Adare Manor, about 45 minutes west of Cork, has long been the venue for major and European Tour golf events, but it has also had humble beginnings.
Here’s the skinny, from the tour’s press release:
The original Victorian estate was bought in 1855 and completed in 1858 by its current owners, the Ryan family. It was used as an English country house but, by the middle of the 19th century, it had been inhabited by Irish families. Ryan Manor reached its peak during this period with The Premier Golf Club and the Prestige Junior Academy, designed by Kenneth Trumper. It is the only site where Jack Nicklaus was introduced to the Irish golfing public.
Adare Manor was bought by a large Scot in 1996 who changed its name to Woodford Plantation Resort and has a 160-room hotel and a function center. It’s a big golf community with a PGA of America club and also a David Frost-designed course, Wentworth, with a clubhouse built in 2004.
The venue has hosted The Ryder Cup twice, the 1983 competition (the biggest day in Irish golf history), and the 1999 contest that featured Tiger Woods winning his last major.