Three golf resorts and five championship courses — all within half an hour of home

Ireland has more than 350 golf courses — and among them are some of the best in the world. Fionn Davenport discovers some of the finest on offer

The K Club is the grandaddy of US-style resort courses in Ireland

As a keen (read: struggling but enthusiastic) golfer, I know that Ireland is a golfing paradise. Scotland may be the home of golf, but Ireland is where golf goes on holiday: the island’s 350-odd courses include a handful that rank among the very best in the world. The obvious choice for many visiting golfers is the rich selection of links courses, which dot the coastline like a string of rugged pearls. But there are some inland gems too, and I’m lucky to live close to three of them.

From my home in Celbridge, Carton House is just a 10-minute drive away. The ancestral estate of the Fitzgerald family is now home to two championship courses, a full-service spa and an impressive range of sporting facilities that make the Fairmont-managed property especially popular with professional teams on a pre- or mid-season break.

At the heart of it all is the restored 18th-century manor house with exquisite period interiors in the rooms and the public spaces: the two-storey Gold Room is all gilt plasterwork and elaborate Baroque details — a fitting spot for a fancy afternoon tea.

The Gold Salon at Fairmont Carton House. The restored 18th century manor house has exquisite period interiors.

The golf is no less impressive and you have your pick of courses. There’s a classic parkland designed by Mark O’Meara that wends its way through ancient woods and really comes into its own in the back nine: the beautiful par-3 14th sets the scene for the course’s signature hole, the par-5 15th, which runs along the River Rye and finishes across the water on a protected green. Between the 15th green and the 16th tee (another stunning hole) is the red-fronted Shell Cottage, home to Marianne Faithfull for seven years during the 1990s. I wonder how many times she witnessed the frustrations of golfers dumping balls into the water in front of the 16th green?

Following the successful edition of the Women’s Irish Open at Dromoland Castle in 2023, the O’Meara course will play host to the event in late August, bringing some of the world’s top players including home favourite Leona Maguire to Carton House.

Carton’s other course has hosted three editions of the men’s Irish Open — in 2005, 2006 and most recently in 2013. The more links-like course was designed by Colin Montgomerie and is distinguished by its relative lack of trees but abundance of bunkers – often in the middle of the fairway – which can swallow up even the best hit tee shot. The greens are no joke either: hit your approach onto the right spot or you risk a tricky putt or your ball falling off the green altogether. Opinions are divided as to which is the better course, but if I only had one to play I’d most likely opt for the Monty — but maybe that’s the golfing masochist in me.

Carton House

No more than a 15-minute drive away on the edge of the handsome village of Straffan, the K Club is the grandaddy of US-style resort courses in Ireland. It opened in 1991 on a wave of Celtic Tiger optimism, but despite some recent struggles it has rediscovered its mojo and has matured into one of the best golfing destinations in Europe — thanks mostly to investment from new owners, who acquired it in 2020.

Of the two courses here, most of the attention is on Palmer North, which hosted the 2006 Ryder Cup and multiple editions of the Irish Open (including in 2025). Sometimes reputation doesn’t match the reality, but the course is superb.

I played it with my (English) father-in-law a few weeks before it hosted the 2023 Irish Open, and such is the beauty of the place that throughout the round he kept taking photos and sending them to his golf mates back home in Carlisle. The course is vaguely reminiscent of the Belfry — elegant, sculpted fairways wending their way through thickets of mature trees, while cleverly placed clusters of bunkers are a constant reminder that golf is meant to be hard. And then there’s water, lots of it: the River Liffey is a key feature of the 8th, while strategic lakes protect a host of other greens, not least the 18th. And in early August, the course will be put through its paces by the pros in a Challenge Tour event.

The K Club’s second course, Palmer South, doesn’t get nearly as much love, but it’s a terrific track in its own right. It’s more rugged and features dune-like mounds and large, generous greens, it’s also a lot less busy than its sister course so you’re guaranteed to maintain a decent pace of play. The latest addition to the estate is K Golf World (€50 per hour for up to four golfers), a high tech simulator where you can play virtually any golf course in the world.

