Golf Holidays in Ireland

Introduction to Irish Golfing Holidays and Tours

Ireland is a golf paradise and 250,000 golfers holiday in Ireland each year. There are over 400 golf courses in Ireland and many are world famous - especially links courses which are unique to Ireland and Scotland. Golf holidays in Ireland should be carefully planned and Tailor-Made Golf Tours can provide the expertise needed to ensure that your golf holiday is memorable and enjoyable.

Our main Ireland golf vacation site includes maps and guides to all the golf courses in Ireland. It also provides some typical golf tour itineraries and lots of information on golf travel to Ireland.

This site is dedicated to the lesser known golfing regions of Ireland and to providing a complete golf course guide to Ireland, history and other golf related pages pertaining to Ireland.

Irish Golf Holidays - The Courses

Many golf courses in Ireland are world famous and three - Ballybunion Old, Royal County Down and Royal Portrush - are consistently ranked in the top-15 golf courses of the world (Golf Magazines Top-100 for 2003). Several more are ranked in the top-100 of some rankings but there are so many rankings and so many high-spend marketing campaigns that it is difficult to have confidence in many of these rankings.

In addition to the three courses above you can add Waterville, Lahinch, Tralee and Portmarnock to the list of golf courses that are credible contenders for the top-100 golf courses in the world. Other well-known parkland golf courses that are often considered include Druids Glen, The K-Club, Killarney (Killeeen course).

Playing only the top ranked courses - also known as 'trophy courses' - on a golf holiday is expensive. Tailor-Made Golf Tours suggests mixing a few of these courses with the hidden gems of Ireland to make your golf holiday one of discovery and set you apart from the typical holiday golfer.

There are many golf courses in Ireland that quietly exist from year to year without the holiday and holiday traffic that flocks to the internationally known golf courses. Tailor-Made Golf Tours was established to promote these hidden jewels of Irish golf to the holiday golfer. Several are worthy contenders for high ranking in the world golf course list - Connemara, Enniscrone, The European, The Island and both courses at Ballyliffin can hold their own against any of the better known course. Others that come close include the new Sandy Hills links at Rosapenna, Portsalon, County Louth and Donegal.

There is one course that stands above these great courses. The golf links at Carne, on a remote peninsula in the northwestern corner of County Mayo is as good a links golf course as you will find anywhere in the world.

Golf Holiday Planning

Whether you choose your Irish golf vacation itinerary on the more famous trails or decide to discover the hidden gems of Ireland there is no substitute for a little forward planning.

Golf Course Selection

An overview of Ireland's golf courses gives details of the six regions that are described in our golf guide to Ireland. There is also an Irish golf map that provides direct links to information on each course.

Depending on the length of your holiday pick one or two regions that will minimize traveling requirements. Many visitors try to combine an itinerary that includes the courses in the north such as Royal Portrush with the southwestern courses. Although Ireland is small, stretching the itinerary can result is a lot of driving. For example, a journey from Portrush to Waterville is 350 miles (about as long a trip as you can manage in Ireland) but would take 8 1/2 hours direct!

If budget is an issue it is highly recommended to include golf courses in the west, northwest, midland or southeast regions. Our green fee comparison chart will provide a good indication of the golfing costs in Ireland.
To guarantee a tee-time at Ballybunion book your tour at least 9 months in advance. To guarantee availability at Royal Portrush, Royal County Down, Portmarnock, Old Head, Tralee, Waterville, and Lahinch book at least 6 months in advance.

Golf in Ireland - when to play

The golf season in Ireland lasts for the entire year with only very severe weather (torrential rain or hard frost) making play impossible. For the holiday golfer however the recommended season is late April to early October. Whether by design or accident, May and September are the peak golf holiday months in Ireland while July and August are the peak months for domestic holidaymakers.

Accommodation and car hire costs are generally cheaper in the off-peak months of April, May and October but, with a few exceptions, green-fee rates remain the same from April to October.

The following pages provide further information:

When to play golf in Ireland
An attempt to describe the weather in Ireland
Ireland's met service official website

Golf Holiday Accommodation and Transport

Choose your accommodation type using our guide to golf accommodation in Ireland. Bed & Breakfast or guesthouse accommodation is the way to experience the real Ireland while hotels provide a more independent and inobtrusive stay. For those that can afford luxury accommodations a stay in one of the castle or manor accommodations or a spectacular country house is a real treat.
We also have a page listing golf hotels in Ireland that also have an attached golf course
Choose whether to have the comfort of a chauffeur driven tour or to experience Ireland at your own leisure by renting a vehicle. For self-drive itineraries we always urge that the car selected is big enough for the number of travelers, the luggae and the golf bags. The costs of a chauffeur equal (or are better) than car hire when there are more than 8-10 travelers.

Booking Your Golf Holiday

Tailor-Made Golf Tours is based in Ireland and owned & operated by three dedicated golfers who have extensive experience in the tourism industry. We know the golf courses, we know Ireland and we have the knowldege and experience to plan and arrange your perfect golf holiday.

We concentrate solely on Ireland but we can arrange combined Ireland/Scotland or Ireland/England, Ireland/Wales holidays in conjunction with our golf tour partners in those countries.

We offer free golf trip advice if you have any questions on where to play or stay and will provide a no obligation quote within 24 hours for your golf holiday itinerary. Simply select the golf courses, give us an idea of when you plan to arrive in Ireland and select your accommodation and transport options. Submit the enquiry form and let us worry about the planning and arrangement.

Please note that we do require an e-mail address in order to correspond but we never disclose e-mail addresses to any third parties.

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