x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
Southwest Ireland golf-trip planning guide: Best places to play, stay, eat
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf

InsideGOLF: +$140 value for $39.99

Join Today
Travel

Southwest Ireland golf-trip planning guide: Best places to play, stay, eat

By: Josh Sens
  • Follow on Twitter
March 17, 2025
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
old head golf links ireland

Old Head Golf Links is a must-play on the Southwest Ireland rota.

David Cannon/Getty Images

The luck of the Irish?

It sure seemed that way this week as Rory McIlroy celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by recording his second Players Championship title.

Meanwhile, far from the grounds of TPC Sawgrass, there was plenty of good fortune to go around. It extended to an episode of the Destination GOLF podcast, where I lucked into a chat with my co-host, Simon Holt, about the glories of golf on the Emerald Isle. 

At roughly the size of South Carolina, Ireland punches well above its weight in the game. Great courses can be found in every corner of the country. To get the most out of trip, though, Holt recommends focusing on a region, which limits travel between tee times and gives you ample opportunity to soak up the experience on and off the course.

In this conversation, we trained our attention on the Southwest, following Holt’s suggestions for best places to play — and top spots to sleep and eat — on a regional getaway. Here’s a distillation of what we discussed for a dream golf trip to Southwest Ireland.

How to fly to Southwest Ireland

The choice pretty much boils down to two commercial airports: Shannon and Dublin. While Shannon is closer to your target courses (it’s about an hour’s drive to your first tee time, compared to roughly three hours from Dublin), Dublin welcomes more nonstop flights from the U.S. As with a lot of travel, the calculus revolves around cost and convenience. Not all travelers prioritize these factors in the same way. Price out the options, and make your decision accordingly. 

Getting around Southwest Ireland

What’s true in golf applies to travel within Ireland. Distances can be deceiving. Given narrow, winding roads and the vicissitudes of weather, drives can take longer than they appear on the map. For golfers unconcerned with costs (and unbothered by the fact that not all local golfers look kindly on whirly birds touching down near the first tee), helicopters are a popular option. But if you’re sticking with ground transport, Holt recommends hiring a driver, which guarantees smooth travel while giving you the freedom to enjoy a pint or two after your round.

The best golf courses in Southwest Ireland

Rates are approximate after conversion.

Trump International Golf Club – Doonbeg Resort ($465-575)

There’s no ignoring the polarizing elephant in the room. But setting politics aside, Holt says that Doonbeg makes a pleasing and pragmatic first stop at the gateway to the region. The amenities here are primo, and the Greg Norman design is a kind of palate-teaser to the more classical links that await.

Lahinch Golf Club ($410)

Don’t be misled by the modern-looking clubhouse. Designed by Alister Mackenzie and a fixture on GOLF’s ranking of Top 100 Courses in the World, Lahinch is throwback golf in the best sense of the word, a pure links replete with formal challenges, charming quirks (behold the crisscrossing fairways) and compelling templates holes like the 5th, the Dell, an iconic par 3 that plays blind over a towering dune.

Adare Manor ($550)

When you picture golf in Ireland, a parkland design by Tom Fazio is probably not the first course that comes to mind. But Holt considers Adare Manor a must-play for both the quality of the architecture and the impeccability of the conditions, which are widely regarded as the finest in the country. Given the five-star accommodations, Holt says the property is a must-stay, too. Availability can be another matter. Starting in August, Adare Manor will start placing limits on resort play as it begins preparations to host the 2027 Ryder Cup.

Ballybunion Old ($440)

Wedged between huge dunes and the Atlantic, this grand links was heralded by the famed golf writer Herbert Warren Wind as “nothing less than the finest seaside course I have ever seen.” Five-time Open Champion Tom Watson probably wouldn’t quibble. He described Ballybunion as “one of the best and most beautiful tests of links golf anywhere.” That test begins with a mid-length par-4 guarded by a cemetery on the right. You won’t forget the graveyard. And yet, Holt says, it’s at the 6th hole, as they layout curls through a heaving coastal dune scape, that Ballybunion really starts to come to life.

