The final destination on our 2024 Tour of Ireland was Dundalk Golf Club, located in the village of Blackrock, County Louth. Dundalk was the perfect location to finish this tour as it’s midway between Dublin, where we had just left and Belfast, where we would catch the ferry back to Scotland.
Situated just 4 1/2 miles from the Northern Irish border, Dundalk is 50 miles from Dublin and 50 miles from Belfast. The club was founded in 1905 and like many clubs, played on a course at a different site before building this course in 1922. It is a private members’ club that invites visitors to play on its parkland course, what the Americans would call a semi-private club. It’s also been the home of the PGA in Ireland since 1987.
The Course
The course has four sets of tees to choose from. Its yardages range from 5718 to 6714 yards. Interestingly, the par of the course varies depending on what set of tees you play from. It has a par of 73 for the blue and red tees, a par of 72 for the whites and a par of 71 for the green tees. We chose to play from the white tees at 6526 yards. As always, choose the tees to suit your game, especially on parkland courses where there isn’t much run as ground conditions can be softer.
As is the norm, we will select the holes on the course that we find to be the most interesting, challenging or picturesque. This is usually two or three from each nine and we write about what we thought about each hole.
The Front Nine
On the front nine, we have chosen the 2nd, 7th and 9th holes to highlight. These are, in order, a par 4, a par 5 (the longest hole) and a very interesting par 3.
Approach to the 2nd green
The 2nd hole is a 386-yard par 4. The bunkers in the foreground are in the landing area from the tee and must be avoided. While the tee shot is downhill, your second shot plays slightly uphill. The green is protected by front bunkers both to the left and right. Make sure you take enough club for a back pin location as the green is tiered. Anything short will leave a difficult chip and putt for par.
Your third shot to the 7th hole
The 7th hole is the longest hole on the course, a 546-yard par 5. It is a three-shot hole for all except the longest of hitters. Your tee shot needs to avoid the fairway bunkers. The second shot should be to the left side of the fairway as you can’t see the water hazard on the right until you approach it. Two good shots will leave you a short iron to the green and a chance, just a chance of making birdie. This is a cracking hole.
An “Interesting” Par 3
The 9th hole
Some would call the 9th hole daft. Others would maybe say it’s tricky or strange. We are going to be nice and say we found it “interesting”. It plays 167 yards and in truth, there is not much to aim at. That tree, short and right, is the dominant feature of the hole. We were lucky, when we played it the pin was visible and accessible. How do you access a left pin on one on the right half of the green? We would bet money that this hole is the most discussed in the bar afterwards. It certainly falls into the category of the most unique par 3 hole on this trip.
The Back Nine
The holes we have chosen to feature on the back nine are the 10th, 17th and 18th. These holes are respectively a par 5, a par 3 and a short but tricky par 4.
The approach to the 10th hole
The opening hole on the back nine is a 495-yard par 5. From the tee, you can’t see much. You tee off through a narrow shute of trees over a mound. The fairway over the mound is reasonably wide. Stay on it and you can consider going for the green in two. The green is protected by bunkers both left and right and the wayward need to stay clear of the gorse bushes on the right. We are not the longest hitters but a good drive and then a 3 hybrid got us into the bunker on the front left of the green. We didn’t get up and down for our birdie but this is a birdie chance, for the more accurate.
The 17th hole
The 17th hole is the longest par 3 on the course at 180 yards. The green is surrounded by four bunkers so finishing on the putting surface off the tee will give you the best chance of a par. This is a testing par 3 where picking the right club to hit is a challenge.
Risk and Reward Closing Hole
The approach to the 18th green
The last hole is a short par 4 of 341 yards and we would class this as a risk/reward hole. Off the tee, there are trees both left and right. If you can thread your driver up the left side and avoid the bunker in the foreground of the picture, you can get quite close to the green. That’s the reward and gives you a chance at a closing birdie.
The risk is going offline, where trees and bushes await. We were slightly right of centre and while our tee shot landed on the fairway, it kicked right into the rough. We only had 75 yards to go but we had overhanging tree branches and no route into the green for a pitch and run. With no options, we chipped out, pitched onto the green and made a bogey. In our case, it was all risk and no reward for our last shots in Ireland for this trip.
In Our Opinion
Dundalk Golf Club is a lovely tree-lined parkland course where strategy and accuracy are the skills you need to play well here. It’s not overly long but it’s tricky. Any tee shot that’s offline may not leave you with an approach shot into the green. The course was in very good condition and the greens were great to putt on, if a little difficult to read and pick the correct line. We didn’t putt it badly but didn’t sink many. Our problem, maybe a return visit to Specsavers is required! If, like us, you are looking to play somewhere on the trip north from Dublin to Belfast, we can recommend playing at Dundalk.
Where to Stay
The Fairways Hotel
We stayed in the four-star Fairways Hotel in Dundalk, just two miles from Dundalk Golf Club. It’s a new and contemporary hotel. It has been rebuilt on the site of the old Fairways Hotel and opened in 2019. The hotel has 113 bedrooms and suites and is tastefully decorated throughout.
Our bedroom
Our room was large a spacious and overlooked the hotel’s internal courtyard which appeared to be a bit of a suntrap. The ideal place to relax with a few drinks after a hard day on the golf course. We had dinner in the hotel and as it was a Sunday evening, we both opted for the Sunday Roast Special.
We opted for the Roast Turkey and Roast Beef. The portion sizes were huge. The roast beef slices were each the thickness of a sirloin steak and yes, there was gravy with the beef, it’s just not in the photo. Suitably stuffed, we retired for the evening and had a wonderful night’s sleep.
The Final Breakfast
The last cooked breakfast
We couldn’t finish our trip to Ireland without having another cooked breakfast, which has been the staple breakfast almost everywhere we have stayed. The breakfast at the Fairways Hotel is served buffet-style except for the poached eggs which are made to order. It was a wonderful way to end our trip and set us up for the ferry journey home. Having eaten many a cooked breakfast on this trip, we might give our arteries a break and it might be a while before we have another…..well maybe!
Thank you to Gerard Kelly of Carr Golf for arranging for us to play at Dundalk Golf Club and to stay at the Fairways Hotel. Thank you also to Siobahn McTigue and Linda McArdle at Fairways Hotel for hosting us. It was a wonderful end to a fantastic trip to Ireland where we played 10 courses in 14 days and stayed in six different hotels or resorts.
If you are planning a trip to Ireland to play golf, Please contact Gerard at Carr Golf and he will be delighted to assist you. His email is [email protected] Let him know that you got his email address from Jim at Worlds Best Golf Destinations.
At a Glance
- Located midway between Dublin and Belfast
- Dundalk GC is an 18-hole championship parkland course
- Large practice area with a short game and putting greens
- The home of the PGA in Ireland
- Well-stocked pro shop
- For more info, click on Dundalk Golf Club
- For more info about the hotel, click on Fairways Hotel
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