Lout
h
ford
EAST COAST
Lo
ng Meath
& MIDLANDS
Westmeath
Offaly Kildare
Laois
Wicklow
Ireland
The East Coast & Midlands region of
Ireland stretches from the magnifi cent
golden beaches of the East Coast to
the majestic Shannon in the Midlands.
I
t offers visitors an incredible
range of experiences. There are
over 100 golf clubs here, all
with their own special something
that makes them stand out. The area
surrounds Dublin – making it one of the most easily
accessible areas in Ireland to play golf. Some of
golf’s greatest architects have made their mark here
with quality Links and Parklands courses and an
abundance of affordable ‘Hidden Gems’.
As previously mentioned 2011 will see Ireland
host The Solheim Cup. It will take place at the Jack
Nicklaus designed course and venue of Killeen
Castle, Co. Meath from 23rd to 25th September 2011.
This international event will feature 12 of the top
European born players and 12 top American born
players. Played over three days, the Solheim Cup
consists of 28 matches – eight foursome matches,
eight four-ball matches and 12 singles matches
played on the fi nal day. The event promises to be
one of the main highlights of the 2011 golfi ng
calendar and not to be missed.
But this is a region well used to hosting big
championships. In 2006 perhaps the biggest of
them all – The Ryder Cup – was played at The
K Club on the Palmer course. The K Club had for
many years been the venue for the Smurfi t Kappa
European Open. Meanwhile the prestigious Irish
Open has taken place at Druids Glen Golf Club in
Co. Wicklow in 1995 and 1999 and at Carton House
in Co. Kildare in 2005 and again in 2006. And of
course all Irish eyes were smiling at the Co. Louth
Golf Club at Baltray, Co. Louth in 2009 when, Shane
Lowry took the trophy. The then amateur golfer saw
off formidable professional challengers to win the
May event, following on in the footsteps of another
home favourite, Padraig Harrington who won the
event in 2007.
The golf courses in this region offer the enthusiast
the chance to either play at your own pace and
choosing, or participate in some of the events taking
place in 2010. The Laois International Golf Challenge
in May, 2010 is open to all golfers.
The stage is set: Killeen Castle,
venue for the 2011 Solheim Cup
PG32-57 East Coast Section.indd 33 12/15/09 11:23:04 AM
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