As an aside: I pity the student/would-be architect who in 2016 decides to emulate a young Tom D and make a post-graduate pilgrimage to see the greats first hand; in the 1980s Tom could travel overseas and stay for 18 months and study just about all the important and top-flight courses he'd ever dreamed of all for about (I'm guessing) 15 grand. For that kind of money today's would-be architect would never get out of the U.S., and in fact after about a week in Bandon would probably have to hitch-hike to Streamsong, and then afterwards live on oranges growing by the side of the road, along with some locusts and wild honey...
Peter,
I just booked a flight to Belfast on Labor Day round trip for $570. A week in a 4 br house in Dunfanaghy is $500 and even less (divided by 4) so $125. A car is $300 for the week (split 4 ways) A dedicated student of architecture could walk 10-20 courses in Donegal in a weeks time for free and play 10-12 for another $5-600.
So a full week is well under $1000 for me as a professional (or the course walker) including food.
It gets even cheaper per week if one stays longer(airfare only paid once)though it gets more expensive if roomates no longer available for longer stays.
While no doubt green fees have gone up exponentially in popular spots, in the past 30 years, there are MANY.many places in the UK and Ireland with architectural gems at reasonable prices, and few if any would charge a student who wrote a polite letter of introduction.
I get a kick out of the outrageous prices offered to me by various tour operators and travel Pro-Ams.
The aspiring arcitect on a budget just might have to skip playing Bandon and Streamsong-or stay off campus and merely walk the courses.
Where there's a will there's a way