The Royal Dublin Golf Club


In our last post we started conversation about playing golf in Ireland. And though golf is a sport, nevertheless in Ireland, it is much more important than just sport. And if we were asked, for example, to characterize Ireland in three words, one of the words would certainly be the word “golf”.

The matter is that Irish golf courses group so harmoniously in the landscape that the feeling arises that they are not made by human hands. And that is with an assumption that, as a rule, from the golf course itself the natural view is just unforgettable. In most cases these are marine scape with dunes, rocks and “velvet” evergreen hills.


“the Royal Dublin Golf Club”

From before our getting acquainted with golf courses in Ireland we could not understand why it is so expensive, more than a million of euro, to design and build a golf course. But when we looked at Irish golf courses, we realized that such handmade masterpieces cannot cost little.

Let us talk about, for example, one of the largest and oldest golf clubs in Ireland, “the Royal Dublin Golf Club” which was founded as far as in 1885. Well, this club, covering the area of about 65 ha, is settled on, nothing more or less than the Bull Island, which is in the Dublin bay, almost at the entrance into the Dublin port.


“the Royal Dublin Golf Club”

Can you imagine what the views from this golf course are?! These are sandy dunes, views on the majestic peninsula of Howth, Dublin bay and Dublin itself, covering the whole length of the bay. Every several minutes ferries, cargo ships and even, may be, ocean liner pass by you.

Isn’t it pleasant to play on such golf course? Indeed, one enjoys not only playing the game itself, but also fascinating landscapes. And such golf courses are dominant in Ireland. The difference is only in the landscape from the North and the South, the West or the East of the island.


The bridge to Bull Island and the Royal Dublin Golf Club

Getting back to our conversation about the golf club “the Royal Dublin Golf Club” let us note that here, three times, there have taken place open championships of Ireland. Famous people don’t keep away this golf club either. So in 2004, an ex-president of the USA, Bill Clinton visited “the Royal Dublin Golf Club”. Presidents of Ireland, an ex-president, Mary Robinson, and the present president, Mary McAleese have also visited the club.

And how you can get into the golf club? Only across a wooden bridge, the first version of which was built as far as in XIX century, but up to present day, in order to keep the original state of this place, the bridge has been reconstructed only with wood.