2 weeks of bliss in Ireland….

[hammergolf]

22 minutes ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

I have a few other trips I want to make, but when my sons are old enough, I'll take them to do the same.  I'd love a second pop on Enniscrone.  Some of those holes you have to play a few times to really get it.  The flat part of the course seems like a reprieve, but those greens were tricky.  I still remember 6 & 7 being really tricky if you were out of place coming into them.  I'll never forget the 18th hole.  Hit a 350 yard pop right down the centerline.  Left my easy approach short of the green.  Chipped in for birdie!  Donegal sounds like another one that I need to play when I'm back in that area.   

Enniscrone is definitely one you need to play a few times. There’s more room than it looks off the tee. I would definitely get to Donegal if you can. It asks a lot off the tee as the fairways are very defended by bunkering. If you haven’t played Narin & Portnoo I would recommend that as well. If you liked Enniscrone you’ll like N&P. 

[ajgoodal.704]

15 hours ago, hammergolf said:

Enniscrone is definitely one you need to play a few times. There’s more room than it looks off the tee. I would definitely get to Donegal if you can. It asks a lot off the tee as the fairways are very defended by bunkering. If you haven’t played Narin & Portnoo I would recommend that as well. If you liked Enniscrone you’ll like N&P. 

I had considered adding Donegal and Narin & Portnoo to our trip to Northern Ireland in 2024.  I had nixed it and added the Island and Baltray.  Any words of wisdom?  Portrush is my Dad's #1 bucket list course, so we are going to make that the next group trip.  

[stanford88]

What a fantastic write-up and photographs. Thank you for sharing. I will be putting these courses into my next Ireland trip!

[hammergolf]

On 10/25/2022 at 7:45 AM, ajgoodal.704 said:

I had considered adding Donegal and Narin & Portnoo to our trip to Northern Ireland in 2024.  I had nixed it and added the Island and Baltray.  Any words of wisdom?  Portrush is my Dad's #1 bucket list course, so we are going to make that the next group trip.  

You could certainly make an itinerary that included Portrush with N&P as well as Donegal. There’s several options depending on how much golf you want to play. If I was going to make an itinerary I would prob do this:

 

HEAVY GOLF ITINERARY

Day 1 Land in Dublin drive up to Ardglass (2hrs) play Ardglass Golf Club stay the night.

Day 2 Drive up to Portrush (2hrs) play Portrush stay the night

Day 3 Play Portstewart stay the night in Portrush

Day 4 Drive to Magilligan Point (40mins) take ferry to Greencastle (20mins) drive to Ballyliffin and play Glashedy Links stay the night in Ballyliffin

Day 5 Drive to Rosapenna (1.5hrs) and play St. Patrick’s Links stay the night at Rosapenna

Day 6 Drive to Narin & Portnoo Links (1.5hrs) and play then drive to Ardara (15mins) and stay the night

Day 7 Drive to Donegal Golf Club (40 mins) play Murvagh Links then drive to Slieve Russell Resort in Ballyconnell (1hr) and stay the night.

Day 8 Drive to Dublin (1.75hrs) and fly out.

 

MEDIUM GOLF

Day 1 Land in Dublin drive to Portrush (3hrs) stay in Portrush

Day 2 Play Royal Portrush then stay the night

Day 3 Drive to Donegal (2hrs) and stay in Donegal

Day 4 Play Donegal Golf Club and stay the night

Day 5 Drive to Narin & Portnoo Links (40 mins) stay the night

Day 6 Drive to Slieve Russel Resort (1.5hrs) play the course and stay the night

Day 7 Drive to Dublin Airport (1.5hrs) fly home.

 

 

 

[Chanceman]

Similar to what we did

day 1 Ardglass

day 2 Castlerock

day 3 Royal Portrush

day 4 Ballyliffin Glashedy

day 5 Donegal aka Murvagh

day 6 County Sligo aka Rosses Point

day 7 Enniscrone

day 8 Connemara

day 9 Onwards

Next time I would like to do Portstewart, Ballyliffin Old, St Patricks, Cruitt Island and on. So much to enjoy in Ireland.

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, Chanceman said:

Similar to what we did

day 1 Ardglass

day 2 Castlerock

day 3 Royal Portrush

day 4 Ballyliffin Glashedy

day 5 Donegal aka Murvagh

day 6 County Sligo aka Rosses Point

day 7 Enniscrone

day 8 Connemara

day 9 Onwards

Next time I would like to do Portstewart, Ballyliffin Old, St Patricks, Cruitt Island and on. So much to enjoy in Ireland.

You missed Carne?????

[Chanceman]

On that trip yes, but did not make the same mistake next time. Would not miss it again.

