Donegal Golf Club: Welcome to a Great Golfing Experience

Golf is a game of patience, smarts, dedication, discipline and a whole lot of fun. While many have shunned away from golf because they may think it’s a boring, slow-paced game, this view has changed quite a lot with so many people now playing the game.

Golf courses are now seen as a venue for relaxation and a way to relieve stress. That’s why so many overworked weekend golfers have set their sights to having a dream golf vacation. And one of the more popular countries that have emerged as a Mecca for golf vacations is Ireland.

With its mesmerizing natural beauty and the landscape that was seemingly created for the game of golf, many golf courses have been erected and patronized both by local and tourist golfers. It is no wonder that some of the golf courses in Ireland has been celebrated as among the top golf courses all around the world.

One of these is a golf course found in the northwest area of Ireland in a town called Donegal. The Donegal Golf Club was founded in 1959 and was erected in the edge of the town at Tullycullion. It stayed there for 14 years until it moved to the Murvagh Peninsula were it is situated until today. It has been the venue of prestigious championships such as the 1979 Irish ladies Close Championship and the 2003 Mens Irish Close Championship, a testament to its great design and world class amenities and facilities.

This full 18-hole championship par 73 golf course is measured at 7280 yards and is a classic links. The course is expansive and wide open and is mostly made up of low dunes. The play is hard and fast on this course but the scenic ambience allows a player to stop for a while and just soak in the view. The Atlantic Ocean gives out a stunning scenery as well as the mountains that are easily seen in the other side of the course.

Before you go out to challenge the course, you can hone your skills and warm up in what the Donegal Golf Club boasts as the best practice facilities in Northwest Ireland. There you can find facilities such as a driving net, a chipping green with bunkers, a putting green, a driving range with an automatic ball dispenser and there is even a par 3 Junior course.

The Donegal Golf Club's course Pro is also all too willing to provide lessons for beginners and novices.

Conquering the course is one thing, but at the end of the day, you can get the chance to enjoy the club's facilities and just relax and soak in the events of the day.

You can go directly to the locker room and freshen up with its state-of-the-art amenities and wonderful service. Visitors lockers are available and shower facilities are first rate.

After freshening up, you can go to the restaurant for a hearty meal of sumptuous Irish cuisine. Or if you want, you can take your golfing buddies with you are meet some of the locals at the bar for some drinks. Keep your memories alive of your golf vacation trip at Donegal with some logo embedded clothing at the club's shop.

When it is finally time to pack up your bags and head on to Ireland, the Donegal Golf Club should always be at the top of your vacation golf spots in Ireland list.

County Sligo Golf Club: The Jewel of the Northwest of Ireland

When a vacation is coming up, golfers eagerly anticipate the time where they can load their gear and race to the courses. But for some who have worked the daily grind, these precious time will be spent on something truly worthwhile that would be the stuff memories are truly made off. Some of them save up and go to Ireland.

Why Ireland?

Simple, they have got some of the best golf courses, whether it be links or parkland courses, that the world have ever seen. Many golfers have discussed the fabulous games they have played and this has made the popularity of Ireland with regards to their golf even grow so much more.

Situated 8 kilometers northwest of the town of Sligo, you will find a century old golf course that has tested many seasoned golfers and have continually to do so. Founded at Rosses Point, the County Sligo Golf Club started in 1894 as a nine-hole links course and was soon developed as a full 18-hole course a dozen years later. Today, this mature golf course has been the site for many prestigious events such as the West of Ireland Championship which calls the course its home. The club has also been chosen as the host for the Irish Close Championship, the Interprovincial Championships, and the Home International Championships, cementing its stature as a world class golf course.

One of five beautiful golf courses found in Sligo, the County Sligo Golf Club golf course is a natural beauty that is encompassed by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and a range of mountains on the other.  The fresh breeze from the ocean is a welcome accompaniment as you play along the course, but this same wind could get treacherous as strong gusts can greatly affect the game play. This has been a great challenge for many skilled and seasoned golfers and also a great teacher for the novice.

And since it’s a vacation, you're family can tag along as well. Sligo town offers a wide variety of attractions and activities for the whole family. The kids can be taken to the biggest birds of prey sanctuary in the whole of Ireland and watch these predators swoop down and soar in their homes. You can also take them to the Woodville farm where rare animal breeds and historic farms can be visited.

You may also take your family in a horse ride whether it is a run in the beaches or a slow ride through the scenic views of this side of Ireland. True family fun for adults and kids are assured and you get to enjoy nature's best.

But what would an Ireland vacation be if you don’t get a chance to savor a true Irish meal. A number of restaurants are just waiting to serve you the finest that this side of Ireland has to offer. Choose from a wide array of specialties and get a chance to be a witness to great Irish cuisines.

A golf vacation doesn’t have to mean that you need to leave your family behind. No vacation would be fun without them. Going to Sligo would be the best choice as you get to play golf in some of the greatest courses in the world and have the chance to do a host of activities as well with your family.

Cork Golf Club: The Irish Augusta

Ireland's golf courses have been receiving many accolades in the past year and have even been regarded as one of the five best countries to golf in. Offering a variety of parkland and traditional link courses, you can pick blindly among the courses that dot the whole country and still get a great course to play in.

Many of these amazing golf courses have been the venue of international professional tournaments with its championship courses and great accommodations. The warm Irish welcome alone would make you feel right at home.

Its heritage in golf is unquestioned as a number of golf courses are "mature" dating back to the late 1800's. One of these is the Cork Golf Club in Little Island, Co. Cork.  Established in 1888, the Cork Golf Club was redesigned in 1927 by the renowned golf course designer Dr. Alexander Mackenzie, who designed also other famous golf courses like the Augusta National, Royal Melbourne and the Cypress point to name a few.

Throughout the course you will see many mature trees and various patches of gorse growing and making the course look more natural. The estuary of the River Lee, Lough Mahon provides the scenic Background that stretches on almost the entire course. Cork's limestone quarry affects the course and provides a play that is similar links courses with its crisp heath like playing surface.

Like wine, the age of the Cork Golf Club has made it more palatable and more enticing to golfers. With finely manicured greens carpeting the par 72, 6,731 championship course, the Cork Golf Club course can offer the same if not better game play as any other premier golf course in Ireland and even the world.

But it's not only the golf course that makes the Cork Golf Club a success and a favorite. Its clubhouse and other facilities as well are world class and have been handed with accolades by many golf enthusiasts and experts.

In 2004 alone, the prestigious All Ireland Award for Clubhouse presentation was given to the Cork Golf Club. Its deluxe and top quality service restaurant has a full bar and top notch dining facilities with fantastic food as well. It is open seven days a week and offers a great way to end a day of playing golf. In the clubhouse you will also find their roomy and well-designed changing rooms that have fantastic facilities for both members and visitors.

A bit of stretching, practice and warm up before the game? The Cork Golf Club also has practice facilities like a perfectly maintained and manicured putting green as well as a practice ground for your swings. There you will also have the chance to rent some clubs and, caddy and golf carts as well.

Then you can just go their Pro shop if you want to buy some souvenir shirts, caps, bags that have the clubs logo on it. You may also purchase any equipment you need to play your game. There you may also be able to get the chance to talk to the club pro for some pointers or enroll in some short classes to get some tips to improve your game.

Many people have grown a passion for golf. This has led them to grow the need to play challenging games to test themselves. Make a vacation out of that need, golf vacation spots in Ireland are abound and one of this is the Cork Golf Club.

Connemara Golf Links: The Perfect reflection on What Golf Links Should Be

Many Irish golf historians would agree that its vast number of golf courses is a direct influence of the stay of the British forces in the latter part of the 1800's. Wherever there was a garrison stationed; the game of golf was surely to be played. That is why there are many golf courses in Ireland that is more than a century old yet provides modern facilities and technologies and has received many reconstruction to keep up with the modern times and to maintain its natural beauty.

But there is a golf links course at the edge of the northwest side of Ireland that has less history and age but is at par with the rest of them. Started in 1973, the Connemara Golf Links is a great challenge to anyone who swings their clubs at her greens. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and back dropped by Irish mountains, this par 72 links course provides an invigorating golf game that would surely entice those who have played there to come back for more.

Adding more elements to this memorable course is the breathtaking views that abound the entire 7,000 yard course. Raising from the Atlantic Ocean are mesmerizing rainbows that makes a golfer feel one with his surroundings.

