{"id":76,"date":"2013-12-09T09:05:48","date_gmt":"2013-12-09T09:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/?p=76"},"modified":"2014-04-21T16:08:17","modified_gmt":"2014-04-21T16:08:17","slug":"golf-guinness-and-glorious-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/golf\/76\/golf-guinness-and-glorious-weather","title":{"rendered":"Golf, Guinness and Glorious Weather"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Golfers Guide to the South East &amp; Midlands of Ireland\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sSjgcNHUR7k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ireland is undoubtedly one of the very best countries in the world in which to play golf. The scenery is spectacular, the roads are un-crowded, the Guinness is plentiful and the people are incredibly friendly. \u00a0On top of all that, there are far more outstanding courses than the Irish know what to do with and so they\u2019re more than happy to share them with visitors.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the only slight downside to playing golf in Ireland is the weather, which can be rather unreliable and is rarely as warm as the welcome visitors receive. The very best of whatever decent weather is going is frequently to be found in and around the south-eastern corner of the country. And so that\u2019s where we headed for what proved to be a truly great week of golf.<\/p>\n<p>Just along the beach from Rosslare Harbour where the ferries from France and Wales dock, is splendid St Helen\u2019s Bay Golf Resort. A glorious seaside course that takes full advantage of its splendid location right on the coast with some simply breath-taking holes by the water\u2019s edge, magnificent views and an almost ever-present breeze to make a truly challenging course even more exciting. With numerous tropical trees carefully sited, the occasional historic wall built during the famine to provide work for the unemployed and a sprinkling of attractive water hazards, the course provides plenty of visual appeal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_85\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/Rosslare-Links-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-85 \" alt=\"Rosslare Links\" src=\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/Rosslare-Links-2-300x224.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/Rosslare-Links-2-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/Rosslare-Links-2-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/Rosslare-Links-2-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/Rosslare-Links-2-175x130.jpg 175w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-85\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rosslare Links<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Just along the coast there\u2019s a real gem which those with a real feel for golf\u2019s rich heritage will certainly enjoy. Rosslare Links is a genuine links\u2019 course from the tips of its sizeable tees, through its fast and undulating fairways to its wonderfully true but tricky greens. Blessed with all the authentic characteristics of golf amongst the dunes including tough bunkers, springy turf and the occasional unpredictable bounce, it\u2019s tough enough that even the soothing sound of the surf won\u2019t entirely settle your nerves.<\/p>\n<p>In between rounds you should take a little time and enjoy some of the delights that Ireland has to offer away from the course.\u00a0 It seems you\u2019re never far from a castle and the historic towns of Wexford and Kilkenny offer much in the way of entertainment. Fishing is a popular sport and the Irish love their horses, particularly if they finish in front. And whatever you do it\u2019s more or less compulsory to enjoy a pint or two afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>Right on the edge of town you\u2019ll find the enormously attractive Wexford golf club. With plenty of elevation and no shortage of big boulders to punctuate the scenery, there\u2019s much to admire about this well-maintained and appealing course.<\/p>\n<p>The Irish, of course, make their own rules and it takes a brave man to argue with them as they\u2019re as good with words as they are at golf. Quite a few of the members genuinely believe Carlow Golf Club is a links course even though it\u2019s a good way from the sea. With its fascinating dips and hollows, you can easily see what they mean even if you don\u2019t necessarily go along with everything they tell you. As a general principle in Ireland, it\u2019s not altogether a bad thing to be a little sceptical.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_86\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/knightsbrook-5th-tee.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-86 \" alt=\"Carlow Golf Club\" src=\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/knightsbrook-5th-tee-300x199.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/knightsbrook-5th-tee-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/knightsbrook-5th-tee-1024x679.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/knightsbrook-5th-tee-90x60.jpg 90w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-86\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Knightsbrook Golf &amp; Leisure Resort<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We travelled quite a long way north for our final round. But it was well worth the effort as Knightsbrook Hotel and Golf Resort is right up there with the very best. Close to the historic town of Trim and the beautiful River Boyne, it\u2019s a joyous parkland course that leads you through what was once evidently a truly impressive estate and former home of Jonathan Swift, who wrote Gulliver\u2019s Travels.\u00a0 The specimen trees and lovely lakes have helped create an atmospheric setting for what is a top quality course.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">-Ends-<\/p>\n<p>Presenter Clive Agran and\u00a0David J Whyte travelled to the South East &amp; Midlands of Ireland with Club Choice Ireland, an Alliance of Resorts, Hotels &amp; Golf Clubs coming together to offer you Tailormade golf packages to Ireland.\u00a0 For more information contact:<\/p>\n<p>Tel:\u00a0 UK (0800) 285 1490<\/p>\n<p>Tel: ROI (01) 801 1490<\/p>\n<p>Email: <a href=\"mailto:info@clubchoiceireland.com\">info@clubchoiceireland.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Web: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.clubchoiceireland.com\">www.clubchoiceireland.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ireland is undoubtedly one of the very best countries in the world in which to play golf. The scenery is&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/golf\/76\/golf-guinness-and-glorious-weather\" title=\"ReadGolf, Guinness and Glorious Weather\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":81,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,18,17,10580],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-lifestyle","category-courses-and-travel","category-golfontheweb","post_format-post-format-video"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2013\/12\/knightsbrook-17-close.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions\/91"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/davidwhyte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}