Tours & Travel – Mariaestevez.com

Mature golf clubs with ages over a century old can be found in almost all corners of Ireland, one of this is the Royal County Down Golf Club which has a history and tradition filled with unadulterated golfing experience. Set in the amazing Newcastle where it was described as “the Mountains of Mourne sweep down by the sea” by Percy French, the Royal County Down Golf Club doesn’t only present a real challenge and test to the golfers, but also mesmerizing and astounding views from all over the place.

The Royal County Down Golf Club has two golf courses to boast of. The championship links and alongside it, the Annesley Links. Both laid out alongside the Dundrum Bay and backdrop of huge mountains. While the Champio0nship links is designed to be a great challenge, the Annesley links was designed to be played by everyone, both pros and amateurs.

Just recently, the Royal County Down Golf Club has announced that it will be the host of the 2007 Walker Cup match to be played by great golfers from Ireland, Great Britain and the United States of America. The Royal County Down Golf Club will only be the second golf course where this prestigious biennial event will be played, after the Portmarnock in 1991. Truly a testament to its great designs.

One of the greatest accolades received by the Royal County Down Golf Club is being tagged in 2005 as number 4 in the 100 best golf courses outside of the US, this honor was bestowed by the Golf Digest.
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Blessed with being able to be designed by four of the top names in the annals of Golf History, the Rosapenna Golf Links has achieved what many golf courses has dreamt of, beauty, great playability and near perfection. Many would say that if the heavens were to design a golf course, this would be it.

Being a century old, this “mature” golf course has been the discovery and the design of one of Ireland’s most famous golf architect, Old Tom Collins. Laid out in 1891, old Tom quickly shared his discovery to his fellow golfers and soon was flocked by great numbers of them to enjoy its serene beauty and its natural landscape that was perfect for a challenging links course.

Two of those that tested the land were two golfing greats which shared between them 11 British Open titles. They went to the Rosapenna Golf Links in the early 1900′s and added some depth to the bunkering and some length to the course but were wise to avoid with messing with the greens the great old Tom designed.

For the century that has passed, the old links still remains intact, a great honor to the three masters that have superbly provided the designs. Many golfers come to this links expecting to share the glory and the magic that lies between each hole.

Sharing the glory with the old links is the new Sandy Hills links of the Rosapenna Golf Links. Another feather to its cap, this course was designed by another master, the famous Pat Ruddy.

Opened midway in 2003, this piece of land was sculptured by nature to be a golf course and not anything else. The original course avoided the sand dunes of the landscape preferring to just line out the bunker, the new links course by pat Ruddy went straight through them and is a course that will definitely challenge even the most seasoned golfer.

Measuring a wide 7,255 yards, this course was designed with championship tournaments considered greatly. Most of the holes in this course feature elevated greens and tees, with drives that go into the natural bowls on the dune floor. The fairways maybe narrow, but the landing areas are pretty wide.
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Playing a round of golf can be a very relaxing activity and more and more people have been hooked on the game and have seen it as a form of therapy, an exercise and a means to discipline one’s self. This is because the game requires an intense concentration and focus. Plus the game is played on a natural course laden with the beauty of nature.

One country that has truly elevated not only the game, but also the way a golf course should be. Ireland has been blessed with the many natural beauty of nature that has allowed it to be shaped and molded to golf courses that has indeed been a sight to see and a joy to play in.

With the hundreds of courses that are sprinkled all over Ireland, it’s hard to choose which one to go to for a golf vacation in Ireland. But then again, there are usually some that stands out from the rest, just like the Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club.

Proudly the last golf course the legendary Irish golf course designer Eddie Hackett designed, the Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club built a links like course that needed about 250,000 tons of sand. Sadly though, Eddie Hackett never saw the end of the construction as he died before it could be finished. A new designer was hired to oversee the construction. The change designs that he did resulted to poor reviews when the course was opened in 1998. The owners had to reshape and redesign the course under the tutelage of a famous American designer, Ron Kirby.
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This is one of Ireland’s classic Golf Clubs founded in 1894, its recognition and testament to its fine quality golf course is founded by being the venue for the first ever Irish Open Amateur Championships done in 1896, barely two years after it was opened, then almost a century after, the Walker Cup was hosted by the Portmarnock Golf Club in 1991. One of the greatest honors the course has received was being ranked number 30 in 2005 by the famous Golf Digest in its annual top 100 courses outside the US.

The Portmarnock Golf Club started initially with only 9-holes, two years after, 9 more were added making it a complete 18 hole championship course. Eight decades after, another 9 holes were added making it a total of 27. Each of the 9 holes done in stages were an effort collaborated by the amateur members and professionals who joined their efforts to provide the club a golf course that was not only beautiful, but extremely challenging as well.

Many golfers, pros and amateurs, have acknowledged the fact that the Portmarnock is one of the justly dubbed great links in Ireland. The seaside breeze provides a cool refresher and it is also one of the natural enemies of every golfer. A gust of strong wind can easily sway a ball in flight. This course offers little blind curves and some classic bunkers. What you get is a course that will truly test your skills and define you as a golfer.
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