The Royal Dublin Golf Club, founded in 1885, is Ireland's third oldest golf club. It is a private members' club, with an 18-hole links course on

Bull Island Bull Island (), more properly North Bull Island (), is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore off Clontarf, Dublin, Clontarf (including Dollymount), Raheny, Kilbarra ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The championship routing that we recognise today was by designed by

Harry Colt Henry Shapland Colt (4 August 1869 – 21 November 1951) was a golf course architect born in Highgate, England, the sixth child and younger son of a barrister. He worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and Alister MacKenzie, ...

in the 1920s. Over a three-year period from 2004 the links was extended under the guidance of golf architect

Martin Hawtree Martin Grant Hawtree is a golf course architect, and director and chief architect at Hawtree Limited which is a family owned nationally known golf course architecture company. He has been head of Hawtree Limited since 1985. Hawtree worked wit ...

History

Origins and early locations

The Royal Dublin Golf Club was instituted at a meeting held at No. 19 Grafton Street in May 1885, pioneered by a Scottish banker - John Lumsden. Originally called Dublin Golf Club, it received its Royal designation in 1891 under a British

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

, when there were 250 members paying an £2 annual subscription (after an entrance fee of 8 guineas). It was originally located near the

Magazine Fort The Magazine Fort is a bastion fort and magazine located within the Phoenix Park, in Dublin, Ireland. Built in 1735, it was occupied by British Armed Forces until 1922 when it was turned over to the Irish Defence Forces after the Anglo-Iris ...

in the Phoenix Park, moved to Sutton after a year, and finally in 1889 moved to its present home on North Bull Island (the name may be derived from the locality, Clontarf, which in Gaelic is Cluain Tairbh meaning the Meadow of the Bull).

Bull Island

Captain

William Bligh William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...

fame was, in the early 19th century, one of those invited to solve the long-standing problems of providing shipping with a safe, straight and deep approach into Dublin. As a result, it was decided to build a sea wall three kilometres out from the shore. The resulting sand bank, Bull Island, still continues to grow. The timber bridge was built in the autumn of 1819 and the Great North Wall, more popularly known as the Bull Wall, was completed by 1823. The club owns the entire links, covering 65 hectares. During the First World War, the course was taken over by the military and used as a rifle and artillery range, and after the War, the clubhouse was in a very dilapidated condition and the course severely damaged. With £10,000 compensation from the military, and starting in 1919, 64 firing ranges were disassembled by hand, the clubhouse was re-constructed and the links course was redesigned by H. S. (Harry) Colt, the world-famous golf course architect from Sunningdale. On the night of 2 August 1943, the Clubhouse was totally destroyed by fire. Due to delays in finalising development plans for

, it was not until ten years later that the new clubhouse was opened.

21st century

Early in the 2000s the membership of the club decided to carry out a renovation of the Colt design. Martin Hawtree was engaged to modernise the classic out-and-back layout. Hawtree's work, delivered between 2004 and 2006 saw the creation of two new holes, the significant raising of the majority of green sites and the addition of around 450 yards to the length of the course, bringing it to 7,268 yards. In 2019 the firm of Clayton, de Vries and Pont (CDP) was engaged to audit the course bunkering scheme. The audit investigated the possibility of returning the overall bunker style to something more fitting with the clubs Colt design heritage. In 2022 club members voted to approve the CDP recommendations, works are due to commence in November 2022 lasting several months.

Location

Royal Dublin Golf Club clubhouse Geograph-2424110-by-Andrew-F-Shinie

The club is on Bull Island in Dublin Bay. Accessed at one end via an old wooden bridge, or via a modern causeway mid-way along, Bull Island is a sand bank formed as a result of the construction of a sea wall in the 19th century. The club occupies lands from the causeway to the centre of Bull Island to the

Bull Wall The Bull Wall (), or North Bull Wall (), at the Dublin Port, Port of Dublin, extending from the estuary of the River Tolka and the district of Clontarf, Dublin, Clontarf out nearly 3 km into Dublin Bay, is one of the two defining sea walls ...

, running from Clontarf to

Raheny Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 AD (Mervyn Archdall (Irish antiquary), Mervyn Archdall). The district ...

