Tralee Golf Club Course Review

Nov 27, 2018

Tralee Golf Club Course Review - Designed by Arnold Palmer, Tralee is a spectacular course that hugs its Atlantic coastline

Tralee Golf Club Course Review

Green Fee Range: €160-€230

Medal Tee: Par 72 – 6,948 Yards

Visitor Times: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – 7:30-14:30, Wednesday (only May and September) – 7:30-10:30, Saturday – 10.30-12.50

Website: www.traleegolfclub.com

Tralee Golf Club Course Review

Arnold Palmer’s first European course design blends a more understated front nine with a back nine of unrelenting magnificence. The fearsome par-4 12th and spectacular par-3 13th across a deep chasm rank among the highlights.

Related: Top 100 Courses UK and Ireland

An aerial view of the par 3, 3rd hole at Tralee Golf Club (Getty Images)

Tralee’s rise to worldwide fame is testament to what can be achieved if you dream big. Until 1984, it played over a modest nine-holer north-west of the Kerry town; since 1984 it has played over a stunning layout above the beach at West Barrow eight miles away.

That the new course was Arnold Palmer’s first European design was the icing on the cake, though Palmer was quick to credit the Almighty with the back-nine handiwork.

He’s right, it is a truly divine stretch which will have you torn between disbelief, amazement and sheer unbridled joy.

The back nine is the more dramatic overall, although the 2nd and 3rd ensure it doesn’t have it all its own way – first an awe-inspiring 600-yarder doglegging round the cliffs, then a daunting par 3 on the very edge of the rocky shoreline.

But the homeward stretch gets in among the tallest dunes, with the 12th and 13th playing lead to an all-star cast.

The fearsome 12th demands unerring precision along its entire length, while the par 3 that follows bridges a vast, lush chasm that should encourage you to club up!

By the time you make the final turn for home on the modest par-5 finale, your game may well have run aground if the breeze gets up.

But you will have enjoyed every minute, and won’t be the first to suffer such a fate, for many a ship has gone down along this coast, including one from the Spanish Armada in 1588.

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