Dooks Golf Club: Under the spotlight

Located in the south west portion of Ireland right on the coast of the Atlantic overlooking Rossbeigh Strand is where you will find Dooks Golf Club. Opened in 1889, Dooks is one of the ten oldest golf links in Ireland just a short 30-minute drive from Killarney.

When it initially opened, Dook only had 9- holes that were carved out of the coastal land until 1899 when another 9-holes were added. Over the years, there have been some changes made to the course, with the most recent coming in 2006 by Martin Hawtree.

Situated on the Wild Atlantic Way, Dooks is truly a “hidden gem” course just waiting for you to find on your trip to South West Ireland.

The course offers four different tee boxes with the shortest tees being 5360 yards and the tips playing at 6510 yards. While it isn’t one of the longest courses, the layout of Dooks is certainly one of the more interesting designs you will find in Ireland and arguably the most scenic of the courses in the region.

When you stand on the first tee box, you can see the rooftops of the town to your left, a beautiful mountainous backdrop straight ahead and a large dune obscuring your view to your right. Behind the dune on the right lies the rest of the golf course at Dooks. Adjacent to the opening hole, is the finishing hole playing parallel to hole one and the rest of the course weaves it’s way through the hilly landscape. Holes 4-7 and 10 border the water while the remaining holes play inland.

The signature hole on the course is the 13th, a 170-yard par-3 that plays uphill, sheltering golfers from the wind on the tee often making them misjudge the club selection. Throughout the course, you will find narrow fairways with minimal bunkering and undulating greens to make it more challenging.

Learn more about Dooks Golf Club

For those looking to do a golf tour of the South West, Dooks pairs extremely well with the likes of Tralee Golf Club, Waterville Golf Links, and both courses at Ballybunion. For those looking to travel a little further, the beautiful Old Head Golf Links is about a 2 hour drive away.

For accommodation in the area, we would recommend staying in Killarney area with most of the golf courses being accessible within an hour’s drive of the city. In terms of accommodation, the Killarney Plaza Hotel is one of the best hotels in the town, but Killarney also offers plenty of other hotel options as well as B&B’s.

Recommended Package

• 7 nights’ accommodation at the Eviston House Hotel
• 5 rounds of golf at: Dooks Golf Club, Dingle Golf Club, Tralee Golf Club, Old Course at Ballybunion, Cashen Course at Ballybunion

View package: 7 nights 5 rounds in Killarney

Location

• County Kerry, Ireland
• 207 miles from Dublin Airport
• 95 miles from Shannon Airport