Knockanally Golf Club
We played this on the last day of our Bank Holiday weekend trip. The night before it looked like the poor weather was going to continue but we got round the course mainly dry and there were some good sunny spells, during which took a few photos.
Knockanally’s biggest claim to fame is the fact that its clubhouse is a 19th century Palladian mansion formerly owned by the Coates family. The changing facilities, located in the basement, looked quite new. There were two changing rooms and they both had very grand looking fireplaces in them. Not sure if they are in working order but how fantastic would it be in the winter if they were! There were a few slightly risqué murals dotted around of naked golfers with strategically placed clubs and foliage which spiced things up and added to the character of the place.
The main house, which is home to the main bar area along with the ladies’ changing facilities, committee rooms and so on, was a much grander affair. There was a colourful original/restored ceiling in the bar and the wood panelling the entrance hall looked as though it was missing stag heads or some other gentry trophies. We got talking with the bar man who explained that the house was next to ruin when the club bought it in (I think he said) 1985. Inside looks great but the outside (whilst probably still immeasurably better than before) still looks a little on the shabby side. I guess they can’t do much with it, planning laws being what they are.
Knockanally has one of the most difficult opening par 4s in Ireland, so it is said. It’s a slight dog leg left. There are trees down the left and out of bounds all the way to the green on the right. The green is very well protected by trees and a ditch and its left side and the boundary hedge and a bunker at its right edge. It makes for a very narrow entrance to the green. Not sure if I would call it the most difficult, but the elements are there and it is very testing.
The opening nine holes weren’t particularly memorable. It wasn’t until the 10th, which has you teeing off in front of the house, that we felt the course got interesting. There are some nice water features, particularly at the par 3 11th (where, bizarrely, there is a sign warning you about alligators!), and the 18th is a lovely looking finishing hole right to the very front of the clubhouse.
The greens were once again in very good condition. They were difficult to land on (which says more about our standard of golf than anything else) and very fast.
Thomas says:
My golf was very, very bad today. I thought I was on to something when I managed to par the first hole (see above about the difficulty!) but thereafter it was a sharp decline, taking an 8 at a par 3!! Another 8 and even a 9 followed soon after so I thought I better just admire the scenery. Trouble was, there wasn’t much to admire until the turn. I was disappointed with the first 9 holes – though maybe it just was my bad golf and the grey weather! The back 9 were much more interesting; the 12th is a picturesque hole back up to the clubhouse with a large mature tree in the middle of the fairways close to the green and the 14th runs alongside a small river and has a pond on the left near the green.
On the whole, though, this is possibly my least favourite of the 5 courses we played on this trip.
Clive says:
I always like it when a golf course uses one of the old gentry estates – it makes sense and the house at Knockanally looks the part. I thought that the second nine holes were more challenging and the 14th was a great hole – not too long but with hazards everywhere, including a rather sneaky and hidden pond close to the green on the left side. Thomas’ drive just managed to fall into the water. I liked it probably because I had a par 4! The par three 11th is a delight – with all the ducks and waterhens watching lots of golf balls falling into the yawning pond in front of the green – where my ball ended up!!
We played this course on our own. We much enjoy meeting up with locals but, now that we are finding it more difficult to get open competitions at courses we haven’t played, this means no company.
I would give this course, with its Paladian clubhouse, a seven out of ten. And for those who want to tackle other courses in the area there are plenty, including Highfield with its first tee on the roof and its wooden clubhouse and Kilcock, a very pleasant and more established track just a few miles away. You’ll enjoy golf in north Kildare.
