Eddie Hackett Golf Tour in South West Ireland

Eddie Hackett gave his life to golf and no Irishman to date has left a richer legacy to the game. A compassionate, kindly man, he will be remembered with great affection particularly by those who were fortunate enough to know him. Eddie, on the face of it, had an accord with Mother Nature to design courses with the least disturbance to her existing creation. His dedication to his trade is demonstrated in the story where he offered a cash-strapped Connemara club at remote Ballyconneely, to mark out the tees and greens for a pittance so they could produce the most challenging course possible.

When they no longer had the funds to pay for his continuing work, he told them that they could pay him when they could afford it. He made only one stipulation that they kept to the course design. His reputation for being both affordable from a cost perspective and providing a quality product made him the golf architect of choice for many. At a time when a lot of clubs struggled to establish or develop their course his creative skill and selfless attitude was greatly appreciated in Ireland. You can follow this golf trail around the beautiful and popular South West corner of Ireland.

The Tour:

County Kerry

Kenmare Golf Club (6086 yards, Par 71)

The Kenmare Golf Club was founded in 1904 and is situated amongst the Caha Mountains and set alongside the quiet waters of the River Roughty Estuary. It is centrally located only two minutes’ walk from Kenmare town centre. On 6th January 1904 the Irish Golfer publication reported that “A new golf club had been established at Kenmare. The course of 9 hole, 1.25 miles in length, situated on Kenmare Bay and laid out by David Browne of Cork Club is a most sporting and picturesque one”. The first teeing ground was within 200 yards of the Southern Hotel (now the internationally famous Park Hotel) and the ninth green the same distance. The original entry fee was ten shillings with an annual subscription of £1.00. Land was leased for the original golf course from the Marquis of Lansdowne K.G. It was one penny per month payable on the last day of each month.

In 1993 a development plan was undertaken to purchase further land to facilitate the extension of the course to 18 holes. The course was designed by the late Eddie Hackett, one of the game’s premier golf architects. It boasts some of the finest scenery imaginable and features some very interesting holes. Hackett used all the natural terrain to provide the golfer a fair and satisfying challenge. The views over Kenmare Bay and the surrounding mountains are breathtaking. The course has some great feature holes and is always in first class condition.

The fifth is known as “Sweet Neidin”, Par 3, 183 Yards, and Stroke Index 5. This is a challenging elevated shot over a stream running at an angle away from you. A shallow two-tier green needs care with OOB long and right. It is not an easy par.

The seventh is known as “The Goats Stream”, Par 5, 538 Yards, and Index 1. The best drive to the fairway is right of centre beyond the dogleg elbow. There is a water hazard on the left of the fairway. Then set up with the second for your approach to the green. The approach shot is to a two-tier elevated green which slopes from back to front.

The eighteenth is known as “Peril Harbour”, Par 4, 406 yds and Index 2. The fairway slopes right to left and the green slopes severely from back to front. Be careful not to miss the green long.

Ring of Kerry Golf and Country Club (6663 yards, Par 73)

The Ring of Kerry Golf Club was founded in 1998 and is at the village of Templenoe, almost four miles west of Kenmare. It is about 45 minutes’ drive from Killarney. The course is on 150 acres of rolling hilly ground on the rugged coastline of the famous Iveragh Peninsula. The original layout was the last course designed by the late creative golf architect Eddie Hackett. It is said that he was given an architectural brief to “Design a World class golf course”. As World class is defined as “being of the highest calibre in the World” and in golf terms this infers ultimately to being in the World top 100, it is a big ask! Generally, in Ireland and Scotland the courses that achieve world ranking are true Seaside Links. It is very difficult for Parkland, Cliff top or Heathland courses to make the grade. Only in England at present with many fine highly ranked heathland courses such as Sunningdale, are some typically in the World top 100’s.

The Ring of Kerry course is between the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula and MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, the highest mountain range in Ireland. It benefits from breathtaking, spectacular scenery including views over Kenmare Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. For scenery alone it is up with the best in Ireland. Stunning views of Kenmare Bay and the glorious mountain peaks form an ever-present backdrop that is best taken in from the 6th and 13th holes.

The Club is generally considered a hybrid course of heathland and parkland holes. The lower tees towards the coast are a typical parkland golf environment. The back nine is heathland with a wealth of native wildlife and flora. The course clings tightly to the natural contours and is known for its generous sand-based fairways and firm greens. It is a tranquil landscaped setting with undulating fairways, winding brooks, large borrowing greens and wildlife roaming freely through the heather and gorse. There are nine par fours, five par fives and four par threes. With a par of seventy-three, it is a true test particularly from the back tees.

