other golf courses to play in n ireland
Jun 3rd, 2003, 02:30 PM
#1
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other golf courses to play in n ireland
have played portrush, portstewart and royal county down. want to go back but want to include some other good courses in northern ireland. does anyone have any suggestions on any hidden gems? also interesting B&B and guest house recommendations would also be appreciated.
thanks
michael
thanks
michael
Jun 3rd, 2003, 03:57 PM
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Michael,
Haste ye to Ballyliffin in the far north. I have not played there, but it is supposed to be the second coming of Ballybunion! And if it is anywhere close, it will be a marvel.
Two 18 hole links--the Old Course and the Glashedy Links (6612 yards and 7103 from the tips). Nick Faldo and others have raved about Ballyliffin. So, try it out.
I have also played Ballycastle, a fun course east of Portrush. Castlerock is also a possibility--supposed to be very challenging.
Hope this helps. I'm on my way to Scotland for 12 weeks tomorrow. Gonna wear me or the links out!
Regards,
Jinx Hoover
Haste ye to Ballyliffin in the far north. I have not played there, but it is supposed to be the second coming of Ballybunion! And if it is anywhere close, it will be a marvel.
Two 18 hole links--the Old Course and the Glashedy Links (6612 yards and 7103 from the tips). Nick Faldo and others have raved about Ballyliffin. So, try it out.
I have also played Ballycastle, a fun course east of Portrush. Castlerock is also a possibility--supposed to be very challenging.
Hope this helps. I'm on my way to Scotland for 12 weeks tomorrow. Gonna wear me or the links out!
Regards,
Jinx Hoover
Jun 3rd, 2003, 04:23 PM
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jinx, thanks for the response. i have played both courses at ballyliffin and they are great. have not played castlerock. great suggestion. have fun in scotland. i just got back sunday from st andrews and gullane in scotland.
michael
michael
Jun 3rd, 2003, 06:08 PM
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Michael,
If you have not played the great links of the Republic of Ireland, there are some great ones. Lahinch, Ballybunion, Tralee, Waterville, European Club, Portmarnoch are all excellent. Greg Norman just opened a new links near Tralee/Ballybunion that is supposed to be prime. Old Head is also highly rated. Killarney is very good for a parkland course (I have played but much prefer the links).
Good golfing,
Jinx Hoover
If you have not played the great links of the Republic of Ireland, there are some great ones. Lahinch, Ballybunion, Tralee, Waterville, European Club, Portmarnoch are all excellent. Greg Norman just opened a new links near Tralee/Ballybunion that is supposed to be prime. Old Head is also highly rated. Killarney is very good for a parkland course (I have played but much prefer the links).
Good golfing,
Jinx Hoover
Jun 4th, 2003, 01:37 AM
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Also in the Irish Republic: Carne Golf links near Belmullet, County Mayo has been rated with Royal County Down and Ballybunion as one of the best three links courses in Ireland. For my money Carne is Numero Uno!
See my http://groups.msn.com/gate5 for a few photos I took last September. I was back on May 22-23 but haven't got this trip's photos uploaded yet.
See my http://groups.msn.com/gate5 for a few photos I took last September. I was back on May 22-23 but haven't got this trip's photos uploaded yet.
Jun 4th, 2003, 12:38 PM
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Ardglass GC, near Downpatrick. It has, or at least Ardglass says so, the oldest club house in the world. Pretty spectacular views, too.
www.ardglassgolfclub.com
www.ardglassgolfclub.com
Jun 5th, 2003, 01:23 AM
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Carne is very close to Blacksod Point, the westernmost point in Ireland (if you don't count Achill Island). County Mayo is in Connacht, north of Galway. Look for Belmullet on a map of Ireland: Carne is a few kilometers from there.
Greens fees at Carne Golf links are 45 Euro (weekdays) and 50 Euro (weekends). They have about a dozen buggys (riding golf carts) available for rental - call in advance if you want to ride.
011 353 (0) 97 82292
They also have a very limited number of sets of rental clubs available.
Greens fees at Carne Golf links are 45 Euro (weekdays) and 50 Euro (weekends). They have about a dozen buggys (riding golf carts) available for rental - call in advance if you want to ride.
011 353 (0) 97 82292
They also have a very limited number of sets of rental clubs available.
