The Heritage Golf Club is situated in the beautiful rolling countryside of Co. Laois, in the east of Ireland, with the Slieve Bloom Mountains serving as a dramatic backdrop to this lovely course.
The course is set in a large estate amongst what was previously an open piece of farmland, it was co-designed by Seve Ballesteros and Jeff Howes and opened in 2004, some three years after work commenced, demonstrating the time and detail given. It is in fact home to two courses the championship Ballesteros and a smaller par 3 academy course. Ballesteros and Howes have surpassed themselves in creating a gem of a course that features all the flair you would expect from these two greats. The championship course is a 72 par and measures 7,345 yards from the back tees.
- The layout and design is excellent,
- this parkland course blends seamlessly with its surrounding in this natural verdant landscape,
- it is gently undulating, and
- has a pleasant natural feel.
It is laid out in an open aspect on the landscape in two large loops of nine that weave amongst the trees and lakes. It is home to many fine design features that are well utilised, with five lakes and a stream that meanders through the course and brings water into play on ten holes. 98 beautifully shaped bunkers and 7,000 trees grace the landscape. The Heritage boasts excellent finishing holes on both the ninth and the eighteenth as they play back to the clubhouse alongside the large lake but, saying that each hole is different and challenging. The course is pretty level and does not have any hills to climb hills so is easy to walk around, this is the best way to get the full extent of this superb course. The openness of the course can expose you to the winds should they be present.
This championship golf course provides a premier experience for golfers of all calibers, it is a test of length and strategy.
The course is immaculate and beautifully maintained, the open undulating fairways are lush, tees are oval and like greens, the greens are pristine and run fast and consistent, the trademark, rough-edged crinkle cut bunkers are strategically placed to enhance play, even the tall fescue grass that is the rough, provides definition but is not unpleasant.