[David_Tepper]

Bill S. -

Not probably nuts, definitely nuts! (but well done)

DT

[Ally Mcintosh]

Bill - That beats them all. The Iron Man of golf trips.

[jeffwarne]

Day 1:  Arrive in Dublin on the red eye at 8:15 AM.  Pick up rental car, change clothes, and grab some food.  12:00 tee time at The K Club.  Drive 3+ hours to the southern tip of Ireland.  Fell asleep about 10 seconds after getting in bed after being up for over 24 hours straight.
Day 2:  Play Old Head in the AM, drive 3+ hours, play Waterville in the PM.  Drive nearly 6 hours straight north.
Day 3:  Play County Sligo in the AM, drive just over an hour west, play Enniscrone in the PM.  Drive another hour west.
Day 4:  Play all 27 holes at Carne in the AM.  Drive 5 hours back east and into Northern Ireland.
Day 5:  Go to church in the AM and play Royal County Down in the PM.  Drive an hour south back into the Republic of Ireland.
Day 6:  Play County Louth in the AM, drive 2+ hours to the northern tip of N. Ireland, play Royal Portrush in the PM.  Drive nearly 6 hours to the SW portion of Ireland.
Day 7:  Play Ballybunion (Old) in the AM, drive 2 hours north, play Trump Doonbeg in the PM.  Drive back 2 hours to the south.
Day 8:  Play Tralee in the AM where the rain never let up for one second.  Shower in the locker room and get full feeling back into all our fingers and toes.  Drive 2.5 hours north and play Lahinch in the PM.  Drive 4 hours east back towards Dublin.
Day 9:  Play Portmarnock in the AM, drive 1.5 hours south, play The European Club in the PM.  Get back to Dublin in time to hit a souvenir shop to take gifts back to my wife and seven kids.  Eat kabobs for the third time on the trip.
Day 10:  Fly home

Holy windshield!!
Day 2 ,Day 6, and Day 8-just wow......


Glad you had fun.
I always say seeing the country is half the fun, but man.......

[Greg Gilson]

Didn't see the country. Saw the inside of a car.


Glad you enjoyed it.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

(nuts x totally nuts x bonkers)^2 


I'm just happy to know you got through it safely and didn't fall asleep at the wheel.

[Mark Chaplin]

Donal that was my concern I've seen too many mangled people due to driver fatigue.

[Bill Satterfield]

That's why we paid extra at the car rental counter to add a second driver.  If one was tired they could take a nap.  It cost about $100 extra for the trip but going into it we knew it would be worth it.  Of course, most of the roads in Ireland would be tough to fall asleep on while driving.  It was like a video game half the time ha ha.

[George Freeman]

I would love some advice on a Northern / NW Ireland trip:
How early in the year is too early to visit Northern Ireland / NW Ireland?  It looks like April weather can be a bit dicey.  Is late April too early for a chance at decent weather?  Early/mid-May?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Jim Sherma]

Best advice I could give is to not drive as much as was discussed on this thread.


I was in NW Ireland two years ago towards the end of May and played Mulranny, Carne, Enniscrone, Strandhill and Co Sligo. Weather was great for us and it was a wonderful trip.


My itinerary was as follows


Day 1: Arrive Shannon - play Lahinch - drive to and stay in Westport
Day 2: Play Mulranny in AM - drive to Belmullet and play Carne PM - stay in Belmullet
Day 3: Play Carne - stay in Belmullet
Day 4: Play Enniscrone - stay in Strandhill
Day 5: Play Strandhill - stay in Strandhill
Day 6: Play Co Sligo - stay in Strandhill
Day 7: Play Strandhill - stay in strandhill
Day 8: Play Co Sligo - drive to Shannon - fly out next morning


I am a big believer in playing courses more than one time and minimizing windshield time. I thought that this trip ticked all of my boxes. Played third nines a couple of the days and also did some sight seeing and pub-time. All of the courses were more than worthy of having played.

