British Open on the brain? Scratch your links golf itch in Ireland's northwest

It’s just one week away: Is the British Open and the magic of links golf on your mind yet?

It is for Stewart Cink. He’s making his way over to Ireland a week before the Open as he did last year, when he triumphed over Tom Watson for his long-awaited first major championship at Turnberry.

Tiger Woods went to Ireland this week as well, only he play two charity rounds at parkland course Adare Manor - then got in a little tiff with the media before heading back to Orlando.

Cink seems to be going about his preparation for the open a little more seriously - also tacking on less mileage in the plane. Last year, he stuck to the southwest links last summer (click here for a feature on Cink and the southwest rota he played), which is the country’s most popular pocket.

Up the coast, one of Ireland’s ‘emerging’ pockets is the northwest. Here, you can find a great bargain (though with the southwest coming down in price, it’s not the deal it used to be). Many of the links aren’t as historic as around Dublin and in the southwest, but they’re traditional and spectacular in nature.

Carr Golf Travel’s 6 rounds/6 nights on Traditional Irish Links features the courses of the northwest, including Enniscrone, Carne and County Sligo. You’ll stay three nights in Sligo at the Radisson Blu and three nights at the luxurious Solis Lough Eske Castle.

If you want to play one of the most remote links on the planet, consider adding Ballyliffin Golf Club’s two links to the mix: they are Ireland’s northernmost courses, where in a cool haze, it feels like you’re practically golfing on the moon.