The continual gusts of winds can be very refreshing, but they can also be the scourge for many golfers. A golfer can never expect the directions of the wind, much less the weather all year round.

The 27-hole Connemara championship golf links course shall also expose the golfer to many of natures wonders as Connemara ponies and swans can be seen and even a castle is bound to be seen as you play along. The course takes so many twists and turns as well as ups and downs through rocky and rolling hills with mesmerizing ocean and mountain scenes.

After a round of golf and viewing the scenery, a member or a golfer can go to the Connemara Golf Links clubhouse for more sightseeing as well as some fine dining. The clubhouse restaurant offers a wide array of Irish dishes as well as other dishes from around the world, sure to tickle the palate of the most discriminating eater. There is also a bar where you can have a drink or two to swap stories and unwind with your golf buddies.

Didn’t bother to take your clubs with you? That’s okay, the Connemara Golf Links has a pro shop that can offer rental clubs and other things that a golfer may need. You can get souvenir items as well as caddie cars, motorized buggies, and get caddies to accompany you while you play.

The Connemara Golf Links newly renovated locker rooms are also world class quality and there is also practice fairway and putting greens where you can warm up and get ready before setting your foot in the actual course.

There are many accommodations that are set up near the Connemara Golf Links so you wont have to drive too far just to get in a game. All of them provide excellent service and fantastic rooms.

Enjoy the Irish welcome and great culture as you go to the Connemara Golf Links on your next golfing vacation. This will be a golfing experience you will never forget.

Ceann Sibeal Golf Club: Europes Most Westerly Golf Course

Set in Europe's third largest island, the Ceann Sibeal Golf Club can be found on the Western most part of Ireland and is blessed with astounding natural beauty composed of rolling dune terrains and steep and sharp cliffs that juts to the ocean. When it’s a golf vacation in Ireland that you want, the Ceann Sibeal Golf Club should always be on your list.

Encompassed with some of Ireland's tallest mountains which include the popular Mount Brandon, the Ceann Sibeal Golf Club offers a variety of challenges to many golfers. Each and every play in its par 72 traditional links, 6,696 yard course is a totally different experience. This extremely wide and open course has a river that runs through it, a daunting task for some golfers to cross, plus adding the fast wind factor and the dune grasses that abounds in the links, poses a great test to many seasoned and pro golfers.

The Ceann Sibeal Golf Club was founded in 1924 aqnd has been designed by Eddie Hackett and Chris O'Connor Jr.

Going to the course alone offers a magnificent landscape and scenery that can take anyone's breath away, the dingle probably offers the must serene and virginal scenery in all of Ireland.

The course itself has been painstakingly shaped from the vast un-spoilt landscape of Ireland. Challenges and hazards come naturally in the Ceann Sibeal Golf Club with a twisting burn that runs across the entire course.

Each hole promises a different vista like bays hidden in corners revealing a fishing village, magnificent topographies rolling and swaying with the lands, and a mesmerizing view of the Blasket Islands of the Atlantic Ocean. A day in the Ceann Sibeal Golf Club would offer an experience even a seasoned traveling golfer will never forget.

In case that you have been saving up to experience the greatest golf vacation in Ireland, this is a place that you can seriously consider. Ireland is a bastion of golf courses and each one provides a different attraction, but if you want serenity and total oneness with the beauty of nature taking in both the splendor of land and sea, the Ceann Sibeal Golf Club is a perfect choice to spend that dream golfing vacation of yours.

When you finally have earned your vacation and have saved up to experience the tee time of your life, head on out to Ireland where a number of golf courses have been specially designed to challenge even the most experienced golfer.

Aside from the golf course itself, you will get a chance to experience the great Irish hospitality and culture. Dotted with numerous sites and attractions, you can take your whole family with you to share a once in a lifetime experience. Many splendid and warm hotels are ready to provide you with the Irish welcome that is renowned all over the world. Plus, after a day of golf, you can go out and live out a wonderful Irish day.

If you need more information, you can just log on to the internet and check out the Ceann Sibeal Golf Club site and confirm your booking and check out the course fees. You can also go to many Irish travel tours and see how much they are asking for a wonderful Ceann Sibeal Golf Club golf vacation in Ireland.