Ireland and England, Golf Vacation – Irish Sea Circular Tour
Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Royal Birkdale, Royal Lytham, Royal Liverpool / Hoylake, Portmarnock, Rosapenna, The Island Club and Royal St Davids
Dealing a Royal Flush - A Tour is Born
Six ‘Royal courses. Four Open Championship venues. Three other courses in the world’s top 100, Three different countries. Two voyages at sea! (There is a Royal Dublin too if we really want to go full regal)
The Ireland and England, Golf Vacation involves a circular tour around the Irish Sea. Faraway Fairways discovered this possibility a little bit by accident. In the aftermath of covid the cost of Irish vehicle hire went through the roof. We discovered it was cheaper to fly to Manchester and hire a vehicle in England, play Royal Birkdale and Hoylake, stay two nights in Liverpool, and then sail from Liverpool to Belfast, then it was to hire a vehicle in Ireland. A tour was born
Unlike other tours that cross the Irish Sea by plane, this one is possibly best done by car ferry. Dublin to Holyhead (North Wales) and Liverpool to Belfast (night sailing)
Another unmistakable characteristic of the Ireland and England, Golf Vacation is that it features Dublin, Liverpool and possibly Blackpool too. How can we put this gently? These towns have a reputation for being social!
To view Itinerary Summary arrow right or swipe left >>>>>>>>
The Itinerary
Sunday – Portmarnock (Dublin)
Monday – The Island (sail to North Wales)
Tuesday – Royal St David’s (Llandudno)
Wednesday – Royal Birkdale (Magical Mystery Tour)
Thursday – Royal Lytham (Blackpool)
Friday – Royal Liverpool (Liverpool – night sailing to Belfast)
Saturday – Rosapenna
Sunday – Royal Portrush (Giants Causeway)
Monday – Royal County Down
Tuesday – County Louth
Sunday - Portmarnock
With a rich history closely aligned to the progression of golf in Ireland, Portmarnock has hosted numerous Irish Open Championships, the Walker Cup, Irish Amateur Championships and the British Amateur Championship, and the rumour that it’s being lined up as the next course to be introduced to the Open rotation doesn’t look like dying down (we think this one has legs)
From Sam Snead to Seve Ballesteros, some of golf’s best-known names have tested their skills against this majestic narrow tongue of shallow dunes-land, just north of Dublin.
Considered by many as one of the fairest links courses in the world it delivers an incredible challenge and true test of golf.
Perhaps five-time Open Championship winner Tom Watson summed up the links best during his visits saying, “There are no tricks or nasty surprises, only an honest, albeit searching test of shot making skills.”
Monday - The Island
For good reason this course ranks # 78 in the top 100 ‘Architects Choice’.
The Island Golf Club enjoys a unique setting bordered by sea on 3 sides. A classic links course set in a rugged terrain & nestled between the highest sand dunes along the east coast. The Island was indeed once on an island. It’s now attached to the mainland but it’s still an isolated peninsula-like spur of links land, sandwiched between the Irish Sea, the beach of Donabate and the Broadmeadow estuary.
Few people know about The Island Golf Club, despite the fact that the course is over 100 years old and has featured in numerous ranking tables over the years. Being on the outskirts of Dublin and close to the airport it’s also a very functional choice to include
Tuesday - Royal St David's/ Harlech
The use of a country’s patron saint to make a statement has some illustrious precedents. St Andrews, St George’s and St Patrick’s (Rosapenna). In Wales the ‘Royal’ seal has also been earned for St David’s, Harlech
With the mountains of Snowdonia providing a backdrop and the impressive ruin (and genuinely iconic) Harlech Castle overlooking the links this is a frame worthy of any masterpiece.
Unlike many links courses, Harlech is not an ‘out and back’ design but rather an intricate routing the twists and turns so continually exposing the golfer to changing wind directions. In this regard it might have borrowed from Muirfield which was built a year earlier
Harlech has always been noted for its large greens, and punishing rough, and as well as a spectacular closing stretch that begins to make the dunes for the course. This involves some challenging drives and carries, with many of the holes considered to play at ‘par and a half’
Wednesday - Royal Birkdale
Royal Birkdale first hosted in 1954 but has made up for lost time since. Set amongst towering dunes that look as if they belong in Ireland, Birkdale is widely held to be England’s ‘best’ links course
The distinctive art deco clubhouse overlooking the 18th is arguably the courses signature, but that would be to do disservice to the 6th and 13th holes
It remains the only English venue where Tom Watson triumphed and hosted in 2017 when Jordan Spieth having got himself into an almighty mess at the 13th had the presence of mind to exploit a line of sight ruling to limit the damage to just a bogey before coming home with a ‘wet sail’ to beat Matt Kuchar
Along with Lytham and Muirfield, it is one of just three venues to have hosted the Open, Ryder and Walker Cups, the Ryder Cup memorably in 1969 in what became known as ‘the concession’.
