The Old Course at Ballybunion emerged as an icon in 1957 when it hosted the Irish Professional Championship and remains a necessarily pilgrimage spot for throngs of links enthusiasts. The links are maintained firm and fast and the green complexes - full of humps, dips and pot bunkers - especially shine, Brandon Tucker writes. It's the kind of course, in fact, on which you'd be happy to play your last round.
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Southwest Ireland's two most famous 19th-century links, Ballybunion and Lahinch, hold tight as the region's top draws. But closely behind stands Tralee Golf Club, which holds the distinction as a 19th-century club with a relatively new location outside of town. And it boasts as many "wow" moments as its nearby rivals, if not more, Brandon Tucker writes.
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The history of Royal Dublin Golf Club, the second-oldest links course in Ireland, reveals a dedicated membership that always remains loyal to its links. Surviving a World War and a major fire, the club hosted the European Tour's Irish Open from 1983-85, Royal Dublin is now bigger and better than ever. Jason Scott Deegan describes plenty of reasons why this historic and conveniently located links course makes an ideal place to begin your golf trip to the Emerald Isle.
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Located on the craggy coastline of southwest Ireland just an hour from Shannon Airport, Doonbeg Golf Club, a Greg Norman design, bears comparison with nearby Ballybunion and Lahinch, Clive Agran writes. To feel comfortable in such exalted company is testimony to its undoubted quality.
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Lahinch's Old Course, redesigned first by Alister Mackenzie in 1927, is a visual stunner to rival the British Isle's most spectacular and storied golf courses. There isn't a mundane shot on the entire golf course, and your jaw will often drop at the views. Undulating fairways, heavily guarded greens and blind shots are among Lahinch's challenges.
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How do you follow the most famous seaside links course in Ireland? If you're the Ballybunion Golf Club and you're looking to take some of the playing pressure off of your 1893-vintage classic Old Course, you acquire a stunningly beautiful tract of land and then hire the most influential architect of the mid-20th century, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., writes Kiel Christianson. The Cashen Course is a worthy, if vexing, little sister to the storied Old Course.
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So you finally made the pilgrimage to Ireland. You and the guys, 10 courses in six days, different weather every hour, more pints than birdies. And it was great, wasn't it? Until a few weeks later, when all those holes kind of blurred together, when the sore neck you got from constantly nodding off in the van is still not 100 percent, and the names of your very funny caddies are very forgotten.
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Snails, grey dunes, and 100-plus years of obsolescence aside, Doonbeg opened for play in July 2002, instantaneously dropping jaws and stirring conversation. As Derek Duncan points out, "The unique land formations and sleek architecture are at once haunting and daring." In short, Doonbeg is modern golf in an old world setting. Sites such as this can be counted on fingers and toes. If you're bringing your sticks to Eire, don't miss it.
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Waterville Golf Links, one of the oldest sites for golf in the Republic of Ireland, is in the midst of one of a renovation that will both preserve the integrity of the course and update the layout to maximize the potential of the site.
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In Dingle, Ceann Sibeal Golf Course offers players a classic taste of unforgettable Ireland golf. Near the Atlantic Ocean, this course is as Irish as it gets, and is even near Dick Mack's.
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