Ireland Ideas?

[Hart Huffines]

I am working on an itenirary for a 10-12 day trip to
Northern Ireland and the East Coast of Ireland.  Planning
to start with Portstewart and Portrush then work
our way down to Dublin.  We hope to play Portrush,
County Down, and Portmarnock at least twice,
adding in several others like the Island, the European,
and County Louth.  We wish to play seaside links
only.

Are there any places of interest or other courses which
are must sees?  Should we bypass Belfast?  Any
watering holes or great restaurants of note?

Any help on golf or non-golf topics would be most
appreciated!  Thanks.

[THuckaby2]

Hart:

You're hitting the biggies.  Beyond those, I'd say a trip to Ballyliffen is well worth the journey - it's not that far from Belfast though it is quite north - you'd have to start there.  Also, Castlerock is wonderful - it's right near Portstewart and I have a cousin who's a member there who loves to entertain visitors.  Give me an email if you have time to see that.  

TH
tom.huckaby@clorox.com

[Dan Grossman]

County Louth (Baltray) and the Island were two of my favorite golf courses over there.  The Valley Course at Portrush is also worth a play.

I would probably stay away from Belfast.  There is plenty of non-golf stuff to do in Belfast without spending time in the city.  It isn't very pretty and I think there are still some safety issues, as well.  Giants Causeway and the Bushmills distillery in the North are cool.  Guiness Brewery in Dublin worth a trip.

[John Bernhardt]

One of President Huckaby's better idea's was to have a Judicial conference at County Down and I will be the keynote speaker. You desire to play the biggies twice is oh so smart. I would play County Louth as you mentioned a play County Down from sunup to sundown as many days as you can stay there. Shivas has a Toro lobbyest bringing us meals on the course so we never even have to go to the clubhouse between rounds. Also the speach will be made from the course with a 5 second delay to allow the editorial comments after each shot to be deleted. Justice Bernhardt

[mike_malone]

Agree with idea to play best courses twice.I put a trip together two years ago and played RCD and RPR twice.It imprinted these courses in the mind of the group.
 I would mention that The European is a little inconvienient,since you must go through Dublin town.(unless you take the helicopter like Tiger)
 secondary courses---Ardglass,just north of RCD.Enjoyable...would try to look into Laytown-Bettstown,near county louth.have not played it though.

[mike_malone]

that is BETTYSTOWN

[Doug Wright]

Hart,

The Island is a very fun course, short but with big dunes and the world's narrowest fairway on a par 4 on the back 9--it must be all of 10-15 yards wide! We got off the plane in Dublin on a Sunday afternoon, drove the 15 minutes over to the club, and the staff and members there treated us like we were their long lost cousins. Just a wonderful experience. This was a few years ago, but I doubt things have changed too much.

Portmarnock is just a damn fine golf course that deserves playing twice--reminds me of Muirfield as one solid hole is followed by another on a great routing.

Skip Royal Dublin IMO. I found it to be a drab out and back layout on uninteresting land.

All The Best,

[mike_malone]

Just some ideas from someone who has been there.I would plan my trip starting at Dublin.You could try either Portmarnock or The Island to start.Then work your  way north thru County Louth or Laytown-Bettystown.then do RCD and Ardglass.Then go to portstewart or RPR.These are only minutes apart.Then go backwards thru RPR.RCD,and portmarnock.
 I would do it this way if i could not get consecutive rounds or days at the places i want to play twice.
  For experiences---go to see giant's causeway near Portrush,Newgrange near County Louth----thousands year old Druid burial site.
  I am not fussy about accomadations,so my standards are not tough,but i felt the hospitality at The Bushmill Inn was fantastic
 It would be smart to know the best days for guest play.
 I own any book on golf in ireland i hear about.You can email me offline if you want more info

[Paul Perrella]

  Hart,

 Certainly RCD and Royal Portrush are not to be missed but listen to Mr. Huckaby and hook up with his cousin. Tom was nice enough to make arrangements between my group and his cousin and we ended up at dinner with his whole family and had a great time. If you do go this route please give my best to John, his pals and the family.  
  Thanks again Tom !

 Although I have not played Ballyliffen yet, some of my buddies at the club tell me it is definately worth the trip. Bushmills is one of the places to stay while in the North.

