Experience Ireland partners with Gary Hurley

Experience Ireland Golf & Travel are delighted to announce a multi-year sponsorship deal with Waterford’s Gary Hurley.

The experts in designing bespoke itineraries in Ireland for those visiting the country, Experience Ireland Golf & Travel are your one stop Tour Operator for an authentic Irish experience, to not only play on some of Ireland’s best golf courses, but to also learn about the culture and heritage while staying in some beautiful properties and enjoying luxury transport and our unique Irish hospitality.

Speaking on the day of the announcement, Experience Ireland’s CEO Tom Kennedy said:
“It’s great to be linking up with Gary for the next 2 years and it’s hopefully something we can continue into the future as well. We have been looking to support one of the Irish Pros on Tour and we are proud that Gary will wear our logo for the coming 2 years. We’re sure he will have some great results in 2023 & 2024, following on from his excellent end to the year in 2022”.

Gary recently gained his DP World Tour Card for the 2023 season having come through the notoriously difficult DP World Tour Q-School and this result will see him compete on Europe’s biggest golfing stage next season.

It has been a fascinating professional career to date for Hurley, who competed on the Alps Tour for the 2022 season and thanks to victory at the Alps de Andalucia, T2 at the Roma Alps Open and 3rd at the Castelconturbia Alps Open he secured his Challenge Tour card for 2023, following a 5th place finish on the year long Order of Merit.

However, just a couple of short weeks later, Gary finished tied 13th at the Final Stage of DP World Tour Q-School, exemplifying the high level of golf that he has been producing all year. He has since competed at two DP World Tour events in South Africa and has successfully made both cuts.

“I’m delighted to announce this partnership with Experience Ireland Golf & Travel and begin showcasing what they have to offer while I compete on the DP World Tour this season”, said Hurley. “I’m so proud to be Irish and to be working with a company who specialise in showing off our great country, not just our great golf courses, but our history too, is such a perfect fit.”

Experience Ireland Golf & Travel

Experience Ireland Golf & Travel are a luxury tour operator based in Killarney, specialising in Golf & Sightseeing Tours around the entire Island of Ireland. They design bespoke itineraries with overnights in some of the most outstanding hotels in Ireland, playing golf on Ireland’s top courses and all in the comfort of their luxury VIP chauffeur vehicle. Their personal touch ensures that you get a truly Irish experience. For more information, please see details below:

Tel: +353-64-6622830
Email: info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com
Web: www.experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com

Hambric Sports

With offices in Dallas, London and Dublin, Hambric Sports specializes in the management of male and female professional golfers and has been fortunate to have worked with some of the game’s greatest players, including 23 Major Champions and 6 Members of the World Golf Hall of Game. In addition to Gary, the list of clients includes Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, the Højgaard twins, Jordan Smith and Thorbjørn Olesen.

Returning to the Scene

On 21st January 2020 my Dad died in Limerick. That’s a perfectly normal English sentence. Of course, there’s a lot more to that story.

Dad had been sick since early to mid January that year, he didn’t really take great of himself but he’s rarely been in hospital for any length of time. The Fecker was as strong as an Ox but he was on the way out – early 80s and in the hospital bed he wasn’t the larger than life character than I remembered as a kid. You look up to your Dad, physically for sure as Patrick C Kennedy was a tall man but unfortunately I don’t always look up to him. He wasn’t a good Father but your Dad is your Dad and he always had our best interests at heart.

He kept defying the Doctors so I made the decision to go to the PGA Show (really Big Shoe!) in Orlando, if it wasn’t my own company I would have stayed at home. Day 1 in Florida I set off for Streamsong with James Sheehy, the Caddy Guy from Ballyduff/Ballybunion GC, after arriving the previous night and catching up with my good buddy Paddy Aiken (thanks Paddy, more than you know) in Orlando along with most of the Irish crew. God help me if I was travelling on my own.

