Jack Nicklaus’ creation is parkland golf at its best; tranquil, beautiful and at times generously open, but with holes that are elegantly framed
Mount Juliet Golf Club Course Review
Top 100 Ranking 2021/22 – 88
Previous Rankings
2019/20 – 81
2017/18 – 77
2015/16 – 82
2013/14 – 83
2011/12 – 82
2009/10 – 71
Summer Green Fees
Round: €110wd, €145we
Visitor Times: Every day subject to availability
Medal Tee – Par 72 – 6,554 Yards
Website: www.mountjuliet.ie
Changes since previous ranking
Unable to carry out any major changes due to it being a Jack Nicklaus Signature Design Course.
Mount Juliet Golf Club Course Review
The magnificent course that the Golden Bear built on the Mount Juliet Estate in quiet County Kilkenny during Ireland’s 1990s top-end course-building frenzy is 30 years old this year.
The course has matured beautifully over three decades
Related: Top 100 Courses UK and Ireland
It provides a truly majestic setting for the game and has matured extremely well over the course of three decades. Tranquil, beautiful and at times generously open, but with holes that are beautifully framed, this really is one of Ireland’s – and indeed the UK&I’s – very best modern parkland layouts.
Many professional events have visited Mount Juliet, including the Irish Open three times in the 1990s and the WGC–American Express Championship twice, with Tiger and Ernie the victors. The Irish Open returns in 2021 for the first time in 26 years.
Water to the fore
Magnificent beech trees and oak line the perfectly manicured fairways, and as is so often the case at a Nicklaus course, water is a regular feature and, indeed, challenge.
Water features often as here on the 13th
Yet despite its tree-lined nature, there is also a great feeling of space at Mount Juliet where the course occupies part of a vast 500-acre estate.
Standout holes include the short 3rd, which is protected by both a natural stream and a lake, the long 10th, where a copse of trees gives golfers two distinct choices for their route to the green, and the 16th, where the unusual walled green is almost entirely encircled by sand.
Mount Juliet is one of Ireland’s finest parkland courses
The closing pair bring water to the fore once more, especially if your miss is left, as the 17th and 18th – a sizable par 5 and more-than-sizable par 4 respectively – play either side of the same large lake.
Many fine parkland courses were created in Ireland shortly before and during the time of the Celtic Tiger boom, but few can rival Mount Juliet for both setting and strength of test.
Assessor Feedback
A wonderful, secluded experience in the best of Ireland’s countryside. The best course in the area and among the best parkland courses in the country.
Mature trees along the edges of fairways (and sometimes in the middle, as on the 10th) give the course a feeling of age beyond its 30 years. It also affords golfers an absence of distractions from other holes as one meanders through the beautifully landscaped routing.
GM Verdict
Jack Nicklaus’ creation is parkland golf at its best; tranquil, beautiful and at times generously open, but with holes that are elegantly framed.