final shot
Golf ’s hottest architect on Carne, probably the best links course you’ve never heard of
My Favourite Course By Jim Engh
S From top: courtesy of Carne Golf Links/LC Lambrecht; courtesy of Jim Engh
ituated on Ireland’s rugged and windswept northwest coast, Carne holds a very special place in my heart. I first saw pictures of the course in the late 1990s, a few years after it opened, and said to myself, ‘I’ve gotta go to that place.’ So I did – and I was absolutely stunned. It was the wildest course I’d ever seen. There’s so much diversity. The front nine traverses pure rolling linksland, while the back side plunges down through monstrous sand dunes, which have to be some of the biggest in golf. The first time I played it I giggled the whole way round. Some of the holes are so quirky that they’re bad, but they’re so bad they’re brilliant. I quickly joined as an overseas member. Carne has taught me a lot as a golf course architect and has had a profound effect on my work. The course’s wacky features – both natural and man-made elements – gave me the confidence to push the envelope as a designer; I realized, architecturally speaking, there really are no rules. I was at Carne when I discovered why I enjoy Irish golf so much. After several trips it hit me. I constantly had a smile on my face, I was switched on; endorphins were rushing around inside my head. It was an adrenaline rush, pure and simple. American golf is not like that – it’s too “rigid”. It doesn’t require anywhere near the same amount of imagination. In the States you see the flag and hit your ball towards it. In Ireland and at Carne in particular, you might not even be able to see the flag, but even if you can, you have so many more options when it comes to shot-making. I don’t want to recreate Ireland verbatim when it comes to my new designs, but I want to recreate that feeling – the variety, the exciting features: something that creates mental stimulation. My best round at Carne is a 73. If I’m playing well at other courses I might hit thirteen or fourteen greens in regulation. But at Carne, it’s more like five or six. The landing areas have a lot of width, which given the wind that howls through it certainly needs. When I’m over there – and I normally visit every spring – I’ll play 74
HK Golfer・OCT/NOV 2009
twenty-seven holes a day: eighteen in the morning and another nine in the afternoon. I rarely take more than seven or eight clubs with me. You don’t need any more than that. You can turn a seveniron into a six-iron just by playing the ball back in your stance. That’s the kind of golf I love. The “craic” in nearby Belmullet is worth the trip alone. For a town of only 1,200, Belmullet has an extraordinary number of pubs and inns, which gives a good indication how the people here like to enjoy themselves. The Irish really are among the friendliest people in the world – and I’ve made many new mates there over the years. Golfing tourists who go over to Ireland normally do so as part of a tour, which is okay as long as they make the effort and mix with the locals. Honestly, walk into a pub by yourself of an evening and you’re guaranteed to make a bunch of new friends. A few years ago the club decided to build another nine holes and I became involved. To have the opportunity to work on land like that is a real blessing. Unfortunately, due to the current economic slowdown, it might take a little while before our plans are realized, but that’s alright: there’s plenty of time and we’re in no rush at all. –As told to Alex Jenkins HKGOLFER.COM