A great day at Streamsong, is there ever a bad day there?? Wonderful welcome, nice lunch (the news still encouraging from home, would the Auld Lad pull through??) and then out onto the course. It’s easy to switch off as a golfer when you’re playing, you get fixated on hitting the shots and of course chatting on the course with your playing partners – try and stop me doing that!! 17 decent holes in and I’m in the middle of the 18th Fairway facing a 5-wood approach in. Nutted it to within 4 feet and held the putt for Eagle, best shot of my life. Less than 24 hours later, Dad would be gone.

It’s a 2 hour plus drive back to Orlando from Streamsong so we lingered for a quick drink (non-alcoholic beer for me as the driver) and then we were on our way, me with my Eagle ball marker in my pocket forever with the story ready of “there’s a good story about this marker…” Dinner at the Ravenous Pig in Winter Park was wonderful before arriving back at the hotel. Bed straight away, a long day.

The next day it was the Watson Course at the Reunion Resort with Patrick Aiken and 2 Guests, their names escape me now. Nice start but a cold morning, swinging well and scoring well too. Most of the round is a blur now but it shot into focus right before I teed off on 17. I saw a missed call from Wife, Catriona, so I called her back at the back of the tee box – “Your Dad’s gone, I’m so sorry Tom”, I think they were her words but I can’t remember anymore. Holding it together out there in the middle of Florida was probably my main aim as the wind was well and truly taken out of my sails. Not a lot of people get told while on the golf course and a few thousand miles from home that your Dad has just died, wasn’t easy but my thoughts were with my brother Alex who was in the room with Dad at the time and my dear daughter Lucy, 3 months old, who was sick in hospital. I was the lucky one, on the golf course.

Finishing up on 17 & 18 wasn’t easy but I did need some time to just let it all sink in, I still had the drive back with Paddy to the hotel and then the call to my marvellous Mum back home – that was not easy. Sitting in the car park of the hotel talking to my Mum after Dad had just died was probably the loneliest experience of my life and then sitting at the bar with Paddy telling him what I’d know from the 17th Tee was really tough, I completely broke down – not exactly what the barman was expecting!

That evening in Orlando trying to reschedule my flight was tough but thankfully the Aer Lingus staff were great. The rest of that night I was in the company of friends and those who acted as such will never be forgotten.

Next morning I had golf scheduled with Jerry Wisler at Isleworth. Another unusually cool morning greeting me as I went down to breakfast, numb and raw from the previous day. What to do? I had a day left in Orlando so rather than sit on my bed scrolling through my phone I thought it best to do something, it entailed early morning golf and afternoon meetings. It was a much needed experience at Isleworth, I would like to return when not playing this picture perfect Course after a parent has died but it was memorable all the same. My playing partners didn’t know what I had been through the previous day & night and thankfully I had the golf cart to myself to dwell on things as the rounds progressed. Getting back into my rental car before heading back to the hotel and then the PGA Show my thoughts turned to Dad & Lucy – I hope both were okay with their own struggles.

Morning meetings over the next day I set off for the Airport and the trip home, not exactly knowing what to expect. An early arrival home into Shannon is great but the jet lag didn’t exactly make for an easy evening in Limerick at the Removal.

Lucy had just come back from hospital and Catriona had experienced an awful week, never mind her at times foot-in-mouth Father-in-Law dying! It was an emotional homecoming to say the least as we prepared for the next couple of days.

Saying farewell to Dad seemed the easiest part. It’s a process, if you’ve been to a funeral you know what’s coming – of course not until you have got to put together a Eulogy. I said things as they were, I never thought you should sugar coat your thoughts on the dead just because they’re gone, even if it’s your Father.

Stealing a line from Jose-Maria Olazabal – “all men die, but not all men live”! Dad lived before he died, that’s the best tribute I can pay to him.

Miss you Dad. I return to the scene next month in Orlando.

Links Challenge 2023

After 9 years enjoying great craic on and off the course in the West of Ireland, the Links Challenge returns to Carne & Enniscrone for its 10th Anniversary Tournament in August 2023! Dates are Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th August.

