Located close to Dublin airport, and only a few miles from the city centre, St Margaret’s Golf & Country Club is in prime position. It’s amazing what can be done with a few farmer’s fields, especially when Tom Craddock and Pat Ruddy are involved.

A significant amount of earth was bulldozed to create the sculptured golf course at St Margaret’s, and it opened for play in 1992. Craddock and Ruddy have given Dublin a cracking inland course and already it has been recognised, playing host to a number of international competitions. In 2004, St Margaret’s hosted the Irish PGA Championship – Padraig Harrington edged out Philip Walton in tough conditions on the 72nd hole during a windy week.

Clearly this is a modern, American-style layout, with receptive greens, plenty of sand and of course water. It’s a lengthy beast too, measuring almost 7,000 yards from the back tees, with par being set at 73. There are four sets of tees to choose from, so the course is eminently playable for all levels.

A word about the conditioning of the course – fantastic.  The greens are superb and the fairways are beautifully manicured – you won’t get any poor lies here.  This is not a course for the purists – it has been manufactured. But there is no getting away from it, St Margaret’s can provide an entertaining and enjoyable round of golf, despite its youth and its arable nature.

The short par five 12^th is a gem. It’s a classic risk and reward hole, throwing up a real birdie opportunity for the big hitters. But if you don’t hit a sweet second shot, you could find yourself making bogey, or worse, because there is water waiting to catch anything other than a perfect approach shot.  The 18^th is a memorable finishing hole. A par four (par five for the ladies), measuring over 400 yards from all four tees. A solid tee shot down the right hand side of the fairway will leave a long iron approach.  The trouble is that the approach shot must carry across a lake. It’s a tough end to a challenging golf course.

St Margaret’s is a Following the Fairways favourite and we have to agree. It’s an exciting and enjoyable course – well worth a visit.