Castle Golf Club

What The Club Says

Nestled at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, the club was originally established in part of the estate of Rathfarnham Castle. A firm of builders, Bailey & Gibson acquired the Castle and lands in 1912 with a view to developing a housing scheme with the golf club at its centre. The Castle was sold to the Jesuit Order, and the Club was established on 7th February 1913. Although Bailey & Gibson never fully developed their housing plans, and sold the club to the members in 1918, the Club is now completely surrounded by houses! Cecil Barcroft, W.C. Pickeman and Tom Hood (Professional at Royal Dublin Golf Club) designed the original layout of the Golf Course. In 1918/1919, Harry S. Colt, one of the foremost golf course designers of the time, updated the original design. His brief was to reconstruct the course ‘on the best modern lines’. Apart from minor Imagechanges over the years, the layout of the course remained largely unchanged until the latest programme to upgrade and redesign all our greens to USGA standard, commenced in 2000. The Course was originally a Par 74 layout, with a length (after Colt’s work) of 6,300 yards. Over the years, some of our Par 5’s became Par 4’s and the 10th hole was reduced from a Par 4 to a Par 3 in the mid ‘60s, reducing the course to its current Par of 70. The length of the course is largely unchanged to this day.