Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock's championship parkland at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains — a four-time Irish Open host that still rewards a thinker's game thirty years after opening.
Booking is operated by the resort. GolfNow lists Druids Glen for last-minute tee times in season.
On-site 5-star resort — golf packages include both courses.
Check availability →Heathland · 18 holes · Same resort, different character.
View course →6km coastal cliff path — one of Wicklow's most iconic walks.
Find out more →Druids Glen opened in 1995 on what had been the Woodstock Estate, a sixteenth-century demesne tucked into a deep glen south of Newtownmountkennedy. Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock used the natural fall of the land — the same valley the resort takes its name from — to plot a parkland routing that feels older than it is. The greens were rebuilt to USGA specification in recent years and the drainage upgraded, so the course holds up well when the rest of Leinster is squelching underfoot.
The first few holes ease you in along the high ground before the round tips down into the glen for the middle stretch. Holes 12 through 14 — the so-called "Amen Corner" — sit in the bowl of the valley, with a granite Celtic cross set into the bank behind the 12th green and a stream that decides more outcomes than most players would like to admit. The 13th is the postcard hole: a downhill par 3 over the water to a green guarded by trees on three sides. By the time you climb back to the par-3 17th, a 200-yard carry to a peninsular green, you'll know whether your card has survived. The closing par 4 doesn't let up either, asking for two crisp shots across water to a green in front of the clubhouse.
It is a thinker's parkland, not a bombers' track. The fairways are generous off the tee on most holes, but the second shot — angle in, club selection, where to miss — is what separates good rounds from disasters. Green speeds are kept honest year-round; in summer they get genuinely quick. If you have the choice, play it midweek and from a sensible tee.
| Season | Weekday | Weekend | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak (May – Sep) | €210 | €240 | Tee times via resort or GolfNow |
| Shoulder (Mar – Apr, Oct) | €150 | €180 | Indicative — confirm at booking |
| Winter (Nov – Feb) | €95 | €120 | Subject to course conditions |
| Open / society events | From €120 | Group rates for 8+ | |
Rates compiled from the resort site, GolfNow listings and partner reservation channels. Always confirm the live rate when you book — the published guide changes between seasons.
| Tee | Par | Yards | SSS | Played by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship (Black) | 72 | 7,222 | 75 | Tournament / scratch |
| Blue | 71 | 7,046 | 74 | Low single-digit |
| White | 71 | 6,560 | 73 | Club men |
| Green | 72 | 6,195 | 72 | Mid handicap |
| Red | 73 | 5,541 | 73 | Forward / juniors |
A long par 4 in the floor of the glen with a granite Celtic cross set into the bank behind the green. A burn crosses the fairway and the second shot is played over water — the most photographed hole on the course.
Downhill par 3 over the same stream that defines the 12th. Trees on three sides of the green make club selection a coin toss when the wind swirls in the valley.
A long carry over water to a near-island green — the hole that has decided the most Irish Opens. Bail out short and the up-and-down is brutal.
A genuine three-shot finish for the average player: drive into a narrowing fairway, an approach over water, and a green that runs away towards the clubhouse.
Druids Glen hosted the Murphy's Irish Open four times in succession from 1996 to 1999 — Colin Montgomerie won in 1996 and 1997, David Carter took the 1998 title, and a 19-year-old Sergio García picked up his first European Tour victory here in 1999. The course also hosted the inaugural Seve Trophy in 2000, when Seve Ballesteros's Continental Europe side narrowly lost to Colin Montgomerie's Great Britain & Ireland.
The resort was named European Golf Course of the Year in 2000 and European Golf Resort of the Year in 2005, and the championship course continues to feature in Top 100 lists for the UK and Ireland.
Yes. Druids Glen is a resort course rather than a members' club, so visitor tee times are available every day. Book online via the resort site or GolfNow, or call the reservations team on +353 1 287 0814.
Both courses sit on the same Newtownmountkennedy estate but play very differently. Druids Glen is a manicured parkland in the bowl of the valley; Druids Heath is an exposed heathland-style routing on the higher ground with longer carries and wider fairways. Many resort visitors play one of each over a two-day break — see our Stay & Play page.
Smart casual on the course and in the clubhouse. Tailored shorts and golf trousers are fine; no denim, no athletic shorts, and shirts must have a collar. Soft spikes only.
An official handicap is recommended but not strictly required for visitor play. The starter may ask new players to demonstrate a reasonable standard before going off.
About 35 minutes from the M50 / Dublin city limits via the N11 — junction 14. From Dublin Airport allow 45–50 minutes.
Druids Glen's exposed, wide-fairway sibling on the higher ground above the glen.
Mountain-framed parkland 15 minutes north on the N11 — a classic pairing for a two-round visit.
An old members' parkland with serious elevation change, ten minutes north along the N11.