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Golf courses in Ireland
Irish ballad.
A country that has produced Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Bernard Shaw as writers, U2 or Sinead O'Connor in music, Daniel Day-Lewis or Peter O'Toole as actors, can't be bad. And since he's given us Rory McIllroy, Padraig Harrington, Graeme Mc Dowell and Darren Clarke as golfers, he's pretty damn good!
The Irish have often been inventors before the Scots (the prefix Mac or whisky, for example), but in golf, the Scots take precedence. The Irish joined long after, as soon as the game left the borders of Edinburgh, i.e. in 1850. Two years later, Ireland's first links course was built at Curragh, near Dublin. By the end of the 19thcentury, links courses were everywhere, and they were already immense and sumptuous, " where it was said that golf was born ", confided American Tom Watson, five-time winner of the British Open. For many, this green, windy, rainy country, nine times smaller than France and thirteen times less populated, is the true home of golf...
Happy golfers are well-suited to this island where almost everything is upside down, shaped by large central moors while the landforms are pushed back towards the sea. Alongside the sea are the sumptuous grass cathedrals that are the golf courses.
The Irish ballad starts in County Clare, with Lahinch's Old Course, a jewel over a century old.
Lahinch
It was Old Tom Morris, the Scottish patriarch and founding father of modern golf and of the Old Course at St Andrews, who in 1894 created this exceptional layout, winding between the dunes, along the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Alister MacKenzie redesigned the greens in 1927, before moving on to Augusta National, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne. Finally, Martin Hawtree modernized the course in 1999, while retaining the charm inspired by the genius of his two predecessors. Lahinch is a real challenge for any golfer, and its long par 4s are among the toughest in the country. It's best to stay upright on your tee shots and avoid finding your ball in a dune, thick rough or deep bunker. Patience and thoughtful play are the best guarantees of success on this extremely varied and spectacular course.
The nine holes on the outward journey are simply unforgettable; the ocean views are grandiose, and holes 4 and 5, unchanged since 1894, are unique in their kind. The par 5 "Dell", a 140 m par 3, is world-famous. This hole features a green nestled between two dunes and a tee, from which it's impossible to see the flag! The first of these dunes faces the tee, and a white stone is placed there to indicate the location of today's flag. So you have to hit your tee-shot, trusting your swing and the length of your shot, and then pray to St Patrick for a favorable outcome... It's impossible to remain insensitive in front of this mythical hole.
When you play at Lahinch, there's a good chance that you'll be accompanied around the bend of a fairway by some charming biquettes trotting alongside you. Originally, in the early 20th century, their ancestors belonged to a club caddy and served as weather stations. Indeed, if the goats were seen sheltering near the clubhouse, bad weather was foretold. In 1956, the Lahinch club decided to adopt a coat of arms featuring a thistle, a shamrock and a goat...
Tourism in Lahinch
The small town of Lahinch boasts beaches that in recent years have become a favorite spot for surfers from all over the world. A few kilometers north of Lahinch lies Ireland's most visited tourist attraction: the Cliffs of Moher, gigantic cliffs with vertiginous slopes overhanging the ocean by more than 200 m over a distance of eight kilometers. This awe-inspiring backdrop inspired the cinema, and was the setting for the filming of "Harry Potter and the Blood Prince".
Lahinch Golf Club
Tel: +353 (0) 65 70 81 003
Green-fee: €160
The Lahinch course is just an hour's drive from the airport on the north-west coast of County Clare.
Ballybunion Golf Club
The seaside resort of Ballybunion in County Kerry is a two-hour drive from Lahinch.
The golf course
Situated on the north-west coast of County Kerry, on a magnificent stretch of sand dunes overlooking the windswept Atlantic Ocean, Ballybunion - Old Course is a wild, verdant course that golfers the world over have been trying to dominate in vain for over a hundred years. This 6200-metre par 71 - designed by Lionel Hewson and remodelled by Tom Simpson in 1937 - is riddled with narrow fairways, tiny greens, hills and dunes where the tall grasses undulate to the rhythm of a splendid but dangerous ballet. The course is one of the historic, almost untamed links courses laid out as nature dictated in 1906, and the undulating greens and fairways, ubiquitous dunes and oceanfront holes are visually reminiscent of Lahinch.
