Irish parkland courses: The equal of many links

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Mention Ireland to any golfer and their eyes immediately sparkle as thoughts of spectacular links courses and good times, perhaps sharing a few glasses of Guinness and some banter with the locals, flash through their mind. Whether they have actually visited Ireland before or have only heard about it from others, every golfer's image of The Emerald Isle is very similar -- and golf always figures prominently, as it should. Irish golf ranks alongside the very best in the world and that applies to the links courses as well as the inland layouts, too often overlooked by visiting players.

Adare Manor's golf course hosted the Irish Open in 2007 and 2008.

Adare's bunkering is signature Robert Trent Jones Sr.

Long and mean, Adare will examine your golfing skills to the extreme.

Dromoland Castle Course is a parkland layout, fit for a King.

Water is a prominant hazard at Dromoland Castle.

An aura of majestic calm masks the challenge that is Dromoland Castle's new course.

What a difference 43 years can make - Shannon today is a serious test and an opportunity to have one for the road, before your flight home.

Shannon Golf Club - a classy, mature parkland course with some distinctly links-like characteristics.

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For any who have their sights set on playing a few of the mighty links courses of Southwest Ireland, Ballybunion, Waterville, Lahinch and Tralee are most likely to be on the play list. If this is the case, the opportunity shouldn't be missed to also include one or two of the region's outstanding parkland courses, they fit in perfectly, only adding to the total Irish golf experience and the best couldn't be more conveniently located.

Adare Manor is one of Ireland's fabled collection of luxury castle hotels - a magnificent 19th century manor, surrounded by 840 acres of stunning formal gardens and wooded parkland. The picture perfect setting literally called out for a golf course and in 1995 Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s very last creation opened.

Initial reaction to the new Adare layout was mixed, in no small measure due to the distinctive American overtones of the design. This was not a typical Irish parkland course. Extensive earthworks and grading had been used to shape the layout and the bunkering, used Trent Jones' signature cloverleaf bunkers. The huge, 14-acre lake that had been installed, dominating the front nine, only emphasized the artificial feeling of Adare Manor's new course.

But time is a great healer and 14 years on, with the shock of its untraditional appearances digested and maturity showing its benefits, Adare's once ugly duckling has evolved into one of Ireland's leading parkland courses. The early harshness of the design has softened and mellowed and the qualities of Trent Jones' design expertise comes shining through, at times with swan-like esthetics -- Adare now even feels Irish.

Selected to host The Irish Open in 2007 and 2008, Adare has now officially joined the ranks of Ireland's best and for those in search of a true test of their golfing abilities, no tougher examination of skills exists on the Emerald Isle.

Measuring a hefty 7,453 yards from the tips, with water coming into play on 10 holes, Adare is a layout with an automatic appeal to the big-hitters, but if brawn is not accompanied by pin-point accuracy, a frustrating round will be in the cards. From the lake dominating the outward nine, to the meandering River Maigue that complicates the even more challenging homeward holes, Adare's defense arsenal means serious business.

For those who are up to the test, this one might be the surprise highlight of the trip and located a brief 40-minute drive from Shannon Airport, a temptation that makes a wonderful, grand finale to any golf trip to Ireland's Southwest.

Sitting even closer to Shannon Airport, just 20-minutes away is Dromoland Castle, another of Ireland's famous luxury castle hotels, which also boasts what is now an excellent parkland course, well worth experiencing.

Originally opened in 1962, Dromoland Castle golf course was always something of a ho-hum layout; a typical resort course, added as an after-thought to keep hotel guests amused. With the ever-improving quality of Irish golf in general and that of County Clare in particular, the owners of the hotel realized they needed to make some serious improvements, if for no other reason than to keep up with the neighboring Jones's. Serious improvements required a serious budget and a rather significant; almost 7 million US dollars were assigned to the project.

Irish golfing great Joe Carr and the noted Irish architect, Ron Kirby (of Old Head fame) were brought in to perform the magic that would transform this Cinderella course into the beauty that had always lay hidden within. In 2004 the wraps were taken off and the new Dromoland Castle Course was revealed for the world to see and the Irish to criticize.

Guess what -- there was no criticism and the golfing world agreed, Carr and Kirby had performed their Irish magic and Dromoland Castle's new course was a winner -- a proud and worthy addition to both County Clare's and Ireland's golf collection.

Spectacularly handsome from start to finish, this is the kind of course that will distract the eye at every hole as it winds its way through the 16th-century Dromoland estate. Roaming through woodlands, alongside lakes and across streams, the aesthetics are about as attractive as one could ever hope to find; yet the layout still succeeds in presenting a stiff challenge from the back tees and along each of its 6,850 yards. But generous consideration has also been given to the less accomplished player. With three tee positions, playing from the forward tees subdues the course considerably, providing even high handicappers with a round every bit as enjoyable as those who take the far sterner test from the back.

Dromoland Castle may now lay claim to a championship course that matches the style and class that has always been present in one of Ireland's most prestigious, luxury castle hotels.

My story of Southwest Ireland's best parkland courses wouldn't be complete without mention of a thoroughly delightful layout that always manages to fly beneath the radar of most golfers visiting Southwest Ireland. This gem isn't part of a luxurious hotel compound, neither does it try to impress with fancy airs and graces. It's simply an Irish golf club for local Irish members that happen to have a golf course, which is far from ordinary. Equally as important, it offers as warm an Irish welcome as exists for any visitor who happens to stumble upon it -- and all will pass within a few hundred yards of the front door.

An international airport is not the place where most expect to find a quality, championship golf course, but Shannon Airport is the exception that proves the rule.

Shannon Golf Club opened in 1966 to less than rave reviews, worsened by the stigma that it was an airport course and was brand new. The tree plantings, an integral part of the design, were small, even scrawny, providing more of an annoyance than a hazard, the entire look and feel was that of an awkward, uninvited newcomer, who didn't fit in. My how things have changed after 43 years of nature taking her course. Full maturity has blossomed and the original vision of architect, John D. Harris, has revealed the masterful design he had in mind.

The abundance of saplings have grown to become large and dense mature trees, forming formidable walls that frame the narrow fairways, adding handsome good looks and a character missing in those early days. Unchanged is the carefully thought out, sometimes cunning bunkering and plentiful water hazards that unpredictably, pop-up with surprising frequency, the fully matured trees adding a true meaning and a touch of majesty, to their presence.

What may have had more resemblance to a building site than a golf course in 1966 has evolved into an eye-dazzler and a formidable challenge that extends for each of the course's close to 6,900 yards. The forgiveness Shannon once afforded in its youth has gone, replaced by the temperament of a crusty old-timer, with little patience for those lacking in golf skills.

The opening nine-holes provide an especially stern test and if you only have a couple of hours before your flight home, these are the holes to attack. A solitary par-3, four par-4's and three par5's, totaling 3,803 yards from the championship tees, make this a front nine to test the best and a wonderful Irish memory to take home.

But why be rushed on your last day in Ireland? Drive up to Shannon the evening before and for that last night, stay in Bunratty village, just 10 minutes down the road from Shannon Airport. Enjoy a leisurely dinner in one of Bunratty's small, but impressive collection of restaurants, take in a couple of the local pubs and book an early starting time at Shannon Golf Club. There'll be plenty of time for 18-holes and you can still be at the airport with all the time in the world for duty-free shopping, before your early afternoon flight home.

For more ideas and suggestions on playing Southwest Ireland's best courses, both links and parkland, click here.

©2009 David Brice / Golf International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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