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Where to play in Ireland
Updated: Friday December 29, 2000 5:30 PM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle will return in two weeks, when the 2001 season kicks off with the Accenture Match Play Championship. Click here to send him a question. Ahh, Ireland. The country evokes pleasant thoughts for golfers. It's particularly pleasant right now as I'm looking out my window at several inches of snow in the Pittsburgh area (with more on the way as I write this) and high temperatures in the teens. Winter sucks. Ireland doesn't. A Mailbag reader inquired last week about places to play in Ireland, and many of you responded. So this week's Mailbag is a mini Irish golf guide. Which is good, because it gave me a reason to reread tour player Brandel Chamblee's story (which I ghostwrote) in the July 17, 2000, edition of Golf Plus about his Irish golf vacation and to flip though my 2000 Irish golf calendar, beautifully photographed by Larry Lambrecht (Check out www.irishgolfphotos.com for exquisite prints of famous and not-so-famous Irish tracks or his 2001 calendar). Lambrecht's gorgeous shots sure beat the hell out of looking out the window right now. The reader's Irish choices:
Having gained a two handicap from Northern Ireland and played for Queen's University all over Ireland, let me share my opinions. Up north, the (disputed) top two links are Royal Portrush and Royal [County] Down -- absolute gems, but be careful of those [gorse] bushes. A hidden beauty is Castlerock (north coast, beside Portrush), which hosted the World Universities this year. Inland courses can be stunning, depending on the weather. Malone and Belvoir in Belfast are two of my personal favorites. Down south, Portmarnock in Dublin and Rosapenna in Donegal are institutions. Galway has a few championship courses, too. Overall, I suggest hiring a car and seeing where the good Lord takes you. Stay in the B&Bs (if your digestive system can handle the Ulster Fry breakfast) and seek out the little pubs in the countryside. Check out the Golfing Union of Ireland's Web site at www.gui.ie.
From Northern Ireland to Hong Kong -- Paul, what's up with that?
I highly recommend the Connemara Golf Club in Ballyconneely. It is located 15 minutes south of Clifden (County Galway) on the road to Roundstone. In my humble opinion, it is just as good as Ballybunion, but no one has heard of it. It is a magnificent layout hugging the Atlantic Ocean. When the wind blows, it is impossible to play. It is my personal favorite course. The greens fees are 10 pounds -- try to beat that!
Thanks, James. Sounds like a classic sleeper and a bargain.
Connemara Golf Club on Ireland's west coast ranks high on my list. Its rocky terrain lies in view of the Atlantic. The back nine is among the longest, most challenging and most exciting holes I have encountered.
OK, that's two votes for Connemara. No hanging chad so far.
My advice is to go to the west/northwest of the country. Here you will find gems of links courses which are reasonably priced and very uncrowded. My favorites are, in order of preference: Enniscrone, County Sligo; Belmullet, County Mayo; Rosses Point, County Sligo; Murvagh, County Donegal; Westport, County Mayo; and Connemara, County Galway.
There it is, the inside scoop from a Limericker. Thank you, Barry.
Irish sleepers: County Louth (a.k.a. Baltray); Donegal; Castlerock; Ballyliffin (two courses, the Old and Glasheedy; on a trip this year I played the Old and liked it well enough, but two friends who also played Glasheedy, the newer course, raved about it).
Any relation to Ally Glasheedy, Moe?
A true sleeper is The Island golf links, an amazing track hard by the Irish Sea (and close to Dublin) that has monstrous dunes, quirky par-4s and some of the most amazing par-5s on the planet. Closing stretch is the closest to golf nirvana I have ever found.
I've never reached golf nirvana, J.T., although I once had a pearl jam while eating some red hot chili peppers.
Play Royal County Down at all costs. It's far out of the way but beautiful, hard and full of character. As far as hidden gems, Druid's Glen isn't exactly hidden (site of the last three Irish Opens), but as parkland courses go it's the best I've seen in Britain or Ireland.
A good choice, sir.
