You stand on the 1st tee, bend down and slip the tee into firm turf, position your ball and stand up to eye the fairway ahead. This is a course you’ve never played before and such an adventure always evokes a sense of anticipation.
Playing somewhere new is always a thrill. Across the UK and Ireland there are approximately 3,000 golf courses, so there are many opportunities to renew that thrill time and again. Yes, you could visit the world-famous courses... or you could take a path less travelled and go in search of that needle in a haystack.
Ireland has over 400 courses, and while everybody has heard of Old Head, Ballybunion, The K Club and Portmarnock, few have ventured to the little-known names of Strandhill, Rathcore, Birr and North West. They don’t have the scale and reputation of their world-famous brethren, but golf at the following ten Irish courses is never less than exciting, never less than an adventure and always worth the voyage of discovery.
Into the heartland
One particular voyage is to the town of Tullamore, in Ireland’s heartland of Co. Offaly. It is a 75-minute drive from Dublin airport and around it are three shining examples of the magical, undiscovered golf course.
Tullamore Golf Club is a gently rolling parkland of towering trees and a James Braid design. It is a perfectly conditioned beauty with beech, oak and chestnut trees throwing constant shadows across fairways. Holes curve left and right, asking golfers to shape shots constantly around trees and water. The course is renowned for its tricky greens and dramatic closing holes.
この記事は Golf Monthly の February 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Golf Monthly の February 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
A GRAND ESTATE
Goodwood in West Sussex may be steeped in ancestral history, but about 20 years ago it elected to take its golf offering down a very different route...
The Tees Valley
Jeremy Ellwood potters about along the famous north-east river for a couple of days, basing himself at Rockliffe Hall, one of England's finest golf hotels
The Western Cape
Along with its stunning scenery, vineyards and welcoming climate, this region is home to a wealth of fine courses
Murcar Links
The 20-mile stretch of coastline northwards from Aberdeen is home to no fewer than four links in the Golf Monthly Top 100.
How to play the chip-and-run
The chip-and-run is one of the most useful shots in anyone’s short-game arsenal but most golfers don’t use it enough.
Is your angle of attack correct?
You can add serious distance to your drives if you get the upward angle of attack into impact correct
LEARN FROM THE BEST!
Star players' signature shots... and how you can play them
Confessions of a golf club fitter
Is everything always as it seems in the customfitting bay? We ask someone in the know how you can avoid some of the more unscrupulous practices
Dining at the TOP TABLE
Aaron Rai's Wyndham Championship victory has elevated his career to a new level. But, as he tells David Facey, he's taking nothing for granted...
Is golf too expensive?
The cost of membership, greens fees, gear and more can give our game a bad rap. Is that fair or are there more affordable ways to play? Michael Weston investigates...
