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Therefore the country does not suffer from extreme temperatures that many other countries at similar latitude experience. But high season for golf aficionados is from April to October when the Fahrenheit temperature ranges from 55 to 58 degrees, with 64 to 69 degrees in June through September. It does rain in Ireland, where nary a brown patch of grass is to be seen, the average hourly rainfall amounts are quite small, but an umbrella can be useful. The costs can be low at public courses and high at the golf clubs.
County Clare's Doonbeg was the last great piece of links land on the Irish coast. The architect of the fairway was Greg Norman, the two-time winner of the British Open and golfing buddy of President Bill Clinton. Greg Norman designed the fairway according to his 'least disturbance' philosophy of routing courses to fit nature's existing terrain and just mowed most of the greens and fairways. The ocean view, the 100-foot majestic dunes set along 1.5 miles of the crescent shaped beach presents a par 72-challenge to the visiting golfer.
Lahinch in Co. Clare is a legendary links, frequently referred to as the St. Andrews of Ireland with the original Old Course built in 1892 and designed by Scottish Regiment officers who liked the rugged, uncompromising countryside as the perfect terrain for golf. Further changes were made by the Scottish architect who worked on Pebble Beach in California and Augusta in Georgia. Then there is the Castle Course founded in 1963 at Lahinch is a bit less challenging with a Par of 70, but still an interesting challenge.
I would be remiss if I did not include Waterville, at the Ring of Kerry in County Kerry in my roundup of famous Irish Links. It is one of the oldest Irish Clubs, having been founded in 1889 with the arrival of the trans-Atlantic telegraph Cable from the United States. After 80 years of play the original nine hole course was redesigned by the famous Irish golf architect , Eddie Hackett and the American architect Tom Fazio. I also found that Tiger Woods, Mike O'Meara and Michael Jordan are all members of Waterville Golf Links.Call your travel agent or 1-800-221-0924 to create your dream vacation.
Copyright by Marcia Abramson
