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Irish golfing
The best of the west
By Elisabeth Ann O’Hearn Doehring Splash!
10 Tucked away along the famed and rugged Ring of Kerry lies the quiet coastal town of Waterville. Silent film star Charlie Chaplin made this hamlet his summer retreat. Links players, such as Club members Tiger Woods, Mark O’Meara, David Duvall, Ernie Els, and the late Payne Stewart have been drawn to the area for its famed links style of golf.
Not surprisingly, the two distinct symbols for Waterville are the Irish hare and wild salmon. Both are abundant along the 7,309 yard course as well as its accompanying and famed eighteenth century four-star estate, known as Waterville House.
W a t e r v i l l e (www.watervillegolflinks.ie) traces its golfing roots back to 1889. It was originally designed by Eddie Hackett and has been recently renovated by famed American architect Tom Fazio. It is situated along the waters of Ballinskelligs Bay and the Inny River. Ten greens keepers keep the course in meticulous condition.
World rankings seem to follow Waterville Links like the waters that rush along its banks year in and year out. Golf Monthly Magazine ranks Waterville in the Top Five of its revered list of the “Top 120 Golf Courses in the World.” Waterville’s eighteenth hole, known as “O’Grady’s Beach,” was named fifteenth by Golf World Magazine on its overall list of “The Dream 18”. Golf Digest has offered top listings for the property as well as Barron’s, which just recently rated it the top course in all of Ireland.
From the first shot off the tee, we were on the lookout for the famed Irish wild brown hare. We were not disappointed. Two fast movers dashed across our path on the back nine fairways. Both the hare and salmon are fitting symbols of the Waterville tradition.
Maneuvering the fairways and greens around Waterville is no easy task. While teeing off the box on the famed “O’Grady’s Beach” par-five 594-yard eighteenth, I watched the wild Atlantic waves spray the nearby beach. I pulled my final shot to the green, the ball becoming lodged in the upper lip of the most menacing trap guarding this final hole. Walking around the tall marram grass surrounding the dune, I set up my stance, and six shots and a sore arm later, I escaped to the green, only to manage a four putt on this final large undulating green.
After a round in the cold Irish winds, the warm turf fires of the clubhouse are a welcome sight. The all inclusive structure features locker facilities, a proshop, and an adjacent golf school. The hospitality at Waterville is generous. Members mingle with visitors over a fresh Irish seafood meal after a round.
In 1967 Noel Cronin began his career, working as a starter and caddy master, at Waterville. He took over the reins of the property in 1970. Under his careful eye, Waterville has prospered by leaps and bounds. Ireland, known for its hospitality in the phrase “Cead Mille Failte” (“a hundred thousand welcomes”) is personified by Noel Cronin.
Waterville House is a manor in every sense of the word. Accommodations are nothing short of luxurious. The manor house is managed by husband and wife team, Alan and Lucia McGuirk. Twelve lushly appointed rooms en suite, a cozy lounge that overlooks the Atlantic in the front and the famed Butlers Pool River to the side, as well as a full-service hot Irish breakfast fare make a stay at Waterville legendary.
Catching an eight-pound salmon in Butlers Pool is commonplace. Kevin O’Shea, third generation salmon fisherman, taught me the ropes on my last night at the manor house. I went home the next day with a handful of Kevin’s prized flies and one special antique, of which he instructed me, “this one is to go on your hat or vest—never fish with this one.”
American investor Jay Connelly heads up the Waterville Links Partnership. Pure and simple, Waterville is his passion. “To fulfill your passion is a life experience,” says Connelly.
Connelly has created a place of passion. It is the land of the wild salmon and the brown Irish hare and it is called Waterville.
Elisabeth Ann O’Hearn Doehring is an award-winning journalist and serves as a travel writer for “Splash! Magazine” and “Gulf Breeze News.”
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