There’s something spiritually elevating about standing on a golf course in the Midlands of Ireland with the wind to your back and the sun on your brow and the sound of a golfer’s soft-spikes on gravel. In my particular case it was Mount Juliet’s Jack Nicklaus Championship Course in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, home of the Carroll’s Irish Open in 1993 and the Murphy’s Irish Open in 1994 and ’95. Here, as in other parts of the country, I suspect, Old World charm and spectacular natural landscapes create an environment that’s as inviting as an Irish Coffee on a cold Sunday morning.
For openers, you don’t need to be a golfer to enjoy what Fodor’s ’98 on Ireland describes as a lovely patchwork of green fields, shimmering lakes, meandering rivers, narrow roads, and stone walls that “add to the impression that rolled out before you is a luxurious welcome carpet, one knit of the legendary ‘forty shades of green.’”
This was not what I myself observed in Ireland—forty shades of green (of song). I did observe, though, intensities of green that left me powerless to describe, and golf courses steeped in the sort of history and tradition that U.S. golf course owners can’t buy, but would kill to own. Irish links, at least the few that I observed in and around the Midlands (there are more than 330 golf courses in Ireland altogether) leave you envious that such splendor can be found on one small oft-conquered island.
It turns out that the Midlands really do form the geographical equivalent of the “mid-lands” of Ireland. Seven counties of lush countryside, small winding waterways, peat smoke, glacial lakes, uncelebrated historic boroughs, abbeys dating from the 10th century, and parkland golf courses–all bisected from north to south by the 273 km/170 mile River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland. Although most of the really spectacular courses are located north of Dublin (Portmarnock) and between trading docks along the coastlines (Ballybunion), designers like Nicklaus used the Midlands’ raw materials and natural features (much like American designers did at Cypress Point and Pebble Beach) to create layouts that from this duffer’s perspective “add to the impression that rolled out before you” is a peaceful co-existence among plant and animal, man and his driver.
As I mentioned there are more than 330 golf courses in Ireland, from world-famous championship links course to not a few unchallenging nine-holers. About 50 courses have opened in the last two years, six parkland courses in the Midlands alone. Most are built on or near property that has been passed down through generations of earls or dukes or some other hereditary rank.
Ireland is second only to Scotland in the amount of golf it can offer per square mile. Most courses are within a 30-minute watch-out-for-the-cattle-and-sheep drive in any one direction. In and around the more or less undiscovered Midlands are Lahinch in County Clare, one of the granddaddies of Irish golf courses, designed by Tom Morris; the two-year-old Adare Manor in County Limerick, designed by the grand old man himself, Robert Trent Jones; Roscrea in County Tipperary, with its view of the Slieve Mountains; The K Club in County Kildare, one of the newest additions to the Irish golf scene—lush and woody and bordered by the River Liffey; and Mount Juliet’s Jack Nicklaus Championship Course.
The brochure for Mount Juliet is first-class all the way—heavy and stately and beautifully laid out with art-quality photos of country estates, families going horseback riding, couples lounging fireside, and golfers on the links. The middle parts of the brochure detail the different rates and packages for Mount Juliet House, the Hunter’s Yard, Rose Garden Lodges, Equestrian Centre (sic), Archery, Clay Target Shooting, Fishing, and the only David Leadbetter Academy in Ireland, featuring a unique Nicklaus designed three-hole course. And even though this brochure is the finest money can buy (it really grabs you), it doesn’t come close to illustrating the breath of the 1,500 acres of lush inland pastures and rolling woodlands, and the nearby four-mile stretch of the River Nore and King’s River (for you salmon and trout fishing lovers). Nor can I in this article do any better in illustrating the beauty of this place, except to say there’s never a chance to feel anything but a deep sense of calm, both on and off the greens.
Golf World Magazine (“Europe’s Top-Selling Golf Magazine,” according to the tagline above the fold) rates the course Near Perfect on a scale between Sub-Standard and Exceptional. But then course ratings like this one tend to be, well, arbitrary (unlike the national system of handicapping, which is reasonably reliable from club to club). Mount Juliet’s Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course is heavily forested with eight holes that play over water. I was told the design itself is a stiff test for the professionals, and the forward tees are equally rewarding for the high handicap or serious golfer. And an extensive irrigation and drainage system makes the course playable all year round.
I read somewhere that any designer worth his salt could have made a decent go at constructing a golf course in Ireland. But even a great piece of land doesn’t always yield a great golf course. Most of the leading courses in Ireland were designed by celebrated British architects, such as Tom Morris, James Braid, Harry Colt, and Alister Mackenzie, according to Fodor’s ’98 on Ireland. All I know is what designer worth his salt wouldn’t be inspired by this country’s timeless air?
