pass on Old Head Tralee 2 rounds Ballybunion 2 rounds Waterville a round at dooks and Kallarney you';ll have a great time...Play each of the twice the same day it's a long day but you have pleanty of light in May / June you can make a day of it with those 2 courses. Ole Head has breath taking sights, But if you would not look at them it's a simple course to score on. But I am guessing once you see their web site you are hooked.....

We went in June 2008 for a week. Even the Irish couldn't believe we had a week withOUT rain; well the last 3 holes of the last day at Lahinch it started drizzling. We played Old Head, Tralee, Waterville, Doonbeg, both Ballybunions (you can skip the new one; even our caddie called it The Monster and he won't play it) and Lahinch. I've heard all the horror stories about Irish links golf and weather but it couldn't have been better. Old Head on a calm 70+ degree blue sky day. It's hard to pick a favorite but staying on the south and southwestern coasts we couldn't have done better. One thing I would like to try next trip is save a few bucks and stay at one of the many Bed & Breakfasts along the way. Literally hundreds of them. Most advertised "En Suite" (private bathroom).

I also read A Course Called Ireland and really enjoyed it.

Tralee........ I found Heaven walking those fairways.....How about number 11 on the back The 500+ par 5 all up hill..........as I hit my drive 210-230 than crushed a 3 hybrid maybe 210 I handed him the club and he simply said you'll be needing that again Lad.....
Priceless..........

I heartily recommend the B&B route. When I went in June, I split my time between hotels and B&Bs. If you do your research, you'll find plenty of B&Bs that aren't just cheaper than the hotels, they tend to be as good as many of the hotels other than the luxury types. In addition, the B&Bs are just that--the breakfast is always included in the price quoted. At most hotels, the full Irish breakfast is available but many times at a cost of at least 10 euros. The breakfasts are so good and so filling that they are worth having--you can either skip lunch and play more golf or stop in the clubhouse for soup and a wedge of bread.

I went to Ireland in late July 09.  Played Doonbeg, Dooks, Waterville, and Killarney Killeen.  I liked them all, thought Doonbeg a bit overpriced.  Rained at some point on every round but never stopped us.  Might have hit 70 one day, not shorts weather but also not bitter cold.  Scenery at the ocean side courses is not to be believed.  Take a caddie at least once, very neat experience and might pay for itself if you spray the ball into the gorse.  Irish people are great and the Guinness is nothing like it is here, just out of this world.  The simpler the food the better I found it.  I echo an earlier comment about driving.  Out of town and the roads are very narrow and winding.  We had a driver and it was great, got to enjoy the countryside.  Enjoy!

We plan on going the first or second week in June. Playing Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, and Killarney Kileen- Tralee has a deal play twice not even same day 180 Euros. I have found several houses for lodging advertised as self catering- take care of yourself for 3 bedrooms for under 800 euros for the week. We'll stay in Killarney and venture out from there. Starting to save golf balls and looking for a good rainsuit. Did you guys book your tee times yourself, also di you rent a car or travel on a tour?

I always book tee times myself, but I've gone either by myself or with only one other person. I like the flexibility of making my own schedule when traveling with such a small group. I think if I had more than a foursome,though, I'd be tempted to use a service. For the same reason, I've always taken a car. If I had more than six players, I'd probably use a touring service because you're either going to take several larger sedans or SUVs, and it's probably more fun to get everybody together in a bus after a round or in your trips between towns. If you're going to use one place as a home base, the self catering option is great.

The way it looks now we are leaving June 6 or 7 if any of you out there see any flights for good prices- from DC area to Shannon, Ireland let me know, right now the price is about 800. I have found a service that will get tee times, accommadations and car rental what seems to be a good price- after the trip if they did a good job I'll post the information.

A reminder to you about Lahinch, the do operate an open singles every thursday which lets you play in an open competition for a reduced green fee. This year it was 60euro. It is worth condidering. Dromoland Castle a very good parkland course has an open singles on a Friday for 35 euro, normal green fee 65. It is only 10 minutes from Shannon Airport and 35 minutes from Lahinch. Doonbeg is a 20 minute drive from Lahinch but nearly impossible to get any reduction in the green fee. If your are playing any of the links course it is definitely worth hiring a caddie. You tend to have a lot of blind shots and yardages are nearly irrelevant on a links course. I only live 20 minutes from Lahinch and am a member, if you want any further help just ask.

If you play Lahinch go to the Vaughin Lodge and have a drink very nice place great pictures on the walls. If I recall Lahinch is the surfing captial ?

What's the deal with carts over there? I understand Ballybunion Old course non are allowed- we are playing Tralee, Kileen, Dooks and Old and Cashen- are those courses walkable woithout too much difficulty?

Walk my friend that's how the game is played. It's not all that hard to walk but I'd let a caddy take my bag. You can get pull carts for about 10 euro's I strongly suggest it. I also strongly suggest caddy.........

Our trip is coming together. We're going the first week of July. Course list: Lahinch, Ballybunion, Tralee, Waterville, Old Head, European Club, Portmarnock, Royal Co Down. It will be a few more weeks before the courses start accepting tee times for next summer so we haven't firmed anything up yet. Can't get here soon enough!

I plan to walk every hole( inspired by Coyne's book)-even 36 in a day at Ballybunion- but  my friend going along has 2 artifical hips and a nack for drinking too many pints the night before- it's his *** I'm lookin' out for. I'm thinking book one cart and one caddy for each round we somehow we will get through it.

Let the course know in advance so they have cart for you.

Who are you booking your tee times through- directly to the courses??

This isn't necessarily the case at all the courses, but I know some of the Irish and Scottish links courses require a medical certificate to get a cart. In this country, the only place I know that duplicates that requirement is the Bandon Resort in Oregon. Where this is a requirement, I can guarantee you that "he's got artificial hips and is a little tipsy" isn't going to get it done.

In addition, I'd check on cart (or buggy as they call it over there) availability in advance. Some courses simply do not have carts and the ones that do, generally don't have that many--less than a dozen in most cases and probably less than a half-dozen at a good number. You may want to reserve a cart in advance.

Walking is absolutely the game over there--at least at the links courses. The inland courses, as I understand, are more likely to have carts.

He does have a handicap certificate from a doctor- whcih I told him to be sure to bring along.

Have you book a flight yet- we are still looking for flights early June from DC area. Prices are now 800-900

If your $800 includes all the fuel surcharges and taxes, that's not a bad price. I paid about $900 to fly from Richmond, Virginia to Dublin in June. I mention the fuel surcharges and taxes because a lot of advertised prices do not include them. It's always wise to make sure you've got the final price so that you can compare apples to apples.

I've generally found that I get the best airfare prices about 6-10 weeks before a flight so in your case, I'd really get serious about booking around April 15 and try to book no later than May 15. Book when you see the first price drop during this time; it's very unlikely that the airlines will lower the floor on the price more than once during this window. And be ready to book immediately; I missed on a $750 fare because I needed to check with someone else before booking the fare. By the time I got an answer six hours later, that fare was gone for the dates we wanted to fly.

When I'm nine months out from a trip, I usually check the prices twice a month to get a feel for the fare trend (although the Bing search engine also has a feature that tracks the recent history of the airfare for that route plus a price trend predictor that a lot of people like). I like checking prices on kayak.com--they make it fairly easy to check various routing combinations.

You might want to check the website for Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline, for prices. Some of the travel websites, such as Travelocity, Kayak, and Expedia, include Aer Lingus in their fare results, but I think the Aer Lingus website seems to have more information on fares. In addition, I've had generally positive experiences flying on Aer Lingus, unlike many of the domestic airlines.