Ireland Advice

[Ira Fishman]

We will be playing Carne and Rosses Point next year and have one day for play before heading to Lahinch. We are staying in Westport.


Suggestions?


Thanks.

[John Mayhugh]

Near Westport, Mulranny seems an obvious choice. 9 holes of joy to be alive golf.
https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,63585

If you want more conventional, then Strandhill and Enniscrone are also options. Neither of those is particularly close to Westport, but then neither are Carne nor Rosses Point.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Westport to Lahinch is 2 hrs 15 mins.


If you want to play on the day you are traveling between each, you could do worse than taking the most fantastically beautiful drive from Westport through Leenane and Clifden to play Ballyconeely (Connemara GC). Then have a late lunch in O’Dowds in Roundstone before driving on… Total driving time is 4 hours but if you get a sunny day, that itinerary will be special.

[Jim Sherma]

Mulranny is a great way to spend a couple of hours of your life for sure.  Did the reverse of your trip and went Lahinch upon landing followed by a night in Westport en route to Belmullet. I considered Galway GC, not a links and sounds like very little Mackenzie is left to see. Connemara seemed a bit out of the way. Played Mulranny and it was one of the highlights of a great trip.

[Dan_Callahan]

I stayed in Westport back in 2019 and played Connemara while I was there. I thought it was good but not great. Coming after Enniscrone or Carne, the front 9 will seem flat and uninspiring. The back 9 gets a little more rugged. In my memory, I think it suffers because it came at the end of a trip where I played the exceptional courses in Donegal and Sligo. Had I played it first, I think I would have been more impressed.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Less about the golf course, more about the drive and stopping in Roundstone.


For the least driving, Mulranny should be definitely played.

[Adam Lawrence]

Mulranny is a great way to spend a couple of hours of your life for sure.  Did the reverse of your trip and went Lahinch upon landing followed by a night in Westport en route to Belmullet. I considered Galway GC, not a links and sounds like very little Mackenzie is left to see. Connemara seemed a bit out of the way. Played Mulranny and it was one of the highlights of a great trip.

Galway is Colt, not MacKenzie. The club and I proved it last year.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Mulranny is a great way to spend a couple of hours of your life for sure.  Did the reverse of your trip and went Lahinch upon landing followed by a night in Westport en route to Belmullet. I considered Galway GC, not a links and sounds like very little Mackenzie is left to see. Connemara seemed a bit out of the way. Played Mulranny and it was one of the highlights of a great trip.

Galway is Colt, not MacKenzie. The club and I proved it last year.

Tell me more…

[Jim Sherma]

Mulranny is a great way to spend a couple of hours of your life for sure.  Did the reverse of your trip and went Lahinch upon landing followed by a night in Westport en route to Belmullet. I considered Galway GC, not a links and sounds like very little Mackenzie is left to see. Connemara seemed a bit out of the way. Played Mulranny and it was one of the highlights of a great trip.

Galway is Colt, not MacKenzie. The club and I proved it last year.

Tell me more…

Yes, please.

[Adam Lawrence]

Mulranny is a great way to spend a couple of hours of your life for sure.  Did the reverse of your trip and went Lahinch upon landing followed by a night in Westport en route to Belmullet. I considered Galway GC, not a links and sounds like very little Mackenzie is left to see. Connemara seemed a bit out of the way. Played Mulranny and it was one of the highlights of a great trip.

Galway is Colt, not MacKenzie. The club and I proved it last year.

Tell me more…

Yes, please.

I have four clippings that say so -- two from the 'Connacht Tribune' in 1925, that say the course was laid out by the firm of Colt and Alison, and two from the 1930s, both written by Lionel Hewson, who should have known the truth if anyone did. Hewson wrote" "The golf is excellent, the course being the result of Mr. Colt's genius".

[Ian Andrew]

I would second Enniscrone as a must play.
It was my favorite from that area.


Another option is playing closer to Lahinch.
I would suggest Doonbeg, not because its good (although some bits are good), but because its a great study in routing problems.
It might be the best after round bar conversation you'll have all trip ...

[Rory Connaughton]

Enniscrone is a fantastic place to visit and thrilling to play.
Double down and play the Scurmore 9 which is mostly in the flat but
takes you up and out of the dunes and you will have a great day.

[Jim Sherma]

I was much more enamored with the original 18 by Hackett at Enniscrone compared to the 9 new holes by Steele in the bigger Dunes. The Hackett holes (9 on the championship course and the Scurmore 9) are certainly not as picturesque as the Steele holes but they allow for better golf in my opinion. The Steele holes, like many holes you see in Ireland have steep and essentially un-maintained rough on either side of the fairways making for any misses being followed by tromping through the gunch with the hope you find it and can hack it back into play. While the fairways are not particularly narrow, the lack of recovery options necessitated by the construction made them play fairly one dimensionally in many ways. I felt that Carne's big dune holes were better done as there seemed to have more of an ability to maintain the closer in areas off the fairways in a playable state.

[Carl Johnson]

I'd suggest not trying to order Bushmills in the Republic, but rather Jamesons.  If you get to Northern Ireland, order what's showing behind the bar.

[Tommy Williamsen]

The drive from Westport to Lahinch via Clifden and Connemara is worth the extra time it takes. Play Connemara. It is much different than the dunes of Lahinch. It is laid out on some very different rocky terrain.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

I'd suggest not trying to order Bushmills in the Republic, but rather Jamesons.  If you get to Northern Ireland, order what's showing behind the bar.

Carl,


Bushmills and Black Bush are also popular in the Republic. I used work in Gweedore Golf Club bar in Donegal and Bushmills and Powers were the most popular whiskey.

[jeffwarne]

Although it is backtracking 28 minutes to Mulranny, a perfect pair of 9 holers is Mulranny(not to be missed), followed by Connemara Isles(not near Connemara), a fun 9 holer on the water exactly on the way as the crow flies.
Plenty of enchanting, interesting scenery along the way as mentioned.
4 1/2 hours of total driving from Westport back to Mulranny, down to CI, down to Lahinch.
Both courses and the(detoured) drive highly recommended.

[Tim_Weiman]

I would second Enniscrone as a must play.
It was my favorite from that area.


Another option is playing closer to Lahinch.
I would suggest Doonbeg, not because its good (although some bits are good), but because its a great study in routing problems.
It might be the best after round bar conversation you'll have all trip ...

Ian,


I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on the routing problems with Doonbeg as my exposure to the property goes back to when Tony Pender, who owned a large part of the property, was still living there and work had not yet started. In short, my initial impression was that the property wasn’t that good, certainly not compared to Lahinch.

[Ira Fishman]

Thank you as always for taking the time to offer your generous advice. Itinerary:


Baltray
The Island Club
Carne
Rosses Point
Mulranny
Lahinch


This probably will be my wife’s and my last golf trip to Ireland. She has not played Lahinch which is my favorite course in the world (a thoroughly considered viewpoint). I want her to experience its joys, and I want to have it enchant me again.


As to the advice about whiskey, it too is appreciated. Perhaps the only disappointment on my previous two trips to Ireland is how difficult it was to find my drink of choice—Kentucky bourbon.


Ira