Planning to tee up a golf vacation to the iconic courses in Ireland? If that’s on your bucket list, there’s now a Fort Worth connection to the Emerald Isle to help you play through.
Fort Worth’s Escalante Golf, a boutique owner and operator of luxury golf courses and clubs across 17 U.S. states, announced Tuesday it has acquired GreenGolfBall, a Dublin-based golf tour operator.
The acquisition reinforces Escalante’s commitment to investing in premier golf businesses and expanding its presence across global travel, said David McDonald, president and partner at Escalante Golf, in a news release.
“This acquisition provides Escalante Golf with an exciting platform to expand our international footprint while strengthening our connection to the global golf traveler,” he said.
GreenGolfBall has been in the golf travel industry for 25 years, designing bespoke excursions centered around the sport in Ireland. The travel firm offers access to many of the game’s most celebrated courses and resorts in the country, such as Waterville Golf Links, according to Escalante.
The acquisition comes at a time when international golf travel is thriving after rebounding from the pandemic. Nine out of 10 golfers plan to spend more on travel in 2026, according to a report from Buffalo Groupe, with Ireland and Scotland remaining the international destinations of choice.
“Ireland and Scotland represent two of the most important and iconic golf destinations in the world,” McDonald said. “GreenGolfBall has established itself as a trusted and highly respected operator with deep relationships throughout the industry and a genuine passion for delivering outstanding experiences.”
With Escalante’s backing, GreenGolfBall will accelerate its growth plans, expand product offerings across Ireland, Scotland and Great Britain and increase connections throughout Europe and North America, according to the release. No purchase price for the transaction was announced.
There are no immediate changes to GreenGolfBall’s day-to-day operations and the firm will continue to operate under its established brand and leadership team.
Escalante Golf has been on the acquisition trail recently, acquiring Georgia’s Hawks Ridge Golf Club in May. Hawks Ridge is one of 10 U.S. courses hosting the final qualifying rounds for the 126th U.S. Open Championship, which begins this week at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
In 2025, Escalante acquired its 25th property, Canyata, a highly ranked club in Marshall, Illinois.
Fort Worth’s connection to Ireland is on the upswing. Last year, TCU announced it will meet the University of North Carolina in Dublin for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic on Aug. 29 this year.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org/2026/06/16/criac-fort-worths-escalante-acquires-an-irish-golf-travel-firm/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
<img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://fortworthreport.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=613581&ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://fortworthreport.org/2026/06/16/criac-fort-worths-escalante-acquires-an-irish-golf-travel-firm/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } </script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”//cdn.parsely.com/keys/fortworthreport.org/p.js”></script>