Celtic Moment

Preview of Papes’s blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: www.travelpod.com This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator. Entry from: Doolin, Ireland Entry Title: “Golf and The Burren” Entry: “This morning we got up and had a delicious “Full Irish Breakfast” that traditionally includes a fried egg, toast, bacon (more like Canadian Bacon), light/white pudding (what we would call sausage links) served with assorted home-baked breads including the famous brown bread which is very hearty and full-grain. Wonderful! Next we drove to “Doolin Pitch and Put” where Pat got to golf. It had amazing views of the Atlantic and Cliffs of Moher in the backgroud. A pitch and put is a links style course just with all the holes fairly close together so that there are no long drives to make. What is unusual is how hilly this course was – more like huge bumps or berms all over. I think they just covered up all the rocks on the site with a bunch of dirt and planted grass over it! Mom and Dad hung out at the Doolin Pier and watched the waves roll in while we golfed. After that we took off for the Burren Perfumery. It was an all-day trip with stops all along the way. At Kilforna we stopped to see ancient Celtic crosses from the 11th and 12th centuries. A lady gave us directions to the perfumery that went something like this; “Go East until you come to the Castle ruin then turn left. Follow that road until just before the ‘Ring Fort’ where you will …

As the pound continues to tumble against the Euro, UK golfers looking to travel abroad may find themselves frustrated by the increased cost of travel, accommodation and green fees in Europe. Traditional golf holiday destinations such as France and the Algarve have become more expensive, but the increased cost of golf abroad is the perfect excuse to rediscover some of the finest golf courses in the UK.

Keen players looking for the perfect UK golf break need look no further than Scotland -its dramatic combination of coastal and mountain scenery provides a stunning backdrop for a golf holiday, and Scotland’s numerous championship courses are favoured by the very best players in the world. It is the home of the links course – flat coastal courses with few trees or water hazards, where the wind can have a dramatic effect on your game. While the Scottish links design has been much emulated around the world, it has never been bettered.

There are literally hundreds of courses to choose from in Scotland, including many of the world’s biggest and best alongside countless smaller hidden gems. But if you want to play on the most famous and world renowned courses on your golf holiday in Scotland, here are five that you simply must play…

The Ailsa Course

The Turnberry Golf Club is perhaps the most famous in Scotland. It contains three courses, but it is The Ailsa that is the best and most challenging. Looking out across the Mull of Kintyre, the Isle of Arran and the castle of Robert the Bruce, it is certainly the most scenic golf course in Scotland. But there’s more here than fine views; the strong winds demand even stronger drives, the ninth hole (with a tee perched on the edge of the sea) is justly famous, and the course as a whole is an absolute delight to play on.

Kingsbarns Golf Links

Stunningly designed by Kyle Phillips, this course is a masterpiece of links craftsmanship that hugs the coastline – the North Sea is never out of sight. This intricate and demanding course is only a decade old, but is already ranked as one of the finest in Scotland. Watch out for the par five 12th hole, the signature hole on the Kingsbarns Golf Links. Kyle Phillips may be a Californian, but he has created one of the very best Scottish links courses in existence today.

Gleneagles Kings Course

There are a number of outstanding Gleneagles courses that are well worth playing on your golf holiday in Scotland, but the Gleneagles Kings Course is the pick of the bunch; it is truly a course worthy of kings. Designed by James Braid, it offers breathtaking views and superb design that has been delighting and challenging golfers since 1919.

Carnoustie Golf Links

Skilled golfers looking for a real challenge on a golf holiday in Scotland need look no further than Carnoustie Golf Links. Widely regarded as the most difficult course in the UK, it has hosted seven Open Championships in its time, with even the world’s best players often finishing well above par. But if you are up to the challenge, the Carnoustie will offer you a round of golf unlike any other in Scotland.

St Andrews Old Course

Often regarded as the oldest golf course in the world, it is believed that St Andrews Old Course has been in use for over six hundred years. Not only is it the oldest, it is widely rated as the best in the world. The natural terrain has hardly been altered to create the course, and playing golf here allows you to enjoy historic holes, classic scenery, and one of the finest rounds of golf that you can play in Scotland.

Originally posted 2010-10-01 03:37:49.

I’m going to Ireland in July 2009 and am looking for a good, affordable course to let me play and experience Ireland golf. I will be flying into Shannon and flying out of Dublin 7 days later. We will be driving the southern tip of Ireland with stops in Galway, Cork, Kilarney, and Dublin. Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

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By Debbie Caldwell., North Shore News April 15, 2011 6:06 AM Artists for Kids Gallery: 810 West 21st St., North Vancouver. Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Info: 604-903-3798 or www.artists4kidscom.

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PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — Colombian striker Jorge Perlaza scored twice as the Portland Timbers got their first Major League Soccer victory, beating the Chicago Fire 4-2 in their rain-drenched home opener Thursday.

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Six months after hosting the Ryder Cup we thought would never end, Celtic Manor has been chosen as the venue to showcase a new, shortened version of the game.

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Boycezone singing “Andy – He Drives the Fastest Golf Cart in the West” on Queen Street, Cardiff. Sorry it’s a bit ropey, we’d only just made the words up. It was part of the Saint David’s Day weekend, at the Really Welsh Food Festival, on the day after the Wales – France Six Nations Rugby International. www.pluckandsqueeze.com Lyrics – Andy and he drives the fastest Golf Cart in the West You could [C] see the golf balls spinning as the bounced across the ground, [Am] And the rattle of the golf clubs as they went ’round and ’round. He [F] shot off down the slip road, Red Shirt on his chest, His name was [G] Andy, and he drove the fastest golf car in the [C]west. [C]Andy, ([Am]Andy), And he [F]drives the fastest [G]golf cart in the [C]west. Now [C] Andy likes some sherberts and drinks after the game, And after [Am] several gallons he still looked just the same [F] Later he felt peckish, so he popped out for a snack, Up the [G] M4 on his golf cart, but he never made it [C] back. [C]Andy, ([Am]Andy), And he [F]drives the fastest [G]golf cart in the [C]west. Now [C] Andy had a team coach, his name was Warren G. And when he [Am] heard of Andys stunt he couldn’t let it be. [F] Warrens needs are many fold and this got on his wick. The [G] stories in the paper made him feel a proper [C] fool. [C]Andy, ([Am]Andy), And he [F]drives the fastest [G]golf cart in the [C]west. He [C] called him in the office and he burst his rugby dream Sent him [Am] packing on his cart and dropped him …

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Product Description
Thoroughly revised for travel in 2009-10, Golf in Scotland is designed to help travelers save money by planning their own trips to Scotland, the “Home of Golf.” Seven chapters offer advice on when to go, where to go, lodging, tee times, and other travel decisions. St. Andrews receives special attention in its own chapter. Extensive descriptions of sixty-eight courses and their settings feature complete contact and booking information. A bonus section detailing five … More >>

Golf in Scotland: A Travel-Planning Guide with Profiles of 68 Great Courses

Originally posted 2010-10-05 19:38:44.

I am so happy that he didn’t get his “rich self” way this time. I saw the pictures of the place and it is so beautiful. It’s beauty is part of the reason I have dreamed of visiting Scotland. Do you agree, or do you think he should have gotten his way?

Do you need to have a handicap or proof of club membership? Also do most courses rent clubs? I am planning a golf vacation to either Scotland or Ireland and would like some help. I work in Afghanistan so I do not have clubs. So I am curious if I could rent clubs.

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