Royal Tara Golf Club (Cluide/Tara)

Overview: Royal Tara Golf Club ~ Cluide/Tara is the main 18-hole competition routing at Royal Tara’s 27-hole parkland complex near Navan in County Meath. The club identifies Cluide and Tara as the Blue and Red nines, while Bellinter is the third loop. Current rating information lists Cluide/Tara at par 72 and 5,978 metres from the white tees, approximately 6,543 yards. The course runs through rolling parkland and the Cluide wood, with the wider Boyne Valley landscape adding historical context.

History: Royal Tara grew from an early nine-hole course to eighteen holes in the 1960s and then to its present 27-hole facility around 1990. The main Cluide/Tara competition course opened in 1995 and was designed by professional golfer Des Smyth, with the club history also crediting Declan Branigan for the redevelopment. A bunker reconstruction and remodelling programme began in 2023, showing that the current course continues to evolve while retaining its three-nine structure.

Did You Know? The Cluide name comes from the wood through which that nine runs. It is a small but useful piece of local geography embedded in the course title. The routing label also signals the course’s status: Cluide/Tara is the main competition combination, while Bellinter is the older third nine used to create alternative rounds.