To The Manor Born
It all begins with an idea.
It doesn’t come more opulent than Adare Manor!
I’d been warned! “Leave Adare Manor to the last,” Barry McGuigan told me, not the World Championship boxer but the Irish coach-driver. Barry punches well above his weight when it comes to his knowledge of Irish golf.
“You’ll want to finish on a real high,” he emphasised. “This place is as high as it gets.”
He was so right! Top-hatted, coat-tailed gatemen greeted us like long-lost relatives. At the main building, we were ushered in like the King & Queen of Ireland.
“Just look at the view,” Elsa told me as we stumbled into our sumptuous suite. With the golf course beckoning beyond the boxed gardens, I was tempted to get the golf gear out but dinner was just around the corner and dinner at Adare was bound to be something seriously special!
Bedroom View No 1
View No 2
Dining options at Adare include the Carriage House Restaurant attached to the clubhouse for more relaxed dining. We had a drink at the clubhouse bar then headed back to the hotel for dinner. I couldn’t help calling feeling I was in ‘Dumbledore's Secret Sanctuary’ complete with gargoyles looking down at us from on high.
The service is impeccable and the general ambience is transcendent. And dinner lived up to any expectation.
THE GAMBLER
Adare Manor is a tiny flutter for a man who enjoys a ‘wee flutter’ from time to time, a certain JP McManus.
McManus was born in nearby Limerick and although he now has property interests all around the world, he has always kept a close eye on his family’s roots. McManus started in business with his father’s plant-hire company but by the age of 21 he was making more as a bookmaker at a nearby greyhound track. Then came horse racing! The Irish know a thing or two about horses and JP honed his interest and now owns around 550 thoroughbreds.
Let’s summarise by saying JP’s net worth is now calculated to be around €2 billion.
Adare Manor reopened in 2017 following a reported €70 million refurbishment which added a brand new 42-bedroom block along with an entirely new spa, board room and even a cinema.
350 people are now engaged directly by the resort and the monetary repercussions rippling through the local economy are substantial.
GOLF EXPERIENCE
The following morning, I was warming up on the driving range when who should stroll up but Pádraig Harrington with his inimitable ‘roadbuilders’ bounce.
“You shouldn’t have gone to any bother, Pádraig,” I blurted out thinking he was coming to play with me. He laughed, wished me a good round and carried on to team up with his brothers in the next bay for their pre-round routine.
OLD ACQUAINTANCES
I was actually playing the course with an old acquaintance, Andy McMahon who now holds the post of Director of Golf Operations at Adare Manor. I knew Andy from The Grove just north of London where he was head pro and a leading hand in a team & operation that had always greatly impressed me. Andy told me that Pádraig was a close friend of JPs and had significant input into the re-establishment of Adare Manor’s new course.
“They shipped in 300,000 tons of sand,” Andy told me as we stood on the first tee. “If you put all those dumper trucks nose-to-tail, they’d stretch from here to Ballybunion.”
RYDER CUP
Andy and I teed up ahead of Pádraig and pals. It was ironic to be playing Adare Manor in front of Harrington, the European Captain for the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits especially when Adare’s going to be hosting the event in 2027.
Of course, this was part of JP’s plan and as usual, it paid off. Getting the Ryder Cup puts the course and resort firmly on the map for years before and after. But Adare Manor would have made it on its own. it’s been reaping all the awards. #1 Resort in Europe by Condé Nast Traveler 2023, awarded a five-star rating by Forbes Travel Guide 2023 and the #1 Resort in the World – Condé Nast Traveler 2022
GETTING HERE
Dublin being only 3-hours away and Shannon Airport, which takes flights from the USA and other parts of Europe only 40-mins to the north of the property.
Also, the Southwest of Ireland has long-catered to us travelling golfers. There is a host of golf-oriented communities nearby with plenty of excellent accommodation so I don’t see an event the calibre of the Ryder Cup being too much of a problem.
