In September, Midlands Golfer magazine owner Ian Nicholson took his son Connor to the west coast of Ireland as guests of Club Choice Ireland for a 54-hole trip – here’s how they got on.
Many of you will have visited Ireland to play golf. We have only been twice, which is our loss as there are so many fantastic courses to play and of course it is only next door. I guess that a key part of it has been that whenever we have looked at trips we’ve tended to fly to warmer climes.
On the two times that we have visited Ireland we flew into Dublin, and on one trip stayed in the Dublin area as we did not have transport, and on the second we hired a car. It had never occurred to us to use a ferry via Holyhead and take our own car. I am no fan of flying – it is just a necessary evil that you have to face. Flying for a golf trip adds more complications, and cost. How many of you have ended up waiting forever for your clubs to appear, and that’s after having paid a fortune to get them there in the first place.
Since MG Editor Phil is a huge fan, and often talks about his road trips to Ireland we thought it was about time we gave it a go.
Whilst our friends at Club Choice offer tailor made golf trips to Ireland via flights and car hire, they specialise in self-drive trips so that is where we started. One of the beauties of using Club Choice is that they will tailor the trip to your requirements, rather than you having to fit into a set schedule.
We told them that we wanted a three-day trip, with three good courses, staying in one hotel for the two nights rather than switching each night. Within a few days they had come back to us with a proposed itinerary.
The itinerary they supplied covered everything. It detailed out which ferry we needed to get, and what courses we were playing, including the tee times/contact names and numbers etc, as well as the hotel details. We looked at it and it was clear all we would have to do is turn up and play!!
We could of course have gone back to them and changed some of the courses/tee times or hotel if we wanted to, but one of the beauties of using Club Choice is that they know the courses and the hotels. It’s what they spend all of their time doing, so we thought we would go with their recommendations. We weren’t disappointed!
Day 1
We live a good distance from Holyhead, but the journey there was smooth enough, and in my eyes much better than sitting in a departure lounge in an airport! We were booked on a Stena Line ferry from Holyhead to Dublin. My last ferry journey must have been some 15 years ago via Dover and was a nightmare. That wasn’t the case on this trip. Stena seem to have their act together. Within 15 minutes of arriving at the port we were driving on to the ferry, and five minutes later we were heading for an onboard café for a breakfast. When I first saw the queue I cringed as many other people had obviously had the same idea. We needn’t have worried, a few minutes later we were sitting with a lovely full English breakfast. A good start!!
The crossing with Stena was nothing like the ferry journeys I remember from years ago. There were loads of comfortable seats and tables available, and it did not seem crowded at all – even though a member of the crew did tell me that they were indeed at capacity. There are things to do on board but, other than a trip to the duty-free shop for some trip ‘essentials,’ we just relaxed, and a read of the paper later Dublin came into sight. Once we docked it was clear that again, Stena have got their act together. In a matter of minutes we were off the ferry and in another five minutes we were on the motorway heading south.
The roads in Ireland are much quieter than across here, and it was only a short journey to our first course, so we arrived in plenty of time to enjoy a lovely lunch on a terrace overlooking the first tee of Powerscourt Golf Club before we teed off.
We played the East course, and absolutely loved it. Every hole seemed to offer a different challenge, and the course was in fantastic condition. Not sure I would have enjoyed walking it as much as in a buggy given some of the inclines, but that just added to the challenge. They are a friendly bunch there, and we ended up chatting to a number of people who were also quick to recommend the West course being equally as good. It’s certainly a club I will visit again.
After the golf it was back to the car and another short journey to our hotel. Our itinerary has us booked in to The Ashdown Park Hotel, which is just outside the town of Gorey in County Wicklow. Again, we couldn’t fault Club Choice’s recommendation. The hotel is surrounded by some great golf courses and can cater for large groups (there was a group of 140 golfers at the hotel a couple of days earlier!!) but doesn’t have that bland corporate feel that some hotels like that can have. The staff were very welcoming, and the room was huge, and spotlessly clean. The hotel has a choice of two restaurants and so we decided to just eat in the hotel, which was a good call as the food was good and there was some live music in one of the bars to finish the evening off.
Day 2
After a great Irish breakfast it was a 30 minute drive to Woodenbridge Golf Club, another great course, and very different to Powerscourt. It is largely based in a valley, with two rivers running through it. The water comes in to play on no less than 10 of the holes. Some of the holes are tight, and with the slice I seemed to have found that day there was a risk that I may have managed to kill off a few of their members, but everyone survived my golf, and again, we really enjoyed the round. The course is beautifully scenic, and we will certainly be back again.
After the golf we had time to have a look around the area before heading back to our hotel. The Ashdown Park is a 10 minute wander from Gorey so we decided to head down to the town for something to eat. There are a load of nice restaurants and bars in the town, so we didn’t struggle to get some good food, and to enjoy a couple of pints with some live Irish music. Then back to the hotel, where they also had a great Irish singer on in the bar, for a nightcap.
Day 3
After another great Irish breakfast (it’s worth visiting for those alone!) we had a 25 minute drive to Blainroe Golf Club. And yet another great call by Club Choice. Much of the course plays like a parkland layout, but the holes that run by the cliffs are the stars. Our favourite hole of the trip was the 14th at Blainroe. Unfortunately, that was where I had my Tin Cup moment and put three balls into the sea before finally reaching across to the fairway. Connor of course hit a great shot across the water to the middle of the fairway first time!!! Overall, another great course.
After the golf there was time for lunch before heading back to Dublin and the return ferry, which was just as effortless as the outward journey. The seats are so comfortable I even managed to have a snooze before arriving back at Holyhead and the run back home!!
The Conclusion
So, after the trip would we recommend ferry or flight? I guess it’s all down to personal choice. Yes, the journey will normally take longer via the ferry, but it was just more comfortable travelling in our own car and on a large spacious ferry vs the pain of flying. When you then take into consideration that you have your own car to travel round in on the other side, and it is so easy to drive in Ireland (so quiet, same side of the road and you don’t even need a GB sticker) it has to be worth considering.
The big revelation however, was the decision to book through Club Choice rather than organising everything ourselves. I normally plan our trips, including booking the travel, hotels and booking tee times etc, sometimes with mixed results. For this trip I literally had to do nothing other than relying on Club Choice’s expertise and turning up at a given point at a certain time.
Flight or Ferry? Your call. Getting someone like Club Choice to organise everything for you – no brainer!
SAMPLE PACKAGE
3 nights B&B at the Ashdown Park Hotel
3 rounds of golf – Powerscourt, Woodenbridge and Blainroe Golf Clubs
Evening meal each night in hotel
Return Stena Line Ferry
£495 pps
*Price is subject to availability, based in Euro and on four people travelling in car.