. The clubhouse and main entrance are at the Clontarf end, and a service entrance at the Raheny end. The club owns its grounds, while the rest of the island is city property, including the Wooden Bridge and Bull Wall, which previously belonged to

Dublin Port Dublin Port () is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximately two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the island of Ireland. Locatio ...

Events

The Royal Dublin has held the

Irish Open Irish Open may refer to: *Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour ** Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour **Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour * Irish Open (darts), annua ...

six times - in 1931, 1936, 1951, 1983, 1984, and 1985. The Royal Dublin hosted the Irish Amateur Open for the first time in 1894, when it was won by J. Ball Jr. of Royal Liverpool and on many occasions since including continuously since 1998 with the exception of three years when the course was undergoing reconstruction. The club regularly welcomes participants in GUI cups and shields. The club has won the Barton Cup, the most prestigious competition in

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

golf, on five occasions: for the first time in 1946 and again in 1951, 1967, 1979 and 2006.

Famous visitors

In 1890, just five years after its inception, the Club moved to its current home on Bull Island in Dublin Bay. The links made an immediate impact on the golfing world. Perhaps the greatest pioneer in the history of the game, Old Tom Morris, came to Royal Dublin and played two matches here on 7 June 1894. Also in that year, Royal Dublin hosted its first championship event, the Irish Amateur Open. The list of great golfers who have played the links is long and distinguished, and includes major winners like

Ian Woosnam Ian Harold Woosnam (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. Nicknamed "Woosie", Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe ...

Ian Baker-Finch Ian Michael Baker-Finch (born 24 October 1960) is an Australian golfer and sports commentator best known for winning The Open Championship in 1991. Early life Baker-Finch was born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. He grew up in the same Queens ...

Curtis Strange Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is the winner of consecutive U.S. Open titles and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He spe ...

Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. ...

Corey Pavin Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer. In 1982, Pavin turned professional but failed at PGA Tour Qualifying School. The following year, he turned to overseas where he had much success, winning South Africa' ...

, Bob Charles and

Wayne Grady Wayne Desmond Grady (born 26 July 1957) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Grady was born in Brisbane, Brisbane, Australia. Professional career In 1978, Grady turned professional. He began his career on the PGA Tour of Aust ...

. In addition, television commentator

David Feherty David William Feherty (born 13 August 1958) is a Northern Irish-born former professional golfer and current golf broadcaster. As a touring professional he won five European Tour events, made the top 10 of the Open Championship twice (1989 and ...

won his first professional tournament at Royal Dublin - the 1980 Irish National PGA Championship. In fact Royal Dublin hosted the tournament from 1978 through 1980 and was won by Christy O'Connor,

Des Smyth Desmond John Smyth (born 12 February 1953) is an Irish professional golfer. He won eight times on the European Tour between 1979 and 2001. He also had a successful senior career winning twice on the PGA Tour Champions and five times on the Europ ...

and

respectively. The tournament continues to this day as the Irish PGA Championship which was won by Padraig Harrington the week before both of his British Open victories. Since then the greatest golfers in the world - both professional and amateur - have come to play in some of Ireland's great tournaments at the famed links. Famous non-professional golfers who have visited the club, include former

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

, the former

Presidents of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly ceremonial institution, serving as the representative of the Irish state both at home and abr ...

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

and

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

, and a former

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

Controversy

The club has faced public criticism for restrictions on membership for women. The club website does not specifically mention restrictions for female members, however a 2017 ''Irish Times'' article highlighted the club's restrictive policy with respect to female members in the context of recent changes internationally, with the

Royal and Ancient Golf Club The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

at St. Andrews's in Scotland ending its policy banning female members in 2014. In 2021, the members of Royal Dublin Golf Club voted to amend the club's constitution to allow for female membership.

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Dublin Golf Club, The 1885 establishments in Ireland Sports clubs and teams in Dublin (city) Sports venues in Dublin (city)

Royal Dublin The Royal Dublin Golf Club, founded in 1885, is Ireland's third oldest golf club. It is a private members' club, with an 18-hole links course on Bull Island, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The championship routing that we recognise toda ...

Clontarf, Dublin Raheny

Sports venues completed in 1885 Royal golf clubs Organisations based in the Republic of Ireland with royal patronage