[Rick Sides]

My brother in law and I are talking about going to southwest Ireland in July.  Does anyone recommend a good agency/group to use?  Someone recommended Perry Golf. 

[David_Tepper]

Rick -

If it is just the two of you, I would encourage you to plan & arrange the trip yourselves. In this age of the internet, websites & e-mail, it is just not that hard to do.

I would also suggest dividing Ireland into 4 quarters and spending almost all your time exploring one of those 4 quarters, rather than driving around the whole of the island trying to play just the top 6 or 8 courses. IF you do the latter, you will spend way too much time in your car driving from one course to the next one.

DT 

[Padraig Dooley]

Rick -

If it is just the two of you, I would encourage you to plan & arrange the trip yourselves. In this age of the internet, websites & e-mail, it is just not that hard to do.

I would also suggest dividing Ireland into 4 quarters and spending almost all your time exploring one of those 4 quarters, rather than driving around the whole of the island trying to play just the top 6 or 8 courses. IF you do the latter, you will spend way too much time in your car driving from one course to the next one.

DT 

This is good advice.

Perry Golf do a good job, so do SWING.

[Ronald Montesano]

Excellent advice...Never been, but that's the way I'd do it.  Bro-In-Law and I have a trip planned for about 6-8 years from now for the green island and anticipate doing it that way.

[Rick Sides]

Yea I think we are going to try to do the southwest.  I've seen tours that include Lahinch, Waterville, Doonbeg, Old Head, and  Ballybunion.

[Aidan Bradley]

Rick,

Take a look at this.......  http://www.golfadventureguides.com/index.php.

Aidan.

[David_Tepper]

Rick -

You will find some great golf in the southwest. Like I said before, it would not be hard to arrange yourself. I imagine all of those courses see plenty of visiting golfers and would be pretty easy to deal with directly.

DT  

[Jud_T]

Grasshopper Golf-Chicago suburbs.  Have done 3 great trips for us.  Some great inns and not overly pricey.

[mike_malone]

 Play Ballybunion and Lahinch twice. Everything else is secondary.

[Jud_T]

Play Ballybunion and Lahinch twice. Everything else is secondary.

Agreed.  And don't play Ballybunion Cashen under any circumstances, including getting it thrown in free with it's big brother....

[Kevin Pallier]

Rick

I agree with David - in this day and age it's easy to organise most golf trips oneself via the internet ?

Mayday's Lahinch and Ballybunion recommendations are spot on and whilst I haven't seen Doonbeg some say it's OK.

For something a bit different Killarney provides some decent parkland golf but I would probably recommend one see Waterville over them.

[Mickey Boland]

I recommend talking with Allan Ferguson.  http://www.fergusongolf.com/  He helped me with my trip to Scotland a few years ago and is top notch.  He'll save you a few bucks and has some great recommendations and advice.  I believe some of the others on this site have also used him.

[Shane Wright]

Rick,

I agree that Ballybunion and Lahinch are the two best in the southwest of Ireland.  But if you
are flying to Ireland for a golf trip and skip waterville, you are making a huge mistake in my opinion.  Please see it if you can.
I have been to the sw of Ireland three times as well and I wouldn't skip Tralee either. 

[Bill Gayne]

For a first trip and as a student of GCA, if time allows, see as much as you can. I would try to get to Lahinch, Doonbeg, both Ballybunion courses, Dooks, Waterville Tralee, and Old Head.  They all have interesting aspects of GCA worth seeing. I know people who for different reasons love and swear by each of these courses.

I would also second using SWING.

[Jud_T]

Bill,

What exactly are the interesting GCA elements of BB Cashen?

[Bill Gayne]

The land dictated the Cashen be routed over dunes as opposed to around the dunes. This is in contrast to the Old Course which was largely routed around the dunes. Trying to go over dunes as opposed to winding through them leads the player to make some herioc shots with very penal results if the shot is not executed. It also opens up some vistas and exposes the player to wind. For this reason, with a little bit of wind it may be the World's most difficult par 72 course under 6,000 yards from the white tees. It beats players up not with length but requiring them to keep the ball in play and hitting the right shots with short clubs. I wish more courses challenged players this way as opposed to the brutality of length.

