Going for Golf

Dromoland Castle

Located in the magnificent grounds of one of Ireland’s premier and best-known hotels, Dromoland Castle has been a destination for the luxury vacation market for four decades.

A colourful history as the baronial home to royal Irish blood as well as its elegant beauty and setting in the Shannon basin, affords Dromoland Castle a special attraction. For virtually 1,000 years, Dromoland was the ancestral home of a branch of the O’Brien clan who were once kings and princes of Ireland as direct descendants of the 11th century warrior Brian Boru. 

Not quite so well-known is that instead of Dromoland Castle’s guests heading off to the likes of Lahinch, Doonbeg or Ballybunion nearby for their “fixes”, they are more than content to enjoy the golfing challenges available on the castle’s own “front lawn”. A golf course has been part of the facilities at Dromoland since 1961: the rolling land, magnificent lake, natural streams and thousands of mature trees have always had the potential to host any top professional tournament.  

Thanks to a recent €4m makeover under the innovative direction of Ron Kirby, who, for many years was Jack Nicklaus’s right-hand man on numerous worldwide projects, the obvious potential has been realised. Kirby wisely retained the original routing intact but all 18 greens and sets of tees have been re-built from scratch to the highest specification. 

The 175-yard par-three seventh is a glorious vista: the downhill stroke, to a green embraced on the left-hand side by a pond, is a thrill to be savoured. The 413-yard, par-four eighth demands a drive of laser-like precision through a funnel of timberland followed by a tricky approach to an elevated multi-tiered green. The long, uphill par-four, 14th – 445 yards – is, perhaps, the least exciting hole on the course. 

The par-five 18th swings around the rim of the lake in a left to right direction. There is a large sequoia tree directly in the line of fire for the lay-up second shot. This unfortunate tree thinks it was put there solely for target practice so many balls go crashing into it. The green site is in an open area in front of the castle with the lake lapping against it on two sides. It’s a great ending to a perfect day when you walk through the channel of trees towards the castle with the lake on one’s right.