With majestic views of the Wild Atlantic Ocean and the nearby Reeks mountain range, which is home to the highest mountain in Ireland, Dooks Golf Links offers a visual feast of scenery at the edge of Dingle Bay as well as a technical challenge for all golfers.

Golf has been played in Dooks since 1889 which makes the course one of the oldest Golf Links in Ireland.  Originally named Dooks & Caragh GC, it was affiliated to the GUI in 1903.

For 100 years the links remained a steadfastly quirky, 9 holes monument to those early days as the members resisted all efforts at modernisation. It was extended to eighteen holes in the 1970s under the guidance of Eddie Hackett.

The course was further enhanced in 2002 by Martin Hawtree. For the golfer who is seeking a beautiful and tranquil environment to enjoy great Golf, Dooks presents a convincing case. Dooks is not as exposed as some Irish courses and features an amazing variety of gorse, heather and wild flowers, the “gentle” wind is never far away and the narrow genuine sandy fairways and well contoured greens offer you a real taste of traditional links golf at its very best.

DOOKS GOLF CLUB HISTORY
Dooks was laid out as a nine hole golf course in 1889 by members of the Royal Horse Artillery who were billeted at Wynn’s Folly, Glenbeigh. At that time military units came from all over Ireland for artillery practice in Rossbeigh. These included Scottish officers who had earlier established golf courses near the Curragh Military Base in Kildare and at the PhoenixPark in Dublin.

In 1895, the Great Southern Hotel, CaraghLake, took over Dooks and engaged Golf Architect, Anthony Brown, to bring the club to a higher standard. In 1897, the Farranfore to Valentia Harbour Rail Line, widely regarded as one of the most spectacular rail lines in the world, established a rail stop at Dooks to accommodate the increasing number of visiting golfers.

In 1900, an additional nine holes were added making Dooks the first 18 hole golf course in Kerry, unfortunately, the extra nine holes were soon abandoned due to the costs involved.

Dooks was affiliated to the GUI in 1903 and to the ILGU in 1913.

In 1963, the clubs’ 75 year land lease expired and they were given notice to quit by the land owners, the Beresford McGregor Estate. The members ran an intensive “Save Dooks Campaign” which included a press conference and a televised interview at Dooks which was broadcast nationally.

In 1965, the land owners agreed to sell the land to the members for £7,000. This may not seem a lot right now but in 1965 it was seven times the clubs annual income. Bord Fáilte assisted the club with a generous grant of £3,500 and the balance was raised from the members through a bond issue.

Having obtained ownership of the land, the members then set about adding nine new holes to bring the course up to championship level. What followed was an extraordinary feat of human voluntary achievement, when the members, under their own steam and on a shoe string budget, designed and physically built the extra nine holes. The job was completed in 1970 at a cost of £3,500 and the new 18 hole course was officially opened by Mr. Gerry Owens, President of the Golfing Union of Ireland.

The club continued to grow in membership and celebrated its centenary year in 1989.

In 2002, the Club sought a meeting with renowned golf course architect, Martin Hawtree, who specialised in the design of links golf courses and had recently completed work for Irish courses such as Royal Dublin and Lahinch as well as numerous other top rated courses worldwide. Mr. Hawtree subsequently produced impressive plans for a complete overhaul and revamping of Dooks. After a great deal of discussion and fine tuning these plans were accepted by the club. Work commenced in 2003 and was completed in 2006 at a cost of almost €2.5m. The new Hawtree design has put Dooks to the forefront of Links Golf worldwide as a unique and genuine test of golf.

Adjacent to Dooks is an area known as The Commonage. It is 80 acres of natural dune lands of spectacular natural beauty. This area has recently been purchased by the club and it provides a mouthwatering opportunity for the future potential development of spectacular new links golf holes. Dooks is never content to rest on its laurels, like the pioneers of 1889, and living up to its club motto “Per Ardua, Ad Astra”, it is relentless in its pursuit of links golf excellence.

Neither is Dooks content to rely solely on its reputation for excellent golf in a magical setting. It works hard to ensure that friendliness, hospitality and a unique club atmosphere are standard fares for everybody. A vibrant club, fully owned by its members, it always strives to be defined by the appellation “Friendly Dooks’ which has been used by others for many years to describe it.

During 2014 the club celebrated its 125th Year with many social and golfing events over the 12 months! Dooks opens itself up to the golfing world and extends an invitation to everybody with an interest in golf and golfing history to come and enjoy the Dooks experience. In 2015, Dooks won The Irish Mixed Foursomes title along with hosting the National Finals.