Welcome to Talking Golf Travel No. 22.
It’s peak season for unforgettable Golfer Journeys and top-tier tournaments.
So, if you’re dreaming of a golf trip to the finest championship links courses, July’s issue is most definitely for you.
Let’s get this round of inspiring stories from Ireland and Scotland underway.
Ryan Fox’s unexpected victory was not the only big story to emerge from The 154th Open.
R&A CEO Mark Dobson provided a positive update on bringing the oldest Major to the Republic of Ireland for the first time.
As you probably know, the venue for this momentous event will be the prestigious Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin.
Dobson claimed an official announcement is ‘pretty close’.
Learn more in RTÉ here.
Speaking of future Open Championship venues you need to play.
Next year, the Old Course – that sacred, singular shrine to the ancient game – will host the tournament for the 31st time.
Preparations began last winter.
Martin Ebert, who also revamped Royal Portrush for 2025, oversaw works to elevate the strategic challenge while preserving the traditional character of the legendary layout.
See the results in this film from St Andrews Links.
Waterville. Ballybunion. Tralee.
When it comes to links courses, County Kerry – known as The Kingdom – is the jewel in the crown of Southwest Ireland.
And Dooks Golf Club is Kerry’s hidden gem.
It’s a purist’s delight.
At Dooks, such is the refreshing tranquillity and endless untouched beauty that you wonder whether this quirky, incredibly entertaining golf course was created or discovered.
Learn more in World’s Best Golf Destinations here.
Why have generations of American golfers flocked to Scotland?
Joel Beal embarked on a summer-long journey to find the courses, towns and people that continue to entice his compatriots.
He discovered the reason for this enduring allure on the linksland of Nairn, Western Gailes, Crail, Dunbar and Cruden Bay.
Beal also created a region-by-region roadmap to help you plan your own Scottish golfing getaway.
Learn more in Golf Digest here.
The contest for the Claret Jug is more popular than ever.
Whether in Ireland, Scotland or England, the Championship reliably attracts 300,000 spectators.
But there’s a catch.
It also means certain iconic venues are not equipped to host The Open.
Yet we can still fantasise about seeing a Champion Golfer of the Year crowned at Royal County Down, North Berwick, Ballybunion, or Royal Dornoch.
Learn more in Golf Monthly here.
From Michael Jordan to Rafa Nadal, elite athletes from other sports have always been avid golfers.
Ryan Wilson, the former Scotland rugby player, is among this cross-code cohort.
Since retiring, he has travelled across his homeland to learn golf from the ground up.
Recently, Wilson and his old coach attempted to break 70 on the visually stunning, immaculately conditioned, and immensely exciting Ailsa Course.
Find out what happened on Scrum2Scratch.
8 golfers | 7 rounds | 8 nights
If Luke Donald and Jim Furyk need first-hand insights about Adare Manor, the Captains can ask our Lozner group.
They stayed, played and dined at the 2027 Ryder Cup venue on an action-packed Golfer Journeys experience through the majestic landscapes of Southwest Ireland.
Meanwhile, their championship links courses matched the island’s premier parkland.
Lahinch and Doonbeg, hosts of the upcoming Walker Cup and Irish Open, delivered unforgettable wild Atlantic adventures.
If you build it, they will come.
Consider Old Petty the Field of Dreams for Timmy Jordan.
Jordan, the popular golf content creator, began his six-stage Scottish links adventure on the acclaimed new course at Cabot Highlands.
Just outside Inverness, the Tom Doak design debuted in May and already ranks among Scotland’s top 20 tracks.
Follow Timmy and Dywane, who shot 64 (-7), on a record-breaking round around Old Petty.
Talk about an ambitious itinerary.
Sean Walsh, another hacker who became a YouTube sensation, will play golf in 10 countries… in 10 days!
The Texan began his epic European odyssey at the No. 1 course on the planet.
There really is nowhere quite like the Championship Links at Royal County Down.
Northern Ireland’s greatest layout is everything you imagine, from the surroundings to the turf and challenge.
Take a look.
Watch the Scottish Open?
Then you glimpsed picture-postcard East Lothian, where there’s an unparalleled quality, quantity, density, and diversity of links golf.
The Glen is a clifftop cracker. Gullane No. 3 is a short, sweet showstopper. Dunbar is a storied seaside charmer.
The Fidra is a fascinating hybrid. North Berwick is a mind-blowing marvel. Gullane No. 1 is a championship colosseum.
Intrigued?
Listen to the Cookie Jar Golf Podcast here.
Who contested this historic event on the soul-stirring shores of County Mayo in Northwest Ireland?
Two brothers, both PGA professionals, and a comedian. Together, Phil and David Leathem and Andrew Ryan are the Golf Bros.
Carne Golf Links, home of the otherworldly Wild Atlantic Dunes, provided the perfect setting for their maiden ‘Major’.
If you like golf trips with big laughs, blockbuster landscapes and breathtaking backdrops, this is essential viewing.
Eoin Riddell has dedicated his entire professional life to preserving and refining Royal Dornoch.
Its spellbinding Championship Course, where the purest turf unfurls along the Dornoch Firth, forms the triumvirate of great pilgrimages with St Andrews and Royal County Down.
Riddell, now Course Manager, joined the club as an apprentice greenkeeper in 1986.
Here, he shares fascinating insights about the time and effort required to maintain this Scottish Highlands classic.
It’s been a busy summer for Ian Woods and Neil White.
Already, they’ve played some of the finest championship courses on Ireland’s East coast, including Portmarnock and Royal Dublin.
Next stop: County Louth Golf Club.
The King continues to inspire new generations.
As America celebrated its 250th anniversary, across the Atlantic, the 30th Arnold Palmer Cup unfolded at the spellbinding links layout he created.
Tralee Golf Club proved an equally inspirational canvas.
The players produced a classic edition of this Ryder Cup-style collegiate competition – how could they not?
Your Course of the Month delivers an intoxicating mix of savage beauty, rollercoaster terrain and heroic holes.
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Author: Tom Rooney
