Check out a sample itinerary of the Our East of Ireland Tour below:
Day 1: Golf at The Palmer Course (Ryder Cup Venue)
- Arrive Dublin Airport
- Greeted by Driver/Guide
- Transfer to The K Club
- Golf at The Palmer Course (Ryder Cup Venue)
- Relax and unwind in the palatial period charm of The K Club
The Palmer Course (Ryder Cup Venue) – The Arnold Palmer designed Ryder Cup Course is quite simply, one of Europe’s most spectacular courses. It charms, it entices and invariably, brings out the very best in your game. It is unlikely that you will be asked to tackle the course from the championship tees, but this should in no way diminish the excitement of pitting your wits against Arnold Palmer, for, in a sense, this is precisely what you are about to do. Ranked regularly in the top 3 parkland golf courses in Ireland, this Arnold Palmer designed golf haven is a must play ‘badge of honour’ that has hosted the top golf players in the world. The Ryder Cup in 2006, the 2016 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open where we saw Rory McIlroy’s European Tour Shot of the Year and 11 European Opens testify the importance of The Ryder Cup Course to European Golf.
Special Golf Holes: 4th (Arnold’s Pick); 7th (Michael’s Favourite); 16th (Inis Mor); 17th (Half Moon)
The K Club Hotel & Resort – In Kildare, The K Club is Ireland’s first ever AA 5 Red Star Hotel. Our luxury resort hotel is located only 30 minutes from Dublin in the beautiful County of Kildare where the River Liffey meanders through the soft green countryside.
The luxurious 5 Star K Club Hotel is a long-standing member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts who recommend the best hotels in Ireland, Europe and around the world while The K Club has pioneered 5 star service in Ireland from the very moment we opened our hotel doors. Steeped in history, the 5 Star K Club hotel and resort combines old world elegance with indulgent luxury so our guests are treated to luxurious rooms and incredible dining experiences. Our guests can also opt to unwind in our oasis of calm at the internationally acclaimed K Spa or experience playing golf on a Ryder Cup course. Over the past 25 years we’ve firmly established our resort as the ultimate country escape for discerning guests.
Day 2: Golf at Portmarnock Golf Club
- Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast
- Transfer to Portmarnock Golf Club
- Golf at Portmarnock Golf Club
- Visit the Guinness Storehouse
- Return to the luxury at The K Club
Portmarnock Golf Club – The Links Portmarnock was the first golf course that International Management Group (IMG) developed in Ireland and opened for play in 1995. It was therefore fitting that Bernhard Langer chose this magnificent setting to design his first links course being a three time winner of the Irish Open at nearby Portmarnock Golf Club and The Royal Dublin Golf Club. Along with architect Stan Eby they have designed a course that is a challenge for all golfers, set in the grounds of the old Jameson estate of St Marnocks.
Through a beguiling commencement to the challenge, golfers may find a sense of reprieve in the playing of some early holes. Be forewarned, the sting is in the tail and the challenge that quickly unfolds endures to the death.
The masterpiece of The Links at Portmarnock is completed when you are confronted with a tight drive out of the dunes at the 18th and then when you head right to where the green is nestled in the most natural of amphitheatres in the landmark shadow of an imposing adjoining hotel.
The Links has played host to professional and amateur events including 2008 and 2009 Ladies Irish Open.
The Guinness Store House – Located in the heart of the St. James’s Gate Brewery, the Guinness Storehouse® is Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction. It’s the home of the Black Stuff, the heart of Dublin and an unforgettable start to your Irish adventure.
The journey begins at the bottom of the world’s largest pint glass and continues up through seven floors filled with interactive experiences that fuse our long brewing heritage with Ireland’s rich history. At the top, you’ll be rewarded with a pint of perfection in our world-famous rooftop Gravity Bar. Now that’s our kind of higher education.
