Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Global Golf Post on Sept. 16, 2024
There is a moment, when night has turned to morning and the plane that started on the far side of the Atlantic the previous evening is descending into Dublin, when a glance out the window reaffirms why you’ve come to Ireland.
It’s the green. Parcels of land, divided by stone walls, each a slightly different shade of green from the other. It’s the sky. Even when it’s cloudy and painted with blue-gray scraps of clouds swept together by the wind, it seems almost impossibly wide. It’s the people, ruggedly proud of their ancient home that has managed to maintain its charm while adapting to a changing world. And it’s the golf, collectively as good as anywhere in the world. Famous and inconspicuous. Links and parkland. Heroic and humbling.
A journey to Ireland with golf clubs, whether along its southwestern edge where Ballybunion and Lahinch lie, along the Wild Atlantic Way at Donegal and Sligo or north from Dublin into what is called the Ancient East and on into Northern Ireland, is an experience that draws you in like a warm fire on a wet, cold night.
Having visited Ireland a handful of times, I found the thrill of returning endures. Arriving at the charming Grand Hotel in Malahide, a small seaside village a short drive north from the Dublin airport, the prospect of a week-long golf excursion with overnight stops in Belfast with its robust city life and Newcastle, which resembles a moviemaker’s version of a wee coastal village along the Irish Sea, brushes away the residue of a trans-Atlantic overnight flight.
If Old Head, Waterville, Doonbeg, Lahinch and Ballybunion are undeniable and familiar bucket-list visits on the southwestern side of the island, a run north from Dublin offers a similarly spectacular itinerary that is becoming increasingly popular with visitors. There is buzz that Portmarnock Golf Club near Dublin is in line to host a future Open Championship and, if infrastructure issues can be resolved, it seems likely to happen sooner rather than later, adding another classic links to the rota.
Next door is the Portmarnock Golf Resort which features the Jameson Links, crafted by Bernhard Langer when he wasn’t busy winning tournaments. It’s an ideal spot to get acclimated to the different demands of links golf, especially when the wind blows, which it generally does.
If you’re wondering about the name, it comes from the famous Irish whiskey-making family, many of whom are buried in a small cemetery to the right of the first fairway. It seems only proper to offer a toast – real or imagined – setting off for golf in a place known for its spirits – real or imagined.
A lesson in Irish sports culture was delivered on the first evening. A group of us gathered in the Grand Hotel’s Matt Ryan Bar (the rooms did not provide Sky Sports, but the bar area did) to watch the finishing holes of the Open Championship at Royal Troon. Instead, we found the bar full of patrons, all glued to the All-Ireland hurling championship. If you’re not familiar with hurling, it’s a cross between rugby, lacrosse, hockey, Aussie rules football and is rough enough to intimidate NFL linebackers. It was not until the match ended (congrats to County Clare on its championship) and the trophy had been lifted that golf returned to the screens, just in time to see Xander Schauffele finish off his victory. “We love our golf, but we love watching hurling more,” our server said.
County Louth Golf Club, also known as Baltray, is where Shane Lowry introduced himself on the world stage, winning the 2009 Irish Open as an amateur. Like Lowry, the course’s standing in the game has continued to grow. “County Louth is a great links,” Lowry said when the subject of our recent visit was raised.
It offers everything you want in links golf with a collection of brilliant holes that run through the dunes, the firm fairways framed by shin-high grass that waves in the breeze but is wispy enough to play from and rolling greens guarded by humps and bunkers. Retired doctor Conor O’Shea, a long-time member and accomplished player, paused early in our round to point at the waterway running from the River Boyne estuary to the sea. It was essentially opened by Captain William Bligh years after the infamous mutiny on the Bounty, which he captained, and offers clear passage to the Irish Sea.
The 12th, 13th and 14th holes may be the highlight at County Louth, running along the edge of the sea before turning back at the elevated 14th tee which reveals a short par-4 that can be as confounding as it is enticing. Take a moment atop the 14th tee to look behind you and there is Seapoint Golf Links, another fine layout. Its opening nine plays through a parkland setting before the second nine shows its links chops. The three closing holes at Seapoint are more than enough to get the post-round conversation started over a pint of Guinness or Rockshore lager.
As much as golfers like to discover or rediscover courses in Ireland, part of the pleasure is the places golf can lead one. Belfast and Northern Ireland are among those places. Crossing the border between Ireland, which is independent of the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland, which is a part of the U.K., isn’t much different from crossing the border that divides North and South Carolina. There are no checkpoints, and the most immediate difference is currency. Ireland uses the euro while Northern Ireland uses pound sterling. Otherwise, there are more similarities than differences.
For many, Belfast is familiar as the dangerous and often violent site of the “Troubles” that bloodied Northern Ireland for decades. When the Good Friday agreement was signed in 1998, it ended a conflict that divided people along religious and political lines. More than 25 years later, Belfast is a thriving city. There are still stark reminders of the Troubles – four miles of what was once a 26-mile fence dividing Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods still stands – but the vibe is inviting rather than imposing.
The city center features a mix of old and new. The shipbuilding industry remains important to Belfast more than a century after the Titanic was built there, and the $100 million Titanic Experience – the building’s exterior is scaled to the ship’s size – is a spectacular attraction that tells the ship’s story in captivating style. If you are in Belfast, don’t miss it.
The Grand Central Hotel is a modern lodging that offers sweeping views of the city and is ideally located, close to the pubs and restaurants in the busy Cathedral Quarter. Make sure to grab a pint in the Crown Liquor Saloon, which dates to the 1880s and still has many of the original fixtures, including small private rooms called snugs where ladies were allowed to imbibe when they felt so inclined more than a century ago.
Just outside Belfast is Holywood, the area where Rory McIlroy grew up and learned his golf. The Royal Belfast Golf Club is about three miles from Holywood Golf Club where McIlroy was based. RBGC is an original Harry Colt design that is situated along Belfast Lough on a hillside with…
