Carlow Golf Club is situated amongst the beautiful green countryside in the South East of Ireland. The Championship Deerpark is an inland parkland course that was previously a wild deer park, it dates back to 1922 and is attached to the Bruen Estate.
The course has pretty much remained the same since it was designed by Cecil Barcroft, with some minor changes in 1937. This 18 hole course, is a par 70 and is 6,275 yards, so not overly long but, the lowly par makes playing to handicap a difficult challenge.
The old course has stood the test of time,
- it is well laid out and
- has a nice variety of holes and challenging par fours to keep it interesting.
- It is a scenic parkland course but plays as though it is a moorland course.
- The are is remarkably undulating and
- the ground feels pleasingly sandy and springy underfoot.
The course has lots to offer those that play here, it was designed with a number of water hazards but, these are balanced out with the other features of the course. The greens here are small but extraordinarily true and slick, there are plenty of dog-legs that play beautifully and the fairways are well manicured. There are elevated greens, but be aware the course includes numerous tricky and tightly positioned bunkers and mature trees and these can be an issue for some players. It is a course where some thought and consideration is required before playing your shot.
Owing to its unique, natural landscape the course stays dry all year round so it is a course that can be played throughout the year.
The club is home to Ireland’s oldest scratch cup, The Midland Scratch Cup.