     Paul

[THuckaby2]

Hi Paul!  Funny this comes up now, apparently my cousin John is coming to CA for a visit in two weeks... he's gonna be in SoCal primarily but we're trying to hook up somehow.  I'll give him your best most definitely!

TH

[Roger]

Well, you don't have to go through Dublin City to get to the European Club. There is a motorway, the M50, that brings you around the city to Wicklow and the southeast. If you are only playing links courses while in the east/southeast, then your options are Baltray, Seapoint, Laytown & Bettystown, Portmarnock, Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links (the Bernhard Langer one), Corbalis (a public links course €12 for some great holes, also right beside the Island), The Island, Royal Dublin, St Anne's, European Club and Arklow Golf Club.

Laytown and Bettystown has improved its layout and is much better now. Seapoint is a new course right next door to Baltray that has some excellent finishing holes. Baltray, European, Island and Portmarnock are brilliant. Indeed, Portmarnock is one of the cleverest courses you'll ever play. I have never played the Bernhard Langer course at Portmarnock, but it is supposed to be good. If you are traveling to the European Club, you could also visit Arklow, which is a gem. A very old-fashioned layout and very entertaining.

It's a pity you are not visiting the west coast, cause there are some brilliant links courses there, like none you'll play anywhre else.

Anyway, enjoy your trip.
Bushmills is a very intimedating place if you are from the south of Ireland, with all the Union Jacks. but I'm sure it would be very interesting place to stay. It's home of the oldest licenced distillery in the world and produces some of the nicest whiskey to be found anywhere.

If you are planing to go out for a few pints and some music in Dublin, I would recommend Baggot Street, very close to the centre of the city. Lots of great pubs, especially Donneny and Nesbit. Then there is Johnny Fox's in the Dublin mountains, which is great for music and seafood and very popular with visitors.

[Roger]

PS, regarding safety issues in Belfast - there is no safety issues involved in visiting Belfast, unless it is in the middle of marching season. I would it's as safe or safer than any other large city in the world.

...and a great place to eat in Dublin is Thornton's on the canal. Very expensive, though.

and if you did want to stray inland and play some excellent courses, I would try Headfort, the new 18. It's in Kells, Co Meath. Not too far from Newgrange.

[Johnny B]

Hart,
You are getting lots of good advice.  All of the courses mentioned are worth playing - the difficulty is in deciding which to play and which to leave out. Playing some of the top courses twice is worth while if possible - how often do you play a great hole badly and wish you could have another go?  Belfast is safe and has some very good courses but no links.  In Northern Ireland RCD and Portrush are a class apart - teh Valley at Portrush is excellent, Castlerock and Portstewart are good and you will get a warm welcome.  Ardglass is a mixture of good and not so good - worth playing but only if it fills a gap in your schedule. watch Royal Co Down next week on TV during the British Seniors to whet your appetite.  Let me know if I can give you any more advice.  I live in N Ireland about 15 miles from Belfast and 15 miles from RCD.
Regards,            Johnny Browne  (johnnybrowne@tiscali.co.uk)

[mike_malone]

I think your idea to play links courses is good.I would not even play Malone Golf Club ,which i hear is good,because it is inland.However someone from my office is going there soon.I will break one of my rules(do not wear stuff from places you have been) and ask him to get me a hat or sweater from there.I understand they have a skull and crossbones as logo?C
 Can you confirm this Mr.Browne?Also,when we told the caddies at RCD that we were going to Ardglass they dumped all over the idea.However,i enjoyed the cost / course ratio.How about the other course at RCD?mourne?

[Slag_Bandoon]

 This may be out of the way but my lip's bleeding from biting it.  After all, Ireland is not so big to keep us from exploring a little.  

Narin and Portnoo is sporty and cheap with some terrific golf and views (once you get past the trailer park at the entrance.)

County Sligo (Rosses Point) Great stuff.    

Head over to Enniscrone for the freshly rerouted (Donald Steele) Eddie Hackett layout.

And, if you've ventured there, why not throw out the stops and drive to glorious Carne in Belmullet?  It is remote and wild.  Minimalist layout within a dynamic environment.  

 Now, where's them Looney Toon bandaids?