I think RTJ got a lot out of the property with the routing given severity of the land. The thirteenth hole is one of my favorite holes in golf.

With this being said I do concur the Old Course is far superior but I would not summarily dismiss an opportunity to play the Cashen.

[Neil Regan]

Bill,

  Your response re: Ballybunion Cashen is spot on target.

Jud,

  Your categorical dismissal of Ballybunion Cashen is absent of any reasoning, and oozes. I have played the Cashen course a zillion times for more than 20 years. It has its GCA failures, but no course that I know surpasses it in offering splendid isolation. And only a few match its raw greatness. Many who play it once do not perceive this, and join a chorus of bashers. Perhaps you are among them.

[Jud_T]

Neil,

The title of the thread is Ireland Tour Suggestions.  Are you honestly suggesting Rick and his brother forsake a second round on the Old Course in favor of the Cashen?  Is the Cashen potentially interesting if you're a very straight hitting local player, the wind isn't up and you don't mind hiking like a pack mule around the course? Perhaps.  For the rest of us it's a non-starter IMHO...

[mike_malone]

 My suggestion was to imprint the greatness of Ballybunion/Lahinch by playing twice versus diluting it with lesser courses. My criticism of Cashen is more the walks from green to tee.

[Neil Regan]

Jud,

  Yes, I have recommended the Cashen to everybody who asked for 20+ years. It is a very difficult walk, it is extremely irritating because balls can be lost even though you know exactly where you saw them last, and you will be "unfairly" penalized. But in my experience, which is large compared to most of the world but small compared to this GCA group, no course that I have played often except for Sand Hills will more likely cause you to stop in your steps and thank God for being here now.

Mike,

  I agree with you. I always tell people that re-play is the way to do it.

[Bill Gayne]

As a visitor, it used to be that you couldn't play two rounds per day on the Old Course and had no choice but to play the Cashen. I don't know if that rule still applies.

I would foresake a second round on the Old Course for a round on the Cashen on a first visit to Ireland or if it was possibly my only visit to Ireland. On return visits play whatever interests you but if you don't try it all you won't really know.

Kind of like drinking wine, try it all and find out what you like and go back to it.

[Neil Regan]

Rick,
  
  Here are some pictures of Ballybunion Cashen. Play the Old course there, then finish your day in the evening on the Cashen. If you expect and accept a tough walk and lost balls, you will have a chance to experience the most splendid isolation among maybe the biggest dunes in golf.

[mike_malone]

Neil,

    Those photos are great. That looks like a great place for a hike. I suggest a radical redo to maybe 12 holes with some alternate tees for 18 holes.

[Bill Brightly]

I just returned from playing BB Old and Cashen. While I would highly commend a second round on Old versus Cashen, our Cashen round was free...so my buddy and I played it with our wives. IMO, it  is unplayable for 99% of women and most men. The forced uphill approach shots are near impossible, yet A players simply fly over these areas. If you cant reach many greens in regulation, you are screwed, unless you can nip wedges off firm turf, hit them straight up in the air and make the ball stop on hard greens...And if you can do all of this, you can probably reach the green in regulation...(I cant tell you how sad it was to watch the ladies ping pong it over the greens and back... and they HATED the course.)

My wife lost a ball and I was standing 15 yards away from where it landed! It is also target golf. If you are a good player and dont try any heroic shots, play all the par 5's as three-shotters, the course is playable.  It is also a beautiful piece of land with stunning views. So if the round is free, take a buggy (there are many really long walks), a 12-pack, play a two-man scramble, and have a fun time.

Waterville is a must.

I guess playing Old Head is worth the drive just to see the views (once.)

[Rick Sides]

Those pictures make me want to go there now!

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