I finished the round relatively unscathed and hugely impressed. For an inland course, this is something unprecedented, so utterly plush and seamlessly precise in every single aspect. Hats off to JP McManus and the Tom Fazio team to have the vision and technical ability to create a course that’s above and beyond any new build I’ve ever seen.
I get it that most international golfers are coming to Ireland to play the ancient, rustic links and that’s fair enough. But, consider this! Play this ultra-manicured marvel first, potential host to the Ryder Cup and an incredible experience in its own right. Then take on the likes of Ballybunion, Lahinch and Tralee. Talk about contrast! That would be like sucking the lemon & salt with Tequila shots or jumping into the snow after a Swedish sauna. Those hoary seaside sites will look even more rugged. Maybe that’s not the best reason though. The best reason is this is a supreme golf experience in its own right and should definitely be considered as part of your Irish itinerary.
Ends
I think Adare Manor will rise rather quickly into the panoply of the world’s great golf resorts. For me and my golf guests, I’d say it is now the gateway of choice to the Southwest with Ballybunion, Lahinch, Doonbeg and Tralee in easy driving distances. Waterville, Hogs Head and The Old Head of Kinsale are probably a bit too far to drive but there's always a helicopter. You could, of course, change base and find another hotel in the likes of Killarney or Cork. But I warrant, it’ll be hard to quit the comforts and service of Adare Manor. It really is an operation like no other.
Irish Superman
It all begins with an idea.
“The father of Irish golf was a Scotsman. My Irish friends hate me for sharing this... but it’s true!”
George Lockhart Baillie came to Ireland from the Scottish city of Dundee where he was a school teacher. Dundee was his parents home town! Mine too!
Baillie spent his early years in East Lothian on the edge of Edinburgh where his father had been appointed the Inland Revenue Officer to the town of Inveresk. With Musselburgh Old Links and Royal Musselburgh Golf Club on his doorstep, the young Baillie soon became a reasonable golfer.
He also became an educator and returned to Dundee for his first teaching post. There, he played his golf at Monifeith & Carnoustie, occasionally crossing the River Tay by ferry to the Fife town of St Andrews.
The Baillies, with their nine children, eventually moved from Dundee to Belfast where he was appointed English Master at Belfast Royal Academy, the oldest school in the city.
Royal Belfast Golf Club is a beautiful parkland course on the shores of Belfast Lough, the oldest golf club in Ireland.
“The conscientious Baillie was in high demand as an educator but his golfing prowess also stood him in good stead.”
Within weeks of arriving in the city, the young Scot was asked to lay out six rudimentary holes on the shores of Belfast Lough, that became The Belfast Club, later ‘The Royal Belfast Club’, the first golf course & club in all of Ireland. Baillie became its honorary secretary!
Baillie continued his work as an educator but in his spare time, he explored the natural golf landscape that stretched along Northern Ireland’s north & east coasts. The development of the railways in Ireland was a decade behind that of the rest of Britain, but it followed a similar pattern; first, a railway line followed by a station, then a hotel and quite often a golf course. It was a winning formula!
WEARING THE GREENS
Whether Baillie was ‘incentivised’ by the railway companies or purely following his golfing passion, he became prolific in establishing the ‘greens’ as the Irish called golf courses around Ireland’s coastline.
The Scotsman was on a roll, even organising group excursions for the English and Irish golf neophytes from Belfast & Dublin, providing 1st class rail travel, golf and accommodation. In this way, he became one of the game’s first ‘tour operators’!
Royal Portrush presents an ocean of billowing greens. Harry Colt took the routing into the dunes and established ‘Dunluce Links’
In 1888, travelling by train to Portrush in the north, he was so impressed by the magnificent dunes, he immediately went to work laying out nine rudimentary holes. The course was extended to 18 a year later by Old Tom Morris.
Baillie became a founding member, joint honorary secretary and treasurer of The County Club (Portrush), later, under the patronage of the Duke of York, the Prince of Wales to become the Royal Portrush Golf Club.
If you get it on a good day, Portrush is a pleasant encounter. But it’s most often windy and then a course of a completely different character.
