Druids Glen Course Review, Tee Times and Key Info

Druids Glen Key Information

Druids Glen

Druids Glen took a brief rest away from the Golf Monthly Top 100 last time round while it was treated to a comprehensive upgrade and so was closed for most of the review period. One of the most beautiful inland courses I have played, it is now back with a bang!

Journalist-turned-golf course designer, Pat Ruddy, is perhaps best-known for his creation of and enhancements to a great number of Ireland’s spectacular modern links such as his very own European Club. But this County Wicklow course he created alongside Tom Craddock is one of the country’s very finest parkland courses, packed with challenging holes and great visual beauty.

Just a couple of miles from the coast, Druids Glen is a lush golfing oasis, complete with majestic tree-lined fairways, many thought-provoking water features, and considerably more than a splash of colour at the right time of year. It is unquestionably one of the best golf courses in Ireland.

Four Irish Opens have been played here since it opened in 1995, and it also staged the Seve Trophy in 2002. It is a layout ingeniously designed to test every facet of your game.

Consecutive holes dogleg the opposite way twice during the front nine, therefore favouring neither the fader nor the drawer. There is also water to consider on no fewer than eight of the eleven closing holes, often very dramatically.

The 8th and 12th - the latter with its famous floral Celtic cross - are both mid-length par 3s where water will be very much on your mind on the tee. Then there’s the mighty par-4 13th, one of the very toughest two-shotters you might ever face. Teeing off from way up high near the hotel, you drive down to a fairway set between a stream on the right and trees on the left. Even if you find it, you’ll still face a daunting long approach over water to a narrow green. It scared me, but I still loved it!

For good measure, there’s then a Sawgrass-style island-green at the 17th with more water defining the glorious closing hole, a super-tough par 4 that weaves its way up towards the clubhouse with a final approach over gently cascading waterfalls. The panellists who have seen the improvements were all impressed, and I very much hope to see them for myself before too long.

What's new for 2025/26? What our panellists said...

Tim Browne

This is a really lovely place to come and play golf. The fabulous mature parkland setting combined with a very challenging, but very playable, golf course all adds up to a treat.

Rob Fear

This is now one very special parkland venue. Originally booked for four Irish Opens even before Pat Ruddy had built it, the latest reincarnation, after a 16 month closure, has surely fulfilled its earlier promise. An inspiring venue and my favourite holes included the new fourth, to a green which juts out into a pond, and the beautiful par 3s.

Shane Santry

The course has been recently renovated. Layout wise, there are minimal changes, excepting number four which has a relocated green shouldered by a new reduced level pond. The conditioning has been vastly improved and there are new greens to 4, 9, 10, 14 and 18.

Druids Glen Location

Druids Glen scorecard

Best Courses Close to Druids Glen

THE EUROPEAN CLUB

A fine modern links where glorious sea views and distinctive sleepered bunkers abound, and where the emphasis is very much on fun, despite the course being more than capable of testing the very best, as it did when hosting the Irish PGA Championship for three years from 2007. The long and testing 7th, flanked by reeds and imposing dunes, has achieved worldwide renown and takes you down to a run of five memorable holes set along or close to the beach.

POWERSCOURT
There are two 18-hole courses here (East and West) and the biggest challenge is which one to play first. The West wastes no time in getting you onto the hillside that is home to this David McLay Kidd design. It gives every hole so much shape. Play the East, too, and enjoy 36 of the best greens anywhere plus great views of the Sugar Loaf Mountain from across the estate.

Best Places To Stay Close to Druids Glen

Druids Glen Hotel and Golf Resort - Book now via the Resort

Simply the most obvious and perfect base for a golfing visit to the area with its excellent accommodation, its rooms overlooking the course or the Wicklow mountains, its spa and comprehensive leisure facilities.

Glenview Hotel & Leisure Club - Book now at Booking.com

With stunning panoramic views and a beautiful, peaceful setting, this 4-star hotel offers superb leisure and relaxation facilities. There are 70 elegant and individually designed rooms, along with the Conservatory Bar, an award-winning leisure club and the Woodlands Restaurant which holds an AA Rosette award.

Druids Glen Course Gallery

Image 1 of 5

Historical Top 100 Rankings UK&I

• 2025/26 - 88
• 2023/24 - N100
• 2021/22 - 82
• 2019/20 - 77
• 2017/18 - 73
• 2015/16 - 76
• 2013/14 - 71
• 2011/12 - 68

Frequently Asked Questions