By Bernard Burt

The Doonbeg Golf Club on Ireland’s Atlantic coast in County Clare, about 45 minutes from Shannon airport, has a hidden gem – a sea-inspired spa designed by Irish-born design diva Clodagh.

After a non-stop flight from Washington on Aer Lingus, Doonbeg’s imposing manor seemed more like Brigadoon than a golf club. Ensconced in a garden suite complete with seaview terrace, I ambled over to the White Horses Spa for jet lag therapy.

Locals describe the winter waves that crash on the beach below Doonbeg as “White Horses,” hence the inspiration for the spa. Hushed and underground, the spa is clad in native stone, while the floors are covered in black slate. Four vaulted treatment rooms complement the women’s and men’s lounges, saunas, and steam rooms. The soaking pools, which contain mineral salts, feature underwater jets to massage golfers’ tired muscles. The White Horses Spa also marks the debut of Kirsten Florian skincare in Ireland.

Accommodations at Doonbeg Golf Club range from rooms in the manor to garden suites and new cottages designed for families or several couples. My spacious unit had a full living room and kitchen adjoining the bedroom and shower on the main floor, an upstairs bedroom with a large terrace ideal for reading and breakfasting on real porridge – made with Irish steel-cut oatmeal. A full Irish breakfast is served in the Long Room, featuring smoked salmon, fruit salad, thick slices of bacon, eggs, and soda bread.

The New Celtic Tiger

Developed by American investors from South Carolina who created the Kiawah Island Club and Spa (also a Clodagh design), Dooonbeg raised the bar on luxury in Ireland. Charles P. Darby, III, chairman and CEO of Kiawah Development Partners, saw the potential for a classic links course along natural contours of the coastal dunes. Golf legend Greg Norman made the vision come alive: “If I spent the rest of my life building courses, I don’t think I’d find a comparable site anywhere.”

Framing a long crescent bay, Doonbeg Golf Club seems to have been there for ages, yet the club opened only one year ago. Guests staying in garden suites can walk directly onto the dunes and watch the action on the links, a combination of wild turf, sea grass, and manicured lawns. The climate here is softened and warmed by the Gulf Stream, adding to the year-round pleasure of golfers.

Darby’s Pub is the convivial spot for lunch. Watching the action on the first tee, I sampled seafood chowder with soda bread and local ale. The crowd at the bar was mostly American, on a tour of Irish golf courses.

At the gatehouse, a concierge emerged leprechaun-like from a thatch-roof cottage to help me light the fire in my living room. Golden autumn weather enhanced the intense sunlight as we hiked into the village of Doonbeg, which has a colorful collection of pubs.

For an extended tour, a 20-minute car ferry connects to County Kerry, where the scenery is more varied along the rugged Atlantic coastline. A three-hour drive brought us to the mountains and the famed Ring of Kerry. Towns named Dingle and Killarney, the call of seagulls and eagles, add lyrical notes to the experience.

Despite sport-crazed rugby fans, rockers, and the newly rich, Ireland remains wedded to tradition. According to recent surveys, the Irish are richer and (surprise) happier than any other nationality in the European Union. Things are so good, in fact, that many of those who immigrated to England and North America years ago are now rushing home, and some sixty thousand foreign workers arrive each year to help keep the runaway economy running. Yet for all of Ireland’s mad materialism and neocapitalist swagger, elemental things – sea, lake, mountain, bog – are never far away, and it doesn’t take long to sense the primal, ancient energy that suffuses this island, and which must have fueled the powerful pagan foundations of the Irish culture.

For more information call (843) 768-5220 or visit www.doonbeggolfclub.com

P.S. Also, Clodagh will be honored by the International Spa Association in November at the 17th annual ISPA conference.
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