Going for Golf

Killarney

There are three wonderful courses at Killarney, but the original design by Guy Campbell, with a little help from Henry Longhurst, remains the best. When opened with great fanfare – and disastrous timing – in 1939, Killarney Golf & Fishing Club was supposed to draw ‘thousands’ of overseas visitors. Instead, they went to war and the club nearly went bankrupt.  

In the early 1970s, the larger-than-life local hero Dr Billy O’Sullivan created the Killeen and Mahony’s Point courses of today. Lackabane on the other side of the Fossa Road ‘arrived’ on the scene later but is an equally enjoyable test of golf – with lakes and streams a recurring theme throughout all three courses – and has hosted the Ladies Irish Open.

Since architects Ebert & Mackenzie worked their magic on this exquisite location and a re-vamped Killeen Course reopened for play in June 2006, Killarney folk have what may be the best ‘lakeside-parkland’ golf course in the world. The original, 1970s routing alongside Lake Leane remains unchanged – although some of the greens have been inched closer to the lake and much clearing out of undergrowth allows fuller views of the wonderful vistas – but it’s now even more of a challenge than it was when only three players finished under par in the 1991 Irish Open. Since then it has held the tournament another three times, including its two most recent outings in 2010 and 2011, which attracted record crowds to the course.

Mahony’s Point is not overawed by its illustrious siblings and nor should it be. It is, however, more forgiving and affords more room between lake and trees. The closing holes are particularly memorable and build to a crescendo on the last. A par-three of nearly 200 yards, this much-photographed hole requires a long carry over a corner of the lake to a well-protected green.