[THuckaby2]

All great calls, Slag - but he did say east coast of Ireland and was pretty specific about starting and ending points.  Oh yeah, if one ventures west, a whole world awaits....

TH

[Johnny B]

Malone is a fine inland course in Belfast - skull and crossbones logo if false information - sorry about that. Belvoir Park in Belfast is better than Malone (declaration of interest - I am a member there) - it is the best inland course in N Ireland - a Harry Colt classic and beautifully looked after - but it is not a links course (although it does play fast and requires frequent run up shots.  Narin and Portnoo is a hidden gem. let me know if you need any further info.
Johnny

[Roger]

Well, if you did venture west, which you would have time to do in 12 days, you should deffinately check out Carne. It's my favourate course, built for almost nothing by the great Eddie Hackett. He worked on minimal budgets. Never liked to move much earth to create a hole. The back nine there is amazing. He also designed Waterville, Enniscrone, Donegal, Connemara and many more. Think he was also involved in the Island.

If you did end up in that direction, then you should check out Donegal (Murvagh), Enniscrone and Connemara. They are three of my favourate courses to play. Very very natural. And then there's Rosses Point... Strandhill is cute.  These courses cost next to nothing to play.

The west also has great food and great music.

While on the subject - Eddie Hackett deserves much more credit than he seems to get as a course architect-  probably cause he did all his work inside Ireland.

[Roger]

... and you can fly into Knock airport from Dublin. Or it takes about 4 or 5 hourse to drive to Enniscrone.

[Greg Ramsay]

I would strongly encourage you to go down to The European Club.  WHile the greens complexes are not very interesting, the routing, the dunes and the scenery are simply wonderful.  No doubt the biggest dunes on the East Coast of the Republic.  I would not recommend Seapoint, it only has a few interesting holes at the end.  And like many before, i thought County Louth Baltray was a great golfiing experience.  Wonderful greens complexes.

Greg Ramsay
www.barnbougledunes.com

[John M]

Here is a good website with information on Irish courses.Irish www.carrgolf.com

[mps]

Roger - I hate to argue with a fellow Carne-lover BUT I wouldn't recommend the M50 as a time-saving bypass around Dublin - I tried it a month ago & was very disappointed to discover that it doesn't go all the way around.  The guys at the European Club confirmed that it's faster to just go through the "city centre."

Therefore, EC is definately a hassle to get to, but it's a great course.  I'd stay overnight in the area & play it twice (Tinakilly House or Hunters House look like good lodging choices).

FYI - my 9 day itinerary was:
Day 1 - land in Dublin, play Portmarnock Links (stay at Belcamp Hutchinson)
Day 2 - Play Portmarnock
Day 3 - Drive to Portstewart & play (stay at Ardtara House)
Day 4 - Valley / Royal Portrush
Day 5 - Castlerock / Royal Portrush
Day 6 - Ballyliffin Glashedy / Ballyliffin Old
Day 7 - check out of Ardtara & drive to Royal County Down & play (stay at Glassdrumman Lodge)
Day 8 - 36 at Royal County Down
Day 9 - Drive to European Club & play (stay at Shelbourne)
Day 10 - fly home from Dublin

Great itinerary but I'd play The Island instead of Portmarnock Links (played Island before - its very good - PL is just average); Royal Portrush 3 times & skip Castlerock (good, not great); I'd add another day on the end & play European Club again before driving back to Dublin.  That would be 10 days of golf - since you have 12-14, I'd play County Louth (I've played it before & highly recommend it) on Day 9 (pushing back EC to 10 & 11) and then finish with another round at Portmarnock on Day 12.

If you are only planning to play EC once, it may not be worth the hassle.

[Roger]

Maybe you're right, but the M50 will lead you right into Rathfarnham and you can then go over the mountain's via Lamb Doyle's. It might be a bit of a complicated route for someone visiting, granted. They are extending the M50 to the south, but will have to get their skates on if they are to have it ready for Harte's trip.

I would also recommend Arklow if anyone is near the European Club. It's a super old-fashioned links course just outsited the town. Great value too. Not as good as all the greats mentioned above, but great fun.

[Hart Huffines]

Just wanted to thank you guys.  This thread has been
very helpful to me.