Traveling in Ireland for the first time is a chance to realize that there are countries on this planet that actually welcome Americans. Just visit any pub, the pillars of Irish social life. I was told in the strictest of confidence that in Ireland you never have to buy your own second pint of Guinness, especially if you’re a guest of this country, because the guy sitting next to you will buy it for you. And I’ll admit that on my first visit to an authentic Irish pub, the guy sitting next to me bought my second pint of Guinness.
I also was told in the strictest of confidence that the Irish tend to approach golf with the same sort of unabashed devoutness as they do their pubs. I don’t think it’s an accident that in the last 10 years the country has invested nearly $400 million to become Europe’s premier golf vacation-of-a-lifetime, or that it has been picked to host the Ryder Cup in 2005.
If there’s literally a pub on every street corner in Ireland (and there is, with two in between), there’s a golf course within every 1-iron, depending on the wind (this shouldn’t be taken literally, of course, since I didn’t actually measure the distances between the 330 courses with a 1-iron). Of the eight courses within a 50-mile radius of Mount Juliet, the course at Kilkea Castle, County Kildare, offers a uniquely magnificent setting beneath the shadow of a 12th Century Anglo-Norman castle that was modified in the 17th Century and later restored. (The other courses, by the way, are Kilkenny, Carlow, Tramore, Waterford, Waterford Castle, Clonmel, and Rosslare.)
County Kildare is 40 miles south of Dublin, Ireland’s capital city. The Kilkea Castle Golf Course is located just outside the village of Castledermot. Designers McDaid Cassidy and golf professional Andrew Gilbert used the River Greese the cuts through the castle grounds as a natural flowing hazard. A caddy’s view of Kilkea Castle might sound something like this: “A natural setting for an 18-hole, par-7 championship course. The splendor of the castle can be viewed from every fairway, and two lakes have been included in the course design, adding to the overall difficulty of the challenge. The 16th is a beautiful tree-lined par-3 of 175 yards, but the ball needs to be struck all the way to the heart of the green. Otherwise, you’ll catch the River Greese.”
If you’re traveling outside of the Midlands, you definitely without exception will want to arrange tee times at Lahinch in County Clare and BallyBunion in County Kerry, says John Ortega, co-owner of the custom putter manufacturing company, John Byron Golf in Huntington Beach, Calif. “They’re two of the most difficult courses I’ve ever played. I’d recommend them both to anyone who has an appreciation for well-designed golf courses.”
I cannot personally convey to you the stunning (John Ortega’s word, not mine) mixture of golden sand and ocean breeze, towering sand hills and/or huge dunes at Lahinch and Ballybunion, since I didn’t get the opportunity to go there myself. But I get the sense that the quality and classic feel of these two courses is unparalleled. What I do know from research (and from talking with Ortega) is this. Only a course with as much Old World charm as Lahinch can fly in today’s modern game of golf. Designed by Tom Morris, the course I’m told offers a breathtaking view of the cliffs of Moher, which tower above the Atlantic Ocean. Conditions, though, are windy and sometimes rainy, and there are blind shots and towering sand hills at most holes. Ortega says the best way to tell whether it’s going to rain or not is by waiting to see if the goats take shelter (rain) or meander in the fields (no rain).
No great tournaments have been played at the “Old Course” of BallyBunion on the shore of the Atlantic next to the southern entrance of the Shannon, but it’s consistently rated by top professionals as being among the best golf courses in the world. Although you wouldn’t want to send anyone a postcard from the clubhouse, you can’t beat the stirring terrain, famous sand dunes, and seaside holes. The new course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, is every bit as demanding as the old course, says Ortega. “Just make sure you bring plenty of ammunition (extra golf balls).”
Here’s the thing. There’s something to be said for the sense of history that comes with playing golf in a country that is as beautiful as any country I personally have ever seen. It welcomes you in what I can only describe as one big gooey embrace. But maybe the single most striking feature about playing golf in Ireland, for good or evil, is that no man can touch its sod without becoming a better golfer, if not a better person.
For more information contact the Irish Tourist Board, 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, or call (212) 418-0800, or visit their web site at www.ireland.travel.ie. Of all national major airlines to Ireland, perhaps the one that is most recognized is Aer Lingus (800/223/6537), the big green Airbus with the white shamrock on its tail, with regularly scheduled flights to Shannon and Dublin from JFK, Newark, Boston’s Logan, and Chicago’s O’Hare. As to when you should go, hell, does it matter to a golfer what the weather’s like?
