Fota Island Golf Club

Fota Island Resort, Carrigtohill,

nr Cork, Co. Cork

  • Office

    +353 (0)21 488 3700
  • Pro shop

    +353 (0)21 488 3710
  • Fax

    +353 (0)21 488 3713
  • Golf pro

    Ronan Collins (PGA Professional).
  • Academy

    The Fota Island Golf Academy

About the course

  • The Course:

    27 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb.

  • Surroundings:

    Woodland, rural countryside and waterside.

  • Designer:

    Original Deerpark course designed by Christy O'Connor Jr & Peter McEvoy; modified by Jeff Howes (1999). Howes also designed Fota Island's nine new holes (2006).

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Yards
7121
6100
5509
Par
71
71
72
SSS or slope
73
69
72

At the same location:

Above distances are for the original Deerpark course. At Fota Island you can also play: the Barryscourt course (par-73; Deerpark front-nine + New-nine; 7362 yards from back-tees) and the Belvelly course (par-72; Deerpark back-nine + New-nine; 7121 yards).

Location

Latitude:

51.898733

Longitude:

-8.290954

How to get there:

12 km E of Cork

Leave the N25 Cork-Waterford road, to the east of Cork, at the R624 exit. Follow the R624 direction Cobh / Fota Island golf. After 330 metres golf is on your right.

Fota Island Golf Club

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.

Est. 1993

Fota Island Golf Club: Located just a few miles from the historic city of Cork, and opening for play in 1993, Fota Island's Deerpark course has frequently been rated one of Ireland's best parkland layouts. It has also been the host venue for Irish Open Championships and the Irish Senior Open.

Always well maintained, the layout contains many excellent and testing golf holes, not least the risk-reward par-5 18th, which reaches down to a small green surrounded on three sides by water. The Deerpark's enjoyably testing character comes from its pleasantly undulating terrain, attractive pockets of woodland, and thick clinging grass beyond the fairways. An abundance of stylish bunkering also adds to the defences, especially around the greens. The putting surfaces here are reputed to be among the slickest and truest you'll find in southwest of Ireland.

A few holes scenically border Lough Mahon, although most make good use of the mature parkland that surrounds Fota House (a stately home not seen from the course). Perhaps the most testing stretch of holes is from the short par-5 10th through to the par-4 14th, where small lakes and ponds are constantly threatening.

In 1999 Jeff Howes substantially upgraded the original Deerpark course. He returned in 2006 to add nine new holes, to create what is now Fota Island's 27-hole layout. When the New-nine is combined with the Deerpark front-nine, the resulting combination is called the Barryscourt course. The New-nine in combination with the Deerpark back-nine is known as the Belvelly course.

Stay&Play at Fota Island: luxury onsite accommodation available, see Where2Stay section below.

List of courses: Ireland - West

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.

Must book in advance. Handicap required.

Green fees

Visitor fee, 18-holes on the Deerpark, Belvelly and Barryscourt combinations in high season (April thru' Oct): €120 (all days).

Contact club for full details, discounts, Stay&Play packages, etc. [Last updated: 2023].

Other information

Soft spikes only. Players generally walk this course. Golf carts available for hire.

Practice facilities

Good

Did you know?

It is often contended that Fota Island is the site of the second oldest golf course in Ireland, with its opening reported in 1883. However, the old links fell into disrepair shortly after World War One and was subsequently abandoned.

In 1993 a new resort-style course was developed at Fota Island and designed by Christy O'Connor Jr and Peter McEvoy. The course hosted several important tournaments, not least the Irish PGA Championship and three Irish Amateur Opens. Under the direction of Jeff Howes the course was significantly upgraded in 1998/99, later going on to host the Irish Open Championship in 2001 and 2002 (see our Tournaments section >by venue >Fota Island). Jeff Howes returned to add nine new holes at Fota Island in 2006.

Published ranking

Ireland's 52nd best course (Golf World, 2023).

Where2Stay

  • Fota Island Hotel & Luxury Spa4-star

    Fota Island, Cork, Co. Cork

    +353 (0)21 488 3700

    Visit website

    One of Ireland's newest luxury resort destinations, the Fota Island Hotel & Luxury Spa is tucked amid gorgeous scenery, just north of the large island of Cobh and 20 minutes away from Cork International Airport. Each of the 131 guest rooms and suites are elegantly appointed, many affording panoramic views over the woodlands or the golf course.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      Fota Island

    • Golf within 10 km:

      Cork

    • Golf within 30 km:

      No

  • Watersedge Hotel3-star

    Yatch Club Quay, Cobh, nr Cork, Co. Cork

    +353 (0)21 481 5566

    Visit website

    The WatersEdge Hotel is a family run boutique hotel nestled in the heart of the historic town of Cobh, formally known as Queenstown in the lower Cork harbour area.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 10 km:

      Fota Island

    • Golf within 30 km:

      Cork

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

Ryder Cup: Rome plays host to the first ever Ryder Cup to be staged in Italy, with the USA defending golf’s greatest team trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Solheim Cup: also in September, also in southern Europe, the 18th Solheim Cup will be contested at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol, with Europe defending after their surprise win in Toledo, Inverness Club (Ohio) in 2021 (Sept 22-24). 

Who's Who

Céline Boutier: with many successes as both an amateur and professional golfer, Boutier added a major championship title to her impressive résumé at this year’s Evian Championship.

Alex Cejka: buffeted by rain and high winds, especially on the high-scoring final day, Čejka prevailed over Pádraig Harrington in a playoff at Royal Porthcawl, to scoop the Senior Open Championship title.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

WINSTONgolf - Links course

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)