Mannan Castle is one of the best tests of golf that one would ever wish for. At 6200 yards it can be slightly deceiving as any one of the 700 members would tell you. It is a thinking man's golf course as its all about position and strategy off the tee. It is a very penalising course as water comes into play on 9 of the holes,5 of which are are the back 5 finishing holes. There are 6 par 3's the shortest being the 145yd 11th with the longest being 210yd's with internal out of bounds all the way up the left hand side. The index 1 par 4 4th hole is the ultimate test of golf as it requires an accurataly placed tee shot in order to avoid the drain which awaits any loosely hit shots. Once that is cleared its just a simple 200yd shot onto a sloping green. The ulltimate golf hole in my opinion. However the index 13 2nd hole is something truely special. This is a 150yd par 3 over firstly a river and then a pond with the name of the club itself edged into the embankments at the back of the green. Oh i forgot to mention this is guarded by a wall and also out of bounds. So as you can see this isn't a hole for the faint hearted. The course is highly complemented by the staff's hospitality and by the amazing views of the surrounding hilltops and countryside. This is truely a hidden gem!!!

Gavin Byrne November 16, 2005