Day 1 will take us to beautiful Belmullet and Carne Golf Links’ Hackett Course on Thursday 24th August 2023. This Belmullet Beauty is a joy to behold, where you will experience some of the most scenic golf holes anywhere in the World – in fact it is like playing golf on the edge of the World!! Whoever leads after Round 1 will definitely deserve it.

After golf those on the Play & Stay packages will enjoy accommodation at the Broadhaven Bay and of course McDonnell’s Bar in Belmullet!!

REGISTER NOW

The 2nd Round sees us back at Carne Golf Links, this time to take on their Wild Atlantic Dunes Course on Friday 25th August 2023! This courses meanders through massive dunes taking in the old Back 9 on the Hackett and the Kilmore 9, this is a truly tremendous golf experience and one not to be missed!

Following golf the players will make their way to Enniscrone to stay at the Diamond Coast Hotel in preparation for the Final Round the next day, there will also be a Barbecue that evening for the golfers – either in the hotel or a local bar/restaurant. Stay tuned for details on this!

The Final Round of our 10th Anniversary Tournament will take place at the exquisite Enniscrone Golf Links on Saturday 26th August 2023! An ethereal golf experience, you will enjoy a true Links Golf test here with some of the best finishing holes to be found on Ireland’s West Coast! The 2022 Champions will have thoroughly deserved their victory and if the past few years are anything to go by it could well go down to the last couple of holes in the Final Round!!

The Event Packages for our 10th Anniversary Tournament are as follows:

• Golf Only – €250 per person / €450 per Team
• 2 nights’ B&B and 3 rounds of Golf – €399 per person sharing / €798 per Team
• 3 nights’ B&B and 3 rounds of Golf & Friday Night BBQ – €519 per person sharing / €1,038 per Team
• 4 nights’ B&B and 3 rounds of Golf & Friday Night BBQ – €575 per person sharing / €1,150 per Team

(The 3 & 4 night packages include the BBQ on Friday 25th August 2022. All Packages include a Goody Bay and a 10th Anniversary Tournament Commemorative Kwack Golf Shirt.)

Accommodation is available at The Broadhaven Bay Hotel, which is less than 10 minutes from Carne Golf Links, for the Wednesday & Thursday of the Tournament and then The Diamond Coast Hotel, which is right beside Enniscrone Golf Links, for the Friday & Saturday nights. We have overflow rooms available at the Great National Hotel in Ballina also.

REGISTER NOW

The Tournament Format will stay the same for the Event from previous years

• Pairs Tournament, Teams of 2
• Par 4s & Par 5s: Both players tee off and pick one tee shot, from this spot both players then play their own ball from there. The first player to play will be the player whose tee shot is chosen (Play as Lie depending on the Local Rules on the day), the 2nd player may then place their ball within a scorecard not nearer the hole.
• Par 3s: Both players play their own ball for the duration of the hole Team of 2 with both scores on holes 9 & 18 and 1 score to count on the other holes each (3/4 Handicaps apply)
• Stableford Scoring

​If you would like to enter the 2023 Links Challenge or have any queries about the Tournament, please call +353-87-4629944 or email The Experience Ireland Team.

Social Media Open 2023

The 10th Anniversary Tournament of the Social Media Open will be celebrated when the Event returns to Ballybunion Golf Club, Tralee Golf Club & Dooks Golf Club from Tuesday 25th to Friday 28th April 2023! You can enter your Team HERE for next year.

Dooks Golf Links (photo from Jacob Sjoman)

The Tournament has visited courses including Mount Juliet, Castlemartyr, Adare, Old Head, Doonbeg, Ballybunion Old & Cashen, Tralee and Dooks over the years with the Event’s home definitely found in the County Kerry Links Courses over the past few years.

Day 1 of the Social Media Open 2023 will take place at Ballybunion Old & Cashen on Tuesday 25th April 2023 with some overflow tee times at Tralee Golf Links.

The 2nd Day of the Tournament will be again at Ballybunion Old & Cashen with those having played The Old the day before playing the Cashen on Wednesday 26th April. There will be overflow tee times on the day at Dooks Golf Links.

