Killarney reigns as southwest Ireland's golf capital

March 12, 2004 By David Brice

As the Irish say, the town has good "craic" -- meaning a good, fun atmosphere.

Killarney is more than anything a tourist town, catering to its guests in grand style. There is a wide selection of hotels; the restaurant choices are no less abundant and there are more pubs per capita than anyplace else -- all of which seem to stay open and popping well into the early morning hours. While it may be a little too much for some (who may be better advised to stay in the much quieter town of Kenmare, a few miles down the road), this is the high-spirited fun most are looking for.

Killarney also makes a good central base for visiting golfers (not that golfers don't appreciate good fun as well) and is about as central as you can be to play the championship links courses of the southwest -- Waterville, Tralee, Ballybunion and all.

But if any visiting golfer misses the opportunity to play at the excellent Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, shame on you! Two of the best courses in southwest Ireland are situated less than two miles from the town center.

Since the addition last year of the new Lackabane Course, the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club now boasts three quality courses. Although the new addition is still a little on the raw side, it holds great promise and will undoubtedly benefit from a few more years of maturing. For the time being, focus your attention of the other two -- Killeen and Mahony's Point, both of which are well established and ranked among the top 25 courses in Ireland.

With Magilicuddy Reeks, the highest mountain range in the country, as a backdrop and beautiful Lough Leane in the foreground, the setting for the courses is nothing less than breathtaking.

Killarney's Lakabane Course opened in 2003. (Provided to GolfWeb)

Looks can sometimes be deceiving, and the promise made by a course's wonderful aesthetics can fail in the delivery of a top-quality course. This is not the case in Killarney, where you can judge the book (or in this case both books) by its cover. The challenge and quality of golf provided by each is equal to their good looks and neither will disappoint.

The Killeen Course is the longer and slightly more challenging of the two layouts, and it has twice hosted The Irish Open -- Nick Faldo won both times. But don't let this claim to fame deter you from playing Mahony's Point, which has its own remarkable attributes.

Mahony's Point may be the prettier of the two and often ends up being the visitor's sentimental favorite, a benefit probably achieved from the three closing holes among the best to be found on the Emerald Isle.

Killeen is not shy when it comes to exceptional holes, and it presents you with one of the best right off the first tee. It's a dramatic dogleg right that sweeps along the shoreline, with water lapping up onto the fairway on the right and shrewd bunkering protecting the left. Accuracy means everything.

Killeen's No. 10 showcases the Magilicuddy Reeks mountain range. (Provided to GolfWeb)

The lake continues to come into play on each of the next three holes, offering stern penalties for any errant shot straying from the prescribed path. Trees complicate the picture on the fifth, an awkward double dogleg that is tricky at best. Accuracy remains the key to making par, though bogey or worse is very easily achieved.

The 13th is the most difficult hole on the course, an exacting and lengthy par 4 with a stream crossing the fairway, waiting patiently to suck in any mishit second shot.

The celebrated finish on Mahony's Point begins on the par-5 16th, where the course turns back toward Loch Leane. But the final hole is the one that lingers in every player's memory.

It's a par 3, unusual for any final hole, that must be played directly across a corner of the lake. It requires a carry of over 150 yards of pure, deep Killarney water to the green that sits majestically framed with mature pines and rhododendron bushes -- beautiful to look at, but so potentially treacherous.

It's been called the best short hole in the world, and few who have the pleasure of playing Mahony's Point would disagree.

There are many reasons to stay in Killarney, but one of the best is that you will have a couple of Ireland's top courses right on your doorstep.

For suggestions on how to include Killarney in your trip, click here.

© 2004 David Brice / Golf International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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