Emerald Greens
GOLF ATRAVEL Player’s Guide
The exceedingly well-travelled Andrew Marshall compiles his list of the best links courses that Irish golf has to offer.
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olf, especially links golf, comes in no greater dramatic abundance than the Emerald Isle. Around the coastline the courses are spread like gems created by nature and linked together to form a necklace of beauty. Finding your way to these courses is all part of the adventure; travelling through a wild landscape of brooding mountains, past gurgling streams and ancient castles perched on top of windswept headlands. You may make a few wrong turns on the twisting and narrow roads, or have to wait for a flock of sheep to cross the road, but it is time well spent in anticipation.
Paul Marshall
Portmarnock pure: One of Ireland’s premier golf resorts lies within easy reach of the capital, Dublin 76
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County Cork Old Head
Built on a 220-acre diamond of land, jutting out over two miles into the Atlantic Ocean, Old Head has developed into one of the planet’s must plays. With the ever-changing sea breezes, and over 7,200 yards in length from the tips, the course provides a challenge for players of all levels. Nine of the holes play along the cliff tops, and all 18 provide stunning ocean views. oldhead.com
County Donegal Ballyliffin Golf Club
This firm favourite of Nick Faldo comprises a remarkable 36 holes that meander through the most beguiling of linksland, with rocky outcrops, perfect greens and enchanting views of the coast. The Old Links, which was originally designed by Tom Craddock and renovated by Faldo in 2004, undulates in the glory of its natural terrain, while the new Glashedy Links (designed by Pat Ruddy) is fashioned around the incredible dunes, and is notorious for its peatrevetted bunkers and its challenging open stretch. ballyliffingolfclub.com
County Down
Royal County Down
County Antrim
County Clare
Situated on the North Antrim coast, established in 1888 and included in every list of the world’s top 100 golf courses, the Dunluce Links at Portrush has long been regarded as a great test of a golfer’s skill, and had it been more suitable in logistical respects for staging a modern Open Championship it would almost certainly have held more than the one it did in 1951, when England’s Max Faulkner lifted the trophy. Calls for the course’s return to the Open Championship rota heightened following the 2012 Irish Open which was staged over this quite brilliant Harry Colt design. royalportrushgolfclub.com
Standing on the elevated tee of Doonbeg’s par5 first, eyes are drawn down a fairway that bucks and plunges like a raging river towards a large green protected on three sides by soaring dunes. The opening hole is a memorable start to this classic links, one that was designed by Greg Norman only a decade ago, but looks and plays like it’s been part of the landscape for over a hundred. doonbeglodge.com
Royal Portrush
Paul Marshall
Clockwise from top: Caddies at Doonbeg; the closing hole at the Greg Normandesigned Doonbeg; one of the finest anywhere – Royal County Down; a tricky test awaits at Portmarnock 78
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Doonbeg
Royal County Down – the very words are enough to cause you to run back to the clubhouse shaking with fear. Laid out beneath the brooding Mountains of Mourne and enjoying a magnificent setting along the shores of Dundrum Bay, this superb track is never out of any magazine’s list of the world’s top 10 courses. Designed by Old Tom Morris for the princely sum of four guineas back in 1889, Royal County Down is an examination for any player, and with so many blind shots, the main challenge is to find a line from the tee and then hit it straight. Miss the fairways and you are severely punished as a minefield of bunkers, gorse and rough awaits. royalcountydown.org
County Dublin
Lahinch
A legend among links courses this tough west coast gem boasts a character all of its own. It’s a wonderfully quirky mix of dunes, rollercoaster greens and blind shots. This is perfectly illustrated by the short par-3 sixth, known as the “The Dell”, where the green is wedged between two hills. It’s only 140 yards in length, but it requires a blind tee shot over one of the hills to the putting surface all but hidden on the other side. lahinchgolf.com HKGOLFER.COM
Portmarnock
Portmarnock is recognised as one of Ireland’s premier golf resorts with a course that combines all the charms of a traditional links layout with the challenge of the modern game. The gently undulating, luxuriously sprung fairways that to large and fast greens are punctuated by 98 strategically placed bunkers. Simply majestic. portmarnockgolf.com HKGOLFER.COM
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courses,” says links aficionado Tom Watson who warmed up on Tom Simpson’s venerable design for each of his five Open Championship victories. The Old course, which is complemented by another 18 – the excellent Cashen Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr – is a classic and has remained virtually unchanged since 1893. Forget the lob wedge and use your imagination: bump-and-runs and other creative shot making is the name of the game at Ballybunion. ballybuniongolfclub.ie
County Mayo Carne Golf Links
The special charm of Carne comes from its remote location and the journey required getting there – it’s a four-hour trip from Dublin airport some 300km away. The signature hole is the par-3 16th that drops steeply from an elevated tee to a green encircled by some of the biggest dunes in the game. The tough par-4 17th and the par-5 18th make for a memorable finale to this wild and rugged layout that leaves a lasting impression on all that play it. carnegolflinks.com
County Kerry Tralee
Representing the first European design of Arnold Palmer, Tralee Golf Club is a very fine links, and although only built in 1980 it has gained a reputation alongside that of the big guns of Ireland’s west coast. The par-5 second is a standout hole – a sweeping dogleg right with panoramic views of the entire course with the Dingle peninsula on the horizon. traleegolfclub.com
Waterville
Paul Marshall; David Cannon / Getty Images (Waterville)
Clockwise from top: Crashing waves await those fortunate enough to make it to Tralee, an Arnold Palmer design; an aerial view of magnificent Ballybunion; enormous dunes frame many of the holes at charming Carne; the wonderfully prepared European Club in County Wicklow; another aerial, this time at Waterville, in County Kerry
Golf here is a special experience – the beauty of classic links land surrounded by the sea, yet forever challenged and shaped by the elements. Over 100-years old, Waterville is rated among the top five courses in Ireland and the top 20 links courses in the world. Over the years, many great champions have made the pilgrimage to these mystical links to prepare for the Open Championship. “Everything about Waterville is truly spectacular,” said internationally acclaimed golf architect Tom Fazio, who was commissioned to update the Eddie Hackett masterpiece a decade ago. “The setting is one of the best I have seen for golf.” watervillegolflinks.ie
Ballybunion “Ballybunion is a course on which many golf architects should live and play before they build 80
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County Sligo
Enniscrone Golf Club Mondays at Enniscrone Golf Club are no ordinary Mondays. Believe it or not, they are reserved for Priests’ Day, with priests coming from all over Mayo and Sligo to compete. Once the men of God have gone out, you’ll have the opportunity to worship the course yourself. One hole that will etch itself in the memory is the mountainous 350yard par 4 13th, called “The Burrows”, which is like teeing off the summit of Everest, with a green nestled down at base camp below. If you’re a golfer who is religious about pure links, make sure to include it on your Irish golf adventure. enniscronegolf.com
County Wicklow The European Club
Crafted out of tumbling dunes by writer-turnedarchitect Pat Ruddy, this is seaside golf at its very best with monstrous dunes, fast-running fairways, greens that invite the pitch-and-run approach and dramatic views of the Irish Sea. Look out for the par-4 seventh, which has been voted one of the world’s greatest 100 golf holes. Tiger Woods still holds the course record of 67, shot on a preOpen Championship warm-up in 2002. On the tees of several of the par-4s he said: “Is this a par-5? Wow … what great optical illusions!” theeuropeanclub.com HKGOLFER.COM
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