Diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the right lung on my 58th birthday (14th July) So not really ...
Diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the right lung on my 58th birthday (14th July) So not really in the humour for writing much at the moment, although I *WILL* be back before too long...Ken
Ballybunion is situated by the mouth of the River Shannon in County Kerry. The course is built on a seemingly never-ending stretch of natural,tumbling duneland sweeping along the golden, sandy shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The origins of golf here can be traced back to 1891, but interest seemingly waned, and it was not until 1906 that the club was re-formed. The original inspiration came from a returned Indian army officer, Colonel Bartholemew, and the first layout was only nine holes, later expanded to a full 18 holes in 1927. Trent Jones, one of today’s premiergolf course designers, on first sight of Ballybunion, said, “This is the most natural golf course terrain I have ever encountered. It is God-given.” He was to go on to design a second course (The New) at Ballybunion, which most golfers would agree rivals its older brother. Every hole is a feature hole at Ballybunion! The closing 18th hole has a stretch of sand straddling the fairway, which is so vast the hole is called ‘The Sahara’. This hazard consists of a curious mixture of sand, ashes, stones and bones,the relics dating back over 5,000 years to Mesolithic times. Tom Watson, five times winner of the British Open between 1975 and 1983, always starts out his Open campaign at Ballybunion prior to the Championship each year. He states, “There appear to be no man-made influences. It offers some of the finest and most demanding shots into the greens of any course in the world.” As with Royal Portrush, coastal erosion is a constant problem. In 1977 a fierce Atlantic storm overwhelmed the course, severely damaging many fairways and greens. A huge world-wide appeal fund was launched, resulting in thousands of pounds being raised. Sea ‘gabion’ wire baskets were laid, layered with stones, to defuse the in-rushing Atlantic breakers. However, the problem is not solved. It is still on going. Ballybunion is rated at number nine in the list of the worlds’ best courses.
ROYAL PORTRUSH GOLF CLUB
The Royal Portrush Golf Club was the first true links course in Ireland, opening for play in 1888. It is situated no more than a drive and a pitch from the town on the north County Antrim coastline, alongside the famous ‘Giant’s Causeway’. Similar in design and layout to the Old Course at Saint Andrews, Scotland, it boasts large, undulating putting greens, and fairways
carved from the natural humps and hollows of the ever-present sand dunes. Precise accuracy is at a premium, with no fewer than ten holes bending either left or right, and the rough is both plentiful and very thick and heavy to severely punish any wayward shot. The feature hole is the aptly named 14th , ‘Calamity Corner’. A par-three measuring 215 yards, it is perched on a cliff edge, and failure to carry over the huge chasm to the right has destroyed many a promising scorecard. Even if this hole is negotiated successfully, the very next (15th) is called ‘Purgatory’. Sinners beware!! Portrush is the only golf course in Ireland to host the British Open (1951), and is the permanent venue for the North of Ireland Amateur Championship every July, and also the British Seniors Open. In 1895, the club’s first professional, Sandy Herd, defeated the famous British player Harry Vardon in the very first professional event ever staged in Ireland. It has bred many famous sons. Fred Daly, Ireland’s only British Open Champion ( Hoylake 1947 ) honed his skills on the Portrush dunes, as did modern day super star Darren Clarke, recent winner of the World Matchplay Championship. A major problem is coastal erosion, particularly on the exposed point which houses the 5th and 6th holes. This prompted Joe Carr, the famous Irish amateur and past Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews (1993) to plead, ‘These links are one of the great heritages of golf and must be protected for present and future generations of golfers’. Mr. Carr speaks for golfers everywhere. Royal Portrush is rated at number thirteen in the list of the worlds’ best courses.
