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Like a lot of lucky golfers, I have fond memories of my day playing The European Club in southeast Ireland.
Meeting then-owner Pat Ruddy, touring his incredible library of classic golf books in a climate-controlled room above the clubhouse and staring wide-eyed at the scenery while playing his 20-hole links were experiences I'll never forget.
Also, like a lot of golfers, I never went back. For as beautiful as the links was, she was an evil mistress, too hard to be enjoyed by most golfers. Yes, a few of my shots bounced off the Pete-Dye-esque wooden planks lining the bunkers. It's a 'thunk' sound I'll never forget either.
After purchasing The European Club last summer, new owners Raymond Conlan and his son, Nicky, have hired architect Kyle Phillips and rebranded the property as the Brittas Bay Club to entice golfers to return again. The newly revamped links is expected to reopen in 2027.
Phillips, who has designed some of the world's top courses including Kingsbarns in Scotland, revealed a few details about what's next while being interviewed at a media gathering hosted by Tourism Ireland during the PGA Show in Orlando. He said there will be "significant changes". The site is located in County Wicklow, which is known as the "Garden of Ireland" for its stunning landscape an hour south of Dublin.
"The golf course (at the European Club) has a reputation of hard. When I first saw how it laid out on the ground with the contours, I could understand why," Phillips said. "The idea with some of our other courses - which have successfully held big, high-profile events - we will still be able to do that (at Brittas Bay) on a grand stage of golf, and at the same time, the other 51 weeks be playable for us mere mortals."
Ruddy, a golf journalist at the time, famously found the land by helicopter and designed a quirky par-71 routing that debuted in 1987. For a time, The European Club ranked among the top 100 courses in the world before the "make it hard" philosophy of golf course architecture of that era eventually fell out of favor. The biggest knock on Ruddy's routing was it only had two par 5s and three par 3s (the two bonus holes were also par 3s). Every par 4 at the European Club played at least 400 yards from the tips. Brittas Bay Club will have at least one drivable par 4 playing less than that.
The Conlans, who sold multiple auto businesses to invest in golf, interviewed multiple architects before settling on the vision presented by Phillips. They originally planned on tweaking the course to replace the aging turf and irrigation system before realizing that starting fresh was the best way forward.
"He saw the potential and what's weak at the moment and how to get the golf out of bad areas of the course, if you like, and bring golf into better areas with better sight lines," Nicky Conlan said. "We will have views of the sea on all 18 holes. There are not many courses that can claim that, and then the playability. There are other things like playing along the coast in both directions, getting to the sea early and the variety of the golf course."
The revamped 18-hole routing will go directly to the water and finish near the beach at the new second green, which was the site of the old seventh green. Conlan said that some of the best holes of the old routing will be new holes in similar footprints - specifically noting the original 8th (a 417-yard par 4 heading inland through heavy dunes), the original 11th (heading toward the sea in the opposite direction parallel to no. 8) and the original 12th (a 460-yard par 4 directly along the beach the entire way). The best bonus hole, 7a, will be retained as a par 3 framed by inspiring dunes.
"We want everyone to come back and play the golf course again," Nicky said. "It's still going to be a stiff test of golf. It's still going to be 7,400 yards off the tips. It will still cater to professionals and a tournament if we want to go down that road, but at the same time, the 20-plus handicap golfer can play."
The clubhouse and entrance are being upgraded and modernized to give off a powerful first impression. Some accommodations could be added down the road.
"There is no question, we are the top of the market. The competition is very stiff," Phillips said. "The goal would be when I come to Ireland, this is my must-play list. This is a course that I want to play. For me, most importantly is you (visitors) have a great experience, which doesn't only rest on the design but the team we have here and making it welcoming."