“I don’t think you would have missed it, but I wasn’t going to give you the chance, either.” – Jack Nicklaus
Thursday - Royal Lytham
Royal Lytham is a strange course aesthetically, being surrounded by houses. It’s the one links that hosts the open where you don’t get views of the sea. It also has the unusual quirk of opening with a par 3
The course first hosted in 1926 and has done the honours a total of 11 times now.
A few years ago Faraway Fairways got a database of every score posted on every hole for every round at their most recent Open Championship. We then conducted an adjustment for prevailing conditions, based on a allowance system borrowed from horse racing. So what was the most difficult course on the Open rotation? To our surprise, it was actually Lytham. A closer inspection of the scoring suggests that two of its brutal part 5’s allied with the most bunkers on the rotation was the reason.
The course is probably most associated with two European names however. Seve Ballesteros is a two time winner here, memorably in 1979 when he drove into the overflow car park (his shot, not his vehicle) and had a car moved to allow him to play without penalty
Tony Jacklin won here in 1969 to record an incredibly rare hoe victory
Friday - Royal Liverpool/ Hoylake
Hoylake first hosted in 1897, but was dropped in 1967 having hosted a total of 10 Opens. It was re-introduced in 2006, when Tiger Woods memorably won an emotional event. In 2014 Rory McIlroy followed him for his solitary title, and in 2023 it was turn of Brian Harman to lift the claret jug as he fired a 65 in the second round that opened up a decisive gap that he defended without event.
Hoylake is normally regarded as the least striking of the Open venues, its first six holes being pancake flat. It’s a course you rarely ‘get’ first time as its challenge is in adjusting your stand for the subtle undulations that can otherwise find us chopping down if we aren’t concentrating fully.
For the 2023 championship a controversial par 3 was introduced which certainly caught the eye, but probably looked a little bit too much like the manufactured transplant that it was.
Saturday - Rosapenna
Rosapenna, and the recently renovated St Patricks course suddenly leapt up the rankings from seemingly nowhere to rank behind Ballybunion and Lahinch, vying with Portmarnock (and overtaking it on some lists) for third place. Why? Well the answer is Tom Doak and completely new design
The St Patrick’s Links is routed in an adjoining dune system just south of the existing two courses at Rosapenna. Doak has fashioned 18 unrecognisable and unforgettable holes over the same tract of land. The result? A sprawling links that is destined to become a modern great and one which is drawing comparison with Barnbougle Dunes.
It sits on the most magnificent piece of links land – huge scale and scenery, with enough variety in dimension to present a real diversity of golf holes. The routing takes golfers on a journey through huge dunes, to high above Sheephaven Bay, along the coast, then back over some more gentle dunes… and that’s just the front nine! With plenty of width and an eclectic mix of naturalised bunkers, the course is unlike anything in the UK & Ireland.
Sunday - Royal Portrush
Royal Portrush is constructed on an area of natural dune land framed by limestone cliffs. The Open was held here in 1951, and won by Max Faulkner. In 2019 it returned, Shane Lowry playing the elements best of all to prove a popular local(ish) winner, whilst Scottie Scheffler obliged in 2025 (note how quickly the R&A came back!)
The Dunluce Links is home to one of the most stunning par fours in golf, the 411 yard 5th hole. A dogleg hole played from an elevated tee towards the ocean, it rewards the daring shot across a wide expanse of rough. An overly long approach shot will end up on the sand of the White Rocks beach which lies just beyond the rear of the green however. Carnage!
Calamity Corner, the 210 yard par 3 16th hole is the other feature hole. Between the tee and the green is a yawning chasm, which must be cleared to stand any chance of making your three. This is a score wrecker coming at a decisive moment in the round.
Monday - Royal County Down
Periodically Royal County Down can displace the likes of Pine Creek or Cyprus Point as the world’s highest rated golf course (its that good).
