Top 10 Irish Golf Courses and Summer Rates

The sun has clearly gone to their heads

All this great weather has inspired the Irish to go out and
soak up the nation's stock of ice cream, instead of sun screen. It has also seen our golf courses enjoying the best summer footfall in years. Who wouldn't want to be out on a golf course under these skies.

I saw a K Club offer on the back of the Irish Times yesterday - I use the term 'offer' loosely - and it got me thinking about how much it will cost to play Ireland's best parkland golf courses this sumer. Here are my Top 10.

Click the links to go to the courses' booking pages.

1. Adare €90 weekdays and weekends, with an early bird/twilight (before 10am and after 2pm) rate of €75 during the week and €85 at weekends*.
2. Concra Wood €40 weekday, €50 weekends.
3. Druid's Glen €65 weekdays, €85 weekends, with €55 early bird rate weekdays.

4. Headfort (New) €40/€55 (Sun-Fri), €55/€70 (Sat), and €30 before 10am (Sun-Fri).

5. K Club (Palmer) €195 with an early bird and twilight rate of €90. The Smurfit course is €120 and €60. Seven days a week.

6. Killarney (Killeen) €90 flat rate and €60 after 4pm, seven days a week. An Open competition on 31st July is €40.
7. Killeen Castle €70/€80 at weekends, with rates between €35 and €60 on weekdays.

View back up the 1st hole to Killeen Castle

8. Lough Erne Sterling £60/£85 and £60/£95 at weekends.
9. Mount Juliet €70 weekdays, €85 weekends. A reduced weekday rate of €40 is available before 8.40am and after 5pm.
10. Rathcore €15/€25 all week.

Yes, I know, many of you will argue that Rathcore should be replaced by Belvoir Park, Carlow, The Heritage, Malone, Mount Wolseley or Slieve Russell, but Rathcore is a favourite of mine. Personally, I don't think you're going to find better value than at this Co Meath course.

The short par four 6th at Rathcore

You can also try picking up the phone and bartering with the club, or you can use use a service like www.teetimes.ie or www.golfnow.ie. Green fees are always negotiable and these are excellent courses (bar one - if you have my book Hooked you'll know which one I'm talking about), so take advantage of the weather, slip into something unfashionably fashionable and slap on the sun screen lotion.

* I'm visiting Adare for my Inside the Ropes Irish golf project, so if you want to sign up for some free golf (October 12th), click here and leave your details.