ADARE, Ireland — What a run of world-class golf for southwest Ireland, one of the world’s most revered golf destinations.
It started Sept. 5-6 at Lahinch Golf Club, where Great Britain & Ireland’s spirited 12-amateur team captured the Walker Cup, 13.5-12.5, for its first victory over the Americans since 2015. The 2026 Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links, Doonbeg, the following week delivered a memorable encore as Irish hero Shane Lowry overwhelmed the DP World Tour field by a tournament-record 11 shots.
These events are merely appetizers for golf’s grandest theater: the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor next September — Ireland’s first Ryder Cup since 2006 at The K Club.
Hosting the Ryder Cup a century after the first biannual competition has brought unprecedented development to not only the southwest of Ireland but Irish golf overall. Two new links courses — Curracloe Links in County Wexford and Brittas Bay in County Wicklow — open summer 2027 south of Dublin.
The Hawthorn at Galway Bay, which opened in June, is Galway’s first five-star hotel in more than two decades, and pairs beautifully with the resort’s recently renovated Christy O’Connor Jr. design.
Closer to Adare, Dromoland Castle in Newmarket-on-Fergus closes from November 2026 to June 2027 to undergo a 55-million-euro redevelopment, its largest in 63 years as a hotel. At Adare Manor, billionaire owner J.P. McManus spent millions upgrading the course and historic manor house, including last year’s extensive regrassing. Also, a new seven-kilometer, 150-million-euro bypass road will open in time for the Ryder Cup to ease traffic through tiny Adare village, which has a population of slightly more than 1,200 people.
Outside a pilgrimage to St. Andrews in Scotland, exploring southwest Ireland is a must. Within a 90-minute drive of Adare Manor, golfers can play a kaleidoscope of courses, from World Top 100 links to lesser-known, enjoyable parkland playgrounds.
INSIDE THE GATES AT ADARE MANOR
As luxury golf resorts go, few compare to Adare Manor’s history, levels of service and attention to detail. The 842-acre estate is a fairytale come to life.
During an extensive two-year renovation and expansion from 2016 to 2018 to land the Ryder Cup bid, Adare Manor added a 41-bedroom wing, a 350-guest ballroom and a spa. The 103-room Adare Manor is a unique neo-Gothic mansion designed as a "Calendar House" and built in the 1830s. It features 365 stained-glass windows for each day of the year, 52 chimneys for each week, seven pillars in the lobby for the days of the week and four towers to mark the seasons. Every room feels like its own art gallery of paintings, ornate furniture and elaborate flooring, carved walls and Cathedral ceilings.
Outside beyond the walled gardens, Tom Fazio and his team sand-capped the fairways and built cutting-edge SubAir technology below the greens to solve drainage issues on the original Robert Trent Jones Sr. design, which dates to 1995. The 7,509-yard course emerged this May from a nine-month project to transition the European ryegrass in the fairways and rough to American ryegrass to add teeth to the challenge.
“Our European ryegrass, when it grows to a certain length, it flops over, which is great from a resort point of view,” says Fraser Thomson, the PGA director of golf operations at Adare Manor. “It always tees the ball up, but from a Ryder Cup point of view, we want it a little more penal in the rough. We can grow that American rye seed up a lot higher, a lot tougher, a lot more juicier in terms of the lie. Bethpage Black (host of the 2025 Ryder Cup) was a great example. If the rough is playable, it can be not as challenging for them, so (this) … allows us to have that variation if one of the holes we want to make it longer and another hole we want to make it less penal.”
A specialized team scalped the original ryegrass turf last August to avoid cross contamination. The hydroseed grew in beautifully despite spring rain washouts.
“In my opinion, the golf course is in the best condition it’s ever been, and the golf course has always been immaculate,” Thomson says. “We pride ourselves in being championship ready every single day no matter if you come on a Monday in June or a Friday in July. We believe the golf course should play the same every single time. The grounds team do an incredible job with the regrassing and the set up every single day to ensure you play the golf course in championship condition.”
Steep greenside falloffs are cut to 3-4 centimeters high, a lie so tight on A4 bentgrass that it is like chipping off of a real green. The Pure Distinction bentgrass greens, a first for Europe, roll quick and are tough to read. How European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald sets up Adare Manor is still to be determined, although it is a given that the fairways will be significantly narrower. There are only 41 bunkers, fewer than any other course associated with Fazio.
Three of the final four holes are ideal for match play, starting with the drivable 15th that winds along the River Maigue across from the manor house. The green of the par-3 16th is 86 yards long but is angled in such a way that it is only nine yards wide in spots between the river and the demanding collection areas.
The river — which Richard Finch famously fell into while winning the 2008 Irish Open — also separates the 18th green from the fairway, creating a tremendous, risk-reward par 5. Any careless shot to the right side of the green will funnel into the water.
“The golf course is absolutely incredible,” Rory McIlroy says. “To have a course presented like this is phenomenal ... it’s parkland perfection.”
Golfers must stay on property to play. Rates start from $870 per night for a Classic Room (including tax and complimentary breakfast). Golfers must pay a $620 green fee, plus a $135 caddie fee and tip. Carts are extra. The course has closed for the 2026 season and will reopen May 5 through Aug. 8 for play before final Ryder Cup prep begins. Special 2027 golf packages are available here. Ryder Cup week is Sept. 13-19.
Non-golfers can experience falconry, gundog training, padel, archery, clay pigeon shooting, bicycles, fishing, historical tours, walking and running trails, and curated children’s programming.
MORE FANTASTIC GOLF IN SOUTHWEST IRELAND
Shannon Airport is the gateway to southwest Ireland. The biggest bucket-list gets beyond Adare Manor are the Old courses of Lahinch and Ballybunion. Each cost $515 in high season, although their dunesland and wind-swept ocean views deliver links golf paradise.
Lahinch, which also hosted the 2019 Irish Open, is famous for two whimsical and quirky holes: Klondyke, the narrow par-5 fourth where a flag man signals when players can hit a blind second or third shot over the final dune, and Dell, the short par-3 fifth where golfers aim over a white rock at a narrow green hidden by dunes. Across the street, the Castle course is a less dramatic course that winds along the tidal banks of the River Inagh. The remains of Dough Castle loom over its backdrop. Nearby, hike the Cliffs of Moher, a World UNESCO site.
Doonbeg, a Greg Norman design near Lahinch, is arguably more scenic than both Ballybunion and Lahinch, even if it is not nearly as historic or highly ranked.
With links golf so expensive, it is never a bad idea to mix in a parkland course into an Irish itinerary. Not only are they generally less expensive, but golfers can ride in a cart to rest their legs for a round. Two underrated options beyond the parkland course at Dromoland Castle are Ballyneety Golf Club, host of the 2027 Junior Ryder Cup, and Limerick Golf Club. Hilly terrain gives Ballyneety its character.
Limerick, a proud members club with ties to Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Tiger Woods, offers an international guest fee ($200) that allows golfers the chance to attempt the “Tiger Woods Challenge” during their round. When Woods set the course record in 2000, he hit an impressive 50-yard recovery shot from the trees onto the ninth green. Golfers who can replicate the shot receive a prize.
Further north about 90 minutes from Adare, The Hawthorn at Galway Bay provides a hybrid course that’s just as special as some of the more famous links. While it plays more like a parkland, it’s blessed with some beautiful coastal holes.
O’Connor Jr. even incorporated a piece of Ryder Cup history into its design. The dramatic approach shot over water on the 12th hole was created to mimic his iconic 2-iron shot that helped Europe retain the 1989 Ryder Cup at The Belfry. If the 200-yard shot is too intimidating, don’t be ashamed to lay up for a more manageable approach over the water.
A recent redesign eliminated roughly 70% of the bunker surface (more than 59 bunkers) to make the course more playable. New runways funnel shots onto greens to escape new, smaller, sod-wall bunkers.
The Hawthorn, a glamorous new five-star hotel and a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, is just as stunning as the course outside. It features 114 guest rooms, including 47 junior suites and 17 penthouse suites.
Guests can dine at the Skylark, a signature live-fire restaurant, or The Oystercatcher Bar, which offers a Japanese-inspired menu. The Spa at The Hawthorn provides an immersive wellness sanctuary with indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs.
The biggest obstacle for a golf trip to southwest Ireland remains access. Ballybunion and Lahinch often sell out a year in advance. Many hotels and golf resorts, like The Hawthorn, are already booked for Ryder Cup week, another sign the anticipation is building. For golfers who want to experience southwest Ireland for themselves, start planning for a 2028 trip now.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
LAHINCH GOLF CLUB
Castle Course
Yards: 6,002 yards
Par: 69
Yards: 6,002 yards
Fees: $69
Old Course
Yards: 7,066
Par: 72
Fees: $515
BALLYNEETY GOLF CLUB
Yards: 6,439 yards
Par | Slope: 70 | 131
Fees: $34-$69
LIMERICK GOLF CLUB
Yards: 6,522
Par | Slope: 72 | 126
Fees: $200
THE HAWTHORN BY GALWAY BAY
Yards: 7,308
Par: 72
Fees: $143-$285
ADARE MANOR
Yards: 7,509
Par | Slope: 72 | 137
Fees: $630
