The 2026 golf season is just getting started, which means it’s time to plan for 2027. The biggest name courses in the UK and Ireland — the old course in St. Andrews, Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Muirfield and their ilk – book the Augusta hotel way around the Masters: early, fast and with the nagging doubt that you should have acted yesterday. If you’ve got your sights set on a big trip, now’s the time when the logistics begin: watching the booking windows, rounding up playing partners, sorting out accommodation. Never mind your swing. Focus on your chart.
That was the message from Destination Golf podcast co-host Simon Holt in a recent episode dedicated to dream courses and the planning required to make them happen.
First, know your dates. Muirfield’s 2027 booking window opens on March 18. Holt’s tip: Get on the website and log in quickly. Once you have that building block in place, you can start adding to it North Berwick and other nearby obligations.
Royal County Down opens on February 26 at 9am local time – which, depending on where you live, might qualify as ‘mad time’. Holt, which also runs luxury golf travel apparel 08:00 TravelI don’t sugarcoat it. “You’ll be redialing all day,” he said. “You’ll have a time to play. Just don’t expect to have 9:30 in the morning on the day you want to play.”
Royal Portrush opens on March 2 and Holt recommends landing in County Down first, then hoping the Portrush options sync up. Miss one? There is a solution. Pair Portrush with Portstewart and St. Patrick’s Links. If County Down is your anchor, build around it with a swing to Dublin and Portmarnock.
The point: there is more than one way to build the journey of life. But you have to start building now. And, as Holt said, one of you has to do the hard work of getting up early and making the calls. You can listen to the entire episode below.
