Royal Dublin

This is a classic traditional “Scottish” out and back links, relatively unusual for an Irish links! It is highly rated by the pros, and one pro in particular has fallen in love with Royal Dublin. Christy O’Connor became the club professional in 1959 and his association with the club lasted more than half a century, until he passed away in 2016.

The course is fairly flat and narrow with long stretches of out of bounds, calling for accurate drives, and the wind tends to swirl around Dublin Bay, generally making the back nine tougher The greens are outstanding and there are some brutally deep greenside bunkers here too; the ones on the fairway aren’t much easier. “There are some fine, towering hills at Dollymount,” wrote Darwin in his book, The Golf Courses of the British Isles, “but it is not these that make the player’s knees to knock together; it is the little pots of innocuous aspect that most emphatically decline to be ignored.”

Royal Dublin has seen its fair share of professional tournaments and has hosted numerous Irish Opens, Ballesteros and Langer amongst the winners. But surely Royal Dublin’s favourite champion was Christy O’Connor, who won the Irish Open here in 1966.

Martin Hawtree was engaged in course redevelopment work between 2004-2006 and Royal Dublin has improved as a consequence. Today's championship layout stretches to an impressive 7,269 yards from the tips, so bring your "A" game, especially if the wind is up. But regardless of the weather, you can be assured of a warm welcome because Royal Dublin is one of the friendliest “Royal” clubs to be found anywhere.

In late 2019, the club appointed Clayton, DeVries & Pont to undertake a detailed bunker study of the course.