Golf weekends away on a budget

Golfhead65

As holiday season (what little there was) is coming to a close I was wondering about golf weekends away with value having recently come back from a 2 night 3 golf w/e in the Midlands and whether you get value for your buck, I know you can book top of the range hotel and courses but I'm interested in value hotels and decent golf courses..12 of us all GUI members at different clubs having nearly all been members of Blessington Lakes at one time and some still are headed off on Saturday of the Ryder Cup and played Mount Temple (not the best manicured) a great layout and very enjoyable course then on the Sunday we played Moate and what can I say about Moate only that everyone to a man wants to return and play there again when it's not lashing down with rain as we got caught mid round by a torrential downpour but in fairness the course held up very well and a big thank you to Wichita Lineman for organising a nice rate for us to play on a Sunday, we then played Portarlington on the way home and what a beautiful course that is. We Stayed at The Creggan Court Hotel with bed & breakfast in Athlone which was a great base as it was no more the 10 mins from both Mount Temple, Moate and the town centre which was an absolute gem of a town to go out in and all this for 165 euro. I wonder if anyone could get better value than this..

NotCarrotRidge

I booked two nights at the New Forest lodges, with golf there and Esker Hills. Can't remember the cost, but excellent value, for top class golf. Could also add on Tullamore, another great course, if you wanted a third day.

Golfhead65

Thinking of there for next year to do New Forest, Tullamore (20 euro on a Monday) and Moyvalley, I've also checked out playing Bunclody on a Saturday then checking into The Coast Rosslare Strand for 2 nights B&B playing Rosslare on Sunday and Courtown on way home on the Monday for approx 225 .Sat to Monday is much cheaper than Friday to Sunday but there is great value to be had if you plan it right.

willabur

just back from a weekend away. Went for a pricer part of the country for the trip but interesting for comparison sake

Dooks 80 euro

Ballybunion Cashen 80 euro

O'Mahoney point 50 euro

Waterville 140 euro*

Accommodation 148 euro

all in 498 euro

• waterville price was covid only, unless you have an inside track green fees for tralee, ballybunnion old, waterville will cost 250 euro or so. Cashen is a nice option to have, booked it through their website. Dooks dropped their price just by taking a phone call

pairofpears

I dont golf myself but I'm near Enfield and we have a silly amount of courses locally. Staying in either the Hamlet in Johnstownbridge or Johnstown House would have you near Moyvalley, Rathcore, Kilcock, the 3 courses in Trim, Highfield and Carton House.

Staying in Trim would give you more options on hotels and leave you closer to play Tara as well.

blue note

I'd say the midlands are your best bet. There are just so many really good courses that are fantastic value. And you'll get good value accommodation in towns with plenty of places to eat and drink.

An alternative would be Dungarvan. There are three courses there, all nice courses and they do a deal to play all three. I'd imagine it's probably €20 a round or something. On top of that Dungarvan is just a lovely town. The courses wouldn't quite be on the same level as some of those in the midlands, but would be comparable to the two you mentioned (I believe for Mount Temple, I haven't played it). And that's not a slight on those courses, they very nice courses. I just think the likes of Tullamore and New Forest, etc are really good.

NotCarrotRidge

Dungarvan is a great call, actually.

I think Athlone is a good shout as well. Athlone GC itself is good, then you have Moate and Mount Temple almost as close. New Forest, Esker Hills and Tullamore are all within 30 minutes. 45 minutes brings you to Moyvalley on one side and the gorgeous Portumna GC in the other direction.

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117954004#Comment_117954004

That's some hike for Cashen, it's been €50 for the past few years.

callaway92

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117954004#Comment_117954004

Wait - Dooks was €80 AFTER you asked for a reduction? That’s grim.. they really have hiked their prices up

Motivator

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117954567#Comment_117954567

Dungarvan is a great base. It’s a lovely town with plenty of drinking and eating spots, accommodation is fairly reasonable and there’s plenty of courses within a reasonable driving distance.

There used to be a deal on the three courses: Dungarvan GC, West Waterford, Gold Coast for €69 I don’t know if that price is still there now but there is a deal available.

then you have the option of:

Tramore

Faithlegg

Waterford GC

Waterford Castle

Then a small bit further afield (and totally opposite drives to one another) Castlemartyr and Mt Juliet.

FixdePitchmark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117954567#Comment_117954567

Our best golf trips that we talk about are Wexford Town and Dungarvan - whist it was in the crazy years of cheap everything. It still is talked about. The golf quality is unreal for the price - and then you have that coastal feel to it all.

Other good trips we has were Athlone and Arklow.

We also had a great trip to Thurles - but whilst there is great golf in Tipperary - I'd say picking a town to keep the lads happy is a challenge.

