Epic new Links to open in Ireland's Ancient East By Brian Weis

Epic new Links to open in Ireland's Ancient East

Curracloe Links - Irelands Next Best Golf Course

By Brian Weis

Golf in Ireland will kick off its expanded presence at this year's PGA Show with a media event on-site on January 24th. Hosted by Golf Channel's Matt Adams, invited guests will hear from Director of Golf at Ardglass Golf Club - Paul Vaughan, Tourism Ireland EVP - Alison Metcalfe, and Jason Straka of Fry/Straka Design - who will bring his vision and expertise to an exciting new course coming to Ireland's Ancient East.

Curracloe Links will break ground in February with a view to opening in 2026. Less than two hours from Dublin, the course, developed by the Neville Group, is located right next to the white sands of Curracloe Beach which was the filming location for Steven Spielberg's epic 'Saving Private Ryan'.

Jason Straka, Fry/Straka Design, "The ancient linksland of Curracloe Links, with its rolling hills, long sea views and rugged natural bunkers, will offer a quintessential Irish links experience and lure people from all over the world to its fairways."

More than 30 partners will represent Golf in Ireland on our stand/booth 3673, at the PGA Golf Merchandise Show in Orlando this week. The world's largest annual gathering of the golf industry, the PGA Show traditionally hosts golf industry professionals from around the world discovering the newest trends, technology, and destinations from exhibiting golf companies and brands.

Alison Metcalfe, Executive Vice President Tourism Ireland North America, "The PGA show provides an excellent opportunity for our golf partners to meet and do business with US golf professionals and industry partners, as well as highlight the unique nature of an Irish golf experience to media. The continued investment in golf, as seen with the Curracloe Links project, means Ireland will carry on offering an unforgettable, world class golfing experience, for our visitors."

Ms. Metcalfe continued, "The US golf market remains a priority for Tourism Ireland, and we continue to promote the island of Ireland as a leading golf destination. Golf is the world's largest sports-related travel market and Tourism Ireland, together with our partners Failte Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland, is working hard to drive home the message that a golfing vacation on the island of Ireland is about much more than a round of 18 holes - the combination of our world-class links, located all around the island of Ireland, and our unique brand of hospitality, plays a key role in attracting US golfers to visit."

Ireland will once again find itself at the center of the golf world in the coming years as it hosts two 'major' tournaments with The Open Championship returning to Royal Portrush Golf Club in 2025 and Adare Manor will be the venue for the Ryder Cup in 2027. The 2024 Amgen Irish Open will be played in September at the world-renowned Royal County Down Golf Club.

Ireland offers a fabulous array of signature links courses which includes Portmarnock, Lahinch, Rosapenna, Ballyliffin and others, but there is also an equally unique opportunity to discover outstanding alternatives such as Carne, Westport, Dooks, Castlerock and Connemara. Here, the US golfer will find epic new experiences and courses that will keep visitors coming back for more.

Getting to Ireland is also easy with non-stop flights available from 18 gateways across the US this summer to Dublin. Flights will also operate from New York, Boston and Chicago to and from Shannon. Both Irish airports boast US Immigration Preclearance which means visitors will return to the US as domestic passengers.

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Revised: 01/26/2023 - Article Viewed 9,186 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.