DESTINATION GOLF 2023
Douglas
Set on gentle slopes in Cork city ’ s suburbia , Douglas is well over 100 years old . More recently it has acquired a reputation for two things : the social activities of the members which emphasise how important clubs can be to a community ; and the quality of the greens . Douglas slides gently down a hillside so holes can leave you with tilted lies or downhill / uphill shots … but it ’ s never severe and when the flags come in to view they make delicious targets . It is a shortish par 72 , but you need to avoid the trees , putt extremely well and overcome the excellent late charge of holes from 13 to 17 . A new par three 4th hole was added in 2022
“ Douglas has acquired a reputation for the social activities of the members which emphasise how important clubs can be to a community .”
Mallow
Established in 1947 , Mallow is a gentle hillside parkland poised above the town . Trees dominate , many of them ancient and majestic , and it is these that help to define the course . But beware the many sloping and often narrow fairways which will lure your ball towards the rough . It will also leave challenging approach shots to greens in enchanting settings . The Galty Mountains provide the backdrop on a curvaceous , surprisingly challenging course which calls for accuracy off the tee .
Muskerry
The River Shournagh brushes up against this old parkland course and it comes in to play on the final three holes . It ensures a sedate and colourful end to a course that is anything but sedate . The heart of your round is spent playing over a wooded , gorse-laden hillside . It is wild and natural and rarely is a flat lie to be found . It ’ s exhilarating and testing stuff … and fun , too . The opening holes are the calmest before the brilliant par three 6th introduces you to the swashbuckling hillside . And while those final three are sedate … they are a stern test . Alister MacKenzie was involved here , but even without his name this is an adventure worth taking on .
Muskerry
96