One I'd like to know more about myself is Louth - we did do one to Carlingford and it was a great trip - but again - like to know more about Dundalk /Drogheda as a night out.

Golfhead65

Update, we've just booked The Central hotel in Tullamore for next September B&B for 12 costing 112 per head, New Forest on the Friday for 25 per head (open) Tullamore on Sat 35, then on way home it'll be somewhere cheap en route eg Portlaoaise ,The Heath but total cost will be 200 approx

willabur

that's inflation I guess and maybe a bit of golf clubs clawing back cash after a quiet year.

Whether they keep the prices that level will depend on footfall, its well documented that increasing the cost increases the footfall of a certain kind of client

FixdePitchmark

Whilst you can still get a very cheap round of golf still - I found the last while, 25 euro is the new low point - and typically it is 30 euro +

slave1

I played Rathdowney and Abbeyliex during the early Summer on a cracker of a day, €40, it was a great day

swededmonkey

Recently back from a golf trip postponed due to covid.

Stayed in the Great Northern in Bundoran. 3 nights B&B with an evening meal and a round in Bundoran €200, Murvagh €50 and played the Faldo in Lough Erne €50 on the way back to Dublin

allybhoy

4 of us went to Kerry in August played Tralee, Cashen and Ballybunion in consecutive days, The 3 rounds, plus 2 nights accomodation with breakfast in hotel and one evening meal for 490 PPS which considering the current rates of hotels we felt was really good value for money. The meal was really nice aswell and the hotel couldnt be closer to Ballybunion GC

Special Offers Ballybunion Golf | Teach de Broc

Raytown Rocks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117958065#Comment_117958065

Did this exact weekend away last weekend. 2 smashing courses.

Hotel is located close to the town, but basic enough bar area

Nice staff and rooms were nice

No sky sports, so don't expect to sit in the bar watching any games

Paid €170 for 2 nights B&B, 1 evening meal and 2 rounds of golf at the above mentioned courses.

Golfhead65

Great pubs in Tullamore so I don't think we'll be socialising in the hotel..Just goes to show that Ireland is a great place to play golf with your mates for a weekend and it doesn't need to cost the earth, Personally I prefer staying local (Ireland ) than the likes of Spain and Portugal

whizbang

Thinking of heading to Enniscrone, Carne (If Boards.ie society has done it, thats the best recomendation!)

Anybody got a recommendation for the Diamond Coast Hotel ? or somewhere similar ?

thanks

1967

7 of us went to Killarney first weekend in September stayed in Old Weir Lodge on Muckross Road 2 nights B&B and played the two Killarney courses for just under €180

CSWS101

Thoughts on the Killarney Killeen course? Played it there a few months ago, thought it was in poor condition. First few greens especially were very patchy. Lovely finish to the course and views but overall wasn’t impressed

prawnsambo

I heard about this deal a couple of days ago and couldn't believe the value. That's the midweek price in the screenshot, but the weekend price is only €270pps.

Link here.

dk1982

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118002470#Comment_118002470

Played 27 holes in Carne in June, then travelled to Enniscrone that evening, drank pints of stout for the night in the Diamond Coast then played Enniscrone the next morning right on the doorstep of the hotel. Couldn't recommend enough, food, pints and accommodation top notch.

Golfhead65

Yeah we did that one last year, Played Woodenbridge 1st and last day and Macreddan in the middle, we got weekend cheaper than midweek quoted there as we booked everything individually, If I did that one again I wouldn't play Macreddan as it's so tough and personally didnt find it enjoyable but that's me

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118022654#Comment_118022654

Well Coollattin is a fun course and Blainroe is always in top condition, if a trifle boring. Arklow a good shout too.

Probably not the right forum.

Looking to book golf in Portugal. Flights and accommodation already sorted.

Anybody got any recommendations on companies to deal with?

srfc d16

It will depend on where you have booked. I have used teetimes.pt the last few times while staying in villamoura. If you are staying in a Dom Pedro hotel transfers to Dom Pedro courses are usually included.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118089202#Comment_118089202

Thanks.

Have been in correspondence with AlgarveGolf.Net. They seem legit but will research further before anything is transferred.

Baoithin66

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118089202#Comment_118089202

teetimes.pt using them for nearly 20 years.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118103734#Comment_118103734

Thanks. I done some research and it appears the same guy owns both teetimes.pt and AlgarveGolf.net.

Courses booked. Quinto do Lago (North, South and Laranrja). Going in April with the lads. Can't wait.

Following on from that.

Anybody got good recommendations for courses that offer houses/lodges on the course?

Have been too and played:

Fota Island, Farnharm Estate, Dundrum House, Mount Wosley, St. Helens Bay.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105366#Comment_118105366

Castlemartyr, Mount Juliet (very limited) and The Heritage (Penthouse apartments) off the top of my head.

