Destination Golf Ireland 2020 * | Page 4

Welcome Welcome to Destination Golf Ireland 2020 On behalf of the team at Destination Golf, it is my pleasure to present the 2020 Edition of our Top150 course guide to Ireland. Our goal is to promote Ireland as a top quality golf destination by showcasing some of its premier courses. Our 152-pages will take you on a golf journey around Ireland, highlighting our favourites with direct website links for bookings in 2020. We’ve all heard the phrase that “content is key”, so this edition is packed full of stunning golf imagery and informative text from renowned Irish golf journalist and author Kevin Markham. To spice things up a bit, Kevin also ranks his Top30 par threes in Ireland. The Open, which returned to Northern Ireland in 2019 for the first time in 68 years delivered a total economic impact of around £100 million with an estimated £37.3 million in destination marketing. The Island of Ireland is no stranger to such large scale events. Over the years, Ireland has built a reputation for being able to stage global golf events like the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, Curtis Cup and it is a regular destination for European Tour events. It has produced Golfing Legends, Ryder Cup Heroes and Major Winners. Take a quick glance at the list of golf course designers here and you’ll find designs from famous names like Nicklaus, Palmer, Norman, Faldo, Montgomerie, O’Meara, Langer, O’Connor Jnr, McGinley and more. Golfers can tee it up on courses surrounded by meadows and forests, around lakes and loughs, up high on mountain tops, on the edge of terrifying cliffs, or through giant dunes along the coastline. Ireland offers a special charm and unique experiences. After your game you’ll find a lively 19th hole and the world renowned Irish “Craic”. Enjoy Ireland and all the journeys of discovery that it will take you on. Dermot Synnott CEO & Founder Destination Golf Media Ltd. YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO GOLFING IN SPAIN 2019/2020 YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO GOLFING IN SCOTLAND 2018 YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO GOLFING IN PORTUGAL 2019/20 YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO GOLFING IN EUROPE 2019 YOUR ULTIMATE GLOBAL GOLF GUIDE 2020 SPAIN’S TOP 100 EUROPE’S TOP 100 MOST MEMORABLE GOLF COURSES TO PLAY IN STAY & PLAY RESORTS AUSTRALIA 2020 2019 & 2020 YOUR ULTIMATE GLOBAL GOLF GUIDE 2020 YOUR ULTIMATE GLOBAL GOLF GUIDE 2019 ASIA MOST MEMORABLE GOLF COURSES TO PLAY IN ASIA 2019 2019/20 2018 SCOTLAND’S TOP 100 AUSTRALIA SCOTLAND IRELAND Destination Golf Media Ltd [email protected] www.destinationgolf.travel PUBLISHER: Dermot Synnott EDITOR: Kevin Markham DIGITAL EDITOR: Karl Doyle COMMERCIAL MANAGER: Dane Galligan DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER: Kathy Synnott CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kris Byers ACCOUNTS: Darren Maguire CONTRIBUTORS: Kevin Markham, Andrew Marshall, Paul Marshall, Mark Behan, Larry Lambrecht, Nick Bradshaw, Failte Ireland, Tourism Ireland. FRONT COVER Royal Dublin Golf Course INTERNATIONAL EDITORS/AMBASSADORS Kevin Markham (Ireland) Ru Macdonald (Scotland) Peter Ellegard (UK) David Doyle (Spain) Albert Ferrer (Spain) Francisco Pinto Leite (Portugal) Maarten Hageman (Netherlands) Gene Oberto (Sweden) Gianni Attanasio (Italy) Dewi Merckx (Belgium) Pall Sveinsson (Iceland) Benjamin Oosterveer (Morocco) Tim Cotroneo (USA) Ronald Montesano (USA) Wayne Morden (Canada) Paul Chan (China) Declan Crowe (Malaysia) Glenn Rogers (Australia) Zenta Thomas (Asia) John Cockayne (South Africa) Chris Haill (Middle East) Copyright 2020 Destination Golf Media Ltd. All rights reserved. While every effort has been made to maintain integrity and accuracy, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors, inconvenience or legal proceedings of any kind arising from information, content, advice or advertisements contained herein. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form 2 or by any means electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise with prior permission of the publishers.