Ballybunion Golf Club (C) Jacob Sjöman. jacob@sjomanart.com

Moving Day at the Social Media Open takes the majority of the field to the tremendous Tralee Golf Links while those having played Tralee and Dooks on Days 1&2 will tee it up at Ballybunion Old on Thursday 27th April 2023.

The Final Day’s play of our 10th Anniversary Tournament will see us back at Dooks Golf Links for most golfers while Ballybunion Cashen will provide the last 18 holes of the week for 56 golfers in the field on Friday 28th April 2023. There will be a Final Day Dinner that evening back in Killarney for those on the Play & Stay packages.

Tralee Golf Links (C) Jacob Sjöman. jacob@sjomanart.com

The format of the Tournament will follow the same setup as in previous years.

Par 4s & Par 5s: Both players tee off and pick one tee shot, from this spot both players then play their own ball from there. The first player to play will be the player whose tee shot is chosen (Play as Lie depending on the Local Rules on the day), the 2nd player may then place their ball within a scorecard not nearer the hole.

Par 3s: Both players play their own ball for the duration of the hole

Scoring – Team of 2 with both scores on holes 9 & 18 and 1 score to count on the other holes each (3/4 Handicaps apply) – while the Tournament packages are as follows, all packages includes 4 Rounds of Golf, Goody Bag, 10th Anniversary Tournament Golf Shirt from Kwack Golf, Forecaddy at Ballybunion Old Course and Final Day Dinner for those on 4/5 night Play & Stay Packages. There is space for 144 golfers (72 Teams) on the usual running order – Ballybunion Old & Cashen, Tralee & Dooks – while the final 56 golfers (28 Teams) to enter will start at Tralee Golf Links, then onto Dooks, Ballybunion Old & Ballybunion Cashen.

• Golf Only – €599 per person / €1,098 per Team of 2
• Play & Stay 3 nights – €799 per person sharing / €1,598 per Team of 2
• Play & Stay 4 nights – €929 per person sharing / €1,858 per Team of 2 (includes Final Day Dinner)
• Play & Stay 5 nights – €999 per person sharing / €1,998 per Team of 2 (includes Final Day Dinner)

Other Packages available on Request – Contact Us for details. Online Entries available HERE!

Along with the great golf and awesome accommodation there will hopefully be some “social gatherings” organised over the course of the few days, always something to look forward to post-round! We are looking forward to another great few days of golf & craic in the South West of Ireland and hope you can join us next April!

If you have any queries regarding The 2023 Social Media Open please email info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com or call +353-64-6622830.

Experience Ireland Invitational 2019

James (The Caddy Guy) letting rip at Killarney’s Killeen Course

Experience Ireland Golf & Travel is delighted to return to Killarney Golf & Fishing Club for the 3rd Annual Experience Ireland Invitational Tournament on Monday 29th October 2019!

Over 90 golfers, from all over the Irish Golf & Tourism Industry and further afield, took part in our 2nd Annual Tournament on Monday 29th October 2018, in lovely golfing conditions beside the beautiful lakes of Killarney. We’re hoping for similar numbers and definitely similar weather as we look forward to welcoming teams from all over Ireland!

This year’s Tournament will once again be a Team of 4 Event with 2 scores to count towards what will hopefully be a winning score! Defending Champions were Captained by Steve Shine last year, a member of Castlerosse Golf Club, and we hope they will be making a defence of their title this year. Full Tournament details are as follows:

The team from the Great Southern Killarney enjoying our Invitational Day in 2018!

Experience Ireland Invitational 2019

• Date – Monday 28th October 2019
• Venue – Killeen Course, Killarney Golf & Fishing Club
• Format – Team of 4, 2 scores to count on each hole
• Event Package – Breakfast Baps on arrival, Round of Golf & Main Course after Play
• Entry Fee – €220 per Team of 4 / €55 per person
• Hole Sponsorship – €180 per Hole
• Team Entry & Hole Sponsorship – €350

 

If you would like to enter a team please EMAIL US. We look forward to hearing back from you soon and hopefully seeing you in October for our Invitational Tournament!

