Adventure Ireland
Linden Hustedt first travelled with us back in 2018, when he came to St Andrews with 3 other golfing friends – the guys had a ball and he swore he’d return with his family.
So when in 2022 he asked us to arrange a 10 day tour of South West Ireland, for him and wife Kathi, daughter Hannah and her husband Tim Maguire and for Betsy and Joel, Tim’s parents, we were delighted. This was to be a real family affair.
We had lots of conversations with them before we arrived at an itinerary – even using a Zoom call to include Hannah and Tim in California and Betsy and Joel in Denver. This was likely to be their only trip to Ireland and it was important to us that they felt they had a plan that included everything they wanted.
Golf had to include Waterville, Ballybunion and Old Head for starters, but we added The Dooks, Cork and Killarney. Joel had a grandfather who had been Mayor of Cork from 1852 – 1865 and he wanted to explore his connections in the city. Kathi was a non golfer so her itinerary had to be as much fun as the golfers’. Altogether, we could make it work.
Their Itinerary
We planned on 5 nights in Killarney followed by 4 nights in Kinsale. Killarney is the best town to stay in South West Ireland offering good access to these wonderful courses along the Kerry coast. It also sits right on the edge of the National Park, is surrounded by beautiful lakes and mountains and offers easy access to The Ring Of Kerry – a circuit around this corner of Ireland that epitomises the rugged landscape and crashing Atlantic coastline.
We needed to secure the tee times early and were fortunate – these courses are often fully booked 15-18 months ahead of time – but as it turned out the dates our group wanted were in October and the courses offered us tee times that worked for us.
As for Kathi we set up a wonderful Spa day for her and Hannah, a shopping day and a food tour of Dingle where we got to sample artisan producers of everything from wonderful seafood to a micro brewery to an ice cream shop and lots more besides . She was never isolated and felt she had just as much fun as the golfers. It was wonderful.
We also gave the golfers a day off golf by engaging the services of Tangey Tours who are a local company specialising in Jaunting Cars (horse drawn carts) complete with their Jarvies (drivers).
We booked a full day excursion on the Gap of Dunloe Adventure – Horse drawn Jaunting cars that take you through the Gap using a mountain pass that prohibits cars for 7 miles – before transferring you to an open lake boat that cruises back down the 14 miles of lake Killarney to finish at Ross Castle, on the outskirts of town. They absolutely loved it and the sun shone – so very lucky!
Kinsale
Soon it was time to head to Kinsale. If Kinsale isn’t on your radar it should be.
It is a coastal town right down on the south west tip of Ireland. It sits about a 30 minutes drive south of Cork City and it’s only 20 minutes from Old Head Of Kinsale – the most dramatic of golf courses built on a spit of land and surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic. Kinsale has a mediaeval centre full of interesting boutique shopping and colourful properties built on steep hills that wind up from the harbour, opening on to narrow roads.
Its accommodation is plentiful and our group opted to stay in The Old Apothecary – a townhouse dating back to the 1800s, which was now a 4 bed, 4 bath home available for vacation rentals and only a stones throw from the centre of the town which just came alive each evening.
Pubs and hostelries that appeared insignificant during the day were thronged with people who came for the trad music that was just impossible to resist!
Toe tapping was essential and then Hannah went one better when an elderly local, complete with a great big beard and red suspenders took her by the hand.
One thing the Maguires had asked for was time in Cork to research their ancestry.
Ahead of time we had researched John Francis Maguire. We knew he was a true son of Cork – well educated, he became a lawyer, established the Cork Observer newspaper, served as the MP for many years and finally the Lord Mayor where he worked tirelessly for the Catholic poor of his city before his death in 1872. Understandably, Tim and Joel were keen to find his grave. From our research we already knew in which graveyard he was buried but finding his actual grave took a while longer but eventually with eight of us ( and even our driver) we managed to do.
Very satisfactory not just to the family but to us too – they had achieved a stipulated goal for this trip.
Possibly the absolute highlight of the trip was their final day of golf where they played Old Head of Kinsale. Built on a 220 acre spit of land it juts 2 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. Golfers are very aware of the proximity of the water 300 feet below them as they negotiate tee shots across the voids hoping to land on a square of green on the other side. It is golfing real estate like no other and once played never forgotten.
Old Head could not have a more dramatic setting and it was both testing and exciting for our group of golfers.The sun shone, the course was magnificent and after 10 days we had a very happy group.
Job done!
Don’t just take our word for it…
“ I am a non-golfer in a golfing family; however, that did not prevent The Links Connection from providing a wonderful experience for me on a family golfing trip to Ireland.
Marilyn Ewing made sure that our housing was perfect for our group, which it was, in every location. TLC/Ewings arranged every detail for us which was much appreciated!
Marilyn also arranged outings for me, the non golfer, which included a fabulous spa experience at a magnificent hotel, a walking tour of Kinsale, a day in Dingle, not to mention time for shopping and sight seeing.
Watching my family have a fantastic golfing experience brought me great joy. Marilyn and Brian Ewing provide full service experiences that are professional, thoughtful, fun and memory-making. ”
Boca Grande Florida
” We traveled to Ireland with The Links Connection in September 2022. It was absolutely fabulous! We would not have had such an incredible trip without The Links Connection. They are delightful to work with, and their careful planning and attention to every detail makes the experience superb. We didn’t have to think of a single thing on our trip because TLC already had everything figured out – accommodations, transportation, tee times, meals, tourist outings, and more. They have a knack for making connections with locals and they were able to design bespoke itineraries based on what we wanted to do.
It was also a pleasure to have them accompany us for 10 days. Not only because they ensured everything was running smoothly at any given moment, but because Marilyn & Brian are so kind and lovely to be around. They created a happy, charming experience for us, and those feelings are what we will remember from this trip for years to come. In a word: priceless! “
Hannah & Tim
“ I have been fortunate to have the Links Connection plan and deliver two golf trips for me. The first was to Scotland. I belong to a foursome which takes a golf trip every year or so depending on schedules. One year we decided on Scotland and the Ewings (owners of Links Connection) planned our trip around our rather vague ideas and succeeded in providing a truly memorable experience.
We stayed in very comfortable lodging, played the courses we wanted (including the Old Course) and never worried about the logistics of getting from one place to another. The second trip was for family and we went to Ireland. One person (my wife) is not a golfer but she was provided a separate itinerary which she thoroughly enjoyed. We played wonderful courses and again had no hiccups as the Ewings had the entire 10 days planned to assure no difficulties would spoil any activities.
The hallmark of Links Connection for me is their attentiveness and availability throughout the trip, but allowing for dinners and side excursions for the group to be “on their own”. We never worried about luggage, golf clubs, tee times or how to get from point A to B. They even manage to take wonderful photos along the way which captures numerous memories. Couple all that with the friendly, smiling presence of the Ewings you will not only have a great experience but leave feeling you’ve made new friends as well! “
Linden Houstedt
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