Welcome to Talking Golf Travel No. 23.
August definitely delivered for golfers.
This issue is packed with the latest must-see stories from the greatest links destinations in Ireland and Scotland.
Now, let’s tee off.
As if you needed any more reasons to visit this luxury golfer paradise.
Turnberry, the stunning seaside retreat in Ayrshire, just expanded its already impressive golf offering.
You can now combine the iconic Ailsa Course and joyous King Robert the Bruce with the all-new Trump’s Twelve.
The 12-hole track, featuring natural wasteland and strategic water hazards, will test your accuracy, imagination, and short-game chops.
Learn more in Today’s Golfer here.
September is set to be a festival of premier championship golf on the jaw-dropping Atlantic coast of County Clare.
First, before the much-anticipated Irish Open hits Doonbeg, the 51st Walker Cup will unfold at Lahinch Golf Club.
Its Old Course, a spellbinding links layout crafted by Morris, Mackenzie and Hawtree, is a pilgrimage you simply must make.
Watch Ru Macdonald of LinksLand enjoy his first experience of this magical place.
Let’s complete the Clare combo.
Some 20 miles south of Lahinch, nestled within an otherworldly dunescape atop Doughmore Bay, you’ll find Trump International Golf Links.
For many, it’s the premier stay-and-play resort in Southwest Ireland. Expect heavenly accommodations, sumptuous cuisine, and spellbinding vistas.
Plus, a majestic, freshly upgraded modern layout that will enter elite company when it hosts the upcoming star-studded Irish Open.
Learn more in National Club Golfer here.
In May, Tom Brady teed off around Ireland.
Now another American sports icon has crossed the pond for a golfing adventure.
This time, the star is LeBron James, and the destination is Scotland.
Specifically, the 36-hole Cabot Highlands in Inverness.
LeBron and his teammates from the 2016 NBA championship-winning Cleveland Cavaliers gathered for a golf scramble on the mesmerising Castle Stuart.
Join the millions who have already watched their reunion.
Just north of Dublin, where the glorious Boyne Valley meets the crashing Irish Sea, there’s a lesser-known championship cracker beloved by Padraig Harrington.
Seapoint Golf Links sits on 260 acres of rugged, windswept duneland beside the gorgeous Termonfeckin Beach.
Although a relative newcomer, the club boasts an impressively rich tournament pedigree.
At Seapoint, you get a potent cocktail of challenge and charm.
Learn more in World’s Best Golf Destinations here.
Statistically, that’s your chances of carding an albatross.
The rarest shot in golf (AKA a double eagle) is a score of three under par on a single hole.
Jamie Kennedy, who calls North Berwick in East Lothian his ‘happy place’, somehow defied the odds.
He aced 18 on the wonderfully weird West Links, the par-4 Home, with a hickory driver, no less!
Learn more in Golf Digest here.
8 golfers | 6 rounds | 7 nights
Some trips become something more.
With precision planning and extraordinary experiences at every turn, we delivered a life-changing Golfer Journeys pilgrimage for our Fazzini group.
Their itinerary combined the best of Ayrshire and Fife.
Four legendary layouts from Open folklore: Turnberry, Prestwick, Royal Troon, and Carnoustie.
Two modern masterpieces from Kyle Phillips: Dundonald and Kingsbarns.
Between bucket-list rounds amidst sensational seaside splendour, our guests enjoyed 5-star stays and gourmet dining.
Sure, it’s not exactly The Open.
But this wonderful film, a collaboration between Skratch and Dan on Golf, is essential viewing for travelling golfers.
It perfectly captures the sheer joy, awe and excitement that consumes you on the dazzling Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush.
Anyway, a good skins game match adds another flavour to the mix!
So does sipping whiskey, 400 years in the making, on the jaw-dropping Giant’s Causeway.
Speaking of sensational links courses in Northern Ireland.
Castlerock Golf Club, like Royal Portrush and Portstewart, sits on the ruggedly beautiful Causeway Coast.
Its Mussenden Course, though somewhat unheralded, belongs on your golf trip itinerary.
Welcome back to southwest Scotland.
Naturally, The Open trio headlines your golfing journey across Ayrshire.
But it’s the support acts, all within a 45-minute drive, that showcase the region’s remarkable density of world-class golf.
For example, you’ve got the renowned championship cathedral at Western Gailes.
This classic links course, although eminently playable and immaculately conditioned, serves a searing test of punishing bunkers, burns and rough.
See for yourself with shortside.
Billed as your next bucket list, an unusual new ranking has become the talk of the golf internet.
So, when it comes to courses, how do you judge X Factor?
He was the greatest golfer in Scotland. Old Tom Morris served as his apprentice.
The Open was born from his death. He masterminded the Old Course’s double greens.
Carnoustie Golf Links was his original design. He pioneered the use of iron clubs.
Allan Robertson only lived for 43 years, but his influence continues to shape the modern game.
Find out why in this fascinating new film from St Andrews Links.
Just a year after opening, the latest addition to the epic Aberdeenshire golfing landscape staged its maiden tournament.
The seasoned campaigners got the first crack at your Course of the Month.
Darren Fichardt dominated the recent Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Golf Links.
Its New Course delivered a debut performance to match his five-shot victory…
Uncover this exhilarating, windswept rollercoaster through ever-changing terrain with sensational North Sea vistas.
Share
Author: Tom Rooney