It is framed in one of the most stunningly natural links settings in golf. The Murlough Nature Reserve provides the stage, the magnificent Mourne mountains the backdrop. The narrowest ribbons of fairways thread their way through as impressive a set of sand dunes as could be imagined. The fairways are surrounded by purple heather and golden gorse, so beautiful to look at, but so punishing for any who may stray from the prescribed path. The ‘bearded’ bunkers are world famous, featuring overhanging lips of marram, red fescue and heather. The greens are fast and many are domed, rejecting any shot lacking conviction.
The ninth hole is one of the most photographed holes in world golf, a 486 yard par 4, it is played from one side of a huge mound down to a fairway some 60 ft below and 260 yards from the tee. From the bottom of the slope the second shot is played over two bunkers to a raised green.
Tuesday - County Louth
More affectionately known as ‘Baltray’, County Louth is a links course of the highest pedigree. With a spectacular layout it regularly ranks in top 10 courses in Ireland
The championship links are known for providing one of the purest and fairest tests of links golf in the world. For professional golfer and former Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley, this is his favourite links course in Ireland, remarking: “It’s just a great test. All the holes run in different directions, so you have a different exam paper on each hole”.
In 2004 and 2009 County Louth Golf Club hosted the European Tour’s Irish Open. On the latter occasion, the club was etched into Irish golfing history when it famously became the venue where 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry won the Irish Open as an Amateur.
Non Golf Options
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Featured Group
What's Involved
The Ireland and England, Golf Vacation – Irish Sea Circular Tour, evolved in response to trying to source less expensive vehicle hire from Ireland post covid. For this reason it can out of either Manchester or Dublin (and Liverpool or Belfast if coming from Europe)
It’s a point-to-point tour that visits Ireland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, but needn’t be as high a road mileage as it sounds since we’re using a car ferry so as to retain our vehicle and avoid having to process three separate hires and returns. The first ferry tales 3 hrs 15 mins to sail between Dublin and Holyhead (North Wales) and docks at 18.30. The second one is a night sailing from Liverpool to Belfast which docks at 06.30, making Rosapenna our logical choice for Saturday morning.
If we wanted to fly, we could do, but would need to play another Lancashire course to replace Royal St David’s as we have to land on specified visitor playing days, so couldn’t shorten the duration. We might also find that we’d have to replace Rosapenna with Portstewart flying from Liverpool to Belfast
One of the overwhelming characteristics of this tour however will be its ‘social’ nature. Dublin, Liverpool and Blackpool all enjoy reputations for hospitality, albeit it’s not completely clear that we’d spend a night at Blackpool (it’s possible to do so if we wanted to)
The Ireland and England, Golf Vacation – Irish Sea Circular Tour, is laid out as a ten night duration that observes a point-to-point loop around the Irish and English coasts. It otherwise only involves stays at:
- Portamrnock – (1 + 1 nights)
- Portmeirion – (1 night)
- Liverpool – (3 nights)
- Liverpool to Belfast night ferry (1 night)
- Portrush – ( 2 nights)
- Newcastle, County Down (1 night)
It would be possible to insert a single night at Blackpool (or the Dormy House at Lytham) into the programme, but this would make for a run of Liverpool – Blackpool – Liverpool. This decision really comes down to whether or not we want a ‘night out’ in Blackpool
At about 675 miles, the Ireland and England, Golf Vacation – Irish Sea Circular Tour is a medium mileage programme. Some of this mileage has of course been transferred to the sea
We estimate our road time will generate about 21 hrs 45 mins, which is an average of about 2 hrs 10 mins a day. With a couple of ferries to make, plus a little bit more urban driving than we normally see (particularly around Liverpool) we’re going to categorise this as a high intensity transport burden
We wouldn’t normally advise the use of a hired driver for the the Ireland and England, Golf Vacation – Irish Sea Circular Tour. We can perhaps see that there is a couple of days where you might want to consider selective use if seeking you intend ‘having a drink’. The obvious candidate would be Lytham/ Blackpool from Liverpool, but then again, if we really wanted to lay into an evening out in Blackpool, we’d probably better advised to spend the night there and just suck up the clunky hotel check in and check outs