Jun 5th, 2003, 07:41 AM
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Certainly play both Castlerock courses. The 9 hole Bann course is a kick. I agree Carne is worth the drive. The last 5 holes are particularly wonderful. On the way to Carne play Enniscrone. A difficult, but great track. Finally, play Strandhill in Sligo. #14 is an extraordinary par 4 with a minute opening to the green between to big dune. Very challenging and fun. Enjoy.
Jeff
Jeff
Jun 5th, 2003, 08:40 AM
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How easy is it to rent clubs in Ireland? I'm not an avid golfer, but might try to get in a round during my 10-day trip in July. To make things more difficult, I'm a lefty, so rentals aren't always easy here in the US. Any thoughts appreciated.
Jun 6th, 2003, 04:34 AM
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jakegibbs writes: "How easy is it to rent clubs in Ireland? I'm not an avid golfer, but might try to get in a round during my 10-day trip in July. To make things more difficult, I'm a lefty, so rentals aren't always easy here in the US. Any thoughts appreciated."
Message: Given those constraints, I'd say your chances of finding a rental set of left handed clubs would be slim to nil. I don't play big name courses like Ballybunion or Old Head. Maybe it would be more likely on one of those. But the 9-hole links courses I play (Spanish Point in County Clare and Connemara Isles, near Costello, County Galway) have very few rental sets. The set I rented at the latter had no woods so I assumed it was an 'executive' layout (i.e., no Par-5's). NOT! The best I found, (other than at Killeline, Newcastlewest, County Limerick where Kevin Doorien, Golf Course Manager and Professional rented me his own Mizuno set) was at Spanish Point in west Clare where David Fitzgerald fixed me up with a good full set even though Spanish Point is what we call an 'executive' layout. But it's a links course - something every American golfer should experience if he/she hasn't played that type of course before. You can get the Phone number of any GUI-affiliated club on the internet. Call ahead to ask if they have a left-handed rental set and try to get it reserved. Since you say you're not an avid golfer, Spanish Point might be just the ticket for you.
BTW
Did you know that the Golfing Union of Ireland is older than Scotland's Royal & Ancient Golf Association (St. Andrews)?
Message: Given those constraints, I'd say your chances of finding a rental set of left handed clubs would be slim to nil. I don't play big name courses like Ballybunion or Old Head. Maybe it would be more likely on one of those. But the 9-hole links courses I play (Spanish Point in County Clare and Connemara Isles, near Costello, County Galway) have very few rental sets. The set I rented at the latter had no woods so I assumed it was an 'executive' layout (i.e., no Par-5's). NOT! The best I found, (other than at Killeline, Newcastlewest, County Limerick where Kevin Doorien, Golf Course Manager and Professional rented me his own Mizuno set) was at Spanish Point in west Clare where David Fitzgerald fixed me up with a good full set even though Spanish Point is what we call an 'executive' layout. But it's a links course - something every American golfer should experience if he/she hasn't played that type of course before. You can get the Phone number of any GUI-affiliated club on the internet. Call ahead to ask if they have a left-handed rental set and try to get it reserved. Since you say you're not an avid golfer, Spanish Point might be just the ticket for you.
BTW
Did you know that the Golfing Union of Ireland is older than Scotland's Royal & Ancient Golf Association (St. Andrews)?
Jun 9th, 2003, 01:14 PM
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Also in NI, Downpatrick Golf Club. It's no Royal County Down or Portrush, but still a decent enough course.
I've had varying luck with club rentals. At Connemara Golf Club, they actually had ladies clubs for rent, which was a shock. Maybe they even have lefties.
I've had varying luck with club rentals. At Connemara Golf Club, they actually had ladies clubs for rent, which was a shock. Maybe they even have lefties.
Jun 11th, 2003, 09:10 AM
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Thanks for all the replies about renting clubs. I won't hold my breath over finding a lefty set to rent. I never understood why the ratio of lefties-to-righties is golf is so low compared with other sports?
Jun 11th, 2003, 10:09 AM
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I would play Castlerock, lisburn (not links but a great course)and def ballyliffen as mentioned in other posts. you could also play dunfanaghy, and Bundoran in donegal. There are a lot of gems in this area.
have a good time
selwyn
have a good time
selwyn
