Playing the best golf game requires skills and practice. However, there is one thing that you should also consider in order to play a magnificent golf game. This is to play in a very relaxing environment where you can concentrate on your golf swing with professional-like skills and accuracy.

Besides, if you play in a golf course beside a busy freeway with noisy vehicles passing by, you will lose concentration and will result in ruining your golf swing. It is true that there are golf clubs located all over the world. However, few of these golf clubs have high quality standards to bring the best out in your game.

One such place that you can definitely concentrate on playing golf and at the same time relax is the Fota Island Golf Club. Located in Cork Harbour, which is only a few minutes drive from Cork City, Fota Island is a world renowned golf club that offers the one of the best golf courses in Europe. A golf vacation here would truly be worthwhile.

Firstly, Fota Island Golf Club is a very traditional golf course. It is a sister property of Mount Juliet and both is known to maintain the highest standards in golfing to ensure golfing enjoyment the whole year.

Fota Island Golf Club lies in the heart of a 780 acre estate integrated with good quality woodlands and landscape that will surely make every golfer want to play every single day. This golf course is comprised of a challenging par 71 championship course in the traditional mode. It has pot bunkers and undulating putting surfaces to meet the challenge of every golfer around the world.
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Earning a well deserved 92nd rank in the 2005 edition of Gold Digests top 100 golf courses outside of the United States of America, the Waterville Golf Club represents clearly what golf links should be. Its not only a golf course, it’s a mystical retreat where one can rediscover the passion for golf and play the game with pure enjoyment, plus having the beauty of nature surround you in each and every hole.

Rated as one of Irelands longest links courses, the Waterville Golf Club has a total of 7,311 yards of pure golf heaven. You will find many scenic views as you play the game allowing you to have peace of mind and a deep appreciation for its design and culture. Located in Ireland’s famous and amazingly beautiful Ring of Kerry, the Waterville Golf Club is surrounded by hills sprinkled with cottages and the Atlantic ocean and the Ballinskelligs Bay in its sides.

Playing golf at the Waterville Golf Club would expose you to strong gusts of winds that can provide a very challenging game. The course also is a combination native grasses, sand dune gores, sod faced bunkers, firm fairways, and fine putting surfaces that is made even more difficult by unpredictable and constantly changing weather. A link course that is already a hundred years old, the Waterville Golf Club is in the top 5 golf courses in Ireland and is also in the top 20 golf link courses all over the world.

But aside from its world class course, Waterville Golf Club also offers a lot of amenities and services that could make every golfer feel like royalty.
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A game that is centuries old, golf has grown extremely popular that many lands have been clipped and mowed, mountains and sand dunes sculptured and traps are set and trees are moved just so man can have a golf course that they can have fun on. More than just a stick and a ball, a quiet round of golf has forged many partnerships, bonded new friendships and has given a sense of peace and relaxation like no other.

As each man develops the passion for the game, playing in his local golf course wouldn’t just suffice. The golf links in Ireland would pose a great challenge to his ability to play the game with its treacherous winds and fantastic sand dunes. A golf vacation trip in Ireland is definitely in order and as soon one has the time and has saved up the money for the trip, a dedicated golfer would never pass up the chance to play in a vacation golf spot in Ireland.

And when it is indeed time to pack up your bags and golf equipment, there is definitely one golf links course that should be on the top of every list, the Tralee Golf Club.

Its designer itself, the legendary Arnold Palmer said that the Tralee Golf Club was the most ideal piece of land he had ever seen for a golf course and he shared the glory with God saying that he designed the first nine holes and God did the back nine. Every golfer is advised to play the course twice, the first one for the game and the second one to enjoy the scenery.

The Tralee Golf Club was first instituted in 1896, with a nine-hole course in Tralee. Then after a year,another nine-hole course was started in Fenit found on the southwest side of the Barrow Harbor. In 1984, Arnold Palmer designed the present course in Barrow. He earned lots of creditsa for his design as he used the natural flora and landscape without having to barely alter the land. This created a mesmerizing, one-of-a-kind course that 5 holes in the back nine situated along the Atlantic Ocean.

