Druids Glen Golf Club lies in County Wicklow 20 miles south of Dublin in the tiny village of Newtown Mt. Kennedy. It is less than one mile from the Irish Sea and within shouting distance of the towering Wicklow Mountains.
Druids Glen features prominently alongside the likes of the K Club, Mount Juliet, Carlow and Fota Island in every discussion of great inland golf courses. And while it's purely a matter of opinion as to which is best, the important thing to remember is that there's much more to Irish golf than its links courses. Druids Glen played host to the Irish Open Golf Championship from 1996 to 1999 and was voted European Golf Course of the year in 2000 at the prestigious Hertz International Travel Awards. It's said that every great course produces great champions and Druids Glen is no different, having produced winners of the calibre of Montgomery and Garcia.
The majestic clubhouse is the former manor house, called Woodstock House, which was built in 1760 by an Irish earl. Later, a local bishop took over and enlarged the house. Restored to its original architectural elegance, the clubhouse now includes an exquisitely appointed small dining room overlooking the 18th green. The course is laid out over the original estate that features ponds, high banks planted with trees and shrubs, a walled garden, and low lying areas where streams meander over rocks. The course of bent grass greens is impeccably landscaped with all kinds of trees, shrubs and flowering plants.
Opened in 1995 and host to the last three Irish Opens, the course was designed by Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock, veteran Irish designers who were heavily influenced by both St. Andrews (the par 3 2nd in the walled garden mimics No. 17 of the Old Course) and Augusta National (the 12th and adjacent par 3 8th, both of which lie in the glen).