The Ireland and England, Golf Vacation – Irish Sea Circular Tour, probably doesn’t have enough luxury options to consistently offer the travel class, but could achieve upper premium. Otherwise we’d probably see most choices falling into the ‘premier’ or ‘affordable’ sector
It’s worth noting that we’ll have an overnight ferry between Liverpool and Belfast to replace on our accommodations (4 berth cabins, for 2 people)
We’ve also got two hotels of quirky interest. The Portmeirion Hotel in North Wales has to be one of the weirdest in the world, but has a touch of genius about it. ‘The Village’ was the set for the 1960’s cult TV series ‘The Prisoner’ (not ideal brand association for a hotel admittedly!) but many of the village’s buildings are the hotel, (although a main hotel building also exists near the beach)
The property known as 30 James Street, Liverpool is the former headquarters of the doomed ‘White Star’ shipping line. All of the notables from the Titanic story will have passed through these doors, with some of the original features such as the ticket booking hall retained as the reception. The hotel has also taken the blueprints from the ill fated liner and built some features according to the specification such as the swimming pool and cabins/ rooms. In 2026 the hotel is undergoing a major refurbishment however, so it remains to be seen how much of the ‘Titanic’ angle it retains
As ever, the scale of non-golf activity depends on whether we’re adding extra value for golfers, or building a stand alone proposal for non-golfers to run alongside a golf programme. The combinations are quite good, but do skew more towards the evening than most tours
- Dublin with Portmarnock (possibly with the Island)
- Harlech Castle or Llandudno/ Conwy Castle with Royal St David’s
- Magical Mystery (Beatles) Tour with Birkdale
- Blackpool with Lytham
- Liverpool with Hoylake
- Giants Causeway/ Carrick u Rede with Portrush
- Battle of the Boyne with County Louth
The following courses operate the following handicap thresholds for gentlemen and ladies respectively
- Royal Portrush (18 & 24)
- Royal County Down (24 & 36)
- Portmarnock (24 & 36)
- Hoylake/ Royal Liverpool (21 & 32)
- Royal Birkdale (24 &36)
- Royal Lytham (21 & 30)
Portmarnock only permits visitor play on Mon, Tues, Thurs and Sun afternoons
Portrush doesn’t permit visitor play on Weds, nor Sat or Sun mornings. Their week day play is a mixture of full and half days. Tues and Thurs are full days. Mon is afternoon only, and Friday is mornings only. In order to play the Dunluce links off a morning tee-time, Portrush now require that we play a second round on their Valley course over two days. We could find we get forced into this with the consequence that we’d need an extra night. This would knock RCD onto a Saturday (no visitor play permitted)
RCD doesn’t permit visitor play on Weds or Sat, or Sun morning. They also operate a mixture of half days and full days for weekdays. Mon, Tues, and Fri are full days
The Rosapenna resort hotel is the logical place to use, but they require a two night minimum stay. We can probably side step this restriction and play as a day visitor however, since we’ll be arriving early in the morning by ferry from Liverpool. We might as well kill this time by using it to complete the journey to the furthest point out on the Northern Irish leg, which should allow us to play earlier, and give us time to them drive across to Portrush to establish a new base
Royal Birkdale only permit play on Mon, Weds, and Thurs
Royal Liverpool/ Hoylake don’t permit weekend play or Thursday’s which is blocked out for members
Royal Lytham don’t permit visitor play on Saturday or Sunday morning. Mon, Tues, and Thurs are usually clear but we’ll need to play an afternoon time if seeking to play Tues or Thurs
Whereas golf tour operators enjoy favourable arrangements with a lot of courses, one which represents a risk to any assembly in which they feature is RCD.
RCD open their diary for play the following season in February and will sell out in 36 hrs. If we’re late to the party, we’ll be most unlikely to play there. This means that we need to operate on a long-lead time.
This isn’t the only issue we face there however
RCD sell their tee-times on one hectic day by phone. This involves hitting ‘last number redial’ over and over again in the hope of landing on their limited by number call stacking system. Very often we have to spend hours and hours meeting the engaged tone.
Faraway Fairways have nearly always succeeded in getting tee-times at RCD (eventually) but we’ve had too many near misses to know that we’ll fail again in the future.
