Father and son's golf trip to Ireland

A Father and son’s golf trip to Ireland…

It is said that playing golf with your dad or your son, is one of the best ways to bond that everlasting relationship tie between a father and son. I would like to suggest a few itineraries to you about a Father & Son’s Irish Golf Vacation.

Concierge Golf has arranged numerous different types of Irish golf experiences to match all different types of golfer’s requests. Simply by contacting Concierge with a brief description of what you want to do and we can take care of the rest of plan. Concierge Golf can send you a list of golf courses to play, types of accommodation, choices of transportation, where to dine and where to find a good Irish pub for a few pints of stout.

“An Irish Golf Vacation at Waterville Golf Links, Ireland! I had such a magical time with my son” Jimmy Boland MA

Waterville Golf Links, Ireland

Father and Son Irish Golf Vacation sample golf trip 1

A five day Irish Golf Vacation

On this vacation we will spend the main part of the budget on playing the great Irish links golf courses and we will save on hotel rooms and transport. After

Day 1

Fly into Shannon Airport to be greeted by Concierge Golf! It is important for us to meet everyone on arrival and we would like to talk through the itinerary to triple check that all the line items are fully understood and we can answer any questions that may arise. Then proceed to pick up the rental car with a satellite navigational devise.

Drive to Cork and play Cork Golf Club. Cork Golf Club is a tremendous challenging park land golf course and the course was built on a historic limestone quarry in 1885. Later in 1916 Cork Golf Club was re-designed by the famous golf course designer Alister Mackenzie. I am going to suggest that you spend the night in Kinsale at the Blindgate Lodge B&B and if you have the energy, why not explore the town of Kinsale. Kinsale is a small town situated Bar & restaurant. There is generally a good atmosphere at Collin’s pub and there tends to be a few fellow golfers that hangout there watching the US PGA golf over the weekends.

Day 2

Play the most spectacular golf course in the world, The Old Head Golf Links and depart for Killarney after playing the course.

That night you will stay at the 4* Plaza Hotel or the 3* Castleross Hotel in Killarney. Perhaps you and your dad can enjoy one of the self-catering golf cottages at the Castleross? Maybe spend the four nights and enjoying quality cooking time together? Or, just hit the pubs in Killarney! If you are staying in one area, I like renting cottages generally, because there is plenty of room for the same price as a hotel. Also you can-find a range of cottage sizes from two beds to five bedrooms. If required, the Castleross Hotel’s cottages can sleep two to four persons and Killarney Golf Club is located just down the road. That would allow you to pick up the twilight rate green fees and you could nip down to play a few holes in the evening time enjoy the spectacular views of the Killarney lakes.

Day 3

I am suggesting to play Dooks Golf Links! This course is a hidden links gem with a lot of great tricky holes for you to think about as you play each hole. I would suggest playing an early morning round at Dooks and if you both are feeling good after the first round, why not go for a second round. You can pick up some caddies or golf carts if needed and off you go. I like playing Dooks Golf Club, as the course offers a nice mix of soft and very playable golf holes. But around the greens you can be suckered by the humps and hollows, but who says golf is easy!

In the evening time, take a local taxi into Killarney and enjoy a walk around the town. There are plenty of great pubs in Killarney and you could pick anyone the fine pubs in town with their own characters sitting around the bar, plenty of live Irish traditional music and you can enjoy a couple of creamy pints of stout. I have heard that Courtney’s offers the best pint of stout in Killarney, but you would have to disprove that hearsay!

17th tee shot at Dooks Golf Club

Day 4

Make the trip down to Waterville Golf Links and after golf stop at Dooley restaurant in Waterville for some fine food before the homeward bound trip back to Killarney.

Day 5

Check out of your Hotel and drive North West for Ballybunion Old Course. This is a walking only golf course and for a treat, perhaps you might consider hiring a caddy! The caddy experience can be interesting and I am quite sure that a caddy will add to your dads Ballybunion experience. Trust me, it is worth it, it’s fun and the caddy stories, you may not even believe your ears. But I must warn you, do not believe everything you hear from Mr or Mrs Caddy!

Later that day drive up to Bunratty and check into a hotel or local B&B. Bunratty is located very close to Shannon Airport and it’s less than a ten minute drive to the Airport. We would recommend dining at either PJ Clarkes, The Creamery, Gallaghers Fish Restaurant or Durty Nellys before departing the next morning.

Day 6

Depart from Shannon airport.

Concierge Golf notes:

That trip based on two people, rental car, accommodation and golf tee times can be priced from €1,300 to €2,100 per person.

If you do not like the golf courses or the area I have suggested, you can always switch with Tralee G.C or head up to the East, the North and or the North West of Ireland . You can also knock a few more bucks off the tee times by taking advantage of booking early bird rates and twilight rates instead of premium tee times.

