my road to travel…the road “more” traveled

The Beaufort Golf Club

Picture yourself striding down a fairway sheltered by two hundred year-old trees, passing the ruins of a 15th century castle, and lifting your eyes in any direction to vistas of Ireland’s legendary MacGillyCuddy’s Reeks Mountains. You are enjoying a round of golf at Southwestern Ireland’s Beaufort Golf Club, set in Killarney’s Churchtown Estate, the site of a 1740 Georgian house built by Sir Roland Blennerhassett.

The Churchtown estate is now owned by the descendents of James MacGillycuddy’s McGill, who purchased it in 1860. Visitors to Beaufort Golf Club can anticipate the sort of experience which awaits them from the pineapples which rests atop its gate pillars as a symbol of welcome. Standing next to the 15th green at the Beaufort golf club are the remains of Castle Core, the source of the stone from which the Churchtown Estate house was built.

Although the Beaufort Golf Club only opened for business until 1995, it has already seen numerous improvements including the addition of several lakes, plantings, and a state-of-the-art sprinkler system which will keep both the greens and tee boxes in prime condition. There are also plans to completely redesign the entire course and bring it up to championship standards. This design, according to golf architect Tom Mackenzie, will incorporate the natural landscape features of Churchtown Estate to create a course suitable for golfers at every skill level.

The front nine of the golf course are situated along the western part of the Churchtown estate, with the back nine along its southern area closer to MacGillyCuddy’s Reeks. The Clubhouse, which overlooks the practice putting green, is situated in a courtyard next to the main house. One of the delights of the practice putting green is the formal rose garden which lies beyond it. The Beaufort Golf Club has every amenity you could possibly desire in a golfing facility, yet has managed to preserve a welcoming and historical charm.

You can follow your game by relaxing over a fine meal and a pint at the club’s Bar and Restaurant, opening onto the courtyard and a splendid view of MacGillyCuddys Reeks. Or treat yourself to a boat trip along the shores of the Lake of Killarney, or an afternoon driving through Killarney National Park, stopping for a visit at Muckross House and Gardens, Killarney’s premier tourist attraction. Rent a mount at the Killarney riding stables and view the countryside from an entirely new vantage point.  

MacGillyCuddys Reeks

Beaufort Golf Club is within easy driving distance of both the Gap of Dunloe and Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest peak.  Arrange for an early morning walk or pony trap through the Gap of Dunloe, and be sure to visit Muckross Abbey.  The Abbey was built on ground sacred to Ireland’s ancient Druids, and contains a yew tree which even the later Christian monks revered too much to cut down.

Just 15 miles outside of Killarney, you will find the Crag Caves.  Limestone caves discovered only a quarter of a century ago, the Crag Caves are thought to date back more than 1 million years.  A half hour guided tour of the caves will give you a glimpse of their enormous stalactites, caverns, and other remarkable rock formations.
 
The town of Killarney itself is a family friendly destination, where you can shop to your heart’s content for Irish laces, crystal, and textiles.  If you have not had your fill of golf at the Beaufort Golf Club, finish your stay in Killarney at the Dunloe Golf Club, and, of course, the legendary Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, where the game of golf has been treasured since the 19th century!

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Ballyliffin Golf Club:   Ireland’s Jewel of the North

Although the country of Scotland has long been acknowledged as the birthplace of the game of golf, the Emerald Isle to its west has become a bastion of golf in its own right. The rolling terrain, magnificent ocean views, and pristine landscapes of Ireland have made it a golfing vacation destination for millions of links lover from around the globe.

One of Ireland’s true golf magnets is the Ballyliffin Golf Club, located on the northwest coast of Donegal.  The Ballyliffin Golf Club is home to two distinct but equally remarkable golf courses, the older of which was established as a nine hole course shortly after the end of World War II. The Old Course at Ballyliffin began as a labor of love, with its members themselves tending to its greens and mowing its fairways.

Their lack of resources, however, eventually forced the members of the Old Course to reconsider their commitment. They had leased the lands on which the course was built, and had the owners of the land not agreed to extend the lease, The Old Course at Ballyliffin might now be a housing development.

But with their newly extended lease, and an association with the Irish Christian Brotherhood which help them attract a growing membership and a stronger revenue base, he members of the Old Club at Ballyliffin were close to owning the land outright by the early 1960s.  The next decades saw many more upset downs in the fortunes of the Old Club.  During the 1970s it was moved to a larger tracts of land and transformed into an 18 hole course.  Its future was secured in 1993 when the world’s top player, Nick Faldo, dropped to the course from a helicopter to play a round.

Faldo’s dramatics so impressed the British golfing public that his golfing design company was hired to make improvements to the Old Course. One of the most impressive results of his efforts is the course’s fifth hole, were elevated green 190 yards off the tee is surrounded by massive sand dunes.

The popularity of the Old Course at Ballyliffin became such a demand for a second course led to the 1995 opening of neighboring Glashedy Links.  The 7200-yard Glashedy Course at Ballyliffin possesses enormous bunkers vast greens with slopes to challenge the boldest of golfers.  Both the Old Course and  are whipped by north Atlantic winds and blessed by panoramic views of the Inishowen Coast and Pollan Bay which make even the most frustrated golfers feel blessed to play the game.

The par-3 7th hole at Glashedy requires a drive off a tee situated one hundred feet above the green, and the course’s par-5 13th has already earned a reputation as one of the most challenging part five this in all of Ireland. The Glashedy course is not only a staggeringly beautiful piece of real estate, but a marvelous test of golfing skills. Its growing reputation has earned the right to host both the 1998 Ladies Irish Open and the 2002 North West of Ireland Open.

Playing a round of golf at Ballyliffin may leave you feeling as if you have transcended a normal golfing experience and entered the realm of the surreal. No golf vacation in Ireland is complete without a trip to the Ballyliffin Golf Club.

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The course at Cashen

The Cashen Course at Ballybunion Golf Club: Making a Great Golfing Vacation Spot Even Better

When Robert Trent Jones first set eyes on Irish terrain which would eventually become Cashen course at Kerry counties Ballybunion Golf Club, he remarked that he was looking at “perhaps the finest piece of links land in the world.” Bounded on one side by the Atlantic and on the other by the River Cashen, the Cashen Course immerses its players in a golf experience which soars and dips as freely as the true on which it’s played.

The Cashen Course at the Ballybunion Golf Club was designed and built to take full advantage of the natural contours of the Ballybunion terrain, including the looming sand dunes which rise, it seems, into the stratosphere from their bases at the mouth of the River Cashen.  With its many elevated greens, the Cashen Course at Ballybunion tests a golfer’s ability to fly the ball to the pin.

Completed and opened for play in 1982, almost 90 years after the opening of its sister club, the Ballybunion Old Course, The Cashen Course has preserved the remarkable feel of the old course, with a layout planned to the land provides a natural approach to each hole. The addition of the Cashen links to Ballybunion has only enhanced the reputation of this small corner of southwestern Ireland as one of the premier, not to mention most magical, golfing venues in the world.

Visiting golfers have long known that booking tee time at the Ballybunion Old Course must be done months in advance, and maybe impossible during the peak of golfing season. The Cashen Course gives golfers were turned away at the old course a chance to test their skills at holes which some individuals who have played both courses say are at least as challenging.

Public access to the Ballybunion Cashen Course is limited to weekdays, and all guest players must be accompanied by Ballybunion Golf Club members. The Golf Club, however, has drawn up conditions which permit international players to enjoy its facilities.

Golfers wishing to play at the Ballybunion Cashen Course must pay for their rounds completely within 28 days after making the reservations. They must have handicaps of no greater than 24 for men, and 36 were women. They must provide their certificates of handicap when they make their reservations. And they must play in groups of four.

The Ballybunion Golf Club has established a dress code which prohibits sleeveless and current collarless shirts, as well is singlets. Short must be tailored, church must be taught in, and track suits, leisure suits, and clothing bearing slogans or advertising is not permitted. Trouser legs must remain outside of the socks.

Golf carts are now available at the Ballybunion Cashen Course at a price of €3.50 per round. The Cashen course, unlike the old course at Ballybunion, also allows buggies. When you play at either of the Ballybunion Golf Club’s courses, you will be playing
on courses maintained with all the expertise that more than a century of carrying for golf courses has created. Playing at Ballybunion will give you one of the most satisfying golfing vacations that Ireland can offer.
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Book your tee time at www.ballybuniongolfclub.ie/

The Old Course at Ballybunion Golf Club – as Wild As It Gets

There has never been a marriage more inspired than the one which joined the game of golf with the terrain of southwestern Ireland.  Nowhere is this inspiration more in evidence than in a small County Kerry town located at the juncture of the Shannon River and the Atlantic Ocean, where next to golf, seaweed baths are the greatest attraction. Those seaweed baths, however, are a poor second in need.

Watching over this town from high above, where it has stood as a sentinel since the 13th century, and played a significant role in the Norman conquest of Ireland, are the ruins of a castle. The image of that castle’s wall has gained new fame as a symbol of the town’s top attraction, its Golflinks.

The town, of course, is Ballybunion, and for a very long time it is golf links were one of golf’s overlooked treasures. They might still be a secret, were it not for a visit by America’s champion golfer Tom Watson, who in the early 1980s declared the course at Ballybunion’s golf club to be one from which many golf architects could learn much about the art of golf course design.

The Ballybunion Golf Club has now become a favorite practice course for the elite golfers who gather from around the world each July in compete in the British Open. The names of Nicklaus, Faldo, and Woods are just three which have joined Tom Watson’s in the club register, which dates back to 1893.

The original Ballybunion Golf Club, however, faced an early demise, and was nearly a total financial failure until in 1901 its board of officers was changed. The Ballybunion links continued to develop as did The Golf Club’s reputation, and by 1927, it was a full 18- hole course. Six years later, it drewl attention as the site of the Irish ladies golf championship, and in another five years Ballybunion Golf Club hosted The Irish Men’s Close Amateur Championship.

Ballybunion Golf Club, however, did not achieve the recognition it deserve until 1957, when the Irish Professional Championship was played there. In the more than five decades since, Ballybunion has hosted hundreds of other major competitions, and received consistently high marks from players at every level. The Old Course at Ballybunion tests the pages of skills of every golfer with the Atlantic-driven winds, while simultaneously rewarding them with spectacular ocean views.

The 7th and 11th holes at Ballybunion, at more than 400 yards each, offer everything that is good about the game of golf. The course between them winds along the sea and among the dunes, allowing the players to soak in the sense of salty air, watch the sea grass bending in the breeze, and to feel the sand yielding beneath their feet.  The 9th hole at Ballybunion Old Course has a green which resulted from bisecting a sand dune, while the 17th hole requires the golfer to send his or her drive directly toward the sea.

The amenities at Ballybunion Golf Club do justice to its remarkable courses. The newly completed modern clubhouse has a premier dining room, two bars, and several welcoming relaxation lounges. Its Pro Golf Shop can meet every conceivable golfing need, and for golfers waiting for tee time to arrive, Ballybunion Golf Club offers practice putting and chipping greens, a driving range, and even a practice sand bunker.

A golfing vacation which includes a visit to County Kerry’s Ballybunion Golf Club will reward you with a naturally challenging course in an historic setting that will leave you with memories which last a lifetime.

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Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort: Something for Everyone

When Condé Nast traveler magazine, in 2002, awarded the Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort as its number one find it is People’s Choice Awards, one of the major reasons for their selection was that the Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort is a place where there is never nothing to do.  Visiting this Hotel and golf resort is also a visit to a world-class spa, an outstanding equestrian center, a challenging cross-country trail, and a terrific selection of five-star restaurants at which patrons can recover from their days on the links, on horseback, or on the trail.

Lovers of 18th-century architecture will be dazzled by the turrets and ornate stone masonry of the Manor House, while gardeners will be lost in a dream as they explore its breathtaking grounds and ancient ruins.  Adare Manor House offers sleeping accommodations both within the castle itself and in separate three-and-four-bedroom villas a 15- minute stroll from the Manor House.  The villas have fully equipped kitchens and master baths with soaking tubs. Those privileged to sleep in one of the 62 bedrooms within the manor house itself may feel overwhelmed by the castle’s ancient wood and stone construction, not to mention its soaring ceilings.
 
The Clubhouse at the Adare Manor House and Golf Resort has a wonderful outdoor seating area where you and friends can gather following an afternoon on the links to relax over a drink as the sun sinks below the horizon to the west.  If you have come to the Adare Manor Hotel for a romantic getaway, relax with your beloved over at candlelit dinner in the Oakroom Restaurant.  If you prefer meals within international flair and flavor, then head for the Carriagehouse Restaurant.

Many visitors have come to the Adare Manor Hotel in search of rest and healing.  They are welcomed by a staff of professional therapists skilled in the arts of relaxation and rejuvenation.  The hotel’s facilities also include a year-round indoor swimming pool and a fully equipped fitness room.  Guests who prefer outdoor exercise will love the cross-country trail and the equestrian center, where the Manor staff will arrange a ride on a suitable mount.

The crown jewel of the Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort, however, is the Robert Trent Jones 18-hole championship golf course, which opened in 1995.  The final major golf course he designed, it is widely regarded as one of his best. It contains 7453 yards spread over 230 acres of emerald Irish countryside, made all the more enchanting and challenging by a 14 acre lake bordering nine of its holes, and the River Maigue coursing and tumbling through its landscapes.

If your idea of the perfect golfing vacation is one which offers much, much more than golf, the Adare Hotel and Golf Resort is where you belong!

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