Of those, Castlemartyr is probably the best in terms of accommodation - Houses are a good size, competitively priced and well located. Mount Juliet probably the worst, expensive and very limited. The Heritage apartments are very nice, separate to the hotel with their own entrance. Can be expensive, but there are sometimes deals.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105489#Comment_118105489

Thanks. Must check out Castlemartyr. Wouldn't give Mount Juliet my money. I used to run a golf society and we went there and played. It was the start of October and there was a load of bits of leafs and stuff on a load of the greens. I understand thats nature but they didn't even send ground staff out that morning with a blower to clear the greens. The morning we played was a nice and calm day too so the stuff was clearly there from the night before or early that morning. For the price we paid it was unacceptable. I raised it with the pro-shop when I got in and their response was less than satisfactory. Told them to do one and I'd never give them money again. We had about 35 lads playing that day too at €60 a head.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105489#Comment_118105489

Whats the course like at Castlemartyr?

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105767#Comment_118105767

I really like it. It's marketed as an inland links course and there are certainly 'linksy' elements to it. According to my 'memorable holes' criterion for rating courses, it scores quite highly. 😁

Watch out for the drains that run across some of the fairways that are marked as yellow penalty areas. You have no choice but to drop out of them as they are too narrow and deep to hit out of. They're usually not in positions to trap your ball unless you hit a bad one.

OEP

Faithlegg and Waterford Castle both have houses around the course too I think

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106943#Comment_118106943

Also down that neck of the woods is Gold Coast which also seems to have a good variety of self-catering houses. Haven't played the course there, but would seem to be decent.

OEP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118107195#Comment_118107195

The Gold Coast course isn't great. Fantastic location but the condition isn't the best - the worst out of the three Dungarvan courses.

Lots of holiday homes and close the Dungarvan though so good for a trip.

NotCarrotRidge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105366#Comment_118105366

New Forest. They have lodges on site as well as the hotel. Course is excellent and they are great to deal with.

FixdePitchmark

I've been looking around and trying to get good deals on the mid range courses. I think people are Iin for a shock for how much prices have gone up

40 to 50 euro for the Irish mid range courses at weekend.

The ones at higher level are now over 85.

Like everything else in life, prices have gone up 25 to 50 %

Kilough

I'm captain of a large enough golf society and am trying to find somewhere for our annual weekend away.

Anywhere I talk to are looking for either full payment up front, maybe 1 or 2 months up front. Or if not up front payment, a substantial enough non refundable deposit (up to €3k). We've maybe 50 ppl travelling and around 35 golfers in that.

Am I unreasonable to think that places should be willing to take a smaller deposit in the region of e500? Past captains have never had to pay out a large figure, appears to be common now though. Most ppl will not properly commit till a few weeks away from the date but they generally come and we've had a consistent enough number at the last few weekends away.

We've been on the go 26 years now and I could provide references but reservations managers I'm talking with are having none of it.

golfguy1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118316930#Comment_118316930

not really unreasonable for a hotel to take sizeable deposit or full payment for that amount of potential rooms.

again golf course bookings for weekends especially are in big demand so can't guarantee slots without taking a deposit.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118316930#Comment_118316930

What golf courses are you dealing with? Pre-Covid I never had to pay a non-refundable deposit to any golf course. At times I have arrived on the day with €5k in cash to cover the course and the accommodation. Granted the accommodation we generally stay in is the on course lodges and not the actual hotel which may have different policies. I assume that the deposit can be returned if the Government stated that there was no inter county travel allowed.

Kilough

Just thinking of the scenario for example if two or three families that couldn't come due to covid reasons, wedding/funerals/confirmation etc. then we could be down 6 or 7 people. If this happened, we'd be out €1-2€ with no recourse. Even though we'd still have a large group on-site spending a lot of money! I can see where the hotels are coming from but our committee won't handover such a large deposit so I'm kinda stuck.

I'm asking the question now of a couple of hotels RE lockdown or no inter county restrictions. Don't think it'll come to that again (hopefully) but want it written into contract that we're covered in the eventuality.

Ideally I could have my credit card on file and have free cancellation for rooms up to 24hr (or 48hr) in advance, like a standard booking.com hotel booking?

Or failing that, a smaller deposit could work for us.

Kilough

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118318373#Comment_118318373

One course in the midlands, another in Wicklow. Both have hotel & golf course on site. Both 4/5 star & courses are both top notch IMO.

Third_Echelon

Have to say, really enjoyed a weekend up in Bundoran a few years ago for a stag... it was for all the older uncles, dads, cousins etc. Lovely course there right along the coast and hotel was decent!

Think we had around 20 playing golf.