5 Reasons to Visit Northwest Ireland Besides Golf

For decades, Northwest Ireland has been the odd region out for when it comes to golf trips across the pond.

The remote location and a lack of “bucket list” golf courses has caused most visiting golfers to pass over the region in favor of the other notable areas in the U.K. and Ireland.

But there's been a steady rise in demand for Northwest Ireland golf trips of late, and for good reason...

The great, yet overlooked golf courses in Northwest Ireland were recently joined by the region's first top 100 ranked course.

We recently deployed two members of the H&B team to the region to have a first-hand look at what’s new.

What follows is their first field report from Northwest Ireland, courtesy of our Marketing & Member Engagement Manager, Daniel Jones.

This time of year, the H&B team fans out across the U.K. and Ireland to check-in with our golf, accommodation, and other hospitality partners.

We’re also in search of any new offerings that may have emerged during the busy travel season.

When my colleague, Connor Evers, and I compared our itineraries, there was a glaring overlap…

We’d both scheduled ourselves to visit Northwest Ireland at the very beginning of our journeys.

Despite listening to our Director of Planning, Chris McConn, sing its praises for years, Connor and myself had yet to see Northwest Ireland for ourselves.

A glaring gap in our golf travel education that both of us obviously wanted to fill... And quickly.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll provide numerous reports from the golf courses of the region.

But in keeping with our mantra of Golf and the Good Life, I’d like to begin with the main reasons to visit Northwest Ireland besides the incredible golf courses.

The first tee at Rosapenna, St. Patrick's Links. More on this and the other golf courses of Northwest Ireland in future guides.

The People

The hospitality in Northwest Ireland is, without question, some of the warmest I’ve experienced anywhere on the globe.

From Ballina to Ballyliffin, the cast of characters found at every golf club, hotel, restaurant, and pub, formed the backbone to our entire experience in the region.

One member of the cast was a bartender at Dillon’s in Ballina, who pointed out that it’s not ‘Bah-lee-nuh’ (as most Americans tend to say) but ‘Bal-in-ahhh.’

“You’ve really gotta put some emphasis on the ‘ahhh’ at the end,” she explained.

Our caddies at Narin & Portnoo Links, Kevin and Marty, were two more invaluable members of the cast.

They were everything you’d want in a guide to the course and a friend for the day.

Though in this part of Ireland, there’s really no such thing.

As Alan Maloney, proprietor of the Mount Falcon Estate, put it…

“These are community golf clubs. And when you visit these courses, you quickly become a part of that community.”

The magnificent Mount Falcon Estate, where the famous hospitality of Northwest Ireland is found at every turn.

The New Distilleries

Golf and whiskey… two things that were destined for one another.

Until recently, however, Northwest Ireland lacked convenient options for distillery tours and tastings near its best golf courses.

But not anymore.

Three distilleries have opened within an easy drive of several golf courses.

In Ballina, the Connacht Distillery offers tours of its sparkling facility followed by tastings in its Mullarkey Bar.

The Founder and Head Distiller at Connacht both hail from the States, but the whiskey is decidedly Irish and is the perfect way to toast a round at nearby Enniscrone Golf Club.

Additionally, the Ardara Distillery (pronounced ‘Ar-dra’) is located in the town of the same name and is less than 15 minutes from Narin & Portnoo.

A bit further north at the Crolly Distillery, whiskey is only half the story.

The tasting room was once a mill for Donegal Carpets and later Crolly Dolls. Two former fixtures of the community that are now symbols of a bygone era.

And then there’s the bar itself, half of which came out of the Jameson Distillery, while the other half was repurposed from an old bar in the nearby town of Letterkenny.

As you might expect at a distillery, the topic of golf is always close at hand.

When I mentioned to some of the staff that we were playing Cruit Island, one gent replied with a classic bit of Irish wit…

“You lose a ball there, you may find it in Newfoundland.”

Of course, the whiskies are also great. But at both distilleries, much like Northwest Ireland as a whole, it’s the intangibles that truly make the experience.

The beautiful bar at Crolly Distillery.

The Scenery

At some point during our journey, I heard a humorous observation…

“A trip to this part of Ireland involves a lot of looking at things.”

It’s true. The scenery in Northwest Ireland is every bit as beautiful as the Ring of Kerry or Killarney National Park

What’s better, it comes with a fraction of their overflowing tour buses.

There are natural wonders like Benbulbin and the Horn Head peninsula, along with stunning historic sites such as Doe Castle.

But just the simple act of driving yields one jaw-dropping moment after another.

In some places, the landscape could best be described as “lunar.”

In others, we hugged the waterfront like something straight out of a postcard.

If we were to stop and take a photo at every rushing mountain stream, we’d have been hours late for every tee time.

In short, your time off the golf course in Northwest Ireland is certain to involve “a lot of looking at things.”

But you’re also certain to never grow tired of the views.

Our advice… sit back and soak it all in while a professional Driver Host handles the navigation.

While in Northwest Ireland, be ready for plenty of scenes like this...

The Thrill of Discovery

If you’re coming to Northwest Ireland to play golf, it’s probably because you’ve already “been there and done that” everywhere else on the island.

Connor and I fit this description, having previously visited every marquee region for golf in the U.K. and Ireland.

The best memories from those past trips, however, have little to do with golf, and more to do with the joy of experiencing something new.

From the first time I crossed the Swilcan Bridge, to the first sip of Pimms & Lemonade at Sunningdale, to the first rendition of “American Pie” with Willy and the gang at The Harbour Bar in Portrush, the best memories have almost always come from the undiscovered.

It’s a feeling that we can never adequately capture with a photograph.

And it’s one that we only get to experience at a place the first time.

In Northwest Ireland, I was reacquainted with the thrill of discovery and made numerous deposits to the memory bank.

In the end, it was clear that I hadn’t truly “been there and done that” in Ireland.

If it's thrills that you're after, allow us to present Cruit Island.

The Value

The golf courses in Northwest Ireland are a perfect example of the adage about “location, location, location.”

If these courses were found in the U.S. or the coast of Scotland, they would be a magnet for golf travelers and Top 100 rankings.

Still, the list includes six of the Top 100 golf courses in the U.K. and Ireland, as ranked by Golf.com.

Rosapenna, St. Patrick’s Links is among the Top 100 on the entire globe.

When paired with the region’s comfortable accommodations, warm hospitality, and incredible scenery, you have the makings of a fantastic golf trip.

Yet Northwest Ireland has been overlooked for years by international golfers due to its remote location and lack of notoriety.

As a result, golf vacations to this area trade at a significant discount to other regions in the U.K. and Ireland.

But as more golfers discover Northwest Ireland, that gap is all but certain to narrow.

The real value of the region, however, stretches far beyond the price on your confirmation.

Because the intangibles described above will shape your experience more than anything else.