Killarney Golf Club

Killarney Golf and Fishing Club is in Killarney in the southwest, County Kerry, about 1 1 /2 hours from Cork to the east, and the same to Limerick to the north. Tralee and the Dingle Peninsula are just to the west, so it's within an area of a lot of great courses. There's three 18 holes championship courses here, Killeen is supposed to be the top course, and it certainly lived up to its label. The setting is spectacular, on Lough Leane, with Macgillycuddy's Reeks, the highest mountains in Ireland, to the west, and the Killarney National Park off in the distance. The club is over 100 years old, originally with a 9 hole course, but has added 3-18 hole championship layouts over the years. It's pure golf, and a little fishing for those who care, they like to say here it's the “Nearest Golf Club to Heaven”. The Mahony’s Point course is 6,800 yards, is second only to Killeen, routed along the lake with some of the better views, probably the most forgiving of all the courses here, open and wide fairways, but well bunkered with some water, parkland style of design. It was designed in the 1940's by Sir Guy Campbell and Henry Longhurst. The Killeen course, designed by Billy O'Sullivan and Eddie Hackett, opened in 1971, and is definitely the top course here, with the routing along the lake, long and difficult, especially with the wind. There are tight tree lined fairways and water on most of the hole, good sized, and undulating, quick greens. Lackabane's a parkland course as well, a little longer, tree lined fairways, a good amount of water, either lakes or streams border the holes. It's the newer course of the lot here, and while it has good potential, it just didn't have the quality, maybe maturity as the other two. Playing these parkland courses in this stunning setting was a welcomed respite from the links courses on the coast we'd been playing all week. While it doesn't get a lot of notoriety in the states, this is regarded as one of the finer parkland clubs in Ireland.