The 342 yards, sixth hole is a par four dogleg played from a high tee box to a bunker lined fairway. There is a lake to the right and OOB on the left. Your drive must be accurate as the approach shot to the green needs a clear view down a narrow fairway.

There are two signature holes:

The 233 yards par three thirteenth is played from an elevated tee to a green sloping sharply left to right with water protecting the front

The 433 yards par four fourteenth plays slightly uphill to a fairway sloping left to right into a dogleg left. The fairway narrows approaching a green bordered by trees with a huge bunker to the front.

Skibbereen and West Carbery Golf Club (5967 yards, Par 71)

The Skibbereen and West Carbery Golf Club was formed in 1905 with the original course at Castlelands, West Carbery. The first record of golf is given in the "Golfing Annual" 1905-6. The Hon. Secretary was Lieutenant Stephens; the course was nine-holes and it had 56 members. The first recorded Captain was Mr. Chambers. It moved to its present location at Licknavar near Skibbereen where they had a nine-hole facility in 1935. The Club has had several renovations since it moved to its present location. The late renowned golf architect Eddie Hackett was retained to design and extend the course to 18-holes, it opened for play in 1992 and the official opening was by the President of Ireland Dr Patrick Hilary in 1993.

The club is just west of Skibbereen town, a parkland course set against the backdrop of Ireland’s first marine nature reserve, Lough Hyne and the beautiful sailing and fishing village of Baltimore, with its surrounding islands.

The old and new nines are nicely integrated as you would expect from Eddie Hackett. There are long holes on the old nine with water coming into play to the left of the 8th green. The new back nine is shorter but has much tighter holes. The first nine holes have five mature par four holes, two par fives and two par threes. The back nine has panoramic views of the surrounding countryside from all holes, six rugged par fours, two par threes and one par five. It is a challenging and fun course, especially the back nine with a long par five on the twelfth hole to test your driving skills. The greens can be fast and quite tricky and beware "Amen Corner", holes 12, 13 and 14. The views are great but the holes demand your best golf.

Listowel Golf Club (6687, Par 72 )

The Listowel Golf Club was founded in 1994 and is located on the banks of the River Feale. Listowel is known as the town of the scribes. It has been said “Listowel isn’t a place, Listowel is a kind of a dream and everyone in Listowel is a writer.” Having said that, not very much has been written about this nine-hole golf course. The club however have spoken through their golf as Listowel won the inaugural British Isles and Ireland National 9-Golf Classic, in Jersey, on Sept 15 1999. It is likely that some members had played previously at nearby Ballybunion links so that a nine-hole competition was a welcome change. The course was designed by the late great Irish golf architect Eddie Hackett and opened in 1995. It has two main features, a lofty wood with numerous mature trees that runs through its middle. Then the intimidating River Feale, which comes into play on three holes running along the beautiful riverside. Two of them are also alongside the wood on the southern side of the course. The finishing three holes are located on the northern side of the wood. Listowel is a challenging layout requiring good course management and accuracy from all players.

County Cork

Bantry Bay Golf Club (6500 yards, Par 71)

The Bantry Bay Golf Club has a championship course with panoramic views across the sea and islands to the Beara Mountains, Sheep’s Head and Mizen Head peninsulas. It is laid out as a parkland course on a clifftop and has edged its way into the Irish top 100. The first nine holes were designed by the creative and prolific Irish golf course architect Eddie Hackett in 1975 and extended to eighteen holes by a Christy O’Connor Junior in 1997. It is located at Donemark, 5 minutes west of Bantry town in West Cork and on the N71 to Glengarriff and Killarney. The course is set in 170 acres and follows the natural undulating contours of the countryside. There are six lakes and other hazards including blind tee shots. The scenic setting now has fourteen holes overlooking Bantry Bay where the warm waters of the Gulf Stream first reach land on this side of the Atlantic and Fuchsias abound.

The round opens gently with a short par three and a pond front left of the green.

The twelfth is Index 1, a really tough par four with OOB on the left and a well-placed bunker in the fairway. You need a good drive to avoid dropping a shot.

The final hole is a relatively short par five giving the opportunity to finish with a birdie.

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