I would love some advice on a Northern / NW Ireland trip:
How early in the year is too early to visit Northern Ireland / NW Ireland?  It looks like April weather can be a bit dicey.  Is late April too early for a chance at decent weather?  Early/mid-May?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Kalen Braley]

Don't mean to be inflammatory...

But why in the hell is Ireland and the UK in general so averse to building some 4 lane connector roads?  Forget a proper Interstate Highway where one can go 80-90 MPH, that's a pipe dream... but would it really kill em to add another lane in each direction and a bit of a shoulder?

I'm guessing Barney and Friends can help with this... we have the technology! 

[Garland Bayley]

I think probably because they don't worship the car like we do. And, they don't have to as I made a fine golf trip in Scotland by train and bus. And, I spent well under what a rental car would have cost.

[Sean_A]

Don't mean to be inflammatory...

But why in the hell is Ireland and the UK in general so averse to building some 4 lane connector roads?  Forget a proper Interstate Highway where one can go 80-90 MPH, that's a pipe dream... but would it really kill em to add another lane in each direction and a bit of a shoulder?

I'm guessing Barney and Friends can help with this... we have the technology! 

Being a Yank...I often complain about the same thing in England.  Going north/south is alright...try east/west...what a pain in the ass!  The road system in England is hopelessly inadequate to cope with the number of vehicles.  For visitors going to name places the trains aren't so bad...you wouldn't think the same if you lived here.  The Victorians could get to more places by train than we can today!  Even if this isn't true, just that fact that it is often said is outrageous...and that is before factoring in the cost of rail travel.  I actualy think travelling in Ireland is generally better than England because the traffic is so much lighter. 

Ciao

[jeffwarne]

Don't mean to be inflammatory...

But why in the hell is Ireland and the UK in general so averse to building some 4 lane connector roads?  Forget a proper Interstate Highway where one can go 80-90 MPH, that's a pipe dream... but would it really kill em to add another lane in each direction and a bit of a shoulder?

I'm guessing Barney and Friends can help with this... we have the technology! 

Stop
Plenty of wide motorways in the Uk, and plenty of people going 80-90 mph, the difference is they know the difference between a passing lane and a travel lane.
Part of the charm and attraction of rural ireland iand rural UK is the remoteness and the adventure, and the driving is actually part of the fun.
Try driving on Long Island

[Kalen Braley]

Jeff,

I live out West, where outside of the heavily populated areas, you always have a beautiful split 4 lane connector highway with few vehicles in the way.  Hell I can drive to Vegas from here in under 5.5 hours and its 420 miles away, so I know I'm pretty spoiled in that respect.  But if you don't think its remote as hell between Salt Lake and Vegas, come try it....there ain't nothing but miles of nothing as far as the eye can see for most of it, and a fair bit of it is pretty scenic.

Is it too much to ask to try a bit harder?

P.S.  Do you wanna spend down time at the wheel or the bar?   

P.P.S.  Just looked up London to Leeds, which appears to be connected by a major highway.  Less than 200 miles, but still nearly a 4 hour drive....that ain't 80-90 stuff going on there...and its what midnight over there right now.

[Pete_Pittock]

I would love some advice on a Northern / NW Ireland trip:
How early in the year is too early to visit Northern Ireland / NW Ireland?  It looks like April weather can be a bit dicey.  Is late April too early for a chance at decent weather?  Early/mid-May?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Discussing this very subject today.  I would say early May. Not so much about the weather but the ability of the clubs to clear up the course from winter, get mowing re-established, etc, fairways a bit firmer, pleasant walking. Pack your gor-tex and buy an umbrella when you really need one.


If you fly thru Shannon, stop off at Shannon GC and pick up a logo ball for me.

