On arrival, we recommend you stay in one accommodation for three nights. This will allow you to get your bearings and recover from your journey. Ireland’s airports and ferry ports are close to several quality golf courses so your golf tour doesn’t have to suffer.
The most stressful part of any golfing holiday is checking in and out of hotels on a regular basis. Bearing this in mind, keep it to a minimum. Stay at least two nights where possible, and try to break up journeys by playing a course along the way.
There are two ways to play golf in Ireland – pick the courses you most want to play and arrange them into a logical itinerary, or pick a geographical area and research it, then select some courses within that region. If your time is short, go for the latter.
Ireland is a small country, but unfortunately this doesn’t equate to short travelling times. Try to keep travelling distances to a minimum. Where roads are not congested they can be narrow and winding, which can be tiring. We would recommend that you ask for local advice as to how long a journey will take. This is particularly important on arrival – don’t try to travel the length or breadth of Ireland on the day that you fly in – it’s bigger than you think.
Book the courses that you want to play well in advance and remember to ask every club if there are restrictions regarding anything, anywhere in the clubhouse or on the course. This could be anything from the requirement to wear a jacket or tie in the lounge bar, needing a minimum handicap or not being allowed to use pull trolleys on the golf course.
Ring and enquire about the availability of a course and book it well in advance. You may not always get a round on a particular day as there could be a competition or a corporate outing on the day in question.
Have a good time! Georgina Campbell’s Ireland for Gourmet Golfers with Dermot Gilleece is published by Georgina Campbell Guides Ltd, €15
