Waterville Golf Links

We put Waterville Golf Links on our list because of it's reputation as the place where Tiger & his buddies have gone prior to the Open Championship. Well, they found a gem in Waterville. The course originally opened in 1973 and designed by Eddie Hackett, with later revisions to mostly the front nine of more character and contouring by Tom Fazio. It's at the bottom of the Ring of Kerry, and takes a bit to get there but the drive and the course are well worth it. Even with less than perfect weather, our foursome had a very enjoyable experience with beautiful surroundings. The course has an American sytle to it but features some dune play characteristic of many SW Ireland courses. The greens were firm and fast. Even though our visit to Waterville was on a day where they had not seen so much rain in nearly a year and a half, this course is a true gem. The fescue that lines the rough is knee deep or deeper. Undulating fairways and greens keep your game an honest one. Make sure you see the tribute to Payne Stewart and the bronze statue in his honour. The front nine begins with "Last Easy," a fairly ironic name given that it's not really that simple. Then again, given the quality of the remaining 17 holes, it probably deserves its name. Gary Player described the 11th as "the most beautiful and satisfying par 5 of them all." Running 500 yards through a narrow passage of huge dunes, this hole fully deserves its name "Tranquility."