I suppose it depends on what you want out of your golfing holiday to Ireland.
Do you want to play the top four or five courses? Tick them off your list – and tell all your friends back home how you played high above the Atlantic Ocean at the Old Head of Kinsale, or parred the first hole at prestigious Royal County Down?
Or, do you want to delve a little deeper into the hidden gems of Ireland? To explore the landscape, experience the more authentic courses and meet, converse and even play with the locals?
Playing at the Old Head of Kinsale is certainly spectacular and an expensive treat; and navigating the challenges of Ballybunion Golf Links in a howling wind off the Atlantic is definitely a challenge worth facing.
However Ireland has over 400 golf courses, both links and parklands. In my experience, to see and play just the most famous and prestigious is to miss so much of what an Irish golfing holiday has to offer.
As an older golfer, at this stage of my life, I had wanted to explore some of the lesser known courses – ones I had heard about over the years. These courses are known to be demanding, and in spectacular settings with splendid views. But it is engagement with the locals that makes a golfing holiday, however brief, and these courses are known to be friendly and welcoming.
So last year in September, I set off around the west of Ireland to discover some of these courses. And yes, I found challenging golf and eye-catching landscapes. But what struck me most was the people I met and played with – people whose friendliness was best expressed in the way that they had time for you.
Here are four of my favourite discoveries.
1. Carne Golf Links
Carne Golf Links lies on the remote and rugged Mullet Peninsula, along the Wild Atlantic Way, in the North West of County Mayo. The nearby town is Belmullet.
This area is noted for its wild landscape and the 27-hole course, designed by Eddie Hackett, is renowned as the finest example of a natural golf links in the world. Considered to be "raw and untamed", the course is ranked number 12 in Ireland.
Each year Carne Golf Links runs the "Ladies Wild Atlantic Way Open" – a two-day, two-ball better-ball event. Last year, I had lined up a partner to play but she had to cancel several weeks before the event. Unperturbed, I contacted the Club and asked if they knew of anyone looking for a partner. Within a week I had spoken to club chairman Gerry McGuire. Gerry was very gracious: yes, you can keep your place, and yes, we will find someone for you to play with.
That someone turned out to be his wife Helen, who proved the most generous of partners. Helen told me she fills in often when there is a cancellation, and her local knowledge really helped me to compete on this most challenging course.
The event itself was superbly organised. Ladies from all over the island of Ireland participated. Gerry was an incredible host, checking in on each of the groupings to see how their day had gone.
The course itself is spectacular and in the wind and the rain it will provide a strong challenge to any golfer. We played the new nine – oh my goodness, Carne is spectacular! There is this amazing little par 3 on the Kilmore 9. It is 180 yards from an elevated tee across what can only be described as a crater to a green surrounded by high dunes. As I stood on the tee preparing to hit my drive, I muttered under my breath: "How in the name of God am I supposed to get this on to the green?"
What a wonderful experience I had at Carne Golf Links! I realised after playing all 27 holes that each member of the team – from the maintenance man who helped me charge my battery overnight, to the friendly pro shop and bar staff, to the great Gerry McGuire and his GM Fiona Togher – was invested in the players having a great golfing experience.
💡 Visitor tip: Carne runs the Ladies Wild Atlantic Way Open each year – a wonderful way to experience the course and meet golfers from across Ireland. Contact the club directly to register your interest.
2. Enniscrone Golf Club
Enniscrone Golf Club is another marvellous course on the West Coast of Ireland. It is located right beside the Atlantic Ocean on Killala Bay, County Sligo, about 40 km from Sligo town.
Enniscrone Golf Club consists of two courses: the 18-hole Enniscrone Dune Championship Course (par 73) and the 9-hole Scurmore Course.
Enniscrone is your classic links course and its contours are shaped by some of the highest dunes in Ireland. These run throughout the course, creating blind spots and elevated tees from which the views are rugged and wild.
I had booked in to play early as I needed to be on the road for Cork by about three. I was down to play by myself but managed to join a very lovely American couple. It was a windy day and almost immediately the smell of the sea air hit you in the face.
The course itself is certainly a challenge and the blind tee shots will make sure you stay focused – you will need to shape your shots to avoid the massive rough.
