Ireland Trip Planner

Some things aren't best left to luck. Let our editorial team help plan your next golf trip to Ireland.

Ireland's Lahinch ranks among Matt Adams' top golf courses.
Ireland travel content
Tips on a golf trip to Northern Ireland
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4:07
Tips on a golf trip to Northern Ireland
Matt Ginella considers Northern Ireland one of the best links golf trips you can experience. He shares his tips for the perfect Northern Ireland golf trip, from courses to play to off-course excursions and sight-seeing.
Druids Glen Golf Course - 12th
Articles
3 Min Read
Paradise found: Ireland's best parkland playgrounds
Links golf steals the show for many foreigners golfers when they visit Ireland, but it's probably wise to sprinkle in a parkland course or two just to mix things up a bit. Some of Ireland's best parkland playgrounds are connected to lavish resorts that you just don't want to miss. Jason Scott Deegan offers up 10 parkland golf courses to consider on your next trip to the Emerald Isle.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Royal Portrush GC
Articles
1 Min Read
The Top 5 courses in Northern Ireland
Here are the courses that Golf Channel travel expert Matt Ginella says are the five best in Rory McIlroy's home country of Northern Ireland.
Ginella Headshot New
By Matt Ginella , Brandon Tucker
Lahinch Golf Club - hole 7
Articlesgolfpass
7 Min Read
Ultimate Itinerary: Southwest Ireland
Of all the great golf destinations in Ireland, the southwest stands supreme
By Golf Odyssey
Royal County Down golf course - hole 9
Articles
3 Min Read
Ireland's southwest links vs. Northern Ireland: Which golf tour is right for your group?
So your golf group has finally decided on Ireland for your golf trip next year. Now the real fun begins, deciding between Ireland's top two pockets of links courses: southwest Ireland or Northern Ireland. Both region's top five are as good as you'll find in the British Isles and Ireland. I've done the tour of both now in the last couple years, and the golf experience for the visitor in each is spectacular but a bit different for a variety of reasons.
By Brandon Tucker
Waterville Golf Links - 18th hole
Articles
1 Min Read
Ginella on where you should you play golf in Ireland
Golf Channel travel expert Matt Ginella didn't hesitate when a viewer inquired about where to play golf in Ireland. He directed golfers to the famed southwest coast, home to many of the prized Irish links.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Golf Advisor Round Trip: Ireland
Video
22:36
Golf Advisor Round Trip: Ireland
Matt Ginella ventures across the pond to explore the culture of golf in Ireland. After discussing the updated Adare Manor Golf Club with Andy McMahon, Ginella heads to town to listen to some traditional Irish music at Aunty Lena’s. The tour of Ireland continues with a visit to Waterville Golf Links and Ardglass Golf Club. Amidst teeing it up along the coast, Ginella makes time to try Bushmills Whiskey and visit Lahinch Golf Club, home of the 2019 Irish Open. The round trip ends with a visit to Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland to play a round with John Bamber. (Originally aired 2018)
Lahinch Golf Club - Old Course
Articles
3 Min Read
Travel-planning tips for your Ireland golf vacation
If the British Open didn't get your motor running for a golf vacation, maybe the Irish Open will. There is still plenty of time left this summer to plan a golf trip to Ireland. If you looked at Ireland golf vacation prices a few years ago, it's time to look again. Here are some tips to help get your trip started.
By Brandon Tucker
Old Course at Ballybunion Golf Club - hole 8
Articles
4 Min Read
Ten things you should know about golf in Ireland
The images of Irish golf are unmistakable: towering dunes, wispy grasses and flags snapping in the wind. To those who have never set foot on a true links course, the game can look entirely different in Ireland. Brandon Tucker offers up 10 things you should know to help you make a plan for a golf vacation to Ireland's west side.
By Brandon Tucker
County Sligo Golf Club
Articles
4 Min Read
Discover rugged, beautiful golf links in Northwest Ireland
Northwest Ireland -- a beautiful and unspoiled region of Ireland -- is home to one-sixth of the world's links courses. They're spread out like outposts along the coast, often with an hour or more of driving between them. Golfers heading to Ireland have always hit the Southwest first, mainly to check off top-100 courses. That mindset is slowly changing. What the Northwest lacks in ranking star-power, it makes up for in value and charm.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links - hole 5
Articles
4 Min Read
The 10 best golf courses in Ireland
Jason Scott Deegan ranks his 10 favorite courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Redcastle Oceanfront, Golf & Spa Hotel
Articles
3 Min Read
Rest your head in these comfy beds during a golf tour of northwest Ireland
There are so many different types of accommodations in northwest Ireland -- from a luxury lodge to a hip surfer's retreat, a traditional golf resort and even a chic modern European hotel -- that it's difficult to know where to stay on your golf trip. Jason Scott Deegan offers some suggestions.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Old Head Golf Links - 18th green
Articles
4 Min Read
A Saint Patrick's Day toast to the Emerald Isle!
