Golf-A-Million

Just heard about a local golf festival in Ireland planned for June 2014. 3-4 rounds of golf. 3-4 crazy nights: Over the 4 nights you also get included the option to sample 12 Irish whiskies and 12 Irish beers. Also each night traditional Irish food and music. Not sure if I would be able for that and my god the golf the following morning would be interesting. More about the fun than the golf courses as none of them are high profile. Anyone else ever hear of or play in an event like this? Would you love or hate it? Being from Ireland I would prefer to travel overseas for something like this...any recommendations?

Hi Shortstop20, Firstly what are you looking for? 1. Links or Parkland or both? 2. Do you have a budget per round approx.? (all the high profile are $200+ a round). 3. Playing alone?

Ok guy's, Here is my story. I started playing golf when I was 17 and got the usual 18handicap. Over the next 10yrs I loved golf and got down to 10 but always enjoyed golf as it was with a group of friends. When I got to 27yrs old we had all gone our separate ways and then it was a matter of playing with anyone you could on a Sunday morning to get my golf in. Slowly fell out of love with golf and really did not enjoy it for 4-5years and drifted out to 14 handicap. Then for 5 years I had a back problem and played very little but when I did I really did not enjoy it as it frustrated the hell out of me. I am very competitive so I end up starting badly and then just lose interest and get angry with the bad golf. Anyway I re-joined my local club in September and got a 14 handicap again. Since then I have played about 8 rounds as I don't have a lot of time and again really struggled with Enjoying golf. I really look forward to playing but when I step on the course and start playing rubbish I end up hating golf. Last week I was playing with 2 strangers and I started of on the front 9 with 8 points. Then one of the guys said let play for the coffee and cakes on the back 9. Low on behold I par the next 4 and really get into it, eventually winning the back 9 by 1 shot. (other two golfers played off 5 and 11). How do I enjoy golf again and especially how do I enjoy it when playing badly? I do know how lucky I am to be able to get out in the fresh air and spend 4 hours walking around enjoying the world around me but I really struggle with enjoying the actual golf. I am playing tomorrow morning and the weather forecast is shocking with wind and rain so I have said to myself a low score will win so I really need to give 100% for 18holes. I also plan to keep stats about GIR and fairways hit to keep me busy during the round. Any advice?---Oh I'm now playing off 15 tomorrow. Thought doing this post and following up tomorrow evening with my results would give me some extra focus.

Would love to hear your views on this. Personally my idea of golf heaven is a golf course that you have to think about every single shot on every hole and not just blast off the tee. Courses where you HAVE to hit a fairway or you drop a shot because of the rough or greens surrounded by water where its hit or bust. What do you prefer?

First light. Nothing like playing when the sun is coming up and the birds are singing. Does life get any better?

Wow you must love your golf to play 2 rounds a day on a holiday lol but you are right its bright at 6am and not dark until about 10pm. May to September is the best time.

There is an Amateur World Cup of Golf event in Ireland for the last 2 years. In 2012 it was a 4 person team event and in 2013 it was a Pairs event. I played in it the first year with 3 friends and it was great fun as they organised the food, pubs as well as the golf so we all went out on the beer each night and I had friends from India, South Africa, America by the end of the week. www.worldcupofgolf.com is the website and I think they have one planned for both Pairs and Singles for 2014 as I emailed them about a week ago. A really great event if you want to play great courses in Ireland and also experience the food, drink and all that is Ireland.

Wow that is exclusive. Not sure if I could handle the pressure of playing with those guys.

Yes from the website it looks great. The only thing I don't like about it is the amount of golfers. Not exactly exclusive and 3000-1 shot to win it. I would prefer something with less than 150 players.

What is the best, most enjoyable amateur golf event that you have ever played in? Or is there an amateur event that you would love to play in? I am looking for a once in a lifetime event to play in next year that will give me a buzz Oooh and one that you don't have to qualify for (As I'm a 14 handicap) lol

Yes green fees are usually 50% cheaper in October. Not sure about the costs of a caravan but you can get car hire here from about $15 a day.

Being based in Ireland and in my past occupation I was a golf event organiser head to either/both Dublin and South-West for the high profile links. But if you want value head to the North-West. Amazing links and half the price of the others. Old head is an amazing experience but not the best golf course by a long shot. Dooks in Kerry is a great links course and if you phone the pro-shop early in the morning you will get out for about 50euro 65USD. There is a singles & Pairs event planed for Aug/Sept time 2014 called Amateur World Cup of golf (open to all golfers) and it is arrive Dublin then North-west for 5 days and back to Dublin or you can extend and play the South-West for extra 3-4days. I will post details when they release them but it fills up very quickly. Website is www.worldcupofgolf.com

14 but more like 16. Hitting greens and making putts. 1 hour on the putting green before each round makes an amazing difference.

Hi Guys, Great to find and be part of your golf forum. I look forward to discussing all aspects of golf with you.