Ireland's Shannon Airport is home to a great but little known course

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Most golfers arriving in Ireland in pursuit of the championship links, come into the country through Shannon International airport and leave from the same place a week or so later. Many will have a hotel booked in Killarney, most popular of the preferred bases from which to play the top layouts of the southwest, often moving closer to Shannon Airport for the final night.

Shannon Golf Club - a mature parkland course with some distinctly linkslike characteristics

Departure day jitters (that fear of missing the flight home) is the usual reason and an extra round of golf is sacrificed to settle the nerves, solve the perceived problem and secure a peaceful night's sleep at an airport hotel. If only these folks realized they are sleeping within a few hundred yards of the first tee of one of Ireland's superior golf courses. They could have booked an early morning tee-time, played 18 holes, showered, changed and still have plenty of time for security and the Duty Free shop, before boarding that early afternoon flight home.

In an age when the world's airports offer everything from emergency dental care to shoe repair, very few provide the opportunity to play a first rate, 18 hole golf course and Shannon Airport is maybe unique in this regard. Sadly, Shannon Golf Club is overlooked by virtually every visitor, most remaining totally unaware of its existence.

...and the airport is only a few hundred yards away!

Located just a chip shot away from Shannon's main runway, this may not be the place where you expect to find a championship layout, but don't let the convenient location deter you. This is a course well worth playing and the location makes it both an ideal warm-up round immediately after getting off your arrival flight, as well as the perfect place to squeeze in that extra round before saying goodbye to the Emerald Isle.

The course, designed by well-known architect John D. Harris, was opened in 1966 to less than rave reviews, worsened by the stigma that this was an airport course. It was a new course and the tree plantings, an integral part of the design, were small, even scrawny, providing more of an annoyance than a hazard. But how things have changed more than 40 years on.

Bordering the Shannon Estuary, the winds can add an interesting dimension

Maturity has added a lot to Shannon Golf Club and today the course ranks alongside the best of its type in all Ireland -- more parkland than links, but with several holes, especially where the layout skirts the shoreline of the Shannon estuary, bearing distinctly linkslike characteristics. Shannon presents a serious test for even the accomplished player, yet it retains an Irish sense of humor and a fun round for all is practically assured -- is there a better way to start or end an Irish golf trip?

The abundance of trees have grown to become large and dense, forming formidable walls that frame the narrow fairways, adding immensely to Shannon's aesthetic qualities and giving it the character lacking in those early days. Unchanged is the carefully thought out bunkering and plentiful water hazards that pop up with surprising frequency -- the fully matured trees just making them all the more meaningful.

Celebrity may have passed by, but Shannon presents a good test of golfing skills

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What may have been a casual walk in the park 40 years ago has evolved into a formidable challenge that extends for each of the layouts close to 6,900 yards. The forgiveness Shannon once afforded in its youth has gone and nothing short of precision with every club in the bag, including the driver, is good enough for this demanding, middle aged veteran.

The opening nine offer a particularly stern test and if you only have a couple of hours before your flight home, these are the holes you should be attacking. A solitary par 3, four par 4's and three par 5's, totaling 3,803 yards off the championship tees, make this a front nine to test the best and a wonderful memory of Ireland to take home.

To avoid being rushed on your last morning in Ireland, it's a good idea to drive up to Shannon the evening before. Stay the night at The Great Southern Hotel, located right at the airport, or maybe choose from one of the half dozen hotels in Bunratty, just 10 minutes away. This latter choice providing the opportunity to visit historic Bunratty Castle, perhaps partake in the medieval banquet held here each evening, do a little last minute gift shopping in the village, then close out with drinks at a couple of pubs, not forgetting the landmark drinking establishment, Durty Nelly's.

With an early start, you'll have plenty of time to play a full 18 holes on Shannon Golf Club and still be at the airport with plenty of time to spare before the flight home.

For a few ideas on where to golf in the southwest of Ireland, click here.

©2008 David Brice / Golf International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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