Along with England, Wales and Scotland, Ireland has long been a world class golf holiday destination thanks in large part to its superb collection of golf courses, excellent accommodation options, stunning natural scenery and, of course, the legendary Irish hospitality and Craic.

From the links courses dotted all around the rugged coastline to the tranquil surrounds of Ireland’s parkland beauties, there is something to suit all tastes on the Emerald Isle.

While Ireland is only a stone’s throw from the shores of Scotland, Wales and England, the thought of paying an arm and a leg to travel with your clubs or rent them on-site is a bit of a turn off but thanks to British Airways, golfers in the South East of England can now travel to play some of the world’s finest golf courses safe in the knowledge that they can take their beloved golf clubs FREE of charge.

The K Club is one of the more famous Irish Golf venues thanks to the hosting of the Ryder Cup in 2006 and its two world class golf courses, one of which, The Palmer Course, is ranked as the most difficult inland course in the country.

British Airways have re-launched their services from London Heathrow to Belfast City and Dublin airports with flights operating up to seven times a day, seven days a week, making courses like Royal Portrush, Royal County Down and Royal Dublin more accessible to UK golfers, not to mentiuon the fantastic resorts that reside in and around Ireland’s capital includung the likes of Druids Glen, Carton House and The K Club.

The routes replace the BMI services which ended earlier this summer and British Airways’ policy of not charging for a first item of hold baggage under 23 kg means golfers will be quids in before they arrive on the first tee…leaving more dosh for the sampling of a pint or two of the black stuff!

Royal Portrush is back on the R&A’s radar as a potential future Open Championship host.

David Boyce, Tourism Ireland’s head of business and sports tourism, said: “With UK consumers looking for quality and value from their golf break, the new BA routes are sure to add further encouragement to golfers to visit Ireland to sample our world-class courses.”

While Ireland has long been a leading golf holiday destination it can often be overlooked by those who automatically head to the shores of England and Scotland in search of famous Open Championship venues such as Turnberry, Royal Birkdale & Royal St Georges. Recent polls however have endorsed Ireland’s reputation as a leading global golfing destination. Leading publication Golf Digest recently included 8 Irish golf courses in their list of “The 100 Greatest Golf Courses outside of the USA” and another, Golf World, also had 9 Irish courses featured in its list of “World Top 100 courses you can Play”. On both lists the majestic Royal County Down took the number one spot…clearly this Northern Irish classic gets the blood pumping on both sides of the pond!

Carton House is home to two fantastic golf courses designed by Colin Montgomerie and Mark O’Meara.

Another plus point for Irish golf was the hosting of the Irish Open at Royal Portrush which is the only venue outside of England and Scotland to have hosted the Open Championship. Royal Portrush attracted record crowds of more than 120,000 and highlighted the quality Ireland has to offer as a world-class golf destination.

Next time you are hankering for some world class links golf or a game in the more tranquil surrounds of the world’s most beautiful parkland layouts, Ireland is the place to be and with British Airways allowing golfers to travel with clubs for free, now is the time to book your next Irish Golf Break.

For more information on Irish Golf Tours, Northern Ireland Golf Holidays and other UK & Ireland Golf Breaks please visit www.yourgolftravel.com or call free on 0800 043 6644.

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