In this edition, Pioneer Golf CEO Bill Hogan outlines some timely information about booking your Ireland golf vacation.

Experienced golf travelers know that there are always reservation deadlines required to secure the top golf courses for their trip. In 2022 and 2023, this is more important than ever due to the pent-up demand for international travel once this pandemic subsides.

Ireland is no exception. The top golf courses in Ireland will start taking reservations in early April for the 2022 season. Therefore, it is imperative to start making plans now if you want to play the most famous links courses next summer.

ROYAL COUNTY DOWN

The two top-ranked courses in Northern Ireland are always the most in demand, and often will sell out over a year in advance. Therefore, if you want to add these to your itinerary, now is the time to contact Pioneer Golf so that we can provide you with a proposal and you can maximize your chances to play these “Royals”.

Many consider Royal County Down GC to be the best links course in the world. Currently ranked #6 in the GOLF Magazine Top 100 Courses in the World, the limited amount of visitor tee times at this exclusive club are always in high demand. By all means, plan ahead and build your trip around this course. The conditioning is always tremendous, and the high dunes along Dundrum Bay are always a steep challenge even to the best players. Old Tom Morris created this masterpiece back in 1889 when “County Down” came into existence.  The two nine-hole loops return to the clubhouse, with the “home” holes offering spectacular views of the Mountains of Mourne, the clubhouse, and the legendary Slieve Donard Hotel.

The Royal Portrush GC Dunluce course is ranked #13 in the GOLF Magazine World Top 100 and recently hosted the 2019 Open Championship won by Ireland’s Shane Lowry.  For me, Portrush is as good as it gets, and the rolling fairways and beautiful views are world class. It is not an easy course, especially when the wind is up, but walking these historic fairways with the Dunluce Castle ruins along the cliffs creates memories for a lifetime.
For years, people have asked me if I prefer Royal County Down over Royal Portrush, or vice-versa. Well, being a tad contrarian, for some reason I’ve always preferred Portrush over the higher-ranked County Down.  It’s not because of some “shot value” nonsense or any kind of analytical formulas, but rather it’s just that Portrush fits my eye better, and I have more fond memories of my experiences there. But either way, you can’t go wrong!
I’ve often told clients to save their shopping budget for their day at Portrush, because in my opinion, they have one of the best logos (and pro shops) in the world of golf.

When the Royal & Ancient GC selected Royal Portrush to host the 2019 Open, they decided to make some course adjustments and create some new holes. I asked myself: how in the world can they change such a masterpiece?  But when it was all said and done, the new holes greatly improved the layout, and the changes were universally acclaimed. In particular, the new 7^th hole is a par 5, playing almost 600 yards long. It fits into the valley landscape beautifully and is a masterful upgrade.

OTHER IMPORTANT IRISH COURSES

Many other famous Irish courses are opening their 2022 reservation “diaries” in April, and those early birds will get the worm!  Portmarnock, Royal Dublin, County Louth and others will take early bookings and travelers are again reminded to contact Pioneer Golf now to start making their plans and placing reservations.

In the other parts of Ireland, the top requested courses, such as Ballybunion, Lahinch, Old Head and Ballyliffin will also see demand spike in 2022. And Adare Manor, although not a links course, is perhaps the most luxurious golf resort in Europe (think Augusta, but open to the public) and will host The Ryder Cup in 2027. Personally, I could spend a week at Adare Manor and not even leave the grounds.  It’s really magical and the limited capacity means it fills up long in advance.