Enniscrone has the feeling of being open and unhurried. Time passed quickly, as it does when you are enjoying each other's company. A little competition ensues when you recognise there is a better player in the group. I am convinced I won – but that may be open to review!
After the game we headed to the bar and had an interesting encounter with Bill Murray, the American comic actor. This is my point exactly: in these lesser-known clubs, people have time for each other and everyone is equal. You don't feel rushed but part of the club community – and you never know who you might bump into!
💡 Visitor tip: Enniscrone wasn't on my radar until a colleague mentioned it. Don't make the same mistake – add it to your itinerary if you're travelling the Wild Atlantic Way.
3. Ardglass Golf Club
I had wanted to play Ardglass for years, but its distance from Cork was a major obstacle. The club is located about two hours from Dublin and 40 miles from Belfast on the County Down coast of Northern Ireland.
The club is immediately to the south of the town of Ardglass and its charming harbour. The course is set right on the rugged coastline, running roughly north to south with the Irish Sea stretching out beside it.
Ardglass clubhouse is one of the oldest in the world. It dates back to 1405, which adds to the status of the club.
The par 70, 18-hole links course can be challenging. Although it is a short course, the wind can be fierce and the pot bunkers make it difficult to score. I was taken by how beautiful and rugged the course was, with many of the holes running right beside the sea.
There was a quirky little addition on one of the holes – a little cottage with a red door on the 7th. It sells hot whiskies and pints guaranteed to improve your golf game.
I was lucky enough to book into a ladies open day which the club runs from time to time. The cost was £25. I was surprised to feel the welcoming vibe as we parked our car. I was paired with three other ladies – two members and another visitor. Our group gelled quickly and we played a single stableford.
Though the golf wasn't great, the ladies themselves were wonderful. One was an older lady who could certainly hit a ball – and was so delightful and fun that I asked if I could adopt her as my Mum. She was gracious enough to oblige, and if I still lived in Ireland I would certainly keep in touch with her.
Ardglass gets many visitors referred from Royal County Down. Despite this influx, the club maintains a most welcoming vibe which comes from all sections of the club and really enhances the visitor experience.
💡 Visitor tip: Don't ever drive up from Cork, play 18 holes and drive back the same day unless you want to die. Plan an overnight stay – it's worth it.
4. Cobh Golf Club
Cobh Golf Club is located at Marino Point, Cobh, County Cork – about 22 km from Cork City, near the water with panoramic views of Lough Mahon and the River Lee.
The par 72, 18-hole Parklands course opened in 2009 after the club relocated from a previous site. The course layout provides a real challenge with testing holes where your shot-making needs to be accurate. The par 3 10th hole, which has an island green, is the signature hole and will worry even the better players. As a newer course, many of the trees haven't fully matured – as the landscape develops it will become more beautiful and more challenging.
Cobh Golf Club is understated and overlooked by many wanting to play at the better-known Cork city clubs such as Cork Golf Club and the club at Fota Island Resort. However the club has a great course, a friendly atmosphere and a great restaurant offering wholesome food at a reasonable price.
I was fortunate to be a member of Cobh Golf Club for six months before I left to return to Sydney. Its members are warm and welcoming and keen to get you out playing. It is truly a club where the whole team – from the pro shop to the restaurant to the office and members – wants you to have a great golfing experience.
Cobh Golf Club is a good example of Ireland's lesser-known clubs – and proof that you don't need to play on a course with prestige and pedigree to have a wonderful golfing experience.
💡 Visitor tip: While you're in Cobh, take the 10-minute ferry to Spike Island – a 104-acre former convict prison in Cork Harbour. A visit you won't forget.
The Bottom Line
For me, a great golfing holiday begins with experiencing challenging courses and absorbing the striking landscapes. Beyond that, it is about the interaction with locals. It is being able to play in an unhurried, tranquil environment where you don't have members playing down on top of you, or caddies demanding that their members should be allowed to play through.
I am not suggesting you skip the prestige courses altogether – rather that you research and discover a few of the lesser-known courses, because they have so much to offer.
My favourite is still Tralee Golf Club, particularly the back nine. Hole 9 is one of the scariest holes I have ever played – but that's a story for another day…
Trish Daly is a keen Irish-Australian golfer and Power Golf team member, currently a member at The Coast Golf Club, Little Bay, Sydney.
