The golfing season is over in Ireland, the cold temperatures, misty rain and harsh winds now replaced by the anticipation and excitement of the 2025 British Open Championship coming to Royal Portrush Golf Club.
This year’s major championship site is an enormous sense of pride for Marty Carr, who is a part of Irish golf royalty and co-founder of Carr Golf in 1989 with brother John, specializing in luxury golf excursions to Ireland, Scotland and England.
Carr’s father, J.B. Carr, was Ireland’s greatest amateur golfer. His 42 titles in 30 years included three British Amateur Championships and four Irish Amateur Opens. J.B. was also the first Irishman to play in the Masters and become an Augusta National Golf Club member, and was the first non-American to receive the Bob Jones Award.
Marty virtually grew up with a pitching wedge in tow on the Emerald Isle. He broke away from golf in his early years, moving to the United States to attend the University of San Francisco before landing a job at Paine Webber in Manhattan.
In 1989, he thought it was time to get back into the game.
“After being a stockbroker I wanted to do something different, so we decided to leverage dad’s name and his golfing pedigree in the world of golf and create Carr Golf, ” the 61-year-old says of the now ultra successful travel firm based in Dublin.
The idea was more than a stretch. Ireland certainly wasn’t the golf destination in the late 1980s that it is today–now drawing more than a quarter of a million golfers each year. The country was still in political turmoil, and the nation’s best golf courses were private and mostly off-limits to visitors.
“We started with approaching local authorities about developing public golf courses, as golf was inaccessible in those days. It was extremely limited and extremely expensive,” Carr says. “But dad’s credentials and reputation in golf got us in many doors.”
And over the last 35 years, helped create the booming golf tourism industry that today spreads across all four corners of the island.
“Ultimately, the industry is far more tailored-made now to the golf traveler,” Carr says. “Over time, the revenue coming into these clubs enabled them to reinvest in and upgrade their golf courses. So the standard of the golf courses, the link courses in this part of the world–in both Scotland and Ireland–have really been transformed to a much higher level of presentation. The quality of the golf experience on the course is exponentially better.
“I think that’s a result of the model that we have here–which is basically private member clubs allowing limited access to overseas guests at a premium green fee. And a lot of these clubs have invested that money very wisely.”
Carr Golf offers four different Ireland golfing packages, each with five days of golf at some of the world’s top layouts. Cost is between $7,500 and $10,000, which does not include airfare.
While some of the golf at locations such as Old Head would be considered once-in-a-lifetime experiences, Carr says his country’s welcoming atmosphere off the course is what sets Ireland apart from many other destinations.
Nights of revelry off the links include fantastic restaurants and authentic Irish pubs, where the pints are cold and the music is lively.
“What Ireland has over Scotland is the music in the pubs at night,” Carr says. “The singing always fascinates the Americans. You don’t get people singing in pubs until the wee hours in Scotland. I think the social element of golf in Ireland is just great.”
Having spent almost a decade in the United States, Carr has tapped into various connections to build a client base that is an estimated 90 percent American. And with more than 20 direct flights to Ireland, the travel is often seamless.
“It has become a niche, premium product, and therefore there are not a lot of other consumers that have the money that the Americans have,” Carr says. “And to be honest with you, if you’re a member of Winged Foot or Olympic Club or Riviera or Oakmont, Parkland golf courses aren’t going to blow you away, so American travelers are predominantly only interested in links, which we are blessed with so many great links layouts,” Carr says.
The overwhelming popularity of Irish golf travel is now a double-edged sword.
“We have growing demand and a shrinking supply because a lot of clubs are tightening up on availability,” Carr says. “Since COVID, they’re making more tee times available to their members because they don’t need the money. That’s one of the reasons why it is becoming more expensive, because there’s less and less availability.”
Roddy Carr is proud of his brother’s ability to build a travel business that started with word-of-mouth and has transformed into a sophisticated online operation that celebrated its 35-year anniversary in 2024.
“He’s now the largest golf tour operator in Ireland for basically people who want to get on trophy golf courses,” Roddy says. “There’s nobody better for getting you on the best courses and giving you the trip of a lifetime.”
Some bookings are still available for next year, but prime dates and locations are becoming scarce, Carr says, as many golfers are already reserving trips into 2026.
“It has been a very good run for Ireland with major championship events like the Open and Ryder Cup helping keep us at the forefront of the golf story worldwide,” Carr says.