The European Club enjoys an idyllic seaside location in County Wicklow, in the south east of Ireland, amongst almost 200 acres of glorious sand-dunes. There are magnificent views of the Irish Sea out over the sand dunes. It is a must play club for any golf aficado and continually ranks highly throughout the world of top courses lists.
This wonderful club is relatively new dating to 1987, the course was designed by Pat Ruddy and he has done an amazing job in creating a course so natural and that appears to have been here for ages. It was the first links course to be built on the east coast of Ireland. There are actually 20 holes here, there are two bonus holes, just for pure enjoyment, they are both par 3’s that are well worth playing. The 18 hole championship course is a par 71, measuring 7,355 yards from the back tees, so is a long course.
This fabulous links course has a creative layout that absorbs its natural surrounds allowing it to sit beautifully on the rolling terrain of sand dunes.
The course benefits from its natural features
- namely the colossal sand dunes, sea breezes and sea grasses.
- Blind spots and plenty of riveted bunkering are other aspects of this course.
- Unusually most holes offer a clear line of sight beween tee and green
- but don’t be fooled, the course is a master of disguise, artfully concealed unseen elevation changes and fairways that move and weave between the dunes create a number of optical illusions that seem to make the holes appear a lot further away than they in fact are.
There are sea-views on most of the holes and you will find only two par 5 holes here. There are some excellent holes to be found and those that skirt along the the beach at Brittas Bay are stunning, with the back nine opening up. It is home to the worlds longest green at 128 yards, on the 12th hole. The concept behind this course was to create a course for real golfers, those who play and think well, and that has certainly been achieved, it is a course that requires more thought than brawn.
The course is excellently maintained, the lush fairways are fast-running, the firm greens are fast and receptive, marram grass and gorse that form the rough can be harsh and the bunkers are big and deep, they are faced with railway sleepers for ultimate definition and intimidation.
Champions from all over the world have discovered The European Club and Tiger Woods currently holds the course record of 67. This is truly a spectacular course that represents all that is great about links golf. Enjoy the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere and absorb the beautiful scenery.