I found golf comparable in both countries. Of course the names are more recognizable in Scotland (ie Troon vs Ballybunion). Hard to say golf in one better than the other. If I had to I'd give Scotland a 10 and Ireland a 9.9.
It's obviously a personal opinion but the rest of the trip was so much more enjoyable for me. Much more engaging and friendly in Ireland. This is true from the clubhouse and 19th hole experience but much more obvious when we were out in town and even at our hotels.
Obviously you can't go wrong with either. I just enjoyed my time in Ireland better.
Also, if I were to give any advice on a west coast Scotland trip, I'd say prestwick is not worth committing a full day to. I'd prob play Troon in the AM as my main round of the day and then play Prestwick late in the same day.
I made the mistake of playing Royal Troon championship course in the AM then playing the Portland course in the afternoon. The following day we played Prestwick. Troon is awesome. Portland is very average and prestwick is hard to describe. It is silly to be honest. You can argue it is worth seeing based on the history, but that's it. The clubhouse trophies are cool with the original trophy (a belt) replica and the original claret jug replica.
If I go back to west Scotland I wouldn't play it again. If I could magically go back and give myself advice on how to plan that trip again, I'd do my best to play Royal Troon early; play prestwick late and fast; play Troon again the following day, then play Turnberry the next day.
We also Made the trek up to Inverness and played Dornoch and castle Stewart. That was very nice. I found the people there a little more friendly to Americans.
I guess my overall impression was that the scots were friendly enough but they seemed to merely tolerate Americans. In Ireland I never felt that way; if anything the people there seemed to look up to Americans. I know we're talking golf, but when you're there for a week or so, that **** can make a difference
Also, as far as I understand it, every course that hosts The Open has a replica of the claret jug. I believe it is accurate up the the time of the most recent open hosted there. So the jug at Prestwick is much smaller as it lacks all the additional podium pieces that were added to fit the names as needed.
Lastly, I'm not trying to sound down on a Scotland golf trip. I just point out you can have a very good trip in Ireland and maybe not travel as much (and get to play more golf) since you'll be in Ireland for the Open.
For the Irish trip, we used Carr golf. They did a wonderful job.