock in Portrush and RCD in the same week, we are debating between two options.  The first involves a lot more driving, but covers some of the best Northern Ireland tracks.  The second is more concentrated on the east and would give us reason to plan another trip to the northwest since there are many options there.

 

Day 1 - Sligo/Rosses Point or Donegal
Day 2 - Narin & Portnoo AM, Cruit Island PM 
Day 3 - Rosapenna St. Patrick’s  & Sandy Hills or Portsalon 
Day 4 - Ballyliffin Glashedy & Ballyliffin Old or Portstewart 
Day 5 - Royal Portrush
Day 6 - Royal County Down & Ardglass 

 

Day 1 - Portmarnock 
Day 2 - The Island & Baltray
Day 3 - Royal County Down
Day 4 - Ardglass 
Day 5 - Portstewart & Portrush Valley 
Day 6 - Royal Portrush

[jvincent]

@SpacklerLives if you end up going with the first option, definitely do Sligo over Donegal. It's a much better course.

[El Gringo]

In the cases where you want to play 36 a day I suggest staying on property. You only have six days, don’t spend anymore time behind the wheel than you have to. Especially since the other 18 on the property is so good.

Edited March 7 by El Gringo

[hammergolf]

6 hours ago, SpacklerLives said:

Thanks for all the feedback so far!  With tee sheets for 2026 opening soon, we are back at it with the itinerary planning.  For those interested in non-tour operator times, Portrush bookings for next year open at 4am EST on March 3 and Royal County Down opens at 4am on April 1.

 

While our plan will depend on whether we can lock in Portrush and RCD in the same week, we are debating between two options.  The first involves a lot more driving, but covers some of the best Northern Ireland tracks.  The second is more concentrated on the east and would give us reason to plan another trip to the northwest since there are many options there.

 

Day 1 - Sligo/Rosses Point or Donegal
Day 2 - Narin & Portnoo AM, Cruit Island PM 
Day 3 - Rosapenna St. Patrick’s  & Sandy Hills or Portsalon 
Day 4 - Ballyliffin Glashedy & Ballyliffin Old or Portstewart 
Day 5 - Royal Portrush
Day 6 - Royal County Down & Ardglass 

 

Day 1 - Portmarnock 
Day 2 - The Island & Baltray
Day 3 - Royal County Down
Day 4 - Ardglass 
Day 5 - Portstewart & Portrush Valley 
Day 6 - Royal Portrush

If it’s me, I would stick to a region to maximize the courses you can play and keep driving and moving to a minimum. Especially if there are future trips to Ireland. For option I is Day 1 the same day you land in Ireland? If so, coming off an overnight flight, then a 2.5hr ride and THEN play Rosses Point would be absolutely BRUTAL. The rest of the trip is exhausting but doable. Have you played Carne or Enniscrone? In my opinion, due to logistics I would take out Portrush, RCD and Ballyliffin and add Carne, Enniscrone, and Donegal for Option I.

 

OPTION I

Day 1 Enniscrone

Day 2 Carne

Day 3 Rosses Point

Day 4 Donegal

Day 5 N&P then Cruit Island

Day 6 Rosapenna St Pats and Sandy Hills

 

OPTION II

Day 1 Portmarnock

Day 2 RCD and Ardglass

Day 3 Portstewart

Day 4 Ballylfiin

Day 5 Portrush

Day 6 Baltray and The Island

 

 

Option II is a bit more doable and it would be better logistically to add Ballyliffin into that itinerary. You could add Ardglass  as a second round after RCD to make room for Ballyliffin. 

[Chanceman]

My suggested rota would be:

C Sligo

Carne

Enniscrone

Portstewart 

R Portrush

R County Down

But I don’t mind all the driving.

 

If that worries you then:

The Island

Ardglass

R County Down + Annesley?

Portstewart

R Portrush + Valley?

Castlerock + Bann?

Some 27/36 hole options added in.

 Over to you!

[SpacklerLives]

Our first trip was last summer, a ton of driving, stayed in different places each night.  Not ideal, but we covered a lot of ground.  Day 1: Old Head, 2: Dooks, 3: Waterville, 4: Tralee & Ballybunion, 5: Lahinch, 6: Carne & Enniscrone.

 

For the return trip next year, if get times at both RCD and Portrush in the same week, we’ll then need to figure out the other 4 days.  Hammergolf - for option 2, looks like if we cut out Ballylifin we would save about 2.5hrs driving?  Since there are so many courses we want to play up that way, I think we need to break it into 2 trips.  Between these two, I feel like we are covering most tracks north of Dublin and East of Enniscrone.

 

2026
Day 1 - Portmarnock 
Day 2 - The Island & Baltray
Day 3 - Royal County Down
Day 4 - Ardglass 
Day 5 - Portstewart & Portrush Valley 
Day 6 - Royal Portrush

 

2028
Day 1 - Sligo/Rosses Point
Day 2 - Donegal
Day 3 - Narin & Portnoo & Cruit Island
Day 4 - Rosapenna St. Patrick’s & Sandy Hills
Day 5 - Portsalon
Day 6 - Ballyliffin Glashedy & Ballyliffin Old

 

Now, let’s see if we have any luck with RCD and Portrush times.  I’ll be setting the 4am alarm each day. 
 

