*Woodstock golf course.
This week’s article from Pádraig McGarth from P&M Golf Superstore, delves into the beauty of the Woodstock golf course in Ennis.
I’ve been extremely lucky to have had the pleasure of playing Woodstock Golf Club a lot throughout my younger years as an amateur golfer. In my opinion Woodstock has some of the strongest golf holes in the county, along with one of the toughest opening holes in the country. The first hole at Woodstock is a sharp right to left dogleg and is possibly one of the tightest opening tee shots I’ve ever had to play in recent years. Any tee shot that isn’t struck with confidence down the centre of this fairway will be blocked out and punished by the hundreds of lush trees that surround this tight narrow fairway. This opening hole plays just over four hundred yards long, however any tee shot that is hit beyond two hundred and twenty yards needs to have a right to left shape, otherwise your ball will run out of fairway and find the rain forest that runs all the way up the right-hand side of this extremely challenging opening hole. Since the trees have matured in recent years, this hole is now all about finding the middle of the fairway and choosing a club that won’t go beyond two hundred and twenty yards. If you are lucky enough to hit this fairway you are still faced with a second shot just under two hundred yards to a long but narrow green that is surrounded by bunkers to the right-hand side and a dense forest that completely surrounds the back of the green. This hole surely is one of Ireland’s toughest opening holes I’ve seen to date. I can only imagine how many stroke play scorecards have been destroyed before the player has reached the second tee box.
Woodstock, based on the Shanaway Road just off the Lahinch Road on the outskirts of Ennis Town, was founded in 1988 and was designed by the late Dr. Arthur Spring. Arthur, a very well-known amateur golfer throughout his life and even into his senior career, was also one of Ireland’s well renowned golf course designers. Arthur’s describes Woodstock beautifully:
“I knew on my first visit to Woodstock that we had an outstanding site on our hands,
many natural holes on the land certainly encouraged the layout of a golf course.
Woodstock will quickly become a magnificent test of skill and shot making for players of all handicaps.
The exciting features of the site including the gentle rolling landscape, the river, the lakes
and the splendid scenery will give pleasure to golfers throughout the twelve months of the year”.
I fully echo Arthur’s description of Woodstock and the stunning landscape that surrounds the course, especially as you reach the 7th hole index 1, the toughest hole on the course and the beginning of Woodstock’s very own Amen Corner. The seventh tee box is situated on a high elevated hilltop looking down to an island fairway that is situated well below the tee and is located beyond the vast lake that runs the full length of this 430-yard Par 4 to the green fronts edge. A player is faced here with a very clever risk and reward tee shot to a wide island fairway, however if you take the easy route towards the right half of this fairway, you will be left with a much longer difficult second shot which is also all over water until you reach the front of the green. The key is to be brave with the tee shot and try to aim at the tree in the left half of the fairway or even to the left of this tree if you can hit the ball 250 yards or longer from your drive. This line is not for the faint hearted, however if you manage to reach the left side of this fairway it will allow you to get home with a mid-iron, which makes the second shot a lot easier as it’s all carry over water to this green. Any approach shot that comes up short will find a watery grave. Even if you do hit two of your career best shots into this green it is a severely sloping two tiered green so two putting is not an easy task, hence why the 7th at Woodstock in my opinion is definitely worthy of their signature hole and is one of Ireland’s best golf holes by far.
Following the 7th hole is another incredibly strong Par 3 the 8th which plays a monstrous 196 yards from the back tee to an island green mainly surrounded by water, with only a tiny bail out to the right-hand side of the green. Not only is it a long difficult carry over water to a slightly raised green, but the swirling winds here from the lake often play havoc adding to the huge difficulty of this 8th hole. I love nothing more than the challenge of teeing up a ball on this tee as it can be anything from a 6 iron to a 2 iron depending on the conditions or the wind direction. This hole will swallow up anything that isn’t a perfectly hit golf shot so you’ve got to commit fully and it takes a lot of skill to leave yourself a birdie putt on this also difficult two-tiered green that’s predominantly surrounded by a watery grave.
Not only has Woodstock got some of the strongest holes around the country today, it has so much potential to become one of the great Championship courses around. There is so much ground to move tee boxes and change layouts of holes I can see nothing but a bright future for Woodstock ahead. With some investment it would be a major contender to get inside Irelands top 100 list of golf courses for sure.
Woodstock owned and developed by the character and legend himself Christy Guerin and his wonderful family have worked tirelessly to this day to keep the dream of Woodstock alive. Christy and his wife Sheelagh’s vision to turn the farmland at Shananway into the golf course we see today took incredible courage and vision. It’s great to see their daughters involved to this day in keeping their dream alive. But these dreams are nothing without the dedicated work that comes from Ann Marie Russell in the golf shop and the endless hours she covers daily to keep this course open to both members and the public. She always has a warm welcome for everyone and she has done so much for Woodstock golf club throughout the years since the early days. A special mention has to go out to the green keepers at Woodstock now and throughout the past four decades who have also played a huge role in having Woodstock held to such a high standard in the challenging ever changing Irish climate we face daily.
A huge bonus to Woodstock Golf Club is Hotel Woodstock which is definitely one of County Clare’s finest hotels and is located on site between the clubhouse and the first tee. This family run hotel is co-owned and operated by the well-known social media stars, proprietors Sean and Elaine Lally who run an incredible business. I’ve been blown away by the rooms, the food and the atmosphere every time I’ve stayed or visited Hotel Woodstock after a round. The rooms are finished to a very high standard and the carvery roast of the day especially on a Sunday is worth the long drive from anywhere around the county.
The only negative I can mention about Woodstock from a businessman’s point of view is I honestly feel they along with many other golf clubs, under sell their course. For the price of an average dinner nowadays, you can have over four hours of endless challenges and fun around this incredible golf course. I’d love to see them increase their fees and then use the profits to polish Woodstock into the hidden diamond it truly is.
