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Talk about being an exclusive Golf Course,
until the 1960's the only way to get to
this club was by boat. It was as remote
as you could get and still only 15 miles
from Dublin, but things have changed.
The Island has opened its doors and
revealed one of the finest links course
in Ireland that rolls in and around sandhills,
with small, challenging greens.
Ireland ’s
First Ryder Cup Venue, This superb 18 hole Championship
Golf Course was designed by Arnold Palmer and
is also home to The Smurfit European Open. The
site, overlooking the River Liffey, contains
numerous 300 year old trees and 14 man-made lakes
which add to the beauty of this majestic course.
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Some of these lakes, together with the river,
provide challenging water hazards, with the 7th,
8th and 17th holes being especially difficult. The K Club showed its true colors in September of 2006 with a
memorable hosting of the Ryder Cup.
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Like many Irish courses, County Louth is properly
known as its hometown Baltray, a village sandwiched
by the Boyne Estuary to the West and the Irish Sea to
the East. Long hitters will love this layout, a Par 73
that features Five Par Five's, between the well-protected
undulating greens. Hosted the Nissan 2004 Irish Open.
Located on Portmarnock peninsula, with scenic
views of Dublin Bay, this world renowned course
has hosted numerous major events, including several
Irish Opens and in 1991, the Walker Cup. Harry
Bradshaw stated that Portmarnock's greatest quality
was that 'it is a fair course'. Former World Number
One’s, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman named the
15th hole in their 'best in the World' category.
Need I say more!
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Ireland is blessed to have such fantastic private estates, & when you
put in Two Top Class Courses, you are left with heaven on earth. The first of
the two courses was the Mark O'Meara designed parkland layout, which opened for
play in 2002, while the second course, and certainly a tougher proposition, was
designed by Colin Montgomerie and opened for play in 2003.
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Such is the difference
between the two courses, it's hard to imagine that
they occupy the same stretch of land but whichever
course you play, it will be a thoroughly enjoyable
experience. The 2005 Nissan Irish Open took place here, a just reward
for a fantastic resort.
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Jack Nicklaus has created a wonderful
American style Parkland course with old trees, numerous
water hazards, artistically shaped fairways and devastating
bunkers. Initially, on viewing the site, Jack Nicklaus
said "I think Mount Juliet gets high marks ... it's just
a beautiful piece of property on which to build a golf
course". The Irish Open has been staged here along with
Two American Express World Golf Championships, Tiger & Ernie
the respective winners! "
The European Club is the true meaning of a Hidden Gem, It is the course Pat Ruddy had dreamt 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.
A testimony to Druids Glen is that only a few months
after opening to the public, it had been chosen as the
venue for the 1996 Irish Open and it played host to the
event for the next three years. Designer Pat Ruddy admitted
to having copied some key aspects of Augusta in the layout.
The course is situated in the beautiful county of Wicklow.
The area is particularly beautiful, especially around the Glen
from which the course derives its name.
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