Tullamore

Tullamore Golf Club was constituted in 1886 and, over the next forty years, members played on 9-hole courses at Tinnycross, Ballykilmurray and Screggan before finally settling at Brookfield, part of the Charleville estate, in 1926.

The architecture of the present course is credited to a Captain Hewson who laid out eighteen holes which were modified a few years later by no less than the great Scottish golfer turned golf architect, James Braid.

Patrick Merrigan was tasked with a major upgrade of the course in time for the centenary of the club’s affiliation to the Golf Union of Ireland in 1996. He added three lakes, created seven new greens and built eleven new tees to create a modern masterpiece in the Irish Midlands.

With the Slieve Bloom Mountains as a backdrop, Tullamore is a classic parkland course measuring 6,428 yards from the back markers. It boasts many holes which have tree-lined fairways and strategically positioned sand and water hazards to guard the greens.

The front nine are comparatively benign, though danger lurks as water comes into play on the doglegs at the 5th, 7th and 8th holes. The inward half will live long in the memory for the standard of shot making required to make a good score.

Many consider the 16th, a 419-yard left dogleg par four, as the best on the card. Par is a very good score here but it will only be achieved with two precise shots to the stream and tree-protected green.