Ireland Golf Trip- Matches made in Heaven.

When it comes to planning an Ireland Golf Trip, there are some matches that are quite simply made in Heaven! With love in the air on St. Valentine's Day, what better time to look at some of the best match ups that go hand in glove on an Ireland golf trip.

• Royal County Down Golf Club and Slieve Donard Hotel

Where better to start than at the world's number one golf course, Royal County Down nestled at the foothills of the Mourne Mountains and Dundrum Bay in Northern Ireland. And literally side by side you will find the luxurious Slieve Donard hotel with it's iconic red brick facade and church-like spires. Many golf groups visiting Ireland like to stay at The Slieve Donard and stroll out through the hotel's rear entrance and take the private pathway between the hotel and the famous Royal County Down links. It is such a novelty while on a golf tour of Ireland to carry your golf clubs from the hotel and take this short but magical walk, evoking a sense of a bygone golf era in Ireland.​

• Bushmills Inn and the Northern Ireland Golf Coast

About two hours north from Newcastle, Co. Down is the quiet village of Bushmills, famed for it's Distillery. Here you will find the Bushmills Inn, as cosy a coaching Inn to be found anywhere on the planet. There is nothing to beat settling in to the snug bar to enjoy a wee Bushmills whiskey either before dinner or as a night cap to replay the golf shots of the day. And what a  great a base it is for golfers travelling to play Royal Portrush ( The Open Championship Course in 2019), Portstewart ( Irish Open Course in 2017) and Castlerock,a traditional Links course that has previously hosted The Irish PGA Championship.

• Connemara Golf Links and Abbeyglen Castle hotel

This lesser known pairing hits all the high notes on a west of Ireland golf tour. Arriving in Clifden, Co. Galway follow the Sky Road to arrive at this quirky and most welcoming of lodgings. Here you will find Gilbert, the resident duty manager to welcome you. Gilbert is not your average duty manager by any stretch! The food is sumptuous- the restaurant has two Rosettes from the AA for its gourmet food and fine wines. You may even be in for a treat with an impromptu musical session courtesy of owners Paul and Brian Hughes after dinner. The Connemara championship Golf Links is just a  short drive away, and this is a natural experience of golf as it is played on the west of Ireland.

• The Cliffs of Moher and Lahinch Golf Links

​This is a match up that simply oozes class! The Cliffs are just a  fifteen minutes drive from Lahinch and it is unforgivable to pass up the opportunity to see one of Ireland's top visitor attractions on an Irish golf trip. And what can be said about the golf links at Lahinch other than to say it is just one of the best golf courses in Ireland. Each July it hosts the South of Ireland Amateur Golf Championship and golfers on an Ireland golf vacation place it high on their must play lists. 2017 is a special year for Lahinch Golf Club as it celebrates its 125th anniversary.

• Ballybunion Golf Club and Ballybunion Seaweed baths.

I have to be honest and say that not many golfers would know about this loving couple. But after a day on the links at Ballybunion what could beat a soaking hot seaweed bath to ease the muscles, relax the mind and get ready for the next big golf challenge in south west Ireland?

• Waterville Links and Waterville House

An exquisite pairing if ever there was one! From the moment you arrive at Waterville Golf Links to be greeted by Noel Cronin and his team you are made to feel at home. Noel will will share a kind word or story and will find a connection whether you are visiting from San Francisco or Singapore. And across the bay from this geat golf links course sits Waterville House, in splendid isolation from the neraby town. Miriam runs the house and does a great job to make all the guests most welcome. Sit in the drawing room and enjoy a drink from the honour bar as you look out across the Atlantic Ocean. Yo may even fancy some fishing on the stream that runs through the Waterville House property. This is an oasis of calmness and golfers touring in the south west of Ireland will appreciate this extraordinary experience.