Ireland - North or South?

[John_Lovito]

I plan on heading over to Ireland next summer for 4-5 days with a group of eight.  My friends and I are debating if we should go north or south.  Given the amount of time we have, is one destination more desirable than the other with regard to efficiently playing golf/drinking beer?

Also, how far in advance do you generally need to make plans?

Thanks in advance,
John

[mike_malone]

 John
  There are many threads on this site about golf in Ireland.You should search for them.
  I vote for North over South ;Ballybunion is hard to give up but the overall quality and variety is better in the North.This includes in my mind--Dublin,N.Ireland and northwest Ireland.

[ddavid426]

you should be making plans now and you should expand the trip to a minimum of 6 days so you can do north, south and west.  You could start in the north, work south then over to the west.  That way you could hit Portrush, RCD, Portmarnack, European, Lahinch, Ballybunion, Doonbeg at a minimum.

[THuckaby2]

John:

In the end, it's all Ireland and it's all good.

But having made a few trips over, what I would advise is this:

NI has much better roads - so if you are planning to get around a bit in your short 4-5 days, that might help.

From the US, you'll have far more direct flights into Shannon or Dublin than you will into Belfast, so that could save some time at the beginning... and several great courses are right near Shannon, allowing for day of arrival play, which I consider mandatory.

For drinking purposes, you're not gonna find a bad place really.  That being said, as Paris is to fine food, wine and art, Dublin is to pubs.  A night or two in Dublin is an experience not to be missed.

But that being said, one can find fun wherever one goes and the best just might occur at the most out of the way places....

You can see where I'm going re this.  Pick the courses you want to play, see which work out best, go from there.  Any way you do it you can't really go wrong.

Oh yes - you need to plan WAY in advance if you want to play Ballybunion and some of the other big names any time in the summer.  NOW might even be too late for next summer - you're going to have to be flexible.  So if you do ROI, contact Ballybunion TODAY and then work everything else around that.

TH

[Tim_Weiman]

John,

I'm delighted to see your question. As I've expressed on several occasions, far too many Americans try to run all over the country seeing as many of the name courses as possible and in so doing, they often miss what makes Ireland so special and different than golf destinations in the States.

The classic manifestation of this can be found in the parking lot at Ballybunion where so often I've seen the bus drivers ready with box lunches just so their customers can come off the 18th hole and get right into the bus for the ride down the road.

Don't make that mistake.

Tom Huckaby is correct. You can select either North or South and have a great time. If you go South, he is also correct that if you don't start planning now, you may not get the tee times you desire.

FYI, just for the record, I still think January is better than the summer in certain ways. There are no crowds or problems getting tee times. The weather is 50 degree ish. Perfect sweater whether and a much better opportunity to meet locals and enjoy the 19th hole.

But, before Tom Huckaby says "Tim is too hard core", I'll plead quilty!

[THuckaby2]

Tim is very hard core.  But that being said, he is the MAN when it comes to Ireland visits.

All I'd caution re going in January is that there is really not much light in the day, and at least for me, if I'm gonna go that far, I want the real opportunity to play 36 holes and then decide if I want to stay in the bar and drink or go play a few more holes to decide the bets... Kinda tough to do that in January.

But less crowds does sound appetizing....

As for seeing lots of courses or staying at one and lingering, well... we've discussed that ad nauseam before.  All I will continue to say is that in a perfect world, one has many trips and spends a lot of time at each course.  In this imperfect, work-stressed, family-obligated world so many of us actually inhabit, well... there remains no BAD way to do this and seeing a lot of courses is not going to lead to any regrets.

If you only have 4-5 days though, there's really only so much you CAN get to, so what the hell, why not just camp at/around either Ballybunion or Portrush - whichever works better tee-time wise - then play Old primarily, Cashen/Lahinch or Dunluce primarily, Valley/Portstewart as time allows in each case?  Either way makes for a damn great 4-5 days as I see it....

TH

[Tim_Weiman]

Tom Huckaby:

Yes, I don't mean to re-visit the argument about traveling around verses staying in one area. But, like you suggested, the less time one has available, the more the it favors less traveling around.

As for the January issue, I've yet to be successful convincing anyone, but did recently meet a few people who liked the idea. They aren't so concerned about 36 holes a day, but do enjoy the 19th hole scenario and the relatively cheap flights.

[THuckaby2]

Tim:

It's all good by me.  Re January, there are definite plusses and definite minuses, and it would depend on what you're after.  I'm the kind of golf addict for whom 36 holes is a START each day when I go over to the UK... but in this respect I know I am very hard core myself.  A day of 18 stress-free, less crowded holes, at cheaper prices, getting over there on a cheaper flight, followed by lots of time for craic (sp?).... well that sounds damn good also!

TH

[John_Lovito]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

As of now, our preference is the north as some of my mates have played many of the courses in the south.  

How far from Dublin is County Down as it is a must play on my list.

Tim,

I hear you loud and clear about taking time to enjoy the local atmosphere away from the golf course.  One of my most memorable vacations was a two week trip to Ireland about ten years ago.  Great people and a beautiful country.

John

[THuckaby2]

Jon:

Dublin is a very reasonable drive from RCD.  I recall about 90 minutes at most... In any case very doable.  Make it happen.

North works darn well in any case.  Base at Portrush, drive down to RCD when you feel compelled to do so, hit Dublin before heading home.  

TH

[Stan Dodd]

John
Just played County Down leaving from Dublin.  It is 70 miles or there abouts and most of it is new dual carrigeway.  An easy drive.  Stayed in the dormie rooms at County Louth and played there it is a good spot after a long flight only 20 miles or so from the airport.  So you play a round the day you arrive.
Cheers
Stan

[Jack_Marr]

The most northern part of Ireland is in the South, interestingly enough. If you go north, you can venture over the border to Dublin - there's a new motorway that makes it quicker. You can also head to Donegal from Portrush etc. The Southwest of the country has the best cluster, I think.

[grandwazo]

Having just come back from 7 days in Ireland and having played in both the North (RCD and Portmonock) and the South (Ballybunion, Old Head, Doonbeg, Waterville and Killeen)I'd be hard pressed to recommend one over the other.  If forced to however, from a strictly convenience point of view, I would have to recommend the south (with the exception of Old Head) it was just easier to get around.  The people, food and drink were all spectacular and except for a driving rain on the first three holes of Ballybunion Old, the weather was great.
GCA members were right on in their food and wine recommendations as well, the only thing I will add to those recommendations is Teach De Broc next door to the clubhouse at Ballybunion, having just finished the final phase of their expansion, the rooms were perfect and the breakfast the best we had.
Best course: RCD
Worst condition: RCD
Best round: Waterville
Best view: Old Head
Most potential: Doonbeg
Best caddies: Ballybunion (Sean, who told one of my playing partners to "fook off" on the second hole when he made the mistake of pointing out it was Tuesday, not Monday as Sean thought)
Best city: Dublin
Best food: Kinsale
Most American round of golf: Old Head
Most "Irish" round of golf: RCD
Have a blast.
Jeff

[Ville Nurmi]

For us the drive to RCD took about 2 hours!
Be prepared for slow driving! It should be faster now as a new bypass in Drogheda should be open!

Have fun!