Trump Doonbeg

The following itinerary is based in 5* hotels and recommending all the top links courses in Ireland to play.

Day 1 Fly into Shannon Airport and play golf at Lahinch Golf Club

The car ride from Shannon airport to Lahinch is approx 35 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. The beauty with this itinerary is that you and your dad would be picked up by a chauffeured driven luxury car and transfer to Lahinch Golf Club. I am going to leave out playing golf at Trump for 2015/2016 as they are 18 new greens almost completed at Trump Doonbeg and the green are running way too slow for 2015, the greens should be running normally for 2017. Therefore I recommend playing Lahinch Golf Club for your first round.

Should you require, you can spend some time on the range warming up your golf swings before you tee off with a PGA Professional. If you wish, you can request one of our PGA Golf Pros to play with you for the duration of your trip and everyone can benefit from his advices when you require golf instruction. That night you could spend the night at Moy House or at Trump Doonbeg. Should you stay at Moy House, I would recommend dining at the house. If you prefer to stay at Trump Doonbeg, I would suggest for you to dine at Morrisseys Sea food bar and restaurant in Doonbeg village.

Tralee Golf Club Helicopter Golf with Concierge Golf

Travelling by helicopter

Day 2 – Ballybunion Old Course

Drive across the Killimer car ferry to Ballybunion and play the Old Course at Ballybunion with caddies (each day we strongly recommend taking caddies). After golf that day head south to the 5* Europe Hotel in Killarney. That evening I would suggest a nice meal at Gabys in Killarney and a walk around the town.

Note for golfers playing golf at Ballybunion this April/May/June 2016; All 18 greens on the Old Course at Ballybunion are are being completely renovated during the Autumn/Winter of 2015. Please check the greens conditions with Ballybunion golf club or your golf tour operator before you pay a deposit.

Day 3- Waterville Golf Links

Play Waterville Links, but firstly warm up your golf swing on the driving range and enjoy the view of the Macgillycuddy Reeks dominating the landscape. Take the opportunity to practice and receive golf instruction from the local PGA Professional before playing golf. Then after golf, I would recommend eating locally at Dooley Restaurant in Waterville before departing back to Killarney.

Day 4 – Tralee Golf Club

Tee the balls up and play golf at Tralee Golf Club. Probably Tralee Golf Club is the 3rd most scenic golf course in Ireland behind Old Head Golf Links and Royal County Down. Following the round of golf, I recommend enjoying some pub grub at CPs sports bar in Killarney. The burger is very filling and they have their own special recipes for Traditional Irish Stew and Shepard’s Pie that is worth a dinner or two… If you did not know, Tralee Golf Club is a links course and is an Arnold Palmer designed golf course.

If you would like to relax further before dinner I would suggest a massages at the EPSA Spa at the Europe Hotel. Perhaps after reviewing the ESPA menu you could enjoy a different treatment from their fantastic list of treatments and your dad might like to enjoy a treatment every day!

Playing the 4th hole at Old Head Golf Links

Day 5 – Old Head Golf Links

The final leg of this journey will take to you to the Old Head Golf Links. This is possibly one the most spectacular golf courses to play and view in Ireland. 18 holes on a land head with cliff drops ranging from 200 ft to 550 ft.

That evening spend your final night at the Old Head Golf Links in their luxurious executive suits. Dinner is served at the main restaurant or at the bar and there is a cigar smoking room attached to the bar. This could be the right place for you to smoke a cigar, enjoy a relaxing drink and talk about the great golf you just played that week. Or you could swing into Kinsale and enjoy the Irish Pub scene for one more night before departing the next morning.

Restaurant 1826, Adare, Ireland

Day 6

Enjoy a wonderful breakfast at Old Head and take a Helicopter transfer to Shannon Airport to fly home.

Concierge Golf’s notes:

Flying by Helicopters takes so much time off going from course to hotel, its minutes rather than a few hours in a car. You can even switch the vacation to Dublin, or Belfast to play Royal County Down and Royal Portrush. The decisions on where to play are yours and Concierge Golf can customise the vacation to suit your needs.

The price for this trip can vary from €3,900 to €6,200 per person depending on the type of accommodation and transport that you prefer.

I hope I have supplied you with a few ideas for your next father and son’s golf vacation to Ireland. If you have any questions on how to book a Father and son’s golf trip to Ireland please do not hesitate to contact Concierge Golf at [email protected] and please ask for John.

Basic Airline Information flying from the US & Canada

Airports Carriers

Newark United

Boston Aerlingus & Norwegian Airlines (New from Boston to Cork)

New York JFK Delta & Aerlingus

Atlanta Delta

Toronto Air transat/Aerlingus/WestJet/Air Canada Rouge

Philadelphia US Airways

San-Francisco Aerlingus

London Heathrow Aerlingus/British Airways

London Stansted Ryanair

London Gatwick Ryanair