Golf weekends in Ireland

The great myth of Irish golf is that it takes a week and a flight. It doesn't. Some of the finest links on earth sit in tight clusters within a couple of hours of home, close enough to play two or three across a single weekend. Drive down on Friday evening, play Saturday and Sunday, and be back for Monday — a proper golf trip that fits a normal weekend. The only real question is which stretch of coast to point the car at, and that depends on how far you'll drive and how much you want to spend.

The North Coast is the best two-day cluster in the country, full stop — Royal Portrush, Portstewart and Castlerock within six miles, an hour from Belfast. If you can only do one Irish golf weekend, do this one.

Dublin & the East is the easiest — Portmarnock, The Island and Baltray within forty minutes of the city, so east-coast golfers can play a great links weekend and sleep at home. Clare pairs Lahinch and Doonbeg, twenty minutes apart, with the Cliffs of Moher next door — the simplest two-marquee-links trip to reach if you're flying in.

Kerry — Ballybunion, Tralee, Waterville — is the bucket-list pilgrimage, but it's a long drive and the courses are spread out, so plan it properly. The West (Sligo and Mayo) is the one nobody talks about and probably the best value of all — Rosses Point, Enniscrone and Carne, magnificent links for a good bit less than the southern names charge.

For something different, Cork builds a weekend around the clifftop spectacle of Old Head and the best food in the country, and the South East — Mount Juliet, Druids Glen, Rosslare — is the dry-side, mostly-parkland option that holds up when the Atlantic coasts are getting battered. To keep any of them cheap, start with our affordable golf guide.

The rhythm is simple: two nights, three rounds is the classic; one night, two rounds is the tighter version. The trick is booking order — lock in the marquee course first, because Portrush, Ballybunion and Portmarnock go months ahead for weekends and often protect Saturdays for members, then build the cheaper, easier-to-get rounds around it. Play the shoulder months for lower fees, use twilight rates, check what it all costs, and let the trip plannerpull the courses, base and hotel together once you've picked a region. Wherever you land, book a bed early: Portrush, Killarney and Lahinch all sell out in season.