Birr - Offaly - Ireland

Birr Golf Club was formed in 1893 when golf was first played in the grounds of the Marshall estate at Barrone Court near Birr. The club remained there for sixteen years before moving to the site of the present course at the Glenns where land was initially leased from the Rosse Estate for a fee of one shilling a year. Originally laid out by local members, the course has been redesigned in recent times by the renowned golf architect Eddie Connaughton.

Birr is relatively short with many changes in elevation over the 18-hole layout. The course has sandy subsoil which permits good drainage and allows play all year round. There are some lovely stands of mature trees around the course and they, along with many new tree plantings, will greatly add to the difficulty of playing here in the years ahead.

There are only two par fives on the card and they are played back-to-back early in the round at the 5th and 6th holes. Two of the four par threes are also played consecutively on the back nine at the 14th and 15th holes – the par threes should be taken seriously at Birr as only one of them is shorter than 185 yards. The signature hole is the 337-yard, short par four 10th hole which runs along the clubhouse through a tree-lined fairway to a perfectly manicured green.

The Irish Midlands are often overlooked when searching for good golf courses but Birr is a fine example of a mature parkland course that should not be so readily dismissed from a golfing play list.