Golf In Ireland? Episode Three: 40 Days To Fly – Are We Really Going?

I don’t know about you but when I plan a golf adventure to Ireland or anywhere else for that matter, the planning seems so long before the actual golf event that it seems it will never happen.

It was over a year ago, I determined to golf in Ireland. I had become a citizen by descent and it was going to be by way of celebrating my heritage that I would pack up my clubs and head for the green hills of my ancestors. But now that it is only 40 days to fly, I’m wondering if I am really going. It seems a little unreal. Me, playing golf in Ireland? I have to remind myself of all the plans that are already in place.

I found the right company with which to tour and play: RedTees.ie (Read all about them at: https://golfgurls.com/golf-travel-packages/golf-in-ireland/

I found the right companion—my friend Noreen was thinking of Europe anyway… and why not stop along the way in Ireland for a little golf. (You can hear my interview with her here: https://golfgurls.com/golf-in-ireland-episode-two-50-days-to-pack/

We booked the right flight: Aer Lingus, Boston to Dublin. We were lucky enough to book far enough in advance that we secured two seats together on the port side of the plane, right near the front. Row 13. But I’m not superstitious and neither is Noreen. I checked. Thirteen is now my lucky number! At least we are not stuck in the middle of a row of five passengers, all desperate to get up and walk around. (That happened to me once on a flight to Italy. I thought I was going to go out of my mind!) As long as Noreen let’s me get to the aisle once in a while, I’ll be a happy camper.

Mount Juliet golf course third holeAnd we’ve decided on the golf courses. Here is a glimpse at the first of the four courses we are going to play: Mount Juliet, in Kilkenny, and a bit of the blurb about it from their website:

…the best in golfing on our Jack Nicklaus designed golf course. Set in a world of its own, on lush parkland in the south east of Ireland, Mount Juliets Jack Nicklaus course is both captivating and memorable. The acclamation from Tiger Woods that Mount Juliet presented “perfect fairways… and the best greens we have putted on all year.” was rich embellishment of the stature of Ireland’s leading championship parkland golf course.

Maybe I bit off more than I can chew— golf wise! Mount Juliet’s an impressive course— and difficult! The style is parkland vs. links. So it is more like a course you would play in the states than one of those rough and tumble courses you find all over Ireland and Scotland.

I hear that golf balls are very expensive to buy in Ireland so I’m bringing a few boxes of my own. Maybe I should bring more than I think I’ll need. I have a tendency to lose a few golf balls on every round and this course has a lot of woods and water. Yikes!

In the next post I’ll give you our full itinerary complete with links to all the golf courses… we’re still trying to decide … but 40 days out from our departure, we’ve still got a bit of time.

More later.

Have you ever played at Mount Juliet? Would you recommend the course? Any other course you might recommend? Add your comments  below.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *