Golf’s big names have designed in Ireland. Take County Clare’s Trump International Golf Links: Greg Norman was a brave man to have challenged his skill to create such a prized course just minutes from the Dr Alister MacKenzie-built Lahinch. Then there’s Jack Nicklaus’ Kilkenny parkland, Mount Juliet, a constantly ranked must-play.
Nick Faldo achieved drama on Fermanagh’s serene Lough Erne; while The Palmer Ryder Cup course in The K Club, Kildare, and Tralee, County Kerry, both enjoy that extra special Arnold Palmer touch. Carne, Connemara, Dooks, Enniscrone, Murvagh and Waterville: Eddie Hackett, Ireland’s ‘Golfing Saint’ turned these greens to golfing gold.
And not forgetting Rosapenna and Royal County Down – the legendary Scot, Old Tom Morris embraced the lie of the land and, over a century later, golfers still can’t resist the challenge…