DESTINATIONGOLF. TRAVEL DESTINATION GOLF GLOBAL GUIDE AUTUMN 2026
But the fundamentals haven’ t changed at all. People still want great golf, good accommodation, reliable transport and, above everything else, someone they can trust.
And I think that’ s one of the reasons North & West Coast Links has lasted. We’ ve always understood that we’ re not just selling a tee time. We’ re helping create a trip that people may have been dreaming about for years. We always encourage people to look at our Google Reviews to get a taste for what we offer, and how we manage it.
There’ s also a greater willingness to mix things up. We’ ve put together trips involving golf and fishing, whiskey, food, sightseeing and other experiences. The idea that you have to play golf from breakfast until dinner every day is slowly disappearing.
Although I suspect there are still a few groups out there who would happily play 36 holes a day, but that can be exhausting. We encourage groups to play 18 or 27 max, and enjoy a day off in between the rounds.
DG: What do you think has been the biggest driver behind the company’ s growth? Is it the golf, the service, the relationships, or a combination of all three? DW: It’ s definitely a combination, but if I had to pick one, I’ d say relationships.
The golf gets people here, but the people, the hospitality and the 19th Hole‘ craic’ is what brings them back, year after year.. We’ re incredibly fortunate to have courses like Royal Portrush, Portstewart, Ballyliffin, Carne, Enniscrone, Connemara and so many others on our doorstep.
DG: Let’ s talk about Ireland. Everyone knows about the famous names, but what do you think Ireland offers that golfers simply can’ t replicate elsewhere? DW: It’ s the combination. Ireland has some of the best links courses in the world, but you also have the landscape, the history, the people, the pubs, the food and that very particular Irish welcome.
You can play a world-class links course in the morning, drive through scenery that looks like it belongs in a film, stop in a little village for lunch, have a pint beside a fire that evening and genuinely feel like you’ ve experienced something rather than simply played another round of golf.
And there’ s an authenticity to it. You don’ t have to manufacture the experience. It’ s just there. That’ s very difficult to replicate.
But great golf is available in lots of parts of the world. What makes a golf trip really work is the people behind it— the relationships with the clubs, hotels, drivers, restaurants and, most importantly, the customers.
A golfer might book one trip with you because of a particular course. They come back because of the experience. And hopefully they bring eight of their mates with them the next time! That repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendation is incredibly important to us.
DG: You deal with golfers from all over the world. Have you noticed a change in what today’ s travelling golfer is looking for compared with ten or fifteen years ago? DW: Absolutely. The modern golfer is much more informed and, in many ways, much more demanding, although I mean that in a positive way they know what they want!
They’ re looking for more than just four or five rounds of golf. They want a genuine experience. They want great hotels, good food, interesting places to visit and time to actually enjoy where they are.
We’ re also seeing much more demand for tailor-made trips and smaller groups rather than simply taking a standard package off the shelf.
DG: There’ s something very raw and unpredictable about Irish links golf. Is that part of the attraction, that you never quite know what the course or the weather is going to throw at you? DW: Absolutely— although I think that answer depends on whether you’ re playing or standing in the clubhouse! That unpredictability is a huge part of the attraction. Links golf is supposed to be played in the elements. Wind changes everything, the ground changes, the weather changes and suddenly the shot you hit yesterday is completely different today. You can stand on a tee looking at a hole you thought you understood and then the Atlantic decides it has other plans.
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