Sunday morning we had our first full Irish breakfast at the Lahinch Coast Hotel and boarded our bus to view the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs are a stunning expanse of rock jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. The Visitor Center offered a full explanation of the Cliffs as well as some shopping and dining opportunities. It was a lovely clear day to see this impressive site.

After our visit to the Cliffs, we loaded back onto the bus for the short ride down the road to Doonbeg. The weather held up for our round on this relatively new links course. Doonbeg is a classic links course in that it goes nine holes away from the clubhouse and returns for the back nine. The course is relatively narrow and hugs the coast throughout the round.

Our tee times at Doonbeg were late in the afternoon, so to accommodate dinner, the hotel provided a soup and sandwich menu as we prepared to listen to some special music. Mike Cook at The Care of Trees was our host for the evening, and we thank him for his contribution to the night. Sarah Croker and her accompanist Stuart entertained the crowd with Irish favorites. As the evening progressed, many in the group even chose to dance, a first for a TurfNet Ireland trip!

On Monday the group was due to tee off at 11:30 at Lahinch Golf Club, a short walk from our hotel. While approximately 20 golfers took to the Lahinch Old Course, the remainder of the group went to tour the nearby Bunratty Folk Park and Castle.

After golf at Lahinch, we loaded up the bus and headed north to County Mayo and the Mount Falcon Estate.  We thank Brian McDonagh the superintendent at Lahinch, for hosting the TurfNet group. Brian had a busy summer, as he hosted the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in July and the course has had a steady stream of events and groups ever since.