Two nights. Three rounds. Great food. One of the most satisfying golf weekends in Ireland. Here's how to put it together — from arrival on Friday evening to the drive home on Sunday afternoon.
County Wicklow is ideally positioned for a golf break from Dublin — 45 minutes by car, yet feeling a world away from the city once you're in the Wicklow Hills. The county packs 20 golf courses, some of Ireland's finest restaurants, excellent accommodation at every price point, and scenery that justifies the Garden of Ireland title, all into an area small enough to navigate easily over a long weekend.
This itinerary is built around Druids Glen Resort as a base — the 5-star resort near Newtownmountkennedy offers two on-site courses and is centrally positioned for north and south Wicklow. The routing gives you three rounds at three quite different courses: Druids Heath on Day 1, Druids Glen on Day 2, and Woodenbridge or Arklow on Day 3. Adjust as suits — the beauty of Wicklow is the density of quality options within a short drive.
Leave Dublin on the M50 southbound and pick up the N11/M11 towards Wicklow. Exit at Newtownmountkennedy and follow signs for Druids Glen Resort. The drive from Dublin city centre takes approximately 45–50 minutes in normal traffic. Aim to arrive by 1pm to allow time to check in, change, and be on the first tee by 2–2:30pm.
Begin with Druids Heath rather than the main Druids Glen course — this is a deliberate choice. Druids Heath is Pat Ruddy's heathland design, more open and exposed than the wooded parkland of the main course, and it's a good shaking-out round after the drive. The heathland setting — gorse, heather, natural rough — gives it a distinctly different character from anything else on the resort, and playing it first means you'll approach the main course on Day 2 with fresh legs and heightened anticipation.
A 2pm start gives you plenty of time to complete 18 holes comfortably before dinner, even in the slower months. In summer, you'll finish in daylight with hours to spare.
Don't rush away from the resort for dinner on the first night. The Rathmore Restaurant at Druids Glen Hotel overlooks the 13th green and offers fine dining and more casual options — it's a genuinely good restaurant, not just a hotel necessity. The views of the course at dusk from the dining room are a fine way to end your first evening. Settle into the resort bar afterwards; a post-round Guinness and a debrief of the day's golf is one of the genuine pleasures of a golf break.
Book the earliest practical tee time on Druids Glen for Saturday morning — this is the centrepiece of the weekend. The four-time Irish Open host needs no introduction to serious golfers, but playing it for the first time (or the tenth) always delivers. Give yourself four to four-and-a-half hours for the round; don't rush it. Take time to walk the fairways, read the greens carefully, and appreciate a course that has held its own against European Tour fields for thirty years.
Focus on the par-3 holes, particularly the 12th — a tee shot over water to a peninsula green that looks straightforward on the card and is anything but in practice. The closing stretch from the 15th home is as good a finish as any parkland course in Ireland.
By early afternoon, you'll have finished lunch in the clubhouse and have several hours of daylight ahead. Use them well — this is the moment to see something of Wicklow beyond the golf course. Two options, both excellent:
Option A — Powerscourt Estate (30 min from Druids Glen): Drive to Enniskerry and spend two hours in the 47-acre gardens. If you've never seen Powerscourt, it's a genuinely moving experience — the Italianate terraced gardens sweeping down to the Triton fountain with the Great Sugar Loaf mountain behind. The Avoca café in the house is ideal for coffee and a cake. If time allows, continue a further 4km to the Powerscourt Waterfall — Ireland's highest at 121m — for a short walk and impressive views.
Option B — Glendalough (45 min from Druids Glen): Drive into the Wicklow Mountains National Park for the monastic settlement at Glendalough. The 6th-century ruins in their glacial valley — Round Tower, Cathedral, the two lakes — are among the most atmospheric heritage sites in Ireland, and the walk between the Upper and Lower Lakes takes under an hour. Come on a clear day and the valley is genuinely spectacular.
For Saturday evening, make the 20-minute drive to Greystones for dinner at The Hungry Monk on Church Road. One of north Wicklow's most loved restaurants, it's a wine bar and restaurant with a strong commitment to Irish seafood — Dublin Bay Prawns and Kilmore Quay Crab are the things to order. The atmosphere is warm and unfussy; the wine list is serious. Book ahead for Saturday evening — it fills up. This is the kind of meal that makes a golf trip feel complete.
Sunday morning's round takes you south into a different part of Wicklow entirely. Two options, both worthwhile:
Woodenbridge Golf Club (50 min from Druids Glen): Set in the Vale of Avoca where the Avonmore and Avonbeg rivers meet, Woodenbridge is one of Wicklow's most charming courses — a sheltered river valley parkland with mature trees, good conditions and a genuinely welcoming atmosphere for visiting golfers. It's not a championship test, but it's a lovely place to play, and the setting is beautiful. Check out late, drive straight to Woodenbridge, and play a relaxed morning round before heading home.
Arklow Golf Links (55 min from Druids Glen): For golfers who want to finish the weekend on genuine links terrain, Arklow is the better choice. Founded in 1927, it plays on natural linksland beside the Irish Sea — firm turf, sea breezes, and the authentic seaside golf experience that the resort parkland courses can't replicate. No handicap certificate required; very visitor-friendly.
Whichever course you play on Sunday morning, drive home via the Vale of Avoca. After your round, stop at the Meeting of the Waters — the confluence of the two rivers immortalised by Thomas Moore — for a short walk. Then visit the Avoca Handweavers mill in Avoca village (Ireland's oldest surviving business, established 1723) for a browse and perhaps a gift from the famous shop. The café at the mill is a good stop for lunch before you head back to Dublin on the N11.
Druids Glen is the obvious resort choice for this itinerary, but it's not the only option: