MOLONEY & KELLY TRAVEL - 40 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland .- PH: 353 1 676 5511 - FAX: 353 1 662 0383

GOLFING TOUR OF IRELAND (REF: MKGOL 1)

SUGGESTED GOLF ITINERARY

DAY 1
Arrive Shannon Airport and transfer to Killarney, located about 2 ½ hours south of the airport. This is Ireland’s beauty spot and holiday centre, described sometimes as ‘Heaven’s Reflex”. Poets, painters and writers have never fully succeeded in conveying the varied beauty of this wonderland of mountains and lakes. This is a wonderful base for a couple of days to play some of Ireland’s most famous golf courses.

Remainder of day at leisure.

Overnight: Killarney Royal Hotel (www.killarneyroyal.ie)

DAY 2
Travel part of the Ring of Kerry to Waterville to play the wonderful course at Waterville. Golf at Waterville is a mystical experience – the beauty of classic links land, surrounded by the sea, yet forever challenged and shaped by the elements. Over 100 years old, Waterville is rated among the top 5 courses in Ireland and the top 20 links courses in the world.

Links golf combines sand dunes gorse and native grasses, firm fairways, sod faced bunkers and subtle putting surfaces all intertwined by the ever changing weather. Forget the lob wedge. Think bump and run and creative shot making. Are you ready to walk in the footsteps of Irelands earliest golfers?

Return to Killarney

Overnight: Killarney Royal Hotel

DAY 3
Today enjoy golf on the Killeen Course at the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, which is located just on the outskirts of the town, surrounded by the Killarney lakes and mountains.

The flagship of Killarney Golf & Fishing Club’s three courses, Killeen is truly one of the greatest courses in the country. At 6474 metres it will certainly challenge the longest of hitters and with water on almost every hole accuracy is essential.

Killeen played host to the Carroll's Irish Open in both 1991 and 1992, and proved to be a stern test for the Pro's. For the 1991 Carroll's Irish Open, only three players finished under par for the tournament. Killarney also hosted the Curtis Cup in 1996, when Great Britain & Ireland defeated the USA.

Afternoon at leisure to enjoy some local sightseeing

Overnight: Killarney Royal Hotel

DAY 4
Depart Killarney and travel to Adare Manor, located in County Limerick – about 1 ½ hours from Killarney. Adare is one of Ireland’s prettiest villages and owes its reputation to its setting in the woods among rich quiet farmlands by the River Maigue that runs through Ireland’s Golden Vale. Thatched cottages line broad streets. With the town’s quality restaurants and pubs, its three ruined abbeys, its plentiful fishing areas, its annual festivals, Adare draws overseas and Irish tourists alike.

In the afternoon play Adare Manor Golf Course.

Designed by the world renowned Robert Trent Jones Snr, the Adare Golf Club is consider to be Ireland’s finest parkland course and one of Mr Jones’s crowning achievements. The Adare Golf Club, an 18 hole championship course on the 840 acre estate of Adare Manor opened in 1995. This was the last major course designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones, Snr. This majestic design has gained international acclaim as one of his finest creations.

The Adare Golf Course measures 7,125 yards and uses 230 acres of lush countryside. The exquisite parkland atmosphere of the demesne has been preserved with the course set amid magnificent mature trees.

The course contains many aquatic features including a 14 acre man-made lake anchoring the front nine. The River Maigue meanders through the 18 holes creating a senses of beauty and challenge, particularly on the 11 th par 3 and the 18 th par 5 finishing hole.

Overnight: Adare Manor, County Limerick (www.adaremanor.com)

DAY 5
Depart Adare and travel through County Tipperary to the Mount Juliet Estate, located in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny (www.conradhotels.com).

In the afternoon enjoy golf on the Mount Juliet Course, or enjoy some of the other estate activities such as fishing, horse-riding, spa etc.

Opened in 1991 with a match featuring golfing legends Christy O'Connor Snr. and Jack Nicklaus, the beautiful and challenging Mount Juliet course has established itself as a premier golfing venue for Top Professionals and leisure golfers worldwide. Mount Juliet has hosted many major golfing events and welcomed the return of the World's Top 50 golfers to play in the World Golf Championship - American Express Championship in October 2004. The event was a fantastic success with the crowds turning up in their thousands. The holder, Tiger Woods, survived an early injury scare to put up a sterling defence of his title but he and the remainder of the field had to acknowledge the brilliance of South African golfing superstar Ernie Els who finished with a stunning 18 under par total of 270 to edge out Thomas Bjorn on the last green.

