Dromoland Castle Golf Club
Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co. Clare, Ireland,
COURSE REVIEW:
Founded: 1962 (2003 redesign)
Designer: Ron Kirby & Joe Carr
Championship Length: 6,845 yards
PAR: 72
Type: Parkland
Watched over by the baronial splendour of Dromoland Castle, Dromoland’s magnificent, recently redesigned golf course sweeps delightfully around 375 acres of shady woodland, open pasture, lakes and streams. The new 18 hole championship layout now completely befits the elegance and traditional style of the 16th century house and deliberately complements the castle’s 5-star sumptuous charms.
While there has been a golf course cradled here in the inspiring woods since 1962, in 1999, Dromoland ‘s precious acres were entrusted to Ron Kirby and Joe Carr, both with outstanding pedigrees in their fields, to create a course for the 21st century. Between them, they have crafted a masterpiece. In parts, the fairways thread their way through vast stands of oak, beech and pines, while at times, the designers entice us with flirtations with the marshes, the River Rine and the formidable Dromoland Lough.
Boasting a par of 72 and a substantial championship length of 6,845 yards, there are many memorable holes at Dromoland. The silken greens flatter your stroke, unless of course you are on the wrong side of one of the more troublesome greens, like the 14th. The course takes you on a beguiling journey and no hole is remotely repetitive. Occasionally, like the nervy drives at the two par-5s on opposite sides of the Lough, the 11th and 18th, you must take your life in your hands. How much of the marsh should you take on? Do you have the courage to finish in a blaze of glory? Water also comes into play on seven other holes, most dauntingly at the 16th and 17th.
Dromoland Castle Estate, so blessed by nature, now has just about everything an aficionado of the sport could wish for. And even if your golf is not its sparkling best, you will remember the course’s serenity and privileged setting, its soft, pleasing curves, endless variety and enviable condition.
NEARBY COURSES:
Adare Manor (40 min); Dooks (2 hrs, 20 min); Doonbeg (1 hr, 20 min); Lahinch (45 min); Old Head of Kinsale (2 hrs, 45 min); Tralee (2 hrs, 10 min); Waterville (3 hours)
RECOMMENDED NEARBY ACCOMMODATION:
Adare Manor (40 min); Dromoland Castle (on site); Killarney Park Hotel (2 hrs, 10 min); Moy House (45 min); The Lodge at Doonbeg (1 hr, 20 min); Vaughan Lodge (45 min)
LOCATION:
Situated on the main N18 route from Limerick to Ennis, approximately one mile from Newmarket on Fergus on the Ennis side. Dromoland is 17 miles northwest of Limerick City and 6 miles southeast of Ennis.
