| _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 7,301. Just as The O'Meara reflects personality, so too do the 18 holes designed by Colin Montgomerie in association with Stan Eby of European Golf Design, which opened in June 2003 to critical acclaim. Colin Montgomerie expressed his delight with the course: "This is a unique project and I am privileged to be associated with it. You can't call it a links course, but it plays like a links and has all the characteristics of a links. In designing this course, I attempted to go back to a more traditional course". Cut through rolling meadows and punctuated by native fescue, The Montgomerie blends a storybook setting with the exciting qualities of links golf. Here, the fairways run firm and fast. The intelligent bunker complexes demand strategic and shotmaking excellence and the ground game is always in play. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 7,006. The transformation of the estate into a first class golf resort began in 1999. In 2002, the first phase of the development saw the opening of The O'Meara course. Undoubtedly a parkland, unlike its sister course on the south side of the River Rye, The O'Meara explores the swooping pastures and tiptoes around the ancient specimen trees on this magnificant estate. Feature holes include the 14th, 15th and 16th - a pair of 3s wrapped around a heroic par-5 - crossing the lazy loops of the River Rye. The beauty of these holes leave you breathless with their daring yet graceful nature. The opportunity to gamble is paramount as is the sense of tranquility that the holes create. "It's a great piece of property, and I wanted my course to be tough and challenging but playable. I'm thrilled with it" --- Mark O'Meara | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 73, yardage 6,783. County Louth Golf Club, or "Baltray" as it is better known, is situated four miles from the historic town of Drogheda at the mouth of the River Boyne. With the river to the south and the Irish Sea to the east, this is links golf at its very best. The Tom Simpson-designed course, frequently described as one of the country's "hidden gems", is rated in Golf Digest as one of the top 25 courses in Great Britain and Ireland and in the top 10 in Ireland. In 2004, it staged the Nissan Irish Open - one of the top events on the European Tour schedule. Sometimes a lion and other times a pussy cat, it provides competition for all handicaps. In today's language, it could well be described as "user-friendly". | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 71, yardage 7,026. Druids Glen is often referred to as the "The Augusta of Europe". The flora and fauna of the Glen provide a colourful backdrop to a magnificent golf course. The forests and streams produce a haven for wildlife in what was once a home to the Druids. Design duo Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock were given the brief to create the best inland course in Ireland. The classic parkland course features many signature holes and provides golfers with a thrilling golf experience amidst a beautifully manicured landscape. The Druids Glen name originates from a stone altar of pre-christian worship, which was discovered during the construction of the golf course, in the thickly forested area overlooking the 12th green. Today, a Druid stands proudly at the site as a reminder of the history of the Glen. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 71, yardage 7,434. The sensational Druids Heath championship golf course has made a dramatic entry onto the world golf scene. Combining links, heathland and parkland golf, the course has already played host to some of the world's leading professional golfers. Described as nature's gift to golf, the championship Druids Heath course is maintained to Tour standards and features rolling fairways, natural rock quarries, lakes, trees, streams, gorse, gently undulating greens, traditional pot-bunkers and a testing sea breeze. The unique location of the golf course provides breathtaking views of mountains, sea and Irish countryside. The ultimate Irish golfing experience awaits the visitor to Druids Heath. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 6,629. Located just six miles from Waterford, Faithlegg Golf Club has earned rave reviews since it opened in 1993. The course was designed by Paddy Merrigan and enjoys a stunning location on the banks of the River Suir. Marrigan has managed to integrate the course into a landscape which is peppered with mature trees, flowing parkland and,ominously for someone who might be spraying the ball about a bit, a number of lakes. On some parts of the course you even get the feeling that you could easily be at Augusta! The club offers excellent facilities: a practice ground, a putting green and a restaurant. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 71, yardage 6,650. There are loads of top-class golf courses in Ireland which are hardly known outside the shores of the Emerald Isle. The Island Golf Club near the lovely town of Malahide is certainly one of them. Founded in 1890, it sits on fast-running links land surrounded by high dunes. It was a course where you used to be faced with a number blind shots but not anymore. In the late 1980s, the club took the advice of Eddie Hackett and Fred Hawtree and made some changes which drastically reduced the number of blind shots you're likely to be faced with. The Island is a stunning place to play a round of golf and the club offers first-class facilities and, of course, a warm Irish welcome in the clubhouse. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 7,337. If ever a golf course reflected the personality of its architect, it is surely this Arnold Palmer designed course. It may seem odd to describe a golf course as charismatic and cavalier but from the instant you arrive at the first tee, you are enveloped by a unique atmosphere. You may have been forewarned that Ireland's first Rdyer Cup venue is no ordinary golf course, and that it is widely acknowledged as the country's most challenging inland layout, but still you will be unprepared for the ensuing drama. The Palmer Course is, quite simply, one of Europe's most spectacular courses. It charms, it entices and invariably, brings out the very best in your game. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 7,277. The Smurfit Course at The K Club has already been described as probably the greatest inland golf course to be developed in Ireland. The philosophy in developing the course was to ensure that a comparison with the existing Palmer Course would be difficult and that the golfer's experience would be completely different. When this brief was given to the Palmer Course Design Company, they came up with a concept, which was radical with regards to golf course developments throughout the world. The best way to describe the Smurfit course at The K Club is that of an inland links. However, its true attributes do not stop there. The course has many dramatic landscapes with dune type mounding throughout. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 71, yardage 6,849. One of Ireland's most prestigious and challenging courses, Links Portmarnock, designed by Bernhard Langer, is laid out on classic links landscape that once formed part of the old Jameson Estate. Their home has been tastefully converted to an international hotel with the grounds now hosting a magnificent 18-hole golf links. The Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links is set in splendid surroundings overlooking the beach. Rated as one of the best in Europe by Darren Clarke, Links Portmarnock is clearly one of Ireland's finest links courses. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 7,105. There's a good reason why Portmarnock Golf Club has hosted more professional tournaments than just about any other course in Ireland - it's a fantastic golf course. It was once described as "the most natural (course) in the world" and you don't have to wait long to find out why. It is true links golf at its very best and it's no real surprise that the cream usually rises to the top when a professional tournament is held at Portmarnock, where the roll of honor contains the likes of Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros and Ben Crenshaw. From start to finish, this is a fabulous test of golf and, quite simply, it's a course you won't want to leave off your itinerary. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 6,885. Set amid mature parkland and woodland, Rathsallagh Golf Club has rapidly established itself as one of the leading parkland golf courses in Ireland. The land upon which Rathsallagh is built was in fact a 570-acre farm up until 1988 when Rathsallagh House began to take guests. The design team of Christy O'Connor Jr. and Peter McEvoy began work on the course in early 1993 and it is fair to say that tremendous results have been achieved. The lush parkland layout follows the lie of the natural rolling terrain while many fine trees were preserved and are integral to the course today. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 6,786. Rosslare, in county Wexford, is a traditional championship links course and was designed by Hawtree and Taylor. Nine new holes were added in 1992 and designed by Christy O'Connor Jr., making Rosslare one of the top golfing venues in Irish golf. Six holes of the old course have been reconstructed in recent years and have led to very favorable comments from members and regular visitors alike. The championship course provides for a superb round of links golf and features sunken greens and many blind shots. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 7,077. Situated on an island just three miles from the city centre, Royal Dublin is steeped in history. It was the first club in all of Ireland to have 18 holes, though the original 1885 layout in Phoenix Park is no longer the club's home. In 1890, it moved to its present site at Bull Island, where the legendary Harry Colt carried out some redevelopment work on the course after the war. It's a pretty flat links course which used to host the Irish Open, the great Seve Ballesteros lifting that title twice over the course. The club is home to another golfing legend, Christy O'Connor, who made his name while playing at Royal Dublin. It's worth finding out why it is rated so highly. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 72, yardage 7,024. Seapoint was designed by Des Smyth and Associates and was opened in 1993. Seapoint is a championship course constructed on 260 acres of stunning linksland. Mature trees border the course on the west and offer a contrast to the links, while water hazards come into play on six of the first nine holes. The closing holes are bordered by a beach and offer magnificent views of the mountains of Mourne and the Irish Sea. The award winning modern clubhouse blends with the tranquility and seclusion of the area. The bar area is informal and relaxing and has a balcony which overlooks the golf course, with views of the sea and the east coast. | | | _ | | _ | | | Par 70, yardage 7,089. The European Club is Pat Ruddy's pride and joy - and rightly so. Ruddy, a journalist turned golf course architect, designed the course at Brittas Bay, which is about 30 miles south of Dublin in County Wicklow, and is the sole owner of the fabulous facility. It is the course Ruddy had dreamed of designing and he has created a cracker. Indeed, this relative newcomer to the scene - it only opened in 1993 - is already being ranked alongside the likes of Portmarnock, Ballybunion and Royal County Down. It's a traditional links course and from start to finish the holes are truly spectacular, the ones that are not by the sea are equally as good as those that are. | | | | | | |