The initial course was established on the landward side of the main coastal road, easier for the shorter game of the day. 30 years later, Harry Colt took the routing into the dunes and established ‘Dunluce Links’ where The Open Championship returned in 2019 after a gap of 68 years, a momentous occasion for this corner of Northern Ireland. After its hugely successful staging, Royal Portrush will serve as host again in 2025.
ROYAL COUNTY DOWN
Royal County Down is ranked as one of the top ten courses in the world. It’s easy to see why!
Ever on the prowl for creating more golf courses, Baillie discovered yet another stretch of magnificent links just north of the village of Newcastle, 30 miles south of Belfast. In double-quick time he laid out a rudimentary nine holes and yet again became the club’s founding member, joint honorary secretary and joint honorary treasurer at an inaugural meeting on 23 March 1889.
When Old Tom Morris was invited to extend the links a year later, he asked why they had sent for him. “This Mr Baillie kens mair about laying golf links than I dae,” the Fifer retorted. “They had nae need to send for me.” High praise from the ‘Grandfather of Golf’ indeed!
The clubhouse of Royal County Down Golf Club is overlooked by the Mountains of Mourne and flanked by Dundrum Bay
It’s funny how George Baillie is not so well-known in the annals of Irish golf. Was it because he was Scottish? That doesn’t seem the case as most of the game’s earliest proponents came from the East Coast of Scotland.
The list of Irish courses Baillie went on to establish, either by conducting feasibility studies or doing the actual design, is prodigious. 22 courses can be attributed to him in Northern Ireland alone although I reckon there are more. Here’s a list…
Leopardstown (1891), Lisburn (1891), Rostrevor (1892), Ballynafeigh (1893), Bundoran (1894), Larne (1894), Knock (1895), Massereene (1895), MacGilligan (1896), Greenore (1896), Garron Point (1899), Ardara (1899), Castlerock (1900), Kirkistown (1902), Magilligan (1906), Scrabo (1907), Whitehead (1909), Toome (1909), Omagh (1910), Balmoral (1914).
GEORGE BY GEORGE!
Baillie enjoyed his golf well into his 70s, ending his ‘earthly’ round at his home at Number 75 Fitzroy Avenue, Belfast.
Another famous ‘George’ sang about that very street in one of his best-selling albums, ‘Astral Weeks’. George ‘Ivan’ Morrison - better known as Van Morrison sang about ‘Madame George’. Here’s the opening verse…
‘Down on Cyprus Avenue
With a childlike vision leaping into view
Clicking and clacking of the high-heeled shoe
Ford and Fitzroy and Madame ‘George’
Was George Morrison, aka ‘Van the Man’ singing about our George Baillie! I don’t think so! Unless there was a side to George we don’t know about!
PGA National Slieve Russell
It all begins with an idea.
SLIEVE RUSSELL ANNOUNCED AS PGA NATIONAL IRELAND
Sleeve donate is a sprawling old girl built by the railways in the late 1800s.
The road to the ferry. Cattle country. Smelly.
Carlingford Ferry across to the Republic
Still an hour and 45 to our next hotel. Slight saving in time
Swabbing the decks with green paint.
If you opened up the sink it flowed into the shower with a great gurgle.
I contemplated going for a swim and sauna but the spa seemed a long way off.
The notorious H blocks. This was an O.
As usual the golf course took me by surprise. It's an excellent parkland.
Breakfast
The Irish have a spring in their voice. A lovely little lilt. They look you in the idea with a cherry good morning.
It must be marvelous to live here. The Irish are truly blessed
By 8 the breakfast Salon was full of guys looking like an elderly Arbor Palmer.
Slieve Russell Hotel, Golf & Country Club has become one a handful of facilities around the world to be endorsed by The PGA. Slieve Russell has joined the association’s seven other branded resorts as ‘PGA National Ireland’, a move that will undoubtedly draw attention to the resort and the wonderful facilities on offer including one of the finest parkland courses in Ireland.
