Northern Ireland Tour #1

Day 1
Arrive at Dublin Airport, where you will be met in the airport by a local representative and will direct you to your driver and coach. Drive north 3 hours and 45 minutes to Ballyliffin and stay 3 nights at Ballyliffin Townhouse. Located on the Wild Atlantic Way & renowned for its relaxed and comfortable surroundings with warm & genuine hospitality, this family run property is a landmark in the charming seaside village of Ballyliffin on the beautiful Inishowen Peninsula.
Day 2
Following breakfast, you will be transferred 5 minutes to the Ballyliffin Golf Club to play the Glashedy Course. The new Glashedy Links is a Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock masterpiece fashioned around the incredible dunes and is rated amongst the best links tracks in the world. Ruddy cherishes Glashedy as his own and has returned in recent years to fine tune the stunning bunkering of this magnificent links.
Day 3
Have breakfast and then be taken back to the Ballyliffin Golf Club to play the Old Course.
The Old Links undulates in the glory of its natural terrain, presenting an immensely enjoyable challenge to every golfer. Work recently undertaken by Nick Faldo has strengthened The Old Links and brought much acclaim from members and visitors.
Day 4
After breakfast, check-out of the hotel and you have a 1½ hour transfer to Portrush. Play the Portstewart Strand Course. The claim is often made that Portstewart has the best opening hole in Irish Golf – and some would suggest the world. Situated on Ulster's magnificent Causeway Coast, Portstewart’s fame goes back to 1951, when the course was used as a qualifying venue for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
After golf transfer 15 minutes to the Bushmills Inn, where you will be spending the next 2 nights. One of Ireland’s most well-known, luxurious four-star hotels and host to many of the pros at this year’s Open Championship, The Bushmills Inn is situated in an enviable location a stone’s throw from a host of visitor attractions including Royal Portrush Golf Club, Old Bushmills Distillery, The Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and Dunluce Castle. Roaring peat fires, nooks and crannies and a secret library set the tone. In the bar, still lit by gas light, try a glass of malt from the hotel’s private cask and make sure to sample some of the finest North Antrim produce in the AA Rosette restaurant.
Day 5
After breakfast, a short 5-minute transfer will take you to Royal Portrush Golf Club to play the Dunluce Links Course. Rated as one of the most challenging and spectacular links courses in the world, Dunluce Links has undergone major changes as part of preparations for the 148th Open. The original architect was the famed Harry Colt who produced breath taking golfing landscape beside the Atlantic Ocean on the North Coast of Northern Ireland, and which commands distant views of the hills of Donegal in the Irish Republic, and the island of Islay, 25 miles away in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The Links is named after the nearby ruins of the medieval Dunluce Castle located on the edge of a basalt outcropping overlooking the sea between Portrush and Portballintrae.
After your round and getting refreshed at your hotel, you have a 15-minute walk to the Bushmills Distillery for a Tour and Tasting at the oldest working distillery in Ireland. A place where family and friends have worked for generations, in a small Northern Irish village that for over 400 years has kept to the philosophy that hand crafting small batches is the way to produce beautifully smooth tasting Irish whiskey.
Day 6
After breakfast, check-out of the hotel and transfer 2 hours south to Ardglass and play Ardglass Golf Course. An 18-hole links course in a natural setting hugging the north-east coast of Ireland, with stunning views & unique golf holes, Ardglass is a true test of golf. With the almost ever-present wind capable of wreaking havoc from any quarter; the hard fairways and the small firm greens, it is just about impossible to play “yardage based” golf on this links. The Irish Sea, which can be seen from all 18 tees and greens, comes into play on no fewer than 8 holes.
Following golf transfer 30 minutes to Newcastle and stay 2 nights at the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa. Nestling at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, the 4-star Slieve Donard stands in six acres of private grounds and is one of Northern Ireland's most popular hotels and in walking distance to Royal County Down Golf Course.
Day 7
Have breakfast and walk over to Royal County Down which is rated by many as the finest golf course in Ireland, if not #1 in the world. It is situated at the foot of the Mountains of Mourne and enjoys wonderful views across Dundrum Bay. Old Tom Morris is credited with the original routing in 1889, which was possibly the first course to ignore the then traditional layout of nine holes "out" and nine holes "back." Royal County Down was opened for play in 1891.
Day 8
After breakfast, check-out of Slieve Donard and you will be transferred 1½ hours south to play County Louth. Founded in 1892, County Louth Golf Club, or Baltray as it is more commonly known, has established itself as one of Ireland’s finest links courses. Winner of the 2017 IGTOA Links course of the year and host to two Irish Opens the course stands as a par 72 and measures 7,031 yards from the Championship tee. Whilst the championship course is one of the purest tests of golf, a variety of teeing options are available to ensure enjoyment for golfers of all levels.
Following golf, you will be transferred 1 hour 15 minutes to downtown Dublin to spend your final night at the Brooks Hotel. Situated only minutes from Grafton Street in the fashionable heart of Dublin City, Brooks Hotel is the perfect place to stay, whether for business or pleasure. This boutique hotel has everything you could possibly need on its doorstep. Most of the city’s key attractions are within walking distance of the hotel and include: the best shopping streets in the capital, St. Stephen’s Green, the Guinness storehouse, the Irish parliament building, Dail Eireann, Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Trinity College and many popular art galleries, theatres, museums and entertainment venues.
Day 9
After breakfast, you will have a private shuttle to take you 30 minutes to Dublin Airport for your flight home