There is a known risk in this process, and whereas clients are always welcome to roll the dice themselves and see if they can get lucky alongside our efforts (can always be worth trying), but we’ve never had anyone succeed where ahead of Fairways Fairways yet
About Activities
Llandudno
Llandudno (pronounced clan-did-no) is a seaside resort that sits in an arching bay between two prominent headlands, the ‘great’ and ‘little’ Orme. A snaking road allows you to drive around the Great Orme but the best way of reaching its summit is by cable car. Unlike some British seaside towns that have gone into decline and decay, Llandudno still retains hints of its former splendour and is quite a charismatic little place of character
Liverpool
The first question is do you have any interest in the Beatles? If you do, then that’s Liverpool sorted! Even if you don’t it’s still a very vibrant city with an artistic character. Other areas of interest are the waterfront, where you can always take a river trip on the Mersey, the Albert Dock, and city’s incredibly successful football team runs stadium tours
Blackpool
Blackpool is an old-fashioned seaside resort, and was arguably the UK’s premier resort from a by-gone era. Its heyday was probably the 1930’s through to the late 50’s. Today it has traces of a past glory, but in truth its decidedly decadent, with a slightly endearing character of rotting former splendour. On balance, it’s still a ‘fun’ and has a reputation for being a slightly uninhibited place.
Testimonial
From BB Canada
“I told Alun the courses I was interested in playing and he prepared a stay and play package with 14 days of outstanding golf, but also tremendous site seeing opportunities for my wife.”
From JC Illinois
“His attention to detail is amazing--I think our travel plan booklet ran to forty-eight pages, with gorgeous descriptions of cities and sights, plus maps showing where to go to catch trains, or walk from trains to hotels, sights and golf courses, etc.”
From DF Alabama
“I will cherish the memories for a long time- especially the wonderful times spent on and off the golf course with two of my brothers and brother-in-law. None of the memories and golf would have been possible or enjoyed without your tremendous planning and logistical support.”
AS from Colorado
“Alun and Faraway Fairways created possibly the most memorable golf trip we have ever experienced. EPIC is the only word that comes to mind.”
AC, From Florida/ New York, 2025
“We were hopeful to secure a 4 ball at St. Andrews while avoiding the massive expense other operators had quoted. He was very clear about the plan for achieving a tee time at the Old Course through the ballot, including detailed instruction on how it could be done, and what our odds were. He suggested mid- to late April as the best chance of success and advised that this is also the least rainy part of the year. We took his advice and trusted the process. Well, he was right on all counts!”
From SB, Minnesota
“We wholeheartedly recommend Alun and Faraway Fairways if you’re looking for a golf trip that is effortless, enjoyable, and truly unforgettable—even for a non-golfer in the mix! My husband and I will be daydreaming about this trip for years to come. 5.5 stars!”
From JB, California
“The best part was that the service was surprisingly affordable. They were thousands of dollars below other quotes that I received, in fact the prices were very similar to what I would have paid if I would have booked everything on my own.”
From JCA, Maryland
“I would and will highly recommend your company to anyone looking to plan an unforgettable golf trip. Thank You for putting together a fantastic trip for J.C. and me”
From WF Connecticut
“I think all eight of us would agree that Alun at Faraway Fairways did an absolutely wonderful job of putting this “golf vacation of a lifetime” together for us. His focus on the details was extraordinary from the choice of courses and the timing of the tee times, the amazingly beautiful accommodations along with some excellent meal selections, and the transportation options he provided to get us from place to place.”
From DR South Carolina
“You are about to tee it up in your Major. Seek wisdom, integrity and professionalism. Alun Davies and Faraway Fairways will not disappoint you. They cannot assure a calm sunny day with temperatures in the 70’s on the Old Course.”
From MM, California
“One fantastic trip you organized, and more importantly took ownership of in terms of daily communication and stewardship during our 2+ weeks in Scotland and Ireland. The logistics were spotless…100% of the transports were on time and excellent, the lodging choices spectacular and the golf was off the charts in terms of quality and arrangements made”
DH from California
“You cannot go wrong with the support Faraway Fairways offered. I did this trip solo and all last minute but I have already begun to plan the next trip which will include my best golfing buddies.”
Enquiry
We don't need to make this an ordeal by 101 filtering questions! In reality there are probably little more than half a dozen things we need to know to build out a proposal. The guidance below might help you frame answers
Duration - usually best expressed as a range up to a maximum
Time of year - can be anything from a specific date range to a named season
Travel class - Faraway Fairways uses 'Luxury', 'Premier' or 'Affordable' for generic purposes. You might choose to reference the international 'star' rating system. We're only looking for something to help steer us into the right sector
Self drive or hired driver - In broad terms, self driving is normally less expensive, and much more flexible, but some folk just don't want to do it
Must play courses/ must do places - a few name checks is all that's needed