Welcome
Welcome to the first edition
of Destination Golf Ireland
We have been looking at producing this guide for a while
and now is the perfect time. Why, you might ask? It is not just
because Irish golf is making a strong recovery, nor is it down
to the number of golfing tourists returning to pre-recession
levels… no, we simply believe that golfers looking to play on
the fairways of this glorious island needed a better insight into
Ireland’s courses. We wanted to outline to you where to find
the top golfing experiences and include imagery that whets the
appetite.
In this guide we have identified 150 such courses. They are
divided into five regions and rated across three levels: Platinum,
Gold and Silver. But other than that we do not attempt to rank
them. Doing so is fraught with difficulty and, of course, debate.
Some of you might notice that Adare is not included. This is
due to the course being closed for renovations in 2016.
We hope that the following pages inspire you to play many of
these courses. Ireland is a beautiful place to visit and spend
time, to learn about history and culture, but, at the end of the
day, I suspect you’re reading this because golf is at the top of
your agenda. We’re with you 100%. We are lucky enough to
possess many of the world’s best courses (we have a third of
the world’s links)… but “best” isn’t always about top quality
design, perfectly manicured fairways or fancy clubhouses: the
best golf experiences come from having fun and discovering
courses that make you want to go straight back to the 1st tee
after walking off the 18th. So please, do not ignore the absolute
gems that stretch right across the country. They give you a very
special flavour of Ireland.
Kevin Markham
Editor
Destination Golf Media Ltd.