How much did Arnold Palmer design Tralee?

[Forrest Richardson]

Foulpointe is a confusing story. I should know. At present, with only six holes jogged from memory; I give it a 5 (of 6); or, 15 on the Richardson scale.

[Ed Morrissett]

Ran and I played there in 2000.  The two people in the pro shop were very adamant and actually somewhat proud that at that time Palmer had never set foot on Tralee.

[Sean_A]

Forrest

You have mentioned a few times about certain designers and companies influencing perceptions.  I don't play nearly enough top designer courses to worry about the architecture prestige factor.  Hell, when I bought the Confidential Guide in Hay on Wye for £8 I thought this was a bit pricey for a used book from a guy who doesn't even work in the field!  That was six years ago.  I had never heard of Doak, Coore & Crenshaw etc. etc.  

I like the idea of your scale.  Mine is somewhat similar being a max of  26.  I have not played a course that I gave a 20 yet.  15 is certainly top 25 material in the UK. I still spose I am waiting for that one course or two that will blow me away in every way.  It is out there, perhaps not yet built, but I am certain my best golfing experience is on the horizon.  

Ciao

Sean

[Forrest Richardson]

It would surprise me if Mr. Palmer had never been there...

A scale of 26!! Sounds interesting.

[Steve_Lemmon]

I also played Tralee last week, in driving rain and high wind, so maybe I couldn't see everything.  We much prefered the course to Waterville, mostly on the basis that the greens seemed to fit in better with the landscape.  The back nine doesn't seem to allow for as many run up shots as the first nine.  My personal view is that Dooks is a better course than either Waterville or Tralee, however.  

[Jason Tetterton]

I played Tralee and Waterville during the week of the Open.  I preferred Waterville to Tralee.  Don't get me wrong I enjoyed both and if in the area I would visit both.  The veiws and scenery were great at Tralee and not as good at Waterville...perhaps that allowed me to focus more on the course at Waterville.  

This is more question than anything else, But what is the difference between golf in Ireland and Scotland?  I felt that in Scotland the game was played more along the ground.  In Ireland with the grass being so green and lush it was more difficult, with the exception of Waterville and Portmarnock. I'd be very interested to hear what others think.

[Tony_Muldoon]

The Brother (well it is an Irish thread) emailed me this when he saw the thread.

When we played it about 7/8 years ago I spoke to the barman and he said that Palmer never actually came over to see the course during construction and hadn't even played the course. How much truth in this I don't know.

Seems like a popular 'myth' at the club.

[Steve_Lemmon]

Tralee has a photo display in the clubhouse labeled "A special day" which shows Palmer out at the course one day in 2001.  To me, that almost implied that he hadn't been there before, even though they named a room for him in the clubhouse.