Trip to Ireland - Dooks Golf Club

[Michael J. Moss]

Headed with the lads to the emerald island. Day two is Tralee followed by Dooks. If I want to conserve my 50-year old legs for the rigors that follow, which of these should I pass on?

It would seem from the review here, in the "Courses by Country" section, that Tralee has many virtues (it looks spectacular) but "only a scorecard and pencil mentality could ruin the day's fun." In other words, it's difficult.

I know nothing of Dooks, but it's old (1899), short (6,000 yds.) and is from a kinder, gentler era.  

http://www.golfbreaks.com/golf/ireland/dooks/pictures.asp

Also, who designed Dooks?  

[Tom_Doak]

Tralee is a beautiful site, but a difficult walk if you're concerned about your legs.  You will get varying reviews of the golf ... some love it and some don't like it much.  There are a handful of spectacular holes, a couple of very severe ones, and some very plain inland holes too.

Dooks is short and quirky ... also beautiful for its long views down the Ring of Kerry and across to Inch Strand.  There are a couple of wild holes.  It is more natural in feel.

You should walk both of them if you're up to it.  If your handicap is less than 8 I'd say Tralee; over 8, it's Dooks.

[Bill Gayne]

If you want to save your legs definitely pass on Tralee. The walk on the back nine at Tralee is as difficult linksland to walk as anywhere. Tralee is spectacular in terms of setting. I really enjoy playing at Tralee although you will hear mixed comments about the course. Most of the mixed comments revolve around the back nine.

Dooks is a much more modest of a walk. It would be best described as quirky. The saucer green on 13. The way 17 or 18(?) plays between two dunes in front of the green. It's a fun short golf course. On my visit to Dooks the staff and my interaction with a couple of members was exceptionally warm and friendly. The setting at Dooks is pretty but not as "spectacular" as Tralee's because you don't get the same vistas.

[cary lichtenstein]

Dooks:

I didn't care for the course at all, and I never understood why whomever I was with put it on the agenda.

Suggest you get 5 hickory sticks and play with them at Dooks, perhaps if I did that I would have enjoyed it.

[Doug Wright]

Sorry Cary/Quassi, you and I just aren't on the same page.   But don't feel bad that's true of some others on this site (see, e.g., Ward, Matt) who aren't so much into QUIRK.

I think Dooks is simply the perfect "2d course of the day" for anyone. I played it about 10 years ago as the second round after a round at Waterville. We'd not heard much about Dooks and it was a blast--short, very easy to walk, pretty scenic, and tons of QUIRK. Yeah there are some blah holes but I've forgotten them due to holes like the unforgettable 13th and the 17th and 18th mentioned above. Plus the people at Dooks were as warm as any anywhere. The perfect ending to a great day of golf in Ireland. I'd return there in a second.

As to Tralee, overall it's clearly got the stronger golf holes and it's a hillier and much longer walk for sure. I enjoyed it--the holes along the coast are quite good, especially on hte back nine. The inland holes are weak. Is it a "must play?" I guess that depends on what else you're playing. I haven't played Old Head, but from what I've heard it resembles Tralee--scenic but the golf is OK not great. I'm not sure I'd return to Tralee unless it fit my schedule.

I think I'd be able to get my now 50+ year legs around both as Dooks really is an easy walk; however, I understand your reticence, especially if you are trying to keep something in the tank for later.

Just one man's QUIRKy opinion.

[Tim_Weiman]

Michael:

Dooks is one of the very best places in golf, an almost perfect example of a course - a place - that won't satisfy any "checklist" but has something better.

Go, meet, play and have dinner at the club with some local members.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Dooks is a local club with a local flavor.  You will see Husbands and wives and parents with children.  A warm welcome awaits any who play and stay to eat and drink.  nine holes of the course were designed by the members with one member assigned to design and build each hole.  It is odd, but it worked--to a point.  The golf is really only average.  Tralee has five or six apecial holes but the back nine is very hilly.  It is also a local club but has many visitors.  For golf --Tralee.  For fun and local flavor--Dooks.  For the legs--tough it out at Tralee.

[Forrest Richardson]

I loved Dooks — and, I loved Tralee. Palmer gets a wrap because many do not believe that that organization could accomplish a truly interesting course in Ireland. Nonsense. They did. It is very engaging and a terrific site. I thought a few holes weird, but then again, there needs to be some weird holes else we would not value those not so.

Especially troubling was the master plan of Dooks that sits in the club room. I hope Mr. Hawtree has this under control...I fear the loss of quirk.

[michael j fay]

At the risk of being lynched.

Don't miss Dooks, the view of the Ring of Kerry is breath-taking. The warmth of the members and the staff is an experience you will not forget.

Play Tralee, it is at best mediocre but a course on the list for Southwestern Ireland. Save your legs, the back side is an ordeal. Take a cart!

[Forrest Richardson]

Micheal certainly exaggerates when he places Tralee in "the middle" when it comes to Irish golf courses. It is much better than mediocre. If you took away the Palmer name and some of the club's American amenities, the crew here would love the place to death and find many of the course's oddities (even the hilly back holes) fun, different and — a favorite description, even entire posts about the word — quirky.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

They are both must plays.   You will end up with an opinion on both.  Tralee has tobe Palmer's best--the terrain is spectacular.  I found Dooks to be a super fun time--I shot lights out at Waterville and had more fun at Dooks.  People mention how hospitable the Irish clubs are to Americans--Dooks had the most pleasant people I met on the trip.  There is a great uphill par 3 that has backing mounds that mimic the mountains in the background.  I think it is a truely great hole.