But aside from playing, you can also enjoy your vacation spending time with your family and friends in the Tralee Golf Club Clubhouse. There you can find a restaurant that provides a remarkable and amazing view of the golf course and its terrain. You can have meals consisting of fresh seafoods and steaks which are the local specialties. Brought to you by a gracious staff, you can have a very memorable dining experience.
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Mature golf clubs with ages over a century old can be found in almost all corners of Ireland, one of this is the Royal County Down Golf Club which has a history and tradition filled with unadulterated golfing experience. Set in the amazing Newcastle where it was described as “the Mountains of Mourne sweep down by the sea” by Percy French, the Royal County Down Golf Club doesn’t only present a real challenge and test to the golfers, but also mesmerizing and astounding views from all over the place.

The Royal County Down Golf Club has two golf courses to boast of. The championship links and alongside it, the Annesley Links. Both laid out alongside the Dundrum Bay and backdrop of huge mountains. While the Champio0nship links is designed to be a great challenge, the Annesley links was designed to be played by everyone, both pros and amateurs.

Just recently, the Royal County Down Golf Club has announced that it will be the host of the 2007 Walker Cup match to be played by great golfers from Ireland, Great Britain and the United States of America. The Royal County Down Golf Club will only be the second golf course where this prestigious biennial event will be played, after the Portmarnock in 1991. Truly a testament to its great designs.

One of the greatest accolades received by the Royal County Down Golf Club is being tagged in 2005 as number 4 in the 100 best golf courses outside of the US, this honor was bestowed by the Golf Digest.

Ant it is hard not to see why. Arguably one of Ireland’s best courses, the course is laid out with soaring sand dunes, profuse heather, and majestic scenes of the Mourne Mountains on each side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.

One of the Great old Tom Collins design, a number of holes feature blind shots, unbelievable bunkering, and fantastic gently sloping greens. This indeed is a golf course any golfer visiting Ireland should not miss.
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Blessed with being able to be designed by four of the top names in the annals of Golf History, the Rosapenna Golf Links has achieved what many golf courses has dreamt of, beauty, great playability and near perfection. Many would say that if the heavens were to design a golf course, this would be it.

Being a century old, this “mature” golf course has been the discovery and the design of one of Ireland’s most famous golf architect, Old Tom Collins. Laid out in 1891, old Tom quickly shared his discovery to his fellow golfers and soon was flocked by great numbers of them to enjoy its serene beauty and its natural landscape that was perfect for a challenging links course.

Two of those that tested the land were two golfing greats which shared between them 11 British Open titles. They went to the Rosapenna Golf Links in the early 1900’s and added some depth to the bunkering and some length to the course but were wise to avoid with messing with the greens the great old Tom designed.

For the century that has passed, the old links still remains intact, a great honor to the three masters that have superbly provided the designs. Many golfers come to this links expecting to share the glory and the magic that lies between each hole.

Sharing the glory with the old links is the new Sandy Hills links of the Rosapenna Golf Links. Another feather to its cap, this course was designed by another master, the famous Pat Ruddy.
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Playing a round of golf can be a very relaxing activity and more and more people have been hooked on the game and have seen it as a form of therapy, an exercise and a means to discipline one’s self. This is because the game requires an intense concentration and focus. Plus the game is played on a natural course laden with the beauty of nature.

One country that has truly elevated not only the game, but also the way a golf course should be. Ireland has been blessed with the many natural beauty of nature that has allowed it to be shaped and molded to golf courses that has indeed been a sight to see and a joy to play in.

With the hundreds of courses that are sprinkled all over Ireland, it’s hard to choose which one to go to for a golf vacation in Ireland. But then again, there are usually some that stands out from the rest, just like the Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club.

Proudly the last golf course the legendary Irish golf course designer Eddie Hackett designed, the Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club built a links like course that needed about 250,000 tons of sand. Sadly though, Eddie Hackett never saw the end of the construction as he died before it could be finished. A new designer was hired to oversee the construction. The change designs that he did resulted to poor reviews when the course was opened in 1998. The owners had to reshape and redesign the course under the tutelage of a famous American designer, Ron Kirby.

By 2003, the Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club was leased by Universal Golf Consulting Ltd. And took the reins in developing the course and making it more playable and constructing a new clubhouse. This led to the success of the club attracting more members and visitors. With the developments made, the Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club is now recognized by the Irish PGA as one of 5 tournament fixtures in the calendar of the professional tournaments.
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