Ireland is one the best places on the planet for a Golfing Vacation. The Irish call their home "The Emerald Isle" because it’s so green and it certainly lives up to that name.
Terrain: Part of the reason Ireland is so green is its position on the very western edge of the continent of Europe - on the Gulf Stream. It’s relatively warm but it can be wet too — it does tend to rain a lot but no more than America’s west coast. The terrain is softly rolling - there are no mountains but shallow picturesque valleys where the golf courses are often located.
Politics: Nevertheless, there are a couple of things worth knowing before you set out that don’t have too much to do with golf. In the first place, the island is split into two politically. The North Eastern corner is known as "Northern Ireland" and it’s part of the United Kingdom - the rest is the republic and it’s a full member of the European Union using the Euro as currency. More dangerously for an American though is that they drive on the left - in right hand drive cars and they’ve just gone metric! On the plus side, they speak English with a wonderful lilting accent.
Accessible: Ireland is very easy to get to. Most of the major airlines fly daily services to the capital Dublin and to Shannon - on the river of the same name on the west coast.
Golf Courses: Golf is a popular all over the world and nowhere more so than Ireland. The country has over three hundred courses, a high proportion of them up to International Tournament quality. Often the courses are designed and laid out with overseas visitors very much in mind and they’re been built within easy reach of the major towns and cities like Dublin, Cork, Knock, and Sligo.
Usually too, there’s a wide choice of accommodations — ranging from four-star hotels to bed and breakfast at the homes of local farmers. The bigger courses will have all the facilities you’d expect of a major club but, what the smaller ones lack in facilities, they’ll more than compensate for in their sincere friendliness and generous hospitality. Expect to gain a few pounds if you’re going to in Ireland for a few days.
It would difficult to think of any destination that would challenge Ireland for a Golfing Vacation.
