Druids Glen
Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow, Ireland
Par 72 • 6,732 yards (White) • Parkland

The Course

Druids Glen is tucked in between the Wicklow Mountains and the Irish Sea, south of Dublin. It is a parkland course and a favorite of mine and much better than the K Club. Another favorite parkland course in the Dublin area is the Powerscourt Club. Apparently the course has a reputation of being somewhat comparable to Augusta National but I would reject that designation. Augusta really doesn’t have any meaningful comparisons and in deference to Druids, the course has a unique character of its own. Unlike many parkland courses in Europe, the course meanders nicely through the trees with its lakes, streams, flowerbeds and bridges creating a layout that is challenging and yet fun to play.  The course presents significant variety in its layout where you will hit most of the clubs in your bag.  Parkland courses can be boring as you have to meander through fairways dotted with large tall trues that require boring precision to navigate through with a bunch of bunkers usually surrounding the green.  Although 12-14 at Druids has been compared to Amen Corner at Augusta National, they are truly great holes in their own right.  Two of my favorites are described as follows.

Hole 13 — The Thirteenth
Par 4 • 463 yards

One of the hardest holes you will find anywhere in Europe is the par 4, 13th hole of 463 yards. Its length makes it pretty intimidating as you begin on the elevated tee to the fairway that begins to shape the dogleg to the left that is to come. The position of the tee shot has to be long enough and far enough to the right side of the fairway in order to either lay up to the stream or cover it with a long iron shot to the green. The layup shot to the stream will still leave a 160 yard iron shot to the green. The shot to the green must be accurate as any serious leakage to the right side will yield substantial trouble and difficulty to recover. The tee shot to the right side of the fairway is the riskiest way to play the hole as it brings the stream and all the scruff on the right into play. I played it conservatively and laid up to the stream and nailed a six iron to seven feet for a par. My playing partners didn’t listen and lost more than a few balls in the stream and the high grass. It reminded me a little of the risk/reward opportunities of the “Pit” hole at North Berwick.

Hole 12 — The Druid’s Hole
Par 3 • 157 yards

This hole is the replica of Augusta National’s famous 12th, Golden Bell. While the Druid’s Hole is similar in design and shape to Golden Bell, the hole doesn’t have the mystique of the winds that characterize the difficulty of club selection at Augusta. It just feels easier to step up and hit the shot from the slightly elevated tee. The beauty and seasonal fauna of the hole is a smart and welcoming pause on the back nine.

While 12 and 13 can be construed as signature holes, the course presents an interesting variety of challenges without having to grind away at survival. It’s a fair and enjoyable test of aspects of your game and enables you to use most of the clubs in your bag. The Island Green 17th hole is a par 3 of 179 yards over the pond that is all carry—the shot is either on the green or it’s wet and gone. Another good hole is the 14th which is a par 4 of 339 yards where the trees reminded me of Sahalee (in Washington state) with a 600 year old Sycamore tree in the back of the green. The 18th home hole was converted from a brutal par 4 to a more benign par 5 of 464 yards after the course restoration in 2003. The Woodstock house is the old Manor that serves as the clubhouse. On this hole, you have to avoid the fairway bunkers with an uphill shot to a large green with the stream on the right feeding in front of the greenside bunkers.

I played Druids Glen often during my annual business trips to Dublin, but before the 2003 restoration. It’s a bit surprising that the course was closed for a few years to complete the transformation and changes in management for the course as that is the business of golf. I had good success there and really think the 13th is a special hole. I never had my home clubs and one round wanted to buy the TaylorMade driver of 10.5 degrees from the club as I had a wonderful day with it. The driver couldn’t be sold without buying the whole set so I went online while I was there and ended up buying a used R-5 on the net for $199 instead of the €499 it would have cost me in Ireland.  I ended up playing with that driver for the next five years.

Druids Glen brings back great memories of my best parkland golf experience in Dublin.  I look forward to getting back there and playing the post restoration result.