Other events include the Irish Opens of 1993-95 along with the Shell Wonderful World of Golf match between Tom Watson and Fred Couples in 1998. The par 72, 7300 yard layout boasts rolling fairways, many feature water hazards and contoured greens, all superbly blended into the spectacular setting of this famous old Irish Estate.

Overnight: Mount Juliet Estate

DAY 6
Depart Mount Juliet and travel to County Kildare, centre of the horse-racing and breeding industry in Ireland.

Enjoy a round of golf at the K Club which is hosting the Ryder Cup in Sept 2006.

Arnold Palmer Course

If ever a golf course reflected the personality of its architect, it is surely this Arnold Palmer designed course. It may seem odd to describe a golf course as charismatic and cavalier but from the instant you arrive at the first tee, you are enveloped by a unique atmosphere.

Ireland 's First Ryder Cup Venue

You may have been forewarned that Ireland's first Ryder Cup Venue is no ordinary golf course, and that it is widely acknowledged as the country's most challenging inland layout, but still you will be unprepared for the ensuing drama. The Palmer Course is, quite simply, one of Europe's most spectacular courses. It charms, it entices and invariably, brings out the very best in your game. It is unlikely that you will be asked to tackle the course from the championship tees, but this should in no way diminish the excitement of pitting your wits against Arnold Palmer, for, in a sense, this is precisely what you are about to do.

Smurfit Course

The Smurfit Course at The K Club has already been described as probably the greatest inland Golf Course to be developed in Ireland. The construction has attracted attention throughout Europe because of its scale and the construction.

Developing the Course

The philosophy in developing the course was to ensure that a comparison with the existing Palmer Course would be difficult and that the golfers experience would be completely different. When this brief was given to Palmer Course Design Company, they came up with a concept, which was radical with regards to golf course developments throughout the World.

An Inland Golf Links

The best way to describe the Smurfit Course at The K Club is that of an inland links. However, its true attributes do not stop there. The Course has many dramatic landscapes with dune type mounding throughout. This assists in making the Course into a true Championship Golf Course with many vantage points for spectators to view the Golf Professional at work.

Coupled with this point, some fourteen acres of water have been worked into the design especially through the final phase of Hole No's: 13 to 18. A watery grave awaits many a golfer on the home stretch. In essence the Course is entirely different from the Palmer Course located just across the River Liffey. From feedback to date golfers state that it is almost impossible to make a comparison such is the difference in experience.

After golf travel into Dublin, the capital city, which is about 45 minutes from the K Club.

Overnight: Brooks Hotel (www.sinnotthotels.com)

DAY 7
Enjoy a day at leisure in Dublin. I would recommend a half day city tour with a local guide which will give a good introduction to the city.

Dublin has all the attractions of a modern city, combined with the beauty and heritage of the past. Even though it has shown recent signs of slowing town, “the Celtic Tiger” – the nickname given to the roaring Irish economy – has turned Dublin into a boomtown. Elegant shops, hotels, galleries, art-house cinemas, coffee houses and a stunning variety of restaurants have sprung up on almost every street in the capital. Roughly half of the Irish Republic’s population of 3.6 million people live in Dublin and it’s suburbs.

The inside visits during the city tour will include Trinity College and St Patrick’sCathedral. Trinity was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I to ‘civilise’ Dublin and is Ireland’s oldest and most famous college. Ireland’s largest collection of books and manuscripts is housed in the Trinity College Library. It’s principle treasure is the 8 th century hand-illuminated Book of Kells, generally considered the most striking manuscript ever produced in the Anglo-Saxon world and one of the greatest masterpieces of early Christian art. 

St Patrick’s Cathedral is named after the Patron Saint of Ireland who on his journey through Ireland is said to have passed through Dublin. In a well close to where the cathedral now stands, he is reputed to have baptised converts from paganism to Christianity. To commemorate his visit, a small wooden church was built on this site and in 1191 St Patrick’s was raised to the status of cathedral, and the present building, the largest church in the country, was erected between 1200 and 1270. The writer and satirist Jonathan Swift was Dean here from 1713-45 and his grave and epitaph are situated near the entrance of the cathedral.

Other notable sights of the city are Dublin Castle, Custom House, Four Courts, Christchurch Cathedral and Georgian Dublin with its’ beautiful 18 th century houses and squares.

Remainder of day at leisure for independent sightseeing/shopping.

Overnight: Brooks Hotel, Dublin

DAY 8
Transfer to Dublin Airport for return flight to the USA

**Price on request

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