As the holes progress, the players are confronted with a formidable rise to power. The first third of the course doesn't leave an indelible impression, but from 7 onwards, a fantastic 395 m par 4 clinging to the cliffs, it's a real epic and a merciless battle with the course to avoid tearing up the scorecard...8, a 141 m par 3, proves that, like the "Troon postage stamp", a hole doesn't have to be long to be difficult. a hole doesn't have to be long to be difficult. American champion Tom Watson: " Hole 8 is only 141 m downhill, but the area you need to reach to avoid a bogey or more is less than 10 m2. On a windy day, it's one of the most demanding holes I've ever played.
This struggle is interspersed with breaks to enjoy the magic of the moment and spectacular views of the bay, beach and cliffs. Unsurprisingly, the course has the last word, especially when the wind picks up. But with the feeling of having tackled a masterpiece. The eminent American writer and golfer Herbert Warren Wind described Ballybunion as "nothing less than the best seaside golf I have ever seen...".
The site also boasts a second course, the "Cashen Course", designed by Robert Trent Jones in 1971. Less cruel and savage than the neighboring work, it is nonetheless much more than an Old-Course staple. The course winds its way through the dunes, calling on every golfing stroke.
Ballybunion Golf Club
Sandhill Road. Ballybunion, Kerry.
Tel 353 68 27 &46
Green-fee: €180
Teach de Broc: This charming 4-star guesthouse with restaurant is located close to Ballybunion Golf Club, with room rates of around €100 per night.
Adare
Adare Manor is situated on the banks of the River Maigue in the village of Adare, County Limerick, just over an hour's drive from Ballybunion.
The golf course
Let's face it, the Trent Jones family of architects can create a course on any terrain. This is the case at Adare, and the result is a layout that frightens you even before you set off. It's one of Robert Trent Jones Senior's last works, made possible by extensive earthworks to shape the design. The outward journey is quite open and gives a good idea of the extent of the estate. The return is more wooded, before leading to Adare Manor and the Maigne River. The last holes, in front of the vast mansion, are the most remarkable. The bunkers and greens are in the usual Trent Jones style, their dimensions reflecting the scale of the course. At almost 6,700 meters, the course is long, but there are plenty of tees to suit all players. Popular with the pros, the course hosted the Irish Open in 2007 and 2008 and the Irish PGA Championship in 20O3. The old manor house rises imposingly from the heart of the estate, surrounded by numerous outbuildings housing the infrastructure of a country club.
Adare Manor Hotelis a magnificent 19th-century manor house converted into a five-star luxury hotel, with room rates to match, at around €450 per night.
Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel: Located on the outskirts of Adare, the Fitzgeralds offers an award-winning restaurant, leisure club, swimming pool and spa, with room rates from around €140 per night.
Adare Golf Club
Tel : + 353 61 60 52 74
Green-fee: €120
Tralee Golf Club
Just an hour's drive from Adare Manor lies the Tralee course, American Arnold Palmer's first European achievement in 1984.
After contemplating the site, the King declared: "I've never come across a piece of land so suitable for building a golf course.Adding at the end of the work: "I may have designed the first part, but God himself was in charge of the next nine". On this course, the eye is drawn to beautiful landscapes: bays, peninsulas, natural parks and even historic monuments such as the 14th-century tower that stands between the sea and the green on hole number 2.
At 6350 meters, the length of this par 72 penalizes golfers who lack power, particularly on the nine holes on the return, where you often have to carry the ball over obstacles. Every hole has a name, often with an Irish flavour: Mucklougf, The Cuilin, Crosty, Poulgorm or Ryan's Daughter, the seventeenth hole, a 343 m par 4, in reference to the famous film shot near Tralee.
Tralee G.C
Tel : + 353 66 71 36 379
Green-fee: €180
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