Social Media Open 2020

The Cashen Course’s 16th Hole

The Social Media Open has been going since 2013 at some of the finest golf courses in Ireland – Adare GC, Ballybunion, Castlemartyr, Dooks, Doonbeg, Mount Juliet, Old Head and Tralee. Next year is no different!

The Social Media Open returns next April for its 8th Annual Tournament! The venues of 2016, 2017 & 2018 and 2019 return once more as well – namely, The Old & Cashen Course at Ballybunion Golf Club, along with Tralee Golf Links & Dooks Golf Links to make up 4 tremendous tests of golf. The dates for the Event will be Tuesday 21st – Friday 24th April 2020.

Day 1 of The 2019 Social Media Open will involve a 2-course start at the Cashen Course & Old Course at Ballybunion Golf Club on Tuesday 21st April with half the field playing on the Cashen and the other half taking on the Old Course for the 1st Round. The Cashen Course, opened in 1982 and designed by renowned golf architect Robert Trent Jones Senior, requires acute precision especially off the tee as fairways frequently disappear around corners. The careless tee shots can easily run out of fairway and find their golf ball buried in the marram grass, hopefully there won’t be many of them next April! The ‘BallyB’ website puts it well in that “if the Cashen Course at Ballybunion Golf Club was anywhere else it would attract far more attention and plaudits than it does. It’s hard on a girl if her older sister is Sophia Loren!”

Ballybunion’s 10th Green & 11 Tee

The 2nd Day of The 2019 Social Media Open will again involve a 2-course start taking in the World famous Old Course and Cashen Course at Ballybunion Golf Club on Wednesday 22nd April. The famous English golf writer, Peter Dobereiner said of BallyB’s Old Course: “If sheer pleasure is the yardstick, then Ballybunion’s Old Course gets my vote as the No. 1 in the world”. According to Ivan Morris’ editorial on the Ballybunion GC website, “by the mid-1970s, there was a growing trickle of well-read, international visitors that overnight turned into a flood in 1982 when Tom Watson made his famous off the cuff eulogy after accepting the Claret Jug at Royal Troon: ‘Nobody can call himself a golfer until he has played at Ballybunion; you would think the game originated there!’ Ever since, the North Kerry links has been one of the most lucrative and recognizable brands in world golf. Knowledgeable golfers realize that if they haven’t played golf at Ballybunion their golfing education is gravely incomplete”.

Tralee’s iconic 17th Hole

The 3^rd Round of The 2019 Social Media Open will take place at the tremendous Tralee Golf Links on Thursday 23rd April! Course designer, Arnold Palmer, claims credit for the front 9 but has always maintained that “God designed the back 9”, unfortunately for all golf fans Mr Palmer has now passed on but we can luckily still enjoy his amazing work in County Kerry. Tralee Golf Links only opened in 1984 but has been getting rave review ever since, as PGA Tour player Kevin Stadler attests to…. “My favourite courses are Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Tralee Golf Club”. Not bad company eh! Beautiful views of Kerry’s picturesque surrounds and beaches are the perfect backdrop and the sounds of the Atlantic Ocean make up an ideal soundtrack to bring the curtain down on what we promise will be another excellent week of craic, with a bit of golf in between!!

Dooks’ Par-3 4th Hole

The Final Round of The 2020 Social Media Open takes us back to Dooks Golf Links in Glenbeigh. This beautifully located links course was a favourite of many a team last April and it promises to present a great golfing test once more along with the now famous Dooks welcome! Also known for its narrow links fairways and well contoured greens, you will get a real taste of traditional links golf at its very best. The west Kerry scenery and a scattering of gorse, heather and wild flowers will go down a treat as well. Dooks has been welcoming golfers since 1889 and the course has gone from strength to strength each year, we are very much looking forward to returning here on Friday 24th April!