I'm not Irish, but I've been to the Emerald Isle so many times it feels like home. Here then are my 10 favorite places in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Portmarnock Golf Links - hole 1 cemetery
Articles
4 Min Read
Top 10 tips for first-time golfers traveling to Ireland
Jason Scott Deegan offers 10 tips for first-timers looking to make their Irish golf vacation a success.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Dromoland Castle in Ireland
Articles
5 Min Read
Fantasy golf in southwest Ireland: 10 days, nine rounds, one premier vacation destination
The links golf is so good in the Emerald Isle it's hard to pick a favorite area. But we made Jason Scott Deegan pick one, and he chose southwest Ireland. Go inside to find out why and see his 10-day dream itinerary. It will make you want to start planning your own Irish golf getaway -- today.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Ardglass Golf Club - hole 1
Articles
4 Min Read
Scotland & Ireland golf: Tour operator or self-plan?
The Open is over and now you want to play links golf overseas. But just how should you go about it?
By Brandon Tucker
Dooks 6
Articles
10 Min Read
Trip dispatch: the first of (hopefully) many trips to Southwest Ireland
I recently had the chance to spend a few days in Ireland’s storied southwest, a trip that introduced me not just to a sampling of splendid golf, but to a whole new perspective on the game. I didn’t think I could love golf any more than I already did, but Ireland deepened my love.
Tim Gavrich
By Tim Gavrich
Royal County Down Championship Links - no. 1
Articles
12 Min Read
Trip Dispatch: The joys of links golf in Northern Ireland
If you're looking for a week of great links golf, you can't go wrong in Northern Ireland and NW Ireland, Mike Bailey writes after a recent trip across the pond.
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By Mike Bailey
More Ireland travel content
Golf travel to Ireland in 2021: What you need to know
Articles
1 Min Read
2021 golf travel to United Kingdom & Ireland: What you need to know
How has the coronavirus impacted golf travel to the isles? We checked in with a top tour operator for travel tips for 2021.
By Brandon Tucker
Adare Manor Golf Club - hole 18
Articles
8 Min Read
The best golf resorts in Ireland
The Emerald Isle might be known for its links, but there's plenty of special golf resorts, too.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Harvey Costs Seen Rising To $42 Billion As Flooding Intensifies
Articles
3 Min Read
Golf's changing climate
An increase in extreme weather events is having an impact on golf courses all over the world, but there is no single way to adapt.
Bradley S. Klein
By Bradley S. Klein
Ballyliffin Glashedy
Articles
7 Min Read
Stray drives along the Wild Atlantic Way
The GolfChannel.com staff shares highlights from their summer trip to Ireland's northwest coast.
By Jay Coffin, Director GolfChannel.com
Royal County Down golf course
Articles
3 Min Read
Ask Golf Advisor: How does my USGA handicap travel abroad?
Golf Advisor reader 'Frank' wrote to us and asked: "My US handicap index is 15, and my home course handicap is 17. What handicap do I use when playing in Ireland, where they do not have course ratings?"
By Golf Advisor Staff
Golf Advisor Round Trip: Ginella gets a history lesson at Lahinch
Articles
4 Min Read
Where Lahinch ranks among Ireland's greatest golf courses
Matt Ginella's Top 10 Ireland and Northern Ireland courses you should play on your golf tour.
Ginella Headshot New
By Matt Ginella
hard hat protection
Articles
5 Min Read
Will golf be the next sport to require helmets?
Can you imagine wearing a helmet to play golf? That could be in your future, according to Protecting.co.uk, a British-based company that provides heath and safety advice and legal consultation.
Bill Irwin staff
By Bill Irwin
Golf Cemetery
Articles
10 Min Read
Where golf meets the grave
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. - My golf ball has found many a dire lie.
By Jason Scott Deegan , Golf Advisor Staff
Carnoustie - Tiger Woods
Articles
2 Min Read
Sunny summer browns out links courses
As evidenced by pictures from the Aberdeen Asset Managment Scottish Open and Open Championship, a dry summer overseas has resulted in browned out links, with driving rolling longer than ever.
By Jason Scott Deegan
Dunluce at Royal Portrush - 2012 Irish Open
Articles
4 Min Read
Some of the world's great links have hosted the Irish Open
The Irish Open doesn't get the same respect as a Scottish Open, let alone a U.S. Open. But ponder this question for a moment: Would you rather play the public courses that have hosted a U.S. Open or an Irish Open?
By Jason Scott Deegan
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