Cork Golf Club, or Little Island as it is known locally, is one of Ireland's oldest parkland golf courses, founded in 1888 and certainly one of the best. One of the club's many claims to fame is that it is among an elite group of courses worldwide to have been designed by the celebrated course architect, Alister Mackenzie, of Augusta National fame. Known for its large tiered greens, which are a Mackenzie trademark, Cork Golf Club will not fail to impress and is a worthy inclusion on any itinerary.

This championship parkland golf course is as graceful and mature as its age would suggest. Situated in the scenic Cork Harbour, the course has played host to many major amateur and professional events over the years. The array of classic golf holes at Cork opens with several parkland gems, broad rolling acres of turf studded with the remains of ancient trees, rising up to an escarpment overlooking the River Lee. From here comes a descent along two holes, hugging the riverbank and over country rich in the perils of gorse.

Next comes a series of holes played through and around an ancient limestone quarry. The par 3, seventh hole and the drive from the eighth are played from the floor of the quarry and its intimidating effect remains fresh in the mind throughout the eighth and onwards in playing the long, curving par 5, eleventh hole. What is most striking about Cork is its "no prisoners" forbidding finish of five straight par 4's, beginning with the 430 yard thirteenth hole and culminating on the last where an out of bounds boundary wall completes the enduring suspense.

Though a difficult choice, if you had to pick one hole at Cork that stands above the rest, it would probably be the par 4, fourth. Rated the most difficult hole and measuring some 450 yards in length, your drive must carry 180 yards of shoreline to find the fairway. Depending on the wind, your approach can be anything from a wedge to a wood, directed at a narrow and elusive target some 28 yards in length.