There will be a new format for the Event from previous years – Par 4s & Par 5s:
Both players tee off and pick one tee shot, from this spot both players then play their own ball from there. The first player to play will be the player whose tee shot is chosen (Play as Lie depending on the Local Rules on the day), the 2nd player may then place their ball within a scorecard not nearer the hole. Par 3s: Both players play their own ball for the duration of the hole Team of 2 with both scores on holes 9 & 18 and 1 score to count on the other holes each (3/4 Handicaps apply) – while the Tournament packages are as follows:

• Golf Only – €409 per person / €818 per Team of 2
• Play & Stay 3 nights – €579 per person sharing / €1,158 per Team of 2
• Play & Stay 4 nights – €689 per person sharing / €1,378 per Team of 2 (includes Prize Giving Dinner)
• Play & Stay 5 nights – €749 per person sharing / €1,498 per Team of 2 (includes Prize Giving Dinner)

Other Packages available on Request – Contact Us for details.

Along with the great golf and awesome accommodation there will also be some “social gatherings” organised over the course of the few days, always something to look forward to post-round! We are looking forward to another great few days of golf & craic in the South West of Ireland and hope you can join us next April! If you have any queries regarding The 2020 Social Media Open please email info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com or call +353-64-6622830.

Carne 25th Anniversary Superdraw

The spectacular Carne Golf Links in beautiful Belmullet, Co Mayo, will celebrate its 25th Anniversary with a tremendous Tourism Superdraw this year!

Prizes include a 2020 Ford Focus or €20k, Life Membership of Carne Golf Links plus the following

• Cash Prizes of €2k & €1k
• A 7 day holiday in Belmullet including Golf at Carne Golf Links
• Weekend for 2 at Abbeyglen Castle Hotel, Connemara
• An Apple iPad
• Afternoon Tea for 2 at Ashford Castle, Co Mayo

The draw takes place on 31st December 2019 in the Clubhouse at Carne Golf Links with spot prizes also to be won on the night! To be in with a chance of winning one of these amazing prizes get your Ticket for €50 – available from Carne Golf Links directly, by calling +353-97-82292 or by emailing info@carnegolflinks.com.

Take on Carne Golf Links & Enniscrone Golf Links during The Links Challenge from Thursday 22nd to Saturday 24th August! Any queries email info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com.

All Ireland Golf Challenge

Experience Ireland Golf & Travel is delighted to launch the Inaugural All Ireland Golf Challenge! 4 Provincial Qualifiers will take place from May to August with The All Ireland Final taking place on Friday 20th September at The Heritage where the All Ireland Champions will be crowned. This will be a Team of 4 Event, who wants to be our Inaugural Champions??

We will be off to the superb Slieve Russell first for the Ulster Qualifier on Friday 24th May. The county Cavan course is synonymous with hosting great Golf Events and was recently voted the 2018 Golf Resort of the Year in Ulster. Forming part of a magnificent 300 acre estate, including 50 acres of lakes, our highly acclaimed 18-hole championship course is sensitively wrapped around the lakes and the drumlins of the County Cavan landscape. The course presents a wonderful challenge and the devilishly tricky greens present a searching examination of accurate approach play, which adds to the enjoyment factor. To book your place at our Ulster Qualifier please email info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com or call +353-64-6622830.

Next up will be the Connaught Qualifier at Galway Bay Golf Resort on Friday 7th June. Galway Bay is a golfing gem in the West of Ireland and has come in for rave reviews of the past few years. No stranger to hosting big Events it will host the Connaught U16 Open this year among other Tournaments. Designed by Irish golfing legend Christy O’Connor Jnr, the man himself had this to say about Galway Bay: “This is a true championship golf course with a fair test of golf to all who discover this gem. Washed on three sides by the wild Atlantic ocean laden with pot bunkers together with natural water hazards combines to make Galway Bay one of the truly great courses of Ireland“. To book your place at our Connaught Qualifier please email info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com or call +353-64-6622830.

