May and June were spent doing the Luck of the Irish tour with great friends Tom and Pat Cone and later catching up with the University of Colorado Men’s Golf Team!
We started out staying at Perryville House overlooking Kinsale Harbour, Cork County. We highly recommend staying here and visiting Kinsale in the south of Ireland.
No trip is complete without a stop and smooch with the Blarney Stone! (no pics)
And then onto Old Head…..luxurious accommodations and world class golf. The golf has been ranked 17th in Ireland and top 70 in Britain/Ireland. It was amazing. Beautiful coastline of Cork holding so much history including the sinking of the Lusitania passenger liner in 1915. The Lusitania was the largest ship ever built at that time when it was struck by a U-20 and sank in 18 minutes. 1,198 lives were lost that day and is rumored to be instrumental in brining the United States into World War One.
We drove to Killarney, Kerry County and stayed at Killarney Park Hotel. We played Dooks Golf Course.
And we played Waterville. Waterville is ranked 6th in Ireland and 35 in Britain/Ireland. It’s a pure links course and has one of the best logos (these are things that get my attention) Tom Fazio updated the course and Payne Stewart was due to be Honorary Captain of Waterville in 2000 before his tragic death in 1999. There’s a great statue in his honor.
Next on our tour took us to Dublin! What a great city. We did some sightseeing including visiting the Guinness Storehouse and Trinity College to see the gorgeous library in person. It was spectacular – but recommend getting a ticket , yes it does cost money, for first thing in the morning as crowd are less.
We stayed at the The Merrion. 5-star hotel, easy walking to Grafton Street and shopping (!) as well as delicious restaurants/pubs. Next round of golf was at Royal Dublin Golf Club. This is located on the Dublin Bay and the drive into Royal Dublin, over wooden bridges, really set a scene for a day of golf, Royal Dublin has hosted many tournaments including numerous Ireland Opens. Fun Fact…in order for a course to have ‘Royal’ in the name, a Royal has to visit it and then can proclaim a name change!
After heading to Northern Ireland, we met up with the golf team and other guests of the University at the Slieve Donard Hotel. WOW – WOW – WOW. The building was originally built by Belfast and County Down Railway as the ‘end of the line’ luxury holiday destination. Construction was 1896-1898. It feels like Victorian luxury and easy access to Royal County Down Golf. This course is ranked No. 3 in the WORLD. The views…the holes…the everything. Charlie and Tom played with the golf team and Pat and I played with the help of a caddie. Charlie and Tom also played The Island Golf Club while Pat and I spent much needed downtime walking around Newcastle.
Belfast was the next and last stop. We stayed at the Grand Central Hotel. Great location and much more modern than any other hotel we stayed.
Courses played:
- Portstewart – Charlie and Tom played The Strand and Pat and I played The Old Course. So dang windy…
- Royal Portrush – Dunluce and Valley (Charlie & Tom). . Dunluce is currently ranked 14th in the world. It plays along the Atlantic with limestone cliffs and a view of the Giant’s Causeway, Royal Portrush has hosted many tournaments, including The Open. The Open returns in 2025. This is a must play on any golfers list.
- Royal Belfast – Charlie and Tom played…
Belfast was an interesting city. Full of history and torment – political and religion based – many beautiful things but definitly a big/grimy city feel. Game of Thrones tours, Black taxi tour, Titanic history and pubs like The Crown Liquor Saloon and Fibber McGees. There was a line to get into Crown Liquor when the doors opened!! And as always, handstands!
Traftons Travels 