[Tommy Williamsen]

      My wife and I took a trip about twenty years ago. My congregation gave us a monetary gift to play in Scotland and Ireland. To the best of my recollection the itinerary was as follows:
Day one-----------Arrive Shannon Play Tralee
Day two-----------play Ballybunion Old and Cashen
Day three---------play Waterville
Day four-----------play Dooks and Ceann Sibeal (now called Dingle)
Day Five-----------play Killeen course at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club
Day six-------------sightsee and drive to Dublin
Day seven--------play Portmarnock
Day eight----------play the Island
Day nine-----------play Royal County Down
Day ten-------------take overnight ferry to Scotland and play Royal Troon
Day eleven--------To St. Andrews and play Carnoustie
Day twelve--------The Old Course and I play the New Course while my wife took a nap.
Day thirteen-------play Muirfield
Day fourteen------drive to Dornoch and play Dornoch teeing off at 8pm
Day fifteen---------drive to Loch Lomond and play there
Day sixteen --------take ferry back to Ireland
Day seventeen----play Portrush Dunluce (wife took a nap in our B&B while I played the Valley Course)
Day eighteen------play Portstewart
Day nineteen------play Donegal and Rosses Point
Day Twenty---------play Enniscrone
Day twenty---------one play Lahinch in the morning and Ballybunion Old in the afternoon (at my wife’s insistence)
Day twenty-two---fly home from Shannon


We travelled in July. We never saw it dark. We were in bed by ten and up by seven. I did all the driving and scaped the left side of the car pretty bad on a stone fence on the Ring of Kerry. We called them racing stripes. There was plenty of time to sight see. After all golf only took four or five hours. We were pretty tired when we got home.
 

[JMEvensky]

Tommy, what do you do in your spare time, ultra-marathons?

[Mark Smolens]

I think probably because they don't worship the car like we do. And, they don't have to as I made a fine golf trip in Scotland by train and bus. And, I spent well under what a rental car would have cost.

A buddy of mine (who now coaches the Brown Univ. golf team) took a solo trip to Scotland in early '90s. Had a rental car, but had troubles on the road -- kept getting caught in roundabouts. On the second day of his trip he turned in his rental car, and did the train rides for the next 12 days.

The next two years he made sure to have one of his students along to drive!

[Tommy Williamsen]

I think probably because they don't worship the car like we do. And, they don't have to as I made a fine golf trip in Scotland by train and bus. And, I spent well under what a rental car would have cost.

A buddy of mine (who now coaches the Brown Univ. golf team) took a solo trip to Scotland in early '90s. Had a rental car, but had troubles on the road -- kept getting caught in roundabouts. On the second day of his trip he turned in his rental car, and did the train rides for the next 12 days.

The next two years he made sure to have one of his students along to drive!

I feel his pain. My first trip there found me stuck on a few roundabouts.

[Garland Bayley]

I think probably because they don't worship the car like we do. And, they don't have to as I made a fine golf trip in Scotland by train and bus. And, I spent well under what a rental car would have cost.

A buddy of mine (who now coaches the Brown Univ. golf team) took a solo trip to Scotland in early '90s. Had a rental car, but had troubles on the road -- kept getting caught in roundabouts. On the second day of his trip he turned in his rental car, and did the train rides for the next 12 days.

The next two years he made sure to have one of his students along to drive!

I feel his pain. My first trip there found me stuck on a few roundabouts.

You can't win in roundabouts. If you go too slow in order to find the correct exit from the round about, they honk at you. If you go quickly and miss your exit and have to go around again, they honk at you.

My last trip, I took my son who loves to drive, and seemed to look more forward to driving on the left side than to the golf.

On return, his room mate tells me how much he talks about the golf, so I guess it worked out.

[Jon Wiggett]

Or you could just read the sign before you get to it and know which exit to take in advance

[Garland Bayley]

Or you could just read the sign before you get to it and know which exit to take in advance

That works when there are such signs.

[Daryl David]

The nice lady on GPS tells you exactly which exit to take. Easy peasy.

[Garland Bayley]

The nice lady on GPS tells you exactly which exit to take. Easy peasy.

That works when you have GPS.

[Kalen Braley]

The nice lady on GPS tells you exactly which exit to take. Easy peasy.

That works when you have GPS.

Oh please I know a tech nerd like you has to have an old Garmin lying around or a SmartPhone.  Sorry not a valid excuse... 

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