Druids Glen Golf Course is part of the wider Druids Glen Resort, which also features the Druids Heath Golf Course as well. 

 

Druids Glen has been around for three decades now and has played host to a number of big championships, including the Irish Open on the DP World Tour. 

 

The 7,200-yard course has recently undergone extensive renovations, with the greens and drainage both being improved. 

 

  

You can see our full piece on the Druids Glen Resort here. 

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Druids Glen was designed by Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock, opening in 1995. Just a year later, the course achieved championship status. 

 

Colin Montgomerie and Sergio Garcia were among the winners as the Irish Open called Druids Glen its home from 1996 to 1999. Three years later, the Seve Trophy was also held at the venue. 

 

In recent years, the course has undergone extensive renovations, including the rebuilding of greens, a new irrigation system and much more. These additions and changes have elevated Druids Glen once more.  

The Druids Glen Golf Course is the championship offering at the Druids Glen Resort. The course has been described as the ‘Augusta of Europe’ in the past, and you can tell why. Ruddy and Craddock’s design encompassed floral tributes and an exact replica of the infamous 12th hole at the legendary Georgia venue. Following its recent renovations, Druids Glen now plays more than 7,200 yards from the back tees, and as a Par 72. 

 

The opening hole plays enticingly downhill, and is followed by a lovely par 3 which plays into a walled garden. The 3rd hole is less than 350 yards long, but does play slightly uphill. A positional tee shot to the corner of the dog-leg is the best play, with anything more aggressive bringing the trees on both sides of the hole into play. Similarly at the downhill 4th, the design tempts you to fire over the bushes and bunker on the right of the fairway in search of a shorter approach. This is all very well but even the best tee shot will now be coming down across the angle of the hole and therefore could easily catch the rough on either side. Again, the better policy is likely to be a more cautious drive down the left and accept a longer approach. 

  

The 5th is a par 5, and one where going for it in two is a risky play. With the fairway narrowing to a saddle at the top of the hill, driver from the tee is extremely risky and the green is designed to receive a short iron rather than a fairway wood. The 6th and 7th are both dog-leg par 4s, 6 to the right and 7 to the left, and followed by the short 8th hole. Played in seclusion over a lake to a sloping green. Suddenly, you can begin to see why Druids Glen has been described as the 'Augusta of Europe'. 

 

After a return to more open, stately-home-style parkland holes around the turn, what is undoubtedly the highlight of the round comes at the 12th and 13th. Both will be familiar to many, the former being a par 3 from an elevated tee to a green fronted by water. With a floral tribute to the stone altar that was discovered in the creation of this hole, and which gave the course its name, it is an unforgettable sight from all angles. 

   

The next is even more dramatic and certainly more demanding. It measures over 480 yards and is played from an elevated tee. There is water right and the fairway angles towards it. The difficulty, especially on first viewing, is in choosing the right line from the tee. Too straight and your ball will disappear into the rhododendron bushes; too aggressive and it will find the stream. Even after the perfect tee shot, the approach is inevitably a long one and it is played across more water towards an uninvitingly narrow green. If it sounds hard, it really is! Completing this hole with the same ball you started with is an achievement for most club players.  

 

There is more water at the 15th, but if you realize how generous the fairway is it should not be too much of a problem, and the same is true to an extent on the 17th. Into the wind, this is a fearsome par 3 and at over 200 yards will challenge the nerve of all but the best. Played to an island green, the landing area is larger than it appears - so long as you make the carry. The closing hole on the Druids Glen Course measures 450 yards and plays uphill. Again, there is water in front of the green, so it might be better to treat it as a short par five and lay up with your second. This way a five should not be beyond your means, whereas six - and worse-comes very much into the equation by attacking a green fronted by water from 200 yards or so. 

Where is Druids Glen located?  
Druids Glen is located on the eastern coast of Ireland, near the town of Wicklow. The Irish capital city of Dublin is 35 miles to the north of the resort. 

  

Dublin Airport – the busiest airport in the country – is just under an hour’s drive from Druids Glen, with the airport situated to the north of Ireland’s capital city. Aer Lingues, Ryanair, and TUI Airways have bases at Dublin, an airport which saw more than 27 million passengers come through its doors in 2022.  

  

In terms of trains, the nearest station to Druids Glen is Kilcoole, which is just three miles away from the resort. Kilcoole station is located on the Irish coastline, on the train line between Dublin Connolly and Rosslare Europort.  

 

What golf facilities does Druids Glen offer?  

The practice facilities at Druids Glen are adjacent to the first hole of the Druids Heath Course. There is a sheltered and floodlit driving range, along with a world class short game area for those who desire to practice their chipping and putting.  

  

Woodstock House, dating back to 1770, provides a distinctive clubhouse, not to mention one that ensures an exceptional experience for the golfer without even stepping on a fairway. From its first-floor bar you can see the final green, flanked by water, and gain a flavour of a course designed to represent the ultimate in inland golf. 

What are the green fees at Druids Glen?  
The price of a green fee at Druids Glen changes throughout the year, depending on the season. It is also different depending on whether it is a weekday or weekend. There are also stay & play packages available at the resort.  

 

For more information on current green fees at Druids Glen, visit their website here. 

 

  

Visit the Druids Glen website here. 

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