[jvincent]

@SpacklerLives your 2028 plan is basically what we did last April with the exception of Sligo. We stayed in Downings for the whole week so the Ballyliffin day was a bit of a drive. For that itinerary you could stay in two locations to minimize the driving.

 

We're looking at something similar except we have Castlerock and Royal Belfast because we did Portmarnock and The Island in 2023.

[Chanceman]

4 hours ago, jvincent said:

@SpacklerLives your 2028 plan is basically what we did last April with the exception of Sligo. We stayed in Downings for the whole week so the Ballyliffin day was a bit of a drive. For that itinerary you could stay in two locations to minimize the driving.

 

We're looking at something similar except we have Castlerock and Royal Belfast because we did Portmarnock and The Island in 2023.

Two years of great expectations.

[eboettne]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but we have a trip coming up in late April.  We plan to play Portstewart and St Patricks Links.  Plan to stay in Belfast the first night and sightsee. Stay in Portrush the 2nd night after our Portstewart round. Then stay at Rosapenna 2 nights before returning to Dublin to stay at the Temple Bar area before flying out the following morning.  Does that seem like a reasonable itinerary?

[jvincent]

5 hours ago, eboettne said:

Don't mean to hijack the thread but we have a trip coming up in late April.  We plan to play Portstewart and St Patricks Links.  Plan to stay in Belfast the first night and sightsee. Stay in Portrush the 2nd night after our Portstewart round. Then stay at Rosapenna 2 nights before returning to Dublin to stay at the Temple Bar area before flying out the following morning.  Does that seem like a reasonable itinerary?

 

I'm a little confused about when you are golfing vs sleeping.

 

Are you driving from Portrush in the AM to play St. Patricks that same day? Why the second night at Rosapenna?

 

The drive from Portrush to Rosapenna isn't terrible by Ireland standards.

[eboettne]

16 minutes ago, jvincent said:

 

I'm a little confused about when you are golfing vs sleeping.

 

Are you driving from Portrush in the AM to play St. Patricks that same day? Why the second night at Rosapenna?

 

The drive from Portrush to Rosapenna isn't terrible by Ireland standards.

 

Day 1- Land in Dublin/Drive to Belfast/Titanic Museum + Gaol Prison Tour

N1 Stay in Belfast

 

Day 2- Drive Antrim Coast and sightsee in the morning/Portstewart Tee Time in the afternoon

N2 Stay in Portrush

 

Day 3 - Drive to Rosapenna/Play Sandy Hill Links or possibly Cruit Island

N3 Stay at Rosapenna

 

Day 4 - Play St Patricks Links Late Morning

N4 Stay at Rosapenna

 

Day 5 Drive back to Dublin/Play Corballis 

N5 Stay In Dublin

 

Day 6 Fly Home

[jvincent]

@eboettne  Got it, that helps.

 

Cruit gets a lot of love, but I'd definitely play Sandy Hills before Cruit.

 

Since you're flying in/out of Dublin your itinerary looks fine. You have a longish drive on Day 1 and 5, but there's no getting around that.

[eboettne]

26 minutes ago, jvincent said:

@eboettne  Got it, that helps.

 

Cruit gets a lot of love, but I'd definitely play Sandy Hills before Cruit.

 

Since you're flying in/out of Dublin your itinerary looks fine. You have a longish drive on Day 1 and 5, but there's no getting around that.

 

Great to know thanks, saves me driving out to Cruit and back as well. 

 

Yeah, I tried to limit driving on Day 1 as I'm sure we'll be exhausted after the overnight flight but may have to find a stopping point on Day 5 to break up the drive.

[jhipps]

@SpacklerLives

It’s nice to hear I’m not the only maniac bugging his friends about a golf trip 1.5 years down the road. Last time I tried to book Portrush, I was 11 months out and they had no times available. Didn’t make that mistake again- just booked for Sep 2026. Cheers to the planner-motivator. 
 

@eboettne

Corbalis is fun for the $$ but if you’re only playing 1 round near Dublin, go for Portmarnock or the Island. Both are fantastic. 
 

[hammergolf]

14 hours ago, jhipps said:

@SpacklerLives

It’s nice to hear I’m not the only maniac bugging his friends about a golf trip 1.5 years down the road. Last time I tried to book Portrush, I was 11 months out and they had no times available. Didn’t make that mistake again- just booked for Sep 2026. Cheers to the planner-motivator. 
 

@eboettne

Corbalis is fun for the $$ but if you’re only playing 1 round near Dublin, go for Portmarnock or the Island. Both are fantastic. 
 

If you drive 20 more minutes you can play Baltray for half the price of Portmarnock and it’s a better course in my opinion. €500 for Portmarnock is wayyyyy overpriced.

Edited March 7 by hammergolf

[El Gringo]

Nearly all golf in Ireland is overpriced. People often advise others to skip the well priced courses. I always thought it a mistake to spend tons of time in the car on the greatest hits tours. But I understand the lack of faith many would have in playing relatively unknown cheap courses. Sometimes the best surprises come in small packages.