Ballykilmurray,
Tullamore, Co. Offaly
Office
+353 (0)57 935 5999Pro shop
+353 (0)57 935 5999Fax
+353 (0)57 935 5021Website
Visit websiteThe Course:
18 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Undulating terrain - several slopes to climb.
Surroundings:
Rural countryside.
Designer:
Christy O'Connor Jr.
53.295362
-7.563979
35 km SE of Athlone
From Tullamore in Co. Offaly, follow the N80 direction Clara and Moate. After approx 5 km turn left off the N80 and follow direction Esker Hills.
Esker Hills Golf Club: It must have been difficult to envisage the creation of a championship golf course amongst this tightly folding and somewhat hilly terrain. However, that didn't deter Christy O'Connor Jnr from designing a thoroughly absorbing, challenging and highly enjoyable layout.
Every hole at Esker Hills, home club of Open Champion Shane Lowry, has its unique contours and challenges. Sometimes a blind drive or approach shot is required, at other times water hazards try to get into the act. Whether meandering uphill or down dale, along tree-lined fairways or into more open spaces, O'Connor continually keeps the interest of the golfer in mind, testing your overall game, but fairly so.
The greens are generally large and sloping, with good quality bunkering offering additional defence. If you choose to walk the course you'll certainly have burnt off some calories by the closing stretch, but you'll also have the opportunity to reflect on a wonderfully scenic, always probing and delightful layout here in the midlands of Ireland.
Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.
Must book in advance. Handicap required.
Credit cards accepted. Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2019].
Soft spikes only. Players generally walk this course. Golf carts available for hire (if pre-booked).
Good
Esker Hills is home to European Tour professional and Open Championship winner Shane Lowry. Shane had a glittering amateur career at Esker Hills, which culiminated in 2009 when he became the first amateur golfer ever to win the Irish Open championship. In 2019, as a professional, he went one better and became one of the select band of Irish golfers to lift the Claret Jug as the (British) Open Champion.
Sculpted by natural forces at the end of the last Ice Age (10,000 years ago), County Offaly's narrow ridges of sand and gravel now form the Esker Riada and provide Esker Hills golf course with its contouring. Research has shown that a nine-hole golf course existed for a number of years from 1885 adjacent to the present 16th tee. The revival of golf in this natural location was the brainchild of the Molloy and O'Brien families who own these lands.
Nearby Tullamore is home of the world famous Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey.
Ireland: 91st best course in Ireland (Golf World, 2019).
Tullamore, Co. Offaly
+353 (0)57 934 6666
Visit websiteLocated on the outskirts of Tullamore, Co Offaly, the Tullamore Court Hotel is an ideal central Ireland location, just over 60 minutes to Dublin, Galway and 75 minutes from Limerick. A short 5-minute walk from Tullamore train station, the hotel offers luxury accommodation, highly acclaimed food and extensive leisure facilities, which includes a 20-metre swimming pool.
No
Esker Hills
New Forest; Mount Temple; Tullamore (not yet covered by Where2Golf).
Tullamore, Co. Offaly
+353 (0)57 932 2000
Visit websiteTullamore is located in the heart of Ireland, 90 minutes from Dublin. Two championship golf courses (Esker Hills and Tullamore) are within a short drive of the Bridge House Hotel.
No
Esker Hills
New Forest; Mount Temple; Tullamore (not yet covered by Where2Golf).
FedEx Cup playoffs: the PGA Tour’s season finale starts in Memphis (TPC Southwind; Aug 11-14) and culminates in Atlanta (East Lake; Aug 25-28) … for the winner, the biggest prize in world golf … $18 million.
British Women’s Open: the year’s final women’s major championship heads for mighty Muirfield in East Lothian, Scotland, with Anna Nordqvist defending (Aug 4-7).
Anna Nordqvist: major championships aside, Solheim Cup stalwart Nordqvist notched up her first official Ladies European Tour win at the 2022 Ladies Dutch Open (aka Big Green Egg Open).
Cameron Smith: the Aussie PGA Tour player shot a blistering final round 64 to record his first major championship win at the home of golf in the 150th Open Championship.
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.
Golf Son Gual is home to a course frequently rated the No.1 layout on the holiday island of Mallorca. Opening for play in 2007, this Thomas Himmel design combines the openness of a links-style layout with the stylish bunkering and not infrequent water hazards more typically associated with parkland courses.
Son Gual is located just a few kilometres from Palma (Mallorca). Palma's Old City shows clear influences from the city's Arab past.
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.
