Welcome
Welcome to the second edition of Destination Golf Ireland
The past two years have been interesting for Irish golf. Several resort courses are under new ownership and considerable investments have been made to bring them back to their best … or better, e. g. Castlemartyr, Waterford Castle, Doonbeg, Fota Island, Tulfarris. Meanwhile, some member clubs continue their struggles as golfer numbers continue to languish. It’ s an interesting disparity but, despite the loss of Fernhill and Delvin Castle in 2016, optimism seems to be in the ascendancy.
We are certainly optimistic about the Destination Golf Ireland Guide, which is in its second year. It was extremely well received last year and following recent visits to many of Ireland’ s clubs we can see why golf clubs and golfers are feeling positive. Courses are in excellent shape and greenkeepers across the country should be applauded for their enormous efforts in making these courses so playable and so attractive. Given Ireland’ s ever-changing weather it is no easy task.
The format we used last year remains unchanged so we continue to promote Ireland’ s best golfing experiences by combining copy with striking imagery. Our 150 top courses are divided into five regions and rated across Platinum, Gold and Silver, so we hope this steers you towards playing somewhere new or returning to an old favourite.
We are lucky to possess many of the world’ s best courses but“ best” isn’ t always about top quality design, perfectly manicured fairways or fancy clubhouses: the best golf experiences come from having fun and discovering courses that make you want to go straight back to the 1st tee after walking off the 18th. So please, do not ignore the absolute gems which stretch right across the country. They give you a very special flavour of Ireland.
The golf club at the Adare resort is still not included as the course will be closed for much of 2017, while Fazio works his magic. Skellig Bay – now Hog’ s Head – is in a similar position and we have removed my beloved Rathcore as its future is uncertain. I hope it will be in next year’ s guide.
Kevin Markham Editor Destination Golf Media Ltd.
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