I've played scores of them. The best are County Down, Portrush, Ballybunion, Old Head and Lahinch. Even the New Course at Ballybunion is worth a go if the Old is booked. Portstewart, near Portrush, is a blast. Killarney is totally overrated, skip it. Old Head is isolated and costly but truly unbelievable to play. Only problem is more Americans there than Irish.
We have the same problem in this country, John.
I am a five-time veteran of golf trips over to Ireland, so trust me. Before I get to hidden gems, Royal County Down in Newcastle has to be on your itinerary. So does the Old Head of Kinsale. But a nice track that gets no ink and no play is Galway Bay, designed by Christy O'Connor Jr. It's only a few years old but right on the bay -- tough holes in a stiff breeze, plus it is 15 minutes from the coolest town in the republic, Galway City. Have a few pints at the Skeff while you're there.
Yeah, and tell 'em to put it on Rob's tab.
My favorite Irish course is Waterville. Old Head was the most spectacular. The other links we played were Tralee, Lahinch and Ballybunion. The weather was so bad at Ballybunion the day we played it was hard to get much of a feel for it. Best bar award went to the only parkland course we played, Killarney Killeen Course. Its second-story clubhouse windows give a view of the entire 18th hole, with the green almost directly below. We watched some locals bet on unknowing golfers as they approached. It's a ball to spend an afternoon there with a Murphy's.
Put that on Rob's tab, too.
In Ireland, the must-plays are Lahinch, Ballybunion, Royal County Down and Royal Portrush (Northern Ireland). These are the most famous/oldest courses on the Emerald Isle. One new one is Old Head, because of its incredible layout along the coastline of southwest Ireland. A must read before you go is James Finn's Emerald Fairways and Foam Flecked Seas: A Golfer's Pilgrimage to the Courses of Ireland. The golf is fantastic all over Ireland, but the people are better.
As soon as I finish this comic book, I'll get right to Finn's epic. Thanks, Brian.
No trip to Ireland or golfing life is complete without a round at Old Head. Made the trip with friends who have had the pleasure of playing Pebble Beach and Spyglass -- no comparison, they said. A layout that cuts off the corner of a dogleg with a 200-foot cliff can't be found anywhere else.
Apparently, there's nothing like good Old Head.
I would recommend Lahinch on the west coast, a challenging links layout that has hosted a number of amateur championships. It has a number of terrific par-4s, but watch out for the blind tee shot at the par-3 seventh (I think!), where you have to hit over a large hill to a green that is in between the hill you have just hit over and another one of similar size at the back. The green is about 20 feet wide and 90 feet long. You aim for the painted white rock that has been placed there by the greenskeeper, which lines up with the placement of the flag.
Lahinch is too famous to be a sleeper, but I've played there, too, and it's a treat.
Check out Mount Juliet in County Kilkenny. The facilities are immaculate and resort-like, so while it's not traditional Ireland, it's in the middle of a beautiful county that's just a mite off the beaten path. Oh, yeah, the golf course is pretty darn good also.
THIS LAST ONE isn't about Ireland, but since he's on deadline I thought I'd include it:
Any ideas on tour sleepers I can pick up for my fantasy league? The top 30 people are easy, but I need a few unknowns who could break out next year to complete my team.
Kevin Sutherland may be the best player on tour who hasn't won yet. He's due. Rory Sabbatini is a bomber and very aggressive. Matt Gogel and Matthew Goggin, whom people mix up, both have game. Canadian Glen Hnatiuk may finally be coming into his own after teaming up with Mike Weir in the World Cup. Paul Stankowski has a lot of game when he works at it. Veteran Bill Glasson has battled injuries all his career, but he's one of the gutsiest players ever. Spike McRoy led the Buy.com Tour money list last year and may be ready to make a mark on the big tour. Aussie Stephen Allan was impressive in winning the Q school tournament. And, hey, you can never go wrong picking Brandel Chamblee, knowing that even if he doesn't play well, he's one of the funniest and nicest guys on tour.
Click here to send your golf question to Gary Van Sickle.
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