Day 3: Golf at The European Club
- Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast
- Transfer to The European Club
- Golf at The European Club
- Visit The Irish National Stud
- Return to the luxury at The K Club
Golf at The European Club – The links of The European Club was designed by Pat Ruddy who continues after thirty years to calibrate the links to meet the challenges of the modern game allowing the champions of today to express themselves while demanding a cerebral approach for true success.
Year after year the work goes on with Ruddy directing design improvements. Few golf courses have had such prolonged attention from their designers with Donald Ross at Pinehurst being an obvious equivalent.
The result is probably the best links of them all as it is fitted precisely to the modern game and is never allowed to grow old. It benefits from the constant inputs of one of the most astute designers the game has seen.
Ruddy aspired to having a golf course of his own since learning that Jimmy Demaret and Jack Burke were founding a golf course of their own, The Champions Club, in Texas in 1958…..what a great idea! ……and it came to fruition when he surveyed Ireland’s coastline by helicopter in search for a classic golf location. There it was at lovely Brittas Bay just 30-miles south of the capital city, Dubin.
Golf design has been a part of Pat Ruddy’s life since childhood and he has completed about thirty-six projects since gaining his first professional commission at Castlecomer in the Irish midlands in 1969. Along the way he has come to be regarded as the world’s leading links designer.
Amongst the links he has designed from concept to completion are The European Club, Ballyliffin Glashedy and Rosapenna Sandy Hills. He has impacted substantially at Portsalon (13 holes), Ballyliffin Old ( 7-holes), Rosapenna Old (12 holes) and Donegal (11 holes).
The Irish National Stud – Part of the Jockey Club, The Irish National Stud and Gardens are in the Great County Kildare. This is truly the heart of Ireland’s thoroughbred horse industry. Here you will discover equine royalty and immaculately-bred stallions. Come to the stud and see protective mares, frolicking foals and athletic yearlings all at close quarters where their grace is truly a marvel.
Also you will find Japanese Gardens where you can take an invigorating stroll. These gardens were created between the years 1906 and 1910, by Japanese craftsman Tassa Eida and his son Minoru. As as these japanese masters planned, a trip though this garden will awe you as you experience the passage of a soul from birth to death and beyond.
The Horse Museum brings the nation’s love affair with horses to life.
Day 4: Play Royal Dublin
- Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast
- Transfer to Royal Dublin
- Play Royal Dublin
- Visit Trinity College Dublin
- Return to the luxury at The K Club
Royal Dublin – Since 1889, the Royal Dublin Golf Club has been located on Bull Island, a sand bank formed when the Bull Wall was completed in 1825 by Captain William Bligh of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ fame. Bull Island is a protected nature reserve, linked to Dublin city by a one-lane wooden bridge. The links is 20 minutes’ drive from Dublin city centre and 20 minutes’ drive from Dublin Airport.
From 1914 to 1919, during the First World War, the course was taken over by the military and used as a rifle and artillery range, which left it all but ruined and the clubhouse, which had been an officers’ mess, in a very dilapidated condition. In 1920, with $11,300 compensation, the clubhouse was reconstructed and the links redesigned by H.S. (Harry) Colt, the world-famous golf course architect from Sunningdale, England. Among the many changes made was the decision to build up new tees at the 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th holes, offering a fine view of Dublin Bay, which had previously been hidden as the tees were below the level of the sand dunes.
In the early 2000s, Martin Hawtree, the specialist links architect, was engaged to bring the course up to the standard demanded by the modern game, whilst respecting the legacy of Colt. Hawtree’s work, completed in 2006, has resulted in a 7,269-yard, par-72 golf links of outstanding quality. The Royal Dublin course was ranked 13th out of 58 true Irish links courses in a recent survey.
Trinity College Dublin – Trinity College is located in the heart of Dublin. However, once through the gates it feels like you enter a different world. Among other things, here you can see The Book of Kells an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. (The books are presented in museum quality exhibition style). It was created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland and may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created c. 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland’s finest national treasure.
The building facade of Trinity College is among many constructed since the foundation of the College on March 13th, 1592. The design is attributed to Theodore Jacobsen, a London-based amateur architect, with the collaboration of Henry Keene and John Sanderson.
