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We start this dream trip in Killarney. This is the centre of social life hereabouts with a raft of top class restaurants and bars and adjacent to the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, whose setting is as grand as its name.
Nestling among the mirrored waters of the Killarney lakes with a spectacular backdrop of the Macgillycuddy Reeks mountains, it has been described as the most enviable site in world golf. Play here on a dappled summer’s evening, the locals say, and you’ll have a preview of heaven in a thousand shades of green.
There are three courses, all lakeside parkland and, while quite different in character all are cracking examples of top class design, largely by Sir Guy Campbell, Eddie Hackett and Donald Steel. They’re known as Mahony’s Point, Killeen and Lackabane, the latter being the newest.
Take a tip and get your game in order on the Mahony’s Point course. It’s the most friendly of the three and more fun than is normally available in daylight. A superb driving course, its fairways are as wide as a football pitches and there’s just sufficient rough to stuff a pillow case but no shortage of tall timber for nuisance value. Off the tee, you’ll need to find the A spot because this is a second shot course to greens of cunning configuration and variety. Some are as big as battlefields, some are crowned, and all are smooth and true as a bride’s kiss and twice as seductive.
There are two risk and reward par fours that are driveable and a couple of the par fives will have you licking your lips; two sharply angled two shotters and a set of lovely par threes complete an incomparable picture. And just wait until you sight the 18th, a par three that demands a carry over the corner of a lake.
Undulating, mysterious and mischievous sums up Mahony’s Point. Play like a goose and you’ll still walk off with a beaming smile.
The Killeen lay-out, the club’s flagship course, was the venue for the 1996 Curtis Cup and twice the stage for the Irish Open, both of which were won by Nick Faldo. In his 1991 championship win Nick was one of only three players to better par, which gives a clue about what awaits out there. And it has been lengthened and toughened in recent times!
From the tee on the longer holes the tree-lined fairways are tighter than a tax collector’s smile, although they widen the further you hit it. So a goodly length of shot will help, too, particularly on a couple of white knuckle par fives. Then comes the testing bit. There’s oodles of sand and water, the latter visible if not always in play, on most holes. Frequently, the agua is close to the green so for the less proficient a lay-up is usually sound advice. Which means you’d better have your short game in good order because the greens are slicker than a politician at election time and twice as tricky.
The card reads 7,181 yards plus from the tiger tees to a par of 71 and unless you’re scratch or better don’t even think about it! From the white tees the length is 6,600, which is meaty enough for most. For lesser mortals and those of a certain vintage the green tees come in at a tad over 6,000 yards. It’s still a cracking test but a little less physical and more fun. You are meant to be enjoying this, after all!
The Lackabane, opened in 2000 and designed by Donald Steel, is the baby of the trio and a precocious little number it is. From the back it’s almost as lengthy as the Killeen and this one, too, puts emphasis on the long irons, to say nothing of your character. Lakes and streams abound, bringing danger and beauty in equal scoops. You’d better know precisely how far you can hit each club and a hot putter will be worth its weight in gold.
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