Tralee ($410)

Design credit here goes to the King, and though some Tralee members have been known to question how much work Arnold Palmer really put into the place, there’s no denying the regal results. The course starts scenically enough, with a front side stitched beside the sea. But the back is where the drama becomes heart-pounding, with heroic carries and exhilarating holes cut along the bluffs with the Atlantic crashing all around.

Old Head ($520)

It’s not often that you can stand on a tee box and gaze down at seagulls circling below. But so it goes at Old Head, a course that must be seen to be believed (if you haven’t played it, you’ve probably gawked photos of it), set on a peninsula that points its craggy finger into the Atlantic, with holes cut hard along steep bluffs that plunge some 300 feet to the waves.

Waterville ($385-410)

A drive along the Ring of Kerry, Ireland’s mountains-meet-sea counter to California’s Big Sur, takes you to the southwest tip of the country to a club that was born in the late 1800s and has since been tweaked by modern architects. Even with those recent touchups, the layout retains a classic look and feel, wild and rumpled on a seaside path that builds toward a truly rousing finish. Waterville could be the perfect culmination of your trip, but if you finish early and still have an itch to scratch, consider stopping as you backtrack on the Ring of Kerry for a round at Dooks, one of the oldest courses in the country and a sweet cap to a 36-hole day.

InsideGolf
Explore our all-new Course Finder

Golf courses near you? Search here!

Begin Browsing

Where to stay in Southwest Ireland

Early in your trip, Holt recommends bedding down at Adare Manor, where five-star appointments complement a pristinely kept parkland course that will host the 2027 Ryder Cup. As you move toward the southwest, Killarney is a storybook seaside town that understandably attracts its share of tourists. Lodging in Killarney isn’t hard to come by. But among Holt’s go too are the Killarney Park Hotel and the Europe Hotel & Resort, both centrally located with spot-on service and accommodations.

What to eat in Southwest Ireland

Among many Irish golf clubs there’s a quiet competition over which whips up the finest fish chowder. Holt awards high marks to the chowder at Tralee, served with crumbly brown bread. But his favorite example isn’t offered at a course. It’s a signature dish at Vaughans Anchor Inn, in Liscannor, just down the road from Lahinch.

As for other meals, Holt calls out to stops in Killarney: The Laurels Pub and Gaby’s Seafood. And in the town of Kinsale, en route to Old Head, don’t forgo a seafood feast at an aptly named eatery named Fishy Fishy.

To hear more about Southwest Ireland and its golf and non-golf points of interest, you can listen to the entire podcast episode on the region above. Listen and subscribe to Destination GOLF wherever you get your podcasts: APPLE | SPOTIFY | IHEART | AMAZON

Latest In Travel

2 days ago

Pinehurst Resort has another new course in the works. Here's what we know

6 days ago

Seaside swings: Exploring golf (and views) in the Dominican Republic

6 days ago

His Rory McIlroy biography was finished. Then McIlroy won the Masters

7 days ago

How to defend courses against the longest bombers? This architect has ideas

Josh Sens

Golf.com Editor

A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.

  • Author Twitter Account

Related Articles

Travel
the karoo from above

Ben Cowan-Dewar riffs on Cabot's latest grand opening, golf travel and more

By: Josh Sens
Courses
Prestwick Golf Club 15th hole

After 7 weeks of European golf, this hole stands above the rest

By: Sean Zak
Travel
ballybunion in ireland

Planning a golf trip to Ireland? Here are 5 regions you need to visit

By: Josh Sens
Travel

The 6 best golf courses in Ireland | GOLF Top 100 Courses in the World

By: Jessica Marksbury
Travel
the 12th hole at sunningdale old

Dream 18: The ultimate routing of our Top 100 Courses in the UK and Ireland ranking

By: Ran Morrissett
Travel
Carnoustie

The best golf courses in Scotland | 2022 ranking

By: Tyler Zimmer
Travel
sunningdale old

The best golf courses in England | 2022 ranking

By: Tyler Zimmer
Travel

The best golf courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland | 2022 ranking

By: Tyler Zimmer
Travel
The opening hole at Machrihanish in Scotland.

Want to play the best courses in the UK and Ireland? Options are endless

By: GOLF’s Course Ratings Panel & Ran Morrissett, Architecture Editor
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

Go to mobile version