The Leinster Qualifier will take place in July when we visit The Heritage on Friday 5th July. This Seve Ballesteros designed masterpiece, his first and only design in Ireland, is a great golfing test from start to finish with the highlights hole being the par-4 9th & 18th which run parallel to each other towards the amazing Clubhouse separated by a large and wonderful water hazard. The Heritage is a wonderful venue and has hosted many Tournaments down the years including the Seve Trophy in 2007 and The Heritage Pro-Am for many years. To book your place at our Leinster Qualifier please email info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com or call +353-64-6622830.

The final Qualifier will take us to Munster and the Killeen Course at the superb Killarney Golf & Fishing Club on Friday 16th August. This will present Teams the last chance at making it to our All Ireland Final in September, in stunning surroundings. The Killeen has hosted The Irish Open 4 times, in 1991 & 1992 (both won by Nick Faldo) and also in 2010 & 2011 (won by Ross Fisher & Simon Dyson respectively). The Killeen course is one the most scenic inland courses in Ireland, surroundings by the marvellous Macgillycuddy Reeks and also the Lakes of Killarney, it truly is a golfing treat! To book your place at our Munster Qualifier please email info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com or call +353-64-6622830.

The Winning Team from each Qualifier will then contest The All Ireland Golf Challenge Final on Friday 20th September at The Heritage. The Format of our Provincial Qualifiers is simple – Team of 4 Event with 2 scores to count on each Hole. Max Handicap for Ladies is 36 and 28 for Gents, you must have an Official Handicap to compete in the Event. The cost to enter is €125 per person / €500 per Team and includes the following:

• Team Entry
• Soup & Sandwiches on Arrival
• BBQ at the Halfway Hut
• Goody Bag & Druids Golf Shirt for Each Member of your Team
• Dinner & Prize Giving after Golf

If you have any queries on our All Ireland Golf Challenge or if you would like to book your place at any of the Provincial Qualifiers please email info@experienceirelandgolfandtravel.com or call +353-64-6622830.

Seed Golf – Irish Golf Balls

So, did you hear the one about Irish made golf ball?!? Well, it’s true! We make great golfers here so why not golf balls? Designed in County Carlow, Seed Golf has been growing in popularity over the past few years as it looks to take on the high end golf ball market with their various offerings, all great value with superb performance starting from only €10 per dozen!!

I extensively used Seed Golf during some of our Tournaments this year, so much so I have switched to them full time and thankfully I am enjoying great results including one of my best rounds ever! I also managed to play 2 rounds – at Carne Golf Links & Enniscrone Golf Links – without losing either Seed Golf ball I used. The round previous to this I had managed to lose a few golf balls from a much better known golf ball brand!!

The Seed Golf range is extensive and includes the following golf balls. You can also Subscribe to receiving a Dozen balls every month which is a great way of spreading the cost of buying golf balls over the course of the season.

• The Country Mile, SD-15Durable & Reliable. This rock is long!
• The Pro, SD-01Tom’s favourite
• • It’s long off the tee with the feel and spin control you need, particularly on approach shots and around the greens.
• The Pro Soft, SD-05The tour ball for the rest of us™.
• • Lower compression suits slower swing speeds and provides incredibly soft feel & urethane cover gives tour-grade control.

It’s great to support an Irish company and we look forward to many of our Golf Tour Groups trying out the Seed Golf Balls in the future. It could be the perfect Christmas Gift for that golfer in your life!

Enjoy craic & fine food at the 19th Hole in Northern Ireland

When you tee off in Northern Ireland it isn’t just the world-class golf that leaves you with a warm glow inside. It will be one of the biggest summers of golf for the whole Island of Ireland when The Irish Open stops off in Lahinch in early July followed by The Open Championship at Royal Portrush just 2 weeks later! While the great golf courses around Ireland will undoubtedly benefits in terms of greater visitor numbers the 19th Holes will definitely benefit too!!

A traditionally-friendly welcome awaits golfing visitors in this northerly part of the island of Ireland. And of course there’s the legendary craic – or crack, as it is sometimes spelt north of the border – in the 19th hole of golf clubs after a round as well as in its hospitable pubs and bars. The clubhouse bar is the focal point of Northern Ireland’s golf clubs and visiting golfers will quickly find themselves making new friends over a round or two of drinks after their round on the fairways.