Situated in West Cavan close to the border with Northern Ireland, the resort is around a two-hour drive from either Dublin or Belfast. PGA National Ireland Slieve Russell provides luxury accommodation in a peaceful setting with stunning lakes and tranquil woodland. There is a world-class spa, state-of-the-art conference centre and a highly acclaimed 18-hole championship course along with the 9-hole ‘PGA National’ Academy course.
The championship golf course was created by the Irish golf architect Patrick Merrigan and forms part of a magnificent 300-acre estate. Its layout cleverly wraps around the lakes and drumlins of the spectacular County Cavan landscape, creating a demanding Par-72 challenge in excess of 7,000 yards. The oft-generous fairways are augmented with large, tricky greens that are the course’s most challenging feature. The back nine offers some of the best holes in Ireland.
It is accompanied by a nine-hole Par-three academy course and an adventure golf facility to inspire the next generation of young players.
PGA National Ireland Slieve Russell has hosted two European Tour events and was also home to the Irish PGA Championship. In addition, the venue stages its annual PGA pro-am featuring a collective prize fund of €1.2million since it was first held in 1997 – the highest paid PGA pro-am tournament in Ireland.
Tony Walker, general manager at Slieve Russell Hotel, Golf & Country Club, said: “The golf and leisure facilities that we have at Slieve Russell are among the best in the country, and rebranding as PGA National Ireland will further enhance our position at the forefront of Irish golf.
“These are exciting times for us and this new partnership with not only help to improve our profile domestically but also to open up many new promotional opportunities abroad.”
All PGA-branded facilities benefit from the direct use of The PGA brand and its associated value built up over the last century. The affiliation serves as a highly valued international seal of approval and assures visitors and owners that the course and facilities are of the highest quality.
Slieve Russell Hotel, Golf & Country Club is also the home club of up-and-coming Irish golfing stars Lisa and Leona Maguire, both of whom turned professional in 2018 after stellar amateur careers that saw Leona twice ranked as the world’s number one amateur, and twin sister Lisa winning 15 amateur titles.
Complementing the golf course is a 222-bedroom, four-star hotel; an award-winning Ciuin Spa; and an outstanding golf academy where resident head PGA professional Gordon Smyth and his team are available with expert tuition, state-of-the-art video analysis and training programmes to help golfers of all abilities achieve their goals.
www.slieverussell.ie
Best of the West
It all begins with an idea.
Ballybunion’s address is Sandhill Road which comes as no great surprise. There is a grand assemblage of high sand dunes and sheltered, velvet valleys through which the course weaves.
It’s hard to believe but Ballybunion languished in relative obscurity for the first few decades of its existence before in the late 1930s, the Irish Open brought it to people’s attention. Now it’s on everyone’s bucket list with ex-President Clinton and so many top tour pros ranking it as one of the most enjoyable links courses in all of Ireland.
For many, Ballybunion is the epicentre of golf in Ireland. Ranked within the world's top 30, it is truly a spectacular experience.
You can pick whether you go to Doonbeg or Lahinch next. They’re equidistant from Adare Manor and two entirely different but incredible experiences. I haven’t played Doonbeg since Mr Trump took over some three years ago and in a pinch would probably opt for Lahinch. No, sorry, I’d definitely vote for Lahinch! But you should play them both! The last time I played Doonbeg, it was just going into receivership but I hear ‘The Donald’ has worked his magic on both the hotel and golf course and I fully intend to stay and play sometime very soon.
LAHINCH
But Lahinch? Now, this is one of my all-time, all-star favourites, an uncontrived, rolling testimony to natural linksland. It might not be to everyone’s taste, so simple are its characteristics and rustic its surrounds but somehow it all works in a cavalcade of exciting, oft eccentric challenges. The rough nature of the place only provides contrast to the silky greens and fairways. It can be frustrating on holes such as the 4th and 5th with their blind shots, the former Par 5 for its second shot and the latter from the tee on a blind Par 3. Goats wander freely usually munching in the rough and wild Atlantic weather often plays its part but this is one of my personal favourites in this part of the world.