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Destination Golf Ireland 2021
Druids Glen , in Co . Wicklow , is a glaring example at the other end of the scale : it boasts two championship golf courses ( the Glen is simply majestic ) and some 30 more within 40 kilometres , including the beautiful East and West 36-hole pairing at Powerscourt , the hillside adventure of Bray and the under-appreciated but electric Arklow Links . You could also descend into a bucolic Irish valley which is home to the Avoca River and the captivating Woodenbridge Golf Club . River and course are intimately entwined . A couple of valleys over , sliding ever faster towards the Wicklow Mountains , you ’ ll find the Paul McGinley-designed Macreddin . It is one of those big adventures that constantly keeps you guessing , and there is a hotel right alongside . The Brooklodge Hotel is home to the organic Strawberry Tree Restaurant , and it also hosts a thriving food market on one Sunday a month .
Druids Glen has an advantage being located close to Dublin , but Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links goes one better . Not only is it closer to Dublin , it is also only a few miles from Dublin Airport . When you hear someone extolling the virtues
of ‘ Location , Location , Location ’… they have this hotel in mind ! Plenty of recent investment – on the course and in the hotel – has enhanced its reputation but its popularity is not simply down to the quality of the Bernard Langer-designed links and distinctive hotel above the beach . This is an ideal base to explore Dublin ’ s many links courses . Royal Dublin and St . Anne ’ s fill Bull Island to the brim with links golf . Only a few kilometres to the north lies The Island , a magical links layout renovated in 2020 by Martin Ebert , while next door to the hotel is the world-revered Portmarnock Golf Club . You can even play Ireland ’ s only public links course at Corballis , which shares the same dune system as The Island . Elsewhere , Dublin has a lot to offer the stay & play golfer including an impressive range of golf courses . James Braid travelled to Howth in the 1920s and created a hilltop adventure through heath and gorse unlike any other . Then there are the dozen or so courses on the edges of the M50 . Most notable among these are the classic suburban parkland pairing of Castle and Grange , as well as the illustrious and spacious Luttrellstown Castle . It should also be added that the castle is available to rent should you wish to really hit the heights of stay & play luxury , and enjoy the estate ’ s 567 acres . Or you can stretch your wings and head north to County Louth , the lakeside Concra Wood , Dundalk and even Royal County Down .
Druids Glen
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