Druids Glen Golf Resort, Newtownmountkennedy, Ireland

For a little touch of Augusta National and Muirfield Village, but delivered with a real Irish flair and within sight of the beautiful sea, visit the gorgeous Druids Glen Golf Club in County Wicklow. Host of many Irish Opens as well as the Seve Trophy, it is not at all a links course, but you will thank us for having you play it. It is superbly conditioned, and you can come no closer to being at Augusta National than the 12th and the 13th at Druids Glen, down in the glen for which the course is named. The 12th is a gorgeous par-3, downhill all the way, to a green nestled in the woods, fronted by lovely stream not at all unlike Rae’s Creek, the setting also reminiscent of the 12th at Muirfield Village. Called “St. Patrick,” it is named after a statue of the great saint located to the right of the green, on top of the remnants of an ancient Druids Altar, one of many distinctly Irish touches to be found around the course. The 13th, at 471 yards, is almost a mirror image of the 13th at Augusta, bending sharply right instead of left, surrounded by beautiful azalea-type flowers. Here, however, it is a par-4! Druids Glen is another of the great Irish courses designed by Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock, and you could not possibly be disappointed with a round here. But the fun does not end on the 18th green! The clubhouse is our favorite in Ireland, filled with portraits of Republican heroes like Michael Collins (it is obvious why Liam Neeson was chosen to play him!). There is no reason to seek out a pub after the round, as the “craic” in the bar is superb!