Enniscorthy

Enniscorthy Golf Club was founded in 1907, with the club affiliating to the Golfing Inion of Ireland the following year. The original course is believed to have been laid out in the grounds of St. John’s Manor before the club moved to its current location six years later, with W.C. Pickman from Portmarnock setting out a 9-hole course.

Additional land was acquired in the late 1980s, allowing Eddie Hackett to expand the layout to eighteen holes be adding seven new holes and remodelling the nine old holes to produce eleven new ones. Pat Ruddy then oversaw further improvements during the 1990s, before Jeff Howes was called in to add two new holes and make further modifications in 2007.

“Definitely one of those friendly, country golf courses that you find all over Ireland, and always a pleasure to play,” is how Kevin Markham describes Enniscorthy in the book Hooked: an amateur’s guide to the golf courses of Ireland. “There is plenty of variety at Enniscorthy, which means an array of challenges. But most of all, the straightforward design ensures plenty of enjoyment.”

Extending to 6104 yards from the back tees, the course plays to a par of 72 (35 out and 37 in), with the opening holes played as a par three. Unusually, back-to-back par fives are encountered twice in the round, at the 4th and 5th then at the 10th and 11th. Highlight holes include the left doglegging 8th and right doglegging 17th, rated stroke index 2 and 1, respectively.