Planning golf trip to Western Ireland - input appreciated

[jeffwarne]

Flying into Shannon and not playing Lahinch makes little sense to me
but then playing Old Head or Doonbeg makes little sense also (one is owned by an egomaniac narcissist -and the other is waaaay away from the others).


When you play over multiple geographical areas in a span of a few days, of course you're bound to miss something-or get snarky commenst from us GCAers.


It just looks like the itinerary is already set so it's tough to give MORE suggestions without changing airports or dropping courses.
That said, you really can't go wrong no matter what you do.


To Tom Doak's comments. I'd certainly call Waterville FAR more authentic than Doonbeg-even post Fazio-despite my best attempts to not like the redo Eddie Hackett is pretty authentic.


If going the more authentic route ( which I do recommend) skip Doonbeg for Lahinch (or play both)
and replace Old Head with Dooks-and fly out of Shannon.


If you booted Old head you could always play both Ballybunons one day and pair Tralee with Castlegregory for a lower key 27 hole day


If your flights are set
mix and match the above advice- or follow some of the older threads on this subject

[Mark Chaplin]

Jim see above late September was an absolute zoo at all of the courses. Certainly wasn't shoulder season in any other way than the weather. Ballybunnion is a depressing town with plenty of boarded up businesses.

With the pound at a 31 year low now is the time to look at the UK rather than Ireland. Courses get a fraction of the traffic and are much cheaper.

[jeffwarne]

Jim see above late September was an absolute zoo at all of the courses. Certainly wasn't shoulder season in any other way than the weather. Ballybunnion is a depressing town with plenty of boarded up businesses.

With the pound at a 31 year low now is the time to look at the UK rather than Ireland. Courses get a fraction of the traffic and are much cheaper.

speaking of authentic, lining up behind multiple tour buses and multiple golfers is absolutely unappealing to me.
Not sure Watson did Ballybunion favors years ago when he made it the go to course in Ireland.
What amazes me is how much visitor play they take on at the expense of their own experience.


I did do my first trip back to the Southwest in a long time in 2012 and was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Killarney(Mahoney's Point) was still quite charming, and there was still plenty of charming enjoyable golf to be had(Dingle Castlegregory, Lahinch, Dooks)
 -Ballybunion, not so much due to the absolute zoo that it was and has been for 20 years-though the course is very good, if not a bit overrated .
In fact I found Waterville far more appealing as an experience(and for that matter as a course) than BB-despite its lack of love here.


The Southwest is beautiful but definitely not my favorite part of Ireland to visit-not even remotely close on the value/lack of hassle factor. Though I do have a soft spot for Dingle......

[Ally Mcintosh]

Jim,

Ignore Mark's comments if you plan to visit anywhere but the South West (which is always busy). You will find some great courses in other places with not that many people around.

If I were to pick one month above all others, September would probably be it. So go with that.

[Thomas Dai]

A point that Jeff has made in the past is that the tour buses tend to congragate at the same places which leaves other less well known places more available to others.....So maybe we should be talking-up the likes of Ballyb' and Co and talking down all the cool places we normally write about in case the tour buses should be inclined to head to our-GCA favourites!
Atb

[Mark Chaplin]

Jeff I agree with you, we had a member time in the afternoon and couldn't get finished before dark at BB so walked off after playing 14. Apparently it's all about the €750 per tee time, the previous day they'd had 160 visitors. Nice little earner but no member playing the afternoon tee times could finish before dark due to slow play.

Mind you we once had a similar issue at Royal Dornoch. We'd a 2pm tee time but the forecast was horrendous from early afternoon. The club were unable to change any member times to the morning so we had the play the Struie course. Once again members lost out to the money. We made the right decision as it was awful in the afternoon.

[Ulrich Mayring]

I am going to be the sole voice not recommending Dooks. Make no mistake, it's a great course in general, but in the context of this trip it doesn't make the grade. The "busloads of tourists" have discovered Dooks, it is not your obscure hidden gem anymore and you pay a three-digit greenfee in peak times. IMHO they are punching above their weight these days. Conditioning is still that of a village course, which used to be great for a modest greenfee and an empty course.

If you can get to Dooks it's certainly worth a play, but IMHO the golf is quite inferior to the new and improved Waterville. The scenery is spectacular, of course.

I believe the members at Ballybunion are happier than most think, because the week-end is reserved for them. No slow play, no worries. If you can get on during the week-end and play both courses, it blows everything else away. But Lahinch is better during the week.

Ulrich

[Jud_T]

We decided on multiple rounds at Lahinch, Ballybunion and Waterville and skipped Tralee and Old Head after reading up on them as being more scenic than great golf.  Only thing I'd change is I'd skip the Cashen course to see Dooks, or to have a root canal.  Waterville is well worth seeing and is a beautiful (long) drive and a great town for nightlife, but the meat and potatoes are all at Lahinch and Bally Old IMO.

[Søren Rye]

Guys,
Thanks for all the input.

