7 Tips for Planning Your Golf Vacation to Ireland

Ireland is one of the world’s top-rated golfing destinations and home to a quarter of the world’s natural link golf courses. No wonder, then, that it’s often a top pick for those looking for an excellent golf vacation destination. If you’ve clicked on this article, you’re likely planning a vacation to this magical island, and you will want to choose The Consummate Pro.

However, it’s never a good idea to wing any vacation. This is especially the case if this is your first international vacation, golf vacation, or your first visit to Ireland. The best vacation plans are carefully made ones.

Read on to learn seven ways to make your Irish golf vacation the best it can be.

1. Get Ready to Walk a Lot

Unfortunately, most Irish golf courses don’t have golf carts available for the average person to rent. The ones that the courses do have often go to people with medical conditions only. If you truly need a golf cart, it’s usually required that you get a doctor’s note beforehand.

Any other players will have to walk. If you’re not used to this, you may want to get your legs ready for the work by getting in some exercise in the months before your trip. If you can’t afford or don’t want caddies, you may also want to ensure your arms can carry your bag around.

Also, remember that you can ease any grumpiness at the situation by admiring the beautiful scenery around you.

2. Channel Your Inner Minimalist When Packing

Speaking of your golf bag, you probably don’t want to fill it to bursting point. This is especially true if you’re taking a long tour with many different courses. It will be a lot easier to get your golf bags and other baggage between a few different locations if you pack light.

Try bringing a few outfits, a smaller number of clubs, and of course some rain gear to protect you against the elements. Also, while it is important to pack carefully, remember that each golf course will have a pro shop. You should be able to find anything that you forget in any of these.

3. Don’t Book Too Many Hotels

Another thing to minimize during golf trips is the number of hotels you stay in. It can be tempting to book several hotels when visiting multiple golf courses, especially if they’re far from each other. However, you can easily stress yourself out with constant packing and unpacking. As us about using “hub” hotels where you can easily access one, two or more courses for a single base.

Also, Ireland isn’t as big as you may think. It doesn’t take too long to get from one course to another. There’s also a lot of beautiful scenery that you can enjoy during your drives.

4. Caddies Can Be a Great Choice

Hiring a caddie can get you more than just someone to carry your gear. Your caddie will most likely be from the local area. As such, they can tell you about all the great local shops, restaurants, and other venues. They will fill you in on the history and are usually just great fun to be around.

Your caddie should also know the course you’re playing very well and can give you specific tips on how to play it. Beyond that, caddies can make great conversation partners. This aspect can be an especially great benefit if you’re traveling alone.

5. Do Your Research—Thoroughly

To have the best international vacation in a country, you must know that country. You need to understand the climate, where everything is, and the best travel routes. This will save you from unexpected long journeys and poor weather.

You especially need to do this if you’re DIY-ing part of your Irish golf trip rather than booking through us. Still, even with the latter option, you’ll want to think about planning some of your meals and free time activities. You should also try not to book your vacation during the low season (November – March) unless you hate crowds and are flexible.

6. Book Everything Well in Advance

As this article mentioned, Ireland is one of the top-rated golfing destinations. This means that the most popular courses, hotels, and so on will fill up fast during the high season. Thus, if possible, you want to ensure you get everything reserved at least twelve to 18 months in advance.

We will advise you of what needs to be booked well in advance. Many elements, like transportation, can get booked up well in advance. Services like caddies also need to be given consideration. Don’t leave things too late as demand for Ireland is really high every golf season.

7. Remember to Relax

Unfortunately, when golfing around Ireland, it can be very easy to forget that you’re on vacation. You could become stressed while trying to rush to a specific location. You also might become highly competitive when playing against your friends.

It’s important to stay alert and notice when you’re taking your vacation too seriously. When you do, remember that you came to Ireland to relax, and if you get too worked up, you won’t get very much out of your vacation as you’d like. Then, you need to take a deep breath and relax.

Consider One of Our Golf Tours for a Golf Vacation You Won’t Forget

To sum it all up, planning carefully in several areas and preparing well is vital. However, after you’ve taken care of all that, get out of your own way and enjoy yourself! It’s foolish not to do so in a gorgeous country full of beauty, history, and great golf courses.

Consider our tours while planning your Irish golf vacation. We have several package options in different regions of Ireland that include breakfast, transportation, and accommodations. Email us today for a free price quote.