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Ireland Golf Course Tour? Not to play, only a short tour.

Posted by (Montana, USA) on

Forgive me if I missed this topic as I did search the forum and found suggestions for golfing rather than touring a course.

We love to watch golf on tv; however, we do not play. Are there any golf courses in Ireland that allow visitors to tour the course? Or at least a good view from outside the course? We would really enjoy a 30-60 minute walking tour of a traditional links course if possible. I have sent an email to Lahinch Golf Club asking if a tour is possible (waiting a reply). I thought I’d ask the forum to see if anyone else had taken a tour. We will also visit Portrush, home of the 2025 Open Championship, which is likely a long shot for a tour. I suppose one could pay a green fee and walk the course or attend a tournament.

Thanks for any information.
Sean

Posted by
119 posts

I haven't ever heard of tour on a course. Golfers can be a picky bunch. They don't like people walking around when they're playing.
If you want to see a course the best way would be during a tournament. Now it doesn't have to be a professional tournament. There could be a local tournament that you could watch. Just don't get in the way.
There is one course that I know of that you can walk to your hearts content every Sunday. It one of the most famous in the world. Unfortunately for you it is in Scotland. The Old Course in St Andrews is closed on Sundays so the townspeople can walk on the course have a picnic. It's a law!

Posted by
39 posts

I would think your best bet would be to stay at a place that has a course. Portmarnock Resort near Dublin has a course called the Jamison Links that is next to the resort that is on the coast, and if you stay there they might let you walk the course. Also, The K Club just west of Dublin also has 2 golf courses and a hotel there. Many golf courses have a restaurant that have great views of the course, so having lunch or a drink there could give you some good views.

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks for your comments and great suggestions! I did hear back from Lahinch Golf Club via email and they confirmed what you said - “the course is too busy with golfing.” We’ll try your recommendations.

Posted by
21 posts

We visited Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce Links) in 2018, one year prior to the club hosting The Open in 2019. At that time, there were no tours available; there were daily tee times for visitors available which of course would allow you to view the entire course but you would need to play a round. However, the gentleman in the Pro Shop said we could walk out to Hole 18 and if there were no golfers around then we could wander further. We ended up being able to walk the 5th and 6th holes along the ocean as well as the famous 16th hole (Calamity Corner, treacherous par 3). All in all, we spent almost an hour walking the course and no one challenged us....I guess we were lucky. Anyway, that was our experience and maybe you could ask to walk it if you are already in the coastal causeway area.

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