jm

We are planning a trip next Fall to Scotland and Ireland. The men wish to golf some, perhaps 4 times. We would like to combine golf with sightseeing. I have looked into many tour companies. They either leave no free time to golf, or in the case of golf tours, leave very little time to sightsee and are too heavy on golf. Does any one have any suggestions on how to combine these two things? Also, I would appreciate opinions on a good time to go in the Fall, esp. re: weather and rates. We've only been to Europe once and it was with a tour. We are in the 50-65 age group. Thanks for any help. JM

John

Hi JM: <BR> <BR>I can only comment on Ireland. I would look for a tour company that will base you in Killarney. You are in shouting distance to great golf areas as well as most of the lovely sites. I am not a big fan of tour groups, I like to drive myself. If that sounds good to you then you can drop the men off at the courses in the morning and tour the areas for 4-5hrs. I think Lahinch, and Ballybunion is two great courses in beautiful areas! <BR>JOHN

Sheila

It would be very easy to put together a golf/sightseeing tour in Scotland for yourselves. Partly because the golf courses tend to be in pretty places and partley because the country's just not that small. There's been quite a lot of activity on golf in Scotland and Ireland in here, so you might want to do a search. If you want to do it yourself I'm sure plenty people here would like to help, including me.

Sheila

And the right time is the second week in September after the English schools are back but before the weateher becomes too mucky.

Cathy

Jm, <BR>Check out www.ireland.travel.ie for links to golf holidays. This is the official web site of the Irish Tourist Board. There are some great links courses in Ireland - Kerry etc and also the K Club, Portmarnock (Dublin) Druids Glen (Wicklow)etc. I think you will find it easier to plan out where you would like to go, book your hotels and ask them to arrange the golf end of things for the men. Hotels are better at this than B&Bs as there are always doing this for business men etc. <BR> <BR>RE weatherwise - well that is impossible to say - the weather is getting more unpredictable by the day, <BR> <BR>Cathy <BR> <BR>PS Have you looked at cie tours - www.cie.ie they do both Ireland and Scotland, not sure about the golf end of things

Sheila

The Scottish Tourist Board web site has a heap of golf links. To find them have a look at <BR>http://www.visitscotland.com/outdoor/index.htm

steve

My brother-in-law and three buddies did a major golf tour in scotland and ireland a few years ago and had a great time. <BR> <BR>One tip they had was to have a 'letter of introduction' from you US club to "whom it may concern' clubs in scotland and ireland. It helped them get on some clubs and also reduced rates

hmh

My husband has golfed in Ireland, on three different trips. We have rented a car--we usually would drive to a course he wished to play (Killarney, Waterville, Lahinch, Ballybunion) the day before, found out what he had to do to get a starting time. We then would find a B &B, and he played the next day while I went off exploring (shopping). Most recently this was done in Sept. '98. On some courses, tours take the better starting times, but often you can book a time just before the tours arrive, and often at a lesser price than later on in the day. He has been paired up with people from all over the world. Last time, he played in warm, sunny weather in Waterville and Ballybunion and the next day in a Irish gale in Lahinch. He has played with people on their own "golf tours" who have picked a town and driven out each day to courses. Their problem usually was that it is a lot farther than it looks on the Irish maps from their base to some courses, so don't make too ambitious driving/golfing plans. He has done similar things in Scotland, at Troon, Carnoustie and played St. Andrews about 20 years ago when it was much easier to get on, than it is now. Take your own clubs, and golf balls. Equipment and supplies are quite expensive in I/S. The clubs usually have "trolleys" and caddies, but not riding carts. Since he's always walked and carried his clubs (he's 69) that has never been a problem. The Irish Tourist Board site does have golf info. There are lots of smaller, lesser known courses all over Ireland and they can be interesting to play also, according to my Irish relatives who golf.

Meg

Sorry to bring up such an old post, but I'm hoping some of these posters might still be around the forum and this might help JM as well. Steve mentions a letter of introduction. What exactly would that be for? I know many of the courses in Ireland require you to have proof of your handicap for them to decide if you are eligible to play their course. Would that suffice?