"....a piece of heaven" - great words Tim - if there were such a listing as the Top-100 Golf Courses in Heaven then Dooks ought to be way up there on the list. It just ouse's charm.
To answer Eds query, as fans of remote, rural, rustic courses we hoped to play Ceann Sibeal and Castlegregory but unfortunately lack of time prevented us from doing so......so we slummed it instead by heading up the road and playing Tralee, Ballybunion Old and Ballybunion Cashen! It was little Dooks however, that won our award for charm. What a fabulous area, place and course.
Dooks would seem to pretty much have it all for quality member/amateur golf. Terrific terrain, a wondering routing, easy walking but still with elevation changes, appropriate length and degree of difficulty, sufficient width, lack of notably weak holes, interesting firm green complexes that are not too easy to hit and hold and provide a challenge to short-game and putting skills, soil characteristics and a maintenance regime that permits the playing of the ground game.........and then there's a location and scenery to die for.
While playing I took the opportunity to look out over not just the potentially golf desired Inch peninsula but also at the land immediately adjacent and to the north of the course itself and pondered about another 18-holes. Later I was told that the club acquired this area of land a few years ago. I wonder what the chances are?
Atb