Golfers at K Club

I have to travel a little bit farther and cross a county border to get to Killeen Castle, spread over 600 acres of lush farm – and woodland on the edge of Dunsany in Co Meath. It’s overlooked by the castle, originally built in 1181 and the seat of the Plunkett family, the earls of Fingall, from 1403 until 1951. It is currently in the process of being developed as a luxury hotel, although no timescale has been  established as to when that might happen.

In the meantime, there’s the open, stadium-style championship course designed by Jack Nicklaus and host of the 2011 Solheim Cup. Every hole is distinctive, and every hole is a challenge — sure, the fairways are wide and forgiving, but this is a long course that will test the mettle of even the most experienced golfer. In typical Nicklaus fashion, risk-reward is a major factor: you need to be pretty long off the tee if you want to avoid a devilish approach — stripe one over the strategically placed bunkers and you’re in prime position to tackle the tricky, undulating greens.

Although every hole has its qualities, the final three are my pick for best finishing holes in Ireland. The 16th is a tough par three over water; the 17th is a risk-reward carry over more water — the more conservative you are off the tee, the longer and tougher the approach. The 18th is a dogleg right that finishes in the shadow of the castle, and is a deliberate reminder of Nicklaus’ famous design at Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.

After all this golf, I need a bit of a rest. I could go home, of course, but instead opted to stay at the Johnstown Estate, a four-star hotel just outside Enfield. And it’s a fitting destination for a sporting getaway, too, as the hotel is a popular spot with teams on a training break. The Irish ladies soccer team are regulars, while when I stayed the now-All Ireland champions Armagh were in situ. The spa here is huge and extremely well equipped, and you have the choice between a standard room or a fully equipped self-catering lodge — a popular option for families and bigger groups.

Three golf resorts and five championship courses — all within half an hour of my house. For this golfer, home is where the best golf is.

Fionn was a guest of Discover Ireland

What a stud

Thoroughbred racehorse Night of Thunder at Kildangan Stud, Kildare

How do you become a millionaire in horse racing? Start as a billionaire. Kildare has exceptional golf courses, but this is really thoroughbred horse country. The county is dotted with stud farms that rank among the most prestigious and successful in the world.

About 42km southwest of Straffan is the Kildangan Stud, a 1600-acre state-of-the-art spread that is part of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Godolphin empire.

The home of some of the world’s most prized stallions recently opened its doors to the public with the ‘Foal to Fame’ experience, a guided walking tour of the yard and a chance to meet some of those stallions and – if you’re visiting in late spring or early summer — a newborn foal.

During my visit, I met a foal and its mum, before being introduced to two of the stud’s prized thoroughbreds: Night of Thunder (covering fee €100,000) and Blue Point, who was known for his raw speed and is the first horse since Sadler’s Wells to sire two juvenile Grade 1 winners.

You want one of his foals? You’ll need to find a spare €60,000 and a top grade mare.

Three places to eat

Koshiba: Despite its unassuming strip mall location, this might be Leinster’s best Japanese restaurant, with fresh, imaginative sushi and great vegan and vegetarian options.

Hartes of Kildare: Award-winning gastropub that’s all plush green seating and timber furniture.

The Morrison Room: Adam Nevin’s exquisite French-inflected cuisine is served beneath a high curved ceiling, ornate plaster cornicing and Greek Corinthian columns.

Escape Notes

Carton House

Carton House (Maynooth, Co Kildare; cartonhouse.com; green fees from €60/100 for Golf Ireland members/visitors)

K Club (Straffan, Co Kildare; kclub.ie) Palmer North (green fee visitors €130-225; hotel guests €100-160) Palmer South (green fee visitors €90-125; hotel guests €70-90)

Killeen Castle (Dunsany, Co Meath; killeencastle.com; green fees €110/150 for Golf Ireland members/visitors)

Kildangan Stud Foal to Fame Experience (Kildangan, Co Kildare; godolphin.com; €35)

Johnstown Estate (Enfield, Co Meath; rooms from €250pp)

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