Day 5: Play County Louth Golf Club
- Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast
- Transfer to County Louth Golf Club
- Golf at County Louth
- Visit Newgrange Neolithic Site
- Return to luxury at The K Club
County Louth Golf Club – Founded in 1892, County Louth Golf Club, or Baltray as it is more commonly known, has established itself as one of Ireland’s finest links courses. Winner of the 2017 IGTOA Links course of the year and host to two Irish Opens the course stands as a par 72 and measures 7,031 yards from the Championship tee. Whilst the championship course is one of the purest tests of golf, a variety of teeing options are available to ensure enjoyment for golfers of all levels.
Located in the village of Baltray, County Louth in Ireland. It is situated approximately 4 miles from the town of Drogheda. The Irish Open professional golf tournament which is part of the PGA European Tour has been held there on two occasions, in 2004 and 2009.
Newgrange Neolithic Site – Newgrange is a 5,200 year old passage tomb located in the Boyne Valley in Ireland’s Ancient East. Built by Stone Age farmers, the mound is 93 yards in diameter and 15 yards high, an area of about 1 acre, with a passage measuring 21 yards leads into a chamber with 3 alcoves. The passage and chamber are aligned with the rising sun at the Winter Solstice.
Archaeologists classified Newgrange as a passage tomb, however Newgrange is now recognised to be much more than a passage tomb. Ancient Temple is a more fitting classification, a place of astrological, spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance, much as present day cathedrals are places of prestige and worship where dignitaries may be laid to rest.
Newgrange is surrounded by 97 large stones called kerbstones some of which are engraved with megalithic art; the most striking is the entrance stone.
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Day 6: Play The Island Golf Club
- Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast
- Transfer over to The Island Golf Club
- Play The Island Golf Club
- Visit Jameson’s Distillery
- Return to luxury at The K Club
The Island Golf Club – The Island Golf Club, founded in 1890, is a traditional private Members’ golf club with a proud history of upholding the best traditions of amateur golf. Overlooked by the North County Dublin village of Malahide, the links is located in some of the most stunning dunes on the east coast of Ireland. It is also one of the oldest golf courses in Ireland and was ranked 13th in Golf Digest Ireland’s Top 100 Courses in 2015.
It enjoys a growing international reputation and currently hosts Regional Qualifying for The Open Championship and will co-host strokeplay qualifying for the British Amateur Championship in 2019.
The Island Golf Club is delighted to welcome visitors to play this beautiful but challenging links.
Jameson’s Distillery – Comparative Whiskey Tasting: Few things go together better than whiskey and a good story. The Bow St. Experience brings the stories of Jameson’s rich heritage to life in an immersive, 40-minute tasting tour of the home of Ireland’s best-selling Irish whiskey.
Discover how John Jameson’s focus on the highest quality ingredients, triple distillation process, and constant innovation resulted in an exceptionally smooth whiskey that is celebrated and enjoyed all around the globe. Our story will, of course, end on a good note as an expert Jameson Ambassador leads you in a comparative whiskey tasting and a celebratory toast to Jameson Barrelmen everywhere.
Your experience will conclude in JJ’s Bar, where you can share a story and a whiskey with some new found friends.
Day 7: Play Portmarnock Links
- Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast
- Transfer to Portmarnock Links
- Play Portmarnock Links
- Enjoy a night out in Dublin City
- Return to luxury at The K Club
A Night Out In Dublin City – Dublin’s pubs are world famous and you should make sure to sample at least one, (maybe two or three). Your choices for dining out in Dublin has increased dramatically in the recent years. New restaurants are springing up all the time. You can choose from the finest of dining to casual fare.
Day 8: Departure Day
- Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast
- Transfer to Dublin Airport
- Depart for Home
Dublin Airport – Dublin Airport is an international airport serving Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. It is operated by DAA. The airport is located 10 km north of Dublin in Collinstown, Fingal. In 2017, over 29.5 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the airport’s busiest year on record.