THE EUROPEAN CLUB
The first major golf links to appear on Ireland’s east coast in nearly 100 years, the European Club officially opened its doors on St. Stephen’s Day, 1992, ninety eight years to the day after the first shot was struck at Portmarnock. The brainchild of golfing aficionado Pat Ruddy, golf course architect and Editor of “Golf Illustrated’ magazine, it is already ranked at number 24 in the list of the worlds’ best courses. All the best features of links golf are present. Rugged dunes, deep natural sand hazards, sea breezes ( and gales! ) and large, undulating, fast-running greens. Many of the best golfers in the world have given their endorsement by allowing holes to be named after them. Thus, ArnoldPalmer’s signature on the 8th hole, Gary Player’s on the 11th, Tom Watson’s on the thrilling 17th,and Lee Trevino’s on the tantalising par-three 6th. Two of the feature holes are the par-four 12th, arguably the most classic hole on the links, and the following par-five 13th of 539 yards. Both run hard by the beach, which is an integral part of the course. An unusual feature is the addition of two ‘extra’ holes, making a total of twenty holes in all. Both par-threes, these allow the course to be varied in both distance and overall par. A major talking point was the inclusion of an artificial lake at the front of the 18th green. Many argued that this was out of character with a links golf course. Pat Ruddy held the line for 7 years, but finally agreed, and now ‘Lake Lawrenson’, as it was known, is no more. It has been replaced by a meandering stream, reminiscent of the Swilcan Burn at St. Andrews and the Barry Burn at Carnoustie. Golfers who enjoy the ‘19th hole’ be warned. The European Club has no bar facilities!!
ROYAL COUNTY DOWN GOLF CLUB
Many consider Royal County Down to be the best links course in Ireland. As it is rated number four in the list of the worlds’ best courses, it is difficult to disagree with that opinion. The course is located only half a mile from the town of Newcastle. The setting is breathtaking. On one side, the sandy expanse of Dundrum Bay, and on the other, the majestic peaks of the Mourne Mountains. County Down is exhilarating even without a golf club in your hands. The enterprising manager of the old Belfast and County Down Railway Company, Mr. Joseph Tatlow, commissioned the club in 1889, as a means to encourage the citizens of Belfast to make more frequent use of his train service. Designed by ‘Old Tom Morris’ of Saint Andrews, it is interesting to note his fee. “You are adjured not to let your costs exceed four guineas” (£4.20),read the early minutes of the club. The 9th hole will, in the words of the great Harry Vardon, “exhilarate and terrify you”. A high, long drive is required from the top of the hill to a narrow fairway, bordered on both sides by thick gorse,some 80 feet below. Then another big blow is needed to reach the green,carefully avoiding a pair of wickedly placed bunkers en route. Another tricky hole is the par-three 4th (217 yards). There is over 200 yards of gorse and rough, and no fewer than ten bunkers, to carry your ball over,in order to reach a very small green. When compared to modern courses, a little of Royal County Down could be considered outdated. Yet somehow its quaint layout and blind shots are an integral part of its charm. Narrow fairways, the subtlety of its humps and hollows, and the sandy turf all combine to produce the classic links golf course. Visitors be prepared. The club is very much ‘old school’, and the clubhouse strictly enforces the rule of jacket-and-tie.
PORTMARNOCK GOLF CLUB
Portmarnock Golf Club is located six miles northeast of Dublin City on Bull Island. Regarded as the golfing equivalent of a National Heritage, it is truly the ‘Saint Andrews’ of Irish golf. No golfing visitor to Ireland considers his or her agenda complete without a visit to Portmarnock. On the gable end of the clubhouse hangs the ‘Ship’s Bell’. Presented to the club by the then captain, Mr. Weatherall, in 1909, it was in use until 1922. It announced the departure of the last boat back to the mainland, as access to the course was only by boat across the estuary, or at low tide, by pony and trap. Portmarnock links has stood the test of time, and is as great a challenge today as in years past. The feature hole is the infamous and celebrated 15th.Called ‘Ireland’s Eye’ it runs along the shoreline of Dublin Bay. This hole was described by Ben Crenshaw, the renowned U.S. professional golfer and past Ryder Cup Captain as “one of the greatest short holes on earth”. Portmarnock has played host to many major golf championships. The inaugural Irish Open was played here in 1927, long before the days of corporate sponsorship, the members paying the prize money from their own resources. Such was the ferocity of the weather, gale force winds and driving rain, that the winner, George Duncan, lined his body with brown paper as insulation. He earned the princely sum of £160 for his efforts! The British Amateur Championship was played here in 1949, and in more recent times theWalker Cup match of 1991 between the U.S.A. and Gt. Britain and Ireland. The membership roster reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of Irish society, and the past President of Ireland, Dr. P.J. Hillery, an avid golfer, is one of its most famous sons.
THE ISLAND GOLF CLUB
The Island Golf Club was founded in 1890 on a coastal peninsula across the bay from Malahide village, a northern suburb of Dublin. Ten bachelors, all members of the neighbouring Royal Dublin Golf Club on Bull Island, pooled their resources to rent the land for the modest fee of £10 per annum,as a protest against the ban on golf on the ‘Sabbath’ at Royal Dublin. All ten must have been golf fanatics, as history shows only four were ever coaxed to the altar! The Club was actually owned by the Syndicate’s heirs until after 1945, when it eventually transferred to the membership. The course was a slow developer. As recently as 1963, the keener golfers in the club had to fight tooth-and-nail to defeat a proposal to reduce the links to nine holes in the interests of economy. This crisis of identity as the ‘poor relations’ of Royal Dublin persisted until 1971. Up to then, access to the course was by boat from Malahide marina, and the clubhouse an old decrepit tin hut. In 1971 the new clubhouse was built at the far end of the peninsula, and a road built to give access from Donabate village. Money was also poured into the golf course, and in 1990, the Centenary Year, new holes were laid and the links took its present form. Today, The Island rivals anything links golf can offer anywhere in Ireland. The course starts and finishes with two big, bold par-4’s, cut through the dunes. The two feature holes are the 13th and 14th. The 13th is a par-3 of 218 yards,which plays directly across the Broadmeadow Estuary, requiring a carry of over 190 yards acroos the valley to reach the putting surface. The 14th, the old first hole of bygone days, is a tiny par-4 of only 300 yards,but boasts the narrowest fairway in Irish golf. The landing area is only 13 paces wide, bounded by dunes on the left, and the beach on the right. With its rock- hard, lightning fast greens and glorious coastal setting, The Island is truly a ‘hidden gem’ of Irish links golf.
CONCLUSIONS
One of the hardest tasks in compiling this feature was to choose six courses from the many fine golf links which abound here in Ireland. Scotland may well lay claim to the title of ‘home of golf’, but Ireland runs a very close second. Our island setting, the Atlantic Ocean on our western seaboard and the Irish Sea on our east, blessed us with natural ‘linksland’ on which to build our golf courses. There are dozens of magnificent links scattered liberally all around our shores. Apart from the six clubs featured, there are many others worthy of mention. In the Dublin area you will find the Royal Dublin Golf Club (1885), situated on Bull Island. This is a links of true quality, which has played host to many national and international events. A next door neighbour to The Island Golf Club is little Corballis, a public course run by Dublin Corporation. Very short in overall yardage, it is none the less very tricky, the greens in particular being of an exceptional standard. On the east coast near Drogheda is The County Louth Golf Club (1892) at Baltray. Permanent home of the East of Ireland Championships each year, it is a links of truly magnificent character. The south west boasts Lahinch Golf Club (1895), home of the South of Ireland Championships, a big, rolling links built in the Scottish mould. In complete contrast is lovely, quirky Spanish Point. A tiny course of only nine holes, with no less than six par-3’s, it is as true a links as its more famous neighbour, and equally enjoyable. County Kerry has the world-renowned Waterville (1973) and an unsung gem at Dooks, where a second brand new links course is currently being constructed. In the north are Castlerock and Portstewart Golf Clubs on the same coastline as Royal Portrush. In the far west is Connemara Golf Club (1973) at Ballyconneely, where the next boat is to America. The list goes on and on. The last ten years has witnessed an unprecedented boom in golf tourism here in Ireland. Of the more than six million overseas visitors to these shores last year, a high percentage came to play our famous links golf courses. They are truly a heritage we must nurture and treasure.
Copyright. Ken Johnstone 2000
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I've always fancied a trip across to Ireland for a spot of Golf. I'm not exactly a great player but the thought of a week in Ireland drinking proper Guinness and playin a few rounds of golf is very appealing
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Advantages: Beautiful Scenery, Quality Accommodation, Cheap Flights if you're quick, The Ulster Fry. Disadvantages: The weather, Difficult to obtain accommodation during the week in City Centre locations, Ulster Fry will put pounds on you.
Dec 6th, 2000
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