A couple of additions to my initial post. Nothing has been booked yet, but we have sent requests for tee times. Since we need to make the trip work with the flights out of Copenhagen, the plan actually calls for a direct morning flight to Dublin, drive across, play Lahinch in the afternoon, work our way south and then fly out of Cork as noted.

I am not the one in our group pulling the hardest for Old Head, but since it is located very close to Cork airport and we can catch a late afternoon flight there, it makes sense from a logistical standpoint.

I agree that BB and Tralee in the same day is a stretch, we probably need to consider that one again.

Once more, thanks for the input.

[Adam Lawrence]

Guys,
Thanks for all the input.

A couple of additions to my initial post. Nothing has been booked yet, but we have sent requests for tee times. Since we need to make the trip work with the flights out of Copenhagen, the plan actually calls for a direct morning flight to Dublin, drive across, play Lahinch in the afternoon, work our way south and then fly out of Cork as noted.

I am not the one in our group pulling the hardest for Old Head, but since it is located very close to Cork airport and we can catch a late afternoon flight there, it makes sense from a logistical standpoint.

I agree that BB and Tralee in the same day is a stretch, we probably need to consider that one again.

Once more, thanks for the input.

If you want a game on your departure day in the vicinity of Cork, I'd recommend you to try Cork GC. Certainly the best non-links I have seen in Ireland, a MacKenzie design and a fascinating place.

[Søren Rye]

So, programme is now in place.


Day 1: fly into Dublin, drive to Old Head and play PM, drive to hotel
Day 2: play Dooks AM, play Waterville PM
Day 3: drive to Ballybunion, play Old after lunch, drive to Doonbeg
Day 4: play Lahinch and visit Cliffs of Moher
Day 5: play Doonbeg at first light, drive to Dublin, fly home

[Tony_Muldoon]

So, programme is now in place.


Day 1: fly into Dublin, drive to Old Head and play PM, drive to hotel
Day 2: play Dooks AM, play Waterville PM
Day 3: drive to Ballybunion, play Old after lunch, drive to Doonbeg
Day 4: play Lahinch and visit Cliffs of Moher
Day 5: play Doonbeg at first light, drive to Dublin, fly home

Great trip enjoy.


I dont think you said what time of year you are giong but if in Summer your group could add a little fun on the  P&P courses near Lahinch. They are both on links terrain and are sort of the P&P equivalent of the Himalayas. Some greens are no more than 6 paces by 6 paces with big fallaways either side. There's one on the left just after you leave the Lahinch golf courses driving North.  And the one thats possibly better is on the road to the end of the earth that runs down the hill and through Doolin. Cost about 3e a round.  If there's only one or two families out there , skip a couple of holes round them and you'll be round 18 in well under an hour. Avoid on a busy weekend afternoon.


Both are close to the Road to the Cliffs of Moher.

[Bill Satterfield]

I think your itinerary looks great and you should have a blast.  I was there two months ago and played everything on your schedule except Dooks.  I don't think you will be disappointed with your lineup in the slightest.  For me, Doonbeg was the weakest of the group but worth playing for sure.  Personally I am surprised that Old Head doesn't get more love; I thought the course was absolutely fantastic.  Obviously the cliff holes are spectacular, but I was expecting dull interior holes and I found them to be quite engaging and varied.  #4 and #12 at Old Head are two of the best holes in Ireland and the walk back to the tips on 18 is an experience all by itself.

[Steve Sayre]

Another enthusiastic vote for Dooks and the world class Lahinch and Ballybunion Old. Personally, I would easily skip Old Head and Doonbeg for a round (or a second go) at any of the above-mentioned three.  Old Head, as you have read elsewhere, a mind-boggling setting with a less than Irish vibe, to put it gently.

[Søren Rye]

Since it is the first time any of us are playing these courses, we have discussed where it could potentially make sense to hire caddies. Any input on this?

[Ira Fishman]

If your budget can handle it, absolutely use caddies.  First, they really can help you appreciate the courses--at a couple of the places you mention, our caddies were members.  Second, they will save you meaningful strokes around and on the greens.  Third, the caddies we had everywhere were incredibly engaging and fun to be around.  Our caddy at Ballybunion for example was a great story teller with a quick wit.

[Mike Hendren]

Soren, I hope you don't mind me piggybacking on this thread.

Ireland is my next goal - perhaps in 2018 and the southwest area discussed on this thread is most appealing.  I tend to travel either of two ways:  1) solo with plenty of golf; or 2) with the Mrs. with a mix of golf and culture.  Is this region better suited for one or the other?  I prefer the latter.

Thanks,

Mike

[Ira Fishman]

Mike, my wife and I went together a couple of years ago and had a wonderful time.  But it does depend on your wife's interest in difficult courses and potentially challenging weather.  We skipped Ballybunion because it would have been too difficult for her (she is a 28).  She loved Waterville though.  Hope this helps.


Ira