Wexford

The 18-hole parkland course at Wexford Golf Club is situated on the slopes of Mulgannon Hill, to the south of Wexford town centre, where an 18-hole layout was fashioned in 1961. The course was upgraded by Jeff Howes in 2006 so that it now measures just under 6,000 metres from the back markers, playing to a par of 71.

“There are good holes, to be sure,“ writes Kevin Markham about Wexford in the book Hooked: an amateur’s guide to the golf courses of Ireland. “the 7th to 11th are excellent and call for serious skill. They rise and fall on an outer hillside loop, with views over Wexford Harbour and the coast. The rolling fairways and natural dangers are thrilling and you’ll find plenty of trouble if you are too aggressive.”

Highlight holes include the par three 6th, the longest of the three one-shot holes on the front nine, located in the southernmost part of the property, which plays to a heavily sand-protected green. The par four 15th starts with a satisfying downhill drive (but there’s water to consider left of the green) and the left doglegging par four 18th is a tough finisher, rated stroke index 2.

Architect Jeff Howes sent us this exclusive quote on the work carried out early in the new millennium:

“The club acquired some adjacent which allowed it to create three new holes with magnificent views of the Irish Sea, consisting of a par five and two par fours, one of which is a spectacular risk and reward driveable hole. Naturally we needed to re-route some holes and create new greens where necessary.

The club also took the opportunity to add thousands of kilometres of drainage and the end result was a slightly longer, more spacious and very beautiful course with eighteen individually memorable holes. Wexford golf Club should be on everyone’s list when playing golf in the South of Ireland.”