These days, however, the après-golf experience is just as likely to be gastronomic as it is savouring a pint of the black stuff or a nip of whiskey from Ireland’s oldest distillery, Bushmills. Northern Ireland’s food and drink scene has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years and a golfing trip offers a great opportunity to savour some of its cuisine offerings, not least in golf club restaurants, where their chefs are cooking up quite a reputation for themselves.

If you thought Northern Ireland was just potatoes or stew, think again. These kitchen wizards are using local produce to fashion culinary creations that have garnered several top awards, while Northern Ireland has just been named the world’s best food destination at the prestigious International Travel and Tourism Awards, held in London during November’s World Travel Market.

Accepting the award, Michele Shirlow, Chief Executive of Food NI, Northern Ireland’s food and drink promotion body, said: “This international award is a marvellous accolade for our industry and local producers in particular and should be a major benefit for our rapidly developing tourism industry as it seeks to attract even more visitors from across the world and in particular, golf enthusiasts for The Open in Portrush in 2019.”

Dungannon Golf Club’s restaurant was named regional and overall restaurant of the year for Northern Ireland in the 2016 Food Awards Northern Ireland, winning the regional category for County Tyrone again in 2017. The Catalina Restaurant at Lough Erne Resort, named after the World War II flying boats that were based on Lough Erne, was Northern Ireland’s first 3 AA rosette hotel restaurant and was awarded Fermanagh’s best restaurant by the Restaurants Association of Ireland, which also saluted Executive Head Chef Noel McMeel as the region’s best chef. He was recently named one of Ireland’s top 10 chefs for 2018 by Food & Wine magazine. His ethos is also to use locally-sourced ingredients in the restaurant’s menus, which feature classic and contemporary dishes.

Galgorm Resort & Spa, which hosted the World Luxury Spa & Restaurant Awards in July, has opened a new 150-seat barbecue smokehouse restaurant, the Castle Kitchen & Bar (pictured), at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in a £600,000 investment. It also features a 60-seat balcony terrace providing alfresco dining with views across the castle grounds and golf course. You can savour views at other golf club restaurants in Northern Ireland, too. The restored 18th century Coach House at Roe Park Resort, once a stately country house, incorporates a restaurant that overlooks the revamped par-3 6th hole and the elevated clubhouse of Belfast’s Belvoir Park Golf Club has a restaurant and bar called The View as it looks out across the tree-lined fairways to the Black Mountains beyond.

Those wanting to drink in the craic after their round can do so in settings from the world’s oldest clubhouse at Ardglass Golf Club, originally built as a coastal castle more than 600 years ago, to 2017 Irish Open host Portstewart Golf Club, which boasts one of Ireland’s most modern clubhouses.

Traditional local foods include favourites such as Ulster fry (a breakfast fry-up with black and white pudding), boxty (potato cake), Ardglass potted herring, Lough Neagh eels, New Season Comber Potatoes, Tayto crisps (made at 500-year-old Tayto Castle since 1956), fifteens (traybake treats that use 15 ingredients), champ (mashed potatoes mixed with whipping cream and spring onions), veda (malted bread) and crusty Belfast baps – a cheap lifesaving staple when potato blight caused famine.

There are also many local artisans now producing fare with a new twist, such as sea-salted butter, blue cheese, goats milk fudge, washed ale cheese, seaweed, goat meat and wild venison. On the drinks front, recent years have seen the establishment of new cider makers in Northern Ireland’s apple-growing heart, Armagh, craft beer brewers, tea companies and high-end distillers, producing hand-crafted gins, liqueurs and even vodka distilled from locally-grown potatoes. Artisan produce can be found at farmers’ markets across the region as well as at Belfast’s indoor St George’s Market.

The best way to work off all that food is to play one of Northern Ireland’s courses. It’s an absolute feast of great golf.