We will meet in Dublin starting at The Guinness Storehouse (must see) and an evening in Dublin before beginning our golfing journey at Portmarnock Golf Club. We will then spend the rest of the week seeing Kerry and enjoying my favourite courses in my favourite part of Ireland.
Fly into Dublin, drop bags at the Grand Canal Hotel, and wander into town. We tour the Guinness Storehouse and pull our first proper pint up in the Gravity Bar with the city laid out below us. Dinner at the Elephant & Castle in Temple Bar, then whatever live music the night throws at us.
An early tee at Portmarnock — one of the great old links, a few miles up the coast from Dublin. Lunch at the club, then the bus points south-west for the long, scenic haul to Kerry. We land in the tidy little village of Sneem and get our first proper country dinner at Matt the Threshers.
A midday round at Waterville Golf Links — Payne Stewart's favourite warm-up for The Open. Shower at the club, then back through the Ring toward a pint at Riney's and a dinner at Sacre Coeur that people will be talking about for years.
Depending on the weather, we will either take a boat trip across Kenmare Bay to the 11th best pub in Ireland. We'll stop in to see my Mum and Dad, and then we'll have dinner in Sneem. Should the weather not oblige, we'll do a tour of the Ring of Kerry to see the sights.
We head up the coast for the first of two rounds at the Ballybunion Old Course. Tom Watson called it the course every golfer should play at least once; I think he was underselling it. We stay the night at the Cliff House Hotel, right above the beach.
Early tee — 8:30am — for one last round at Ballybunion with the sun on the dunes. Coffee in the clubhouse, bags on the bus, and onward to flights home. That's the trip.
Founded 1894 on a wind-whipped peninsula north of Dublin. A pure, honest championship links that has hosted the Irish Open more times than anyone can count.
A wild, large-scale links tucked between the Atlantic and the Inny estuary. Payne Stewart warmed up here before winning his last Open. Quiet, remote, and superb.
The big one. Towering dunes, tight fairways and the Atlantic on your shoulder. We play it twice — because once is never enough.
Smart, well-placed for Temple Bar and the Storehouse. One night to find our feet before the drive west.
Our base for three nights in the heart of the Ring of Kerry — a village of painted houses, stone bridges, and the sound of the river.
On the dunes above the beach, ten minutes from the first tee at Ballybunion. The finale.
I have worked with you all since my time living in the US. I consider you all really good friends but also great supporters of me personally as I navigated my career in the US. You are all hand picked to come and join me because I want to show you Ireland the way I do it with the people that I love to see when I get home. I hope you can make it.
A few favourite corners of the island — from Dublin's pubs to the quiet hills above Kenmare Bay.