Welcome to Talking Golf Travel: No.13.
This is a special anniversary edition of your favourite monthly roundup of golfing content from Ireland and Scotland.
Can you believe it?
One year ago this week, our inaugural issue landed. We hope you’ve enjoyed the journey so far and appreciate your support.
Now, let’s get another corking compilation underway.
Click any headline to tee off on October’s Talking Golf Travel.
When it comes to new golf courses, 2025 belongs to Scotland.
But the Emerald Isle is expecting its own grand opening in 2026.
And that’s Curracloe Links at Ravenport Resort in County Wexford.
As you can see, the much-anticipated new seaside layout (alongside an Oscar-winning beach) looks sensational.
Naturally, golf social media erupted when Course Manager Dean Muir shared these behind-the-scenes snaps of Curracloe.
Explore this pleasant October surprise here.
Speaking of Scotland’s latest courses.
On September 30, following eight weeks of universal acclaim, the preview-play window for Old Petty closed.
Then, finally, the beautiful mind behind the new addition at Cabot Highlands was ready to talk shop.
In a wide-ranging interview, Tom Doak explained his eccentric design choices, how Old Petty complements Castle Stuart, and why he loves golf in the Scottish Highlands.
Read the story in Forbes here.
‘No ordinary golf show.’
That’s how the BBC described the new six-part series that brings you to some of Ireland’s most iconic courses with Bill Murray.
Off Course sees Bill joined by family and celebrity friends for an unforgettable journey that showcases the best of the island, on and off the fairways.
The Caddyshack star, a big fan of Carne Golf Links, says it’s about finding craic.
Learn more here.
48 hours in the Highlands.
Another 48 hours in Ayrshire.
Their next stop had to be the Home of Golf.
But unlike countless golfers over the last 600 years, the chaps from the NCG Top 100s did not make a pilgrimage to the hallowed Old Course.
Instead, Tom and Mike visited modern-day masterpieces in the Ancient Kingdom of Fife.
Join them on the tee at cracking Kingsbarns and delightful Dumbarnie.
It’s a bittersweet story.
The European Club – one of Ireland’s greatest golf courses – will close from this December to Spring 2027.
What’s the upshot?
A major redevelopment that will place The European Club alongside ‘the very best destinations internationally’.
It will be exciting to see how it improves the sumptuous seaside links beloved by Padraig Harrington, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Get the inside scoop from Irish Golfer here.
Course rankings always divide opinion.
But that’s what makes these lists impossible to ignore – you must know the latest pecking order.
Enter Golf World.
Needless to say, their just-updated biennial ranking for Scotland features the usual suspects, such as Carnoustie and Royal Dornoch.
But also lesser-known climbers like Panmure and Dunbar.
And impressive debuts for the new layouts at Trump International and Cabot Highlands.
End the suspense right here.
4 golfers | 5 rounds | 6 nights’ B&B
It was six weeks after that record-breaking Open.
With the dust settled, our Schulle group arrived in Northern Ireland to sample its world-class links, landscapes and luxuries.
Feast your eyes on their mouthwatering courses.
Plus, on the doorstep of their seafront apartments, the revamped Valley Links at Royal Portrush.
Then it was on to Dublin – by way of stunning Seapoint – for an overnight finale.
Welcome to a bygone era of wooden clubs, plus fours, tweed jackets, and flat caps.
This is the wonderful World Hickory Open.
Earlier this month, over 100 golfers from 14 countries journeyed back in time to Aberdeenshire for the 19th Championship.
Think live-action reenactments, only for golf, and on illustrious links courses like Fraserburgh and Murcar (more on this Archie Simpson cracker later).
Britclip captured the early action and reaction.
You might know the Emirates Stadium in London as the home of the Arsenal Football Club.
But on December 4, the 60,000-seater will stage the second Golf Course Awards.
Let’s look at the amazing nominees you can play with Irish Golf Tours.
Across the Golf Course of Year categories for Ireland and Scotland, that’s:
Read the shortlists here.
It seems so simple.
You play from the front tees, and the lowest score on each hole counts towards your total.
However, even for DP World Tour veterans, completing nine holes inside 50 strokes is no picnic.
Especially on a windswept classic links with ginormous dunes, rippled fairways, snaking burns, and devious rough.
See how Dan Brown and Todd Clements fared in their Break 50 Challenge at magnificent Murcar Links.
Truly special itineraries offer you more than golf.
Need inspiration?
Lonely Planet just highlighted must-see places throughout Ireland that are conveniently close to must-play courses…
In Donegal, you can combine the cinematic Inishowen Peninsula with breathtaking Ballyliffin.
Or experience legendary Lahinch and the colossal Cliffs of Moher in enchanting Clare.
Or pair iconic Portmarnock with downtown Dublin.
Then you’ve got Antrim’s awe-inspiring Causeway Coast and Royal Portrush.
Keep reading here.
For 131 years, County Sligo Golf Club has been a beacon of the game in the land that inspired Nobel Prize-winning poet W.B. Yeats.
This is a special place.
Few links courses can match its intoxicating mix of staggering beauty and thrilling design.
And, as you’re about to discover, the story of County Sligo is equally compelling.
Join Captain Robert Fizpatrick and long-standing members for a look back in time.
Donegal is rife with lush landscapes, epic mountains, golden beaches, and breathtaking courses.
However, many travelling golfers remained blissfully unaware of this links paradise in the far-flung corner of Northwest Ireland.
Until 2021.
That’s when Tom Doak (him again!) unveiled his masterpiece at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort.
St Partick’s Links – an amalgam of two older courses – became a worldwide sensation.
Read about this revolutionary redesign in LINKS Magazine here.
It’s the benchmark for all modern golf courses.
It’s the Scottish links with an American twist.
And it’s where hometown hero Robert McIntyre shot 66 on his way to a historic victory at the recent Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
That’s right!
Kingsbarns Golf Links is your Course of the Month.
Explore this sumptuous stretch of golfing terrain that unrolls along the North Sea and delivers picture-postcard views at every turn.
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Author: Tom Rooney