[El Gringo]

I guess I prefer to stay in an area rather than add loads of windshield time. There is a terrific trip staying somewhere near Rosapenna and playing the Rosa courses, Portsalon, Gweedore, Cruit, Otway, Dunfanaghy and Northwest. 

Edited November 4, 2022 by El Gringo

[Chanceman]

4 hours ago, El Gringo said:

I guess I prefer to stay in area rather than add loads of windshield time. There is a terrific trip staying somewhere near Rosapenna and playing the Rosa courses, Portsalon, Gweedore, Cruit, Otway, Dunfanaghy and Northwest. 

I guess when you live an hour away you have the luxury of focussing on one area. When you come from away, you feel the need to cram in a bit more. 

[El Gringo]

1 hour ago, Chanceman said:

I guess when you live an hour away you have the luxury of focussing on one area. When you come from away, you feel the need to cram in a bit more. 

It takes me at least six hours to get to Rosa even if I fly. Hence the reason I don't want to drive around Ireland once I get there. But I admit to getting more joy from the Otways of Ireland than I do from most of the big guns. Getting old I guess. 

[hammergolf]

7 hours ago, Chanceman said:

On that trip yes, but did not make the same mistake next time. Would not miss it again.

It’s just a jaw dropping place. Almost like your on a different planet. It will be on my agenda every time going forward.

[Chanceman]

13 hours ago, El Gringo said:

It takes me at least six hours to get to Rosa even if I fly. Hence the reason I don't want to drive around Ireland once I get there. But I admit to getting more joy from the Otways of Ireland than I do from most of the big guns. Getting old I guess. 

It would take me a day and a half to get to Rosapenna from down here! And I take your point (about age that is).
So many golf courses, so little time.

 

Next year 4 of us will do 3 weeks in England playing a different course every day (in theory) . I think we will have to use carts and caddies in liberal doses to survive. Flights, pubs and tee times all booked.

 

But yes I would love a month in somewhere like Donegal or Letterkenny to play all those off beat 9 holers (plus St Pats of course).

Ps You should write a book about GB&I 9s like Pioppi did for the US.

[El Gringo]

4 hours ago, Chanceman said:

It would take me a day and a half to get to Rosapenna from down here! And I take your point (about age that is).
So many golf courses, so little time.

 

Next year 4 of us will do 3 weeks in England playing a different course every day (in theory) . I think we will have to use carts and caddies in liberal doses to survive. Flights, pubs and tee times all booked.

 

But yes I would love a month in somewhere like Donegal or Letterkenny to play all those off beat 9 holers (plus St Pats of course).

Ps You should write a book about GB&I 9s like Pioppi did for the US.

The guy who should write a book is Clyde Johnson. He was recently appointed as lead associate for the new Castle Stuart course. That guy has seen a ton of nickel and dime courses in GB&I. 

[swo83]

On 10/24/2022 at 10:33 AM, hammergolf said:

In my opinion, it’s a must! I would put the rotation of Carne, Enniscrone with anything over there. Not to mention it’s about half the price and they definitely “appreciate” you being there more than the famous courses down South. We rented a house in Dromore West which was really convenient to the courses. Next trip I’ll play Carne, Enniscrone, and Rosses twice each. 

 

As always, amazing review and insights.  I'm almost ashamed to say, but I've restructured my Irish leg of my trip next year to accommodate Carne WAD + Enniscrone.  I couldn't resist.  I also couldn't believe how accommodating the Carne staff has been.  I'm visiting on a day devoted to the Hackett routing and they're still going to let me play the WAD.  Here's a question (given a limited amount of time): would you recommend 27 holes at Carne or Carne WAD/Enniscrone?

[hammergolf]

18 minutes ago, swo83 said:

 

As always, amazing review and insights.  I'm almost ashamed to say, but I've restructured my Irish leg of my trip next year to accommodate Carne WAD + Enniscrone.  I couldn't resist.  I also couldn't believe how accommodating the Carne staff has been.  I'm visiting on a day devoted to the Hackett routing and they're still going to let me play the WAD.  Here's a question (given a limited amount of time): would you recommend 27 holes at Carne or Carne WAD/Enniscrone?

The “other” 9 at Carne are the weakest and definitely don’t compare to Enniscrone. Don’t miss it. Trust me, you’ll be happy that you included Carne and Enniscrone…

[Chanceman]

7 hours ago, swo83 said:

 

As always, amazing review and insights.  I'm almost ashamed to say, but I've restructured my Irish leg of my trip next year to accommodate Carne WAD + Enniscrone.  I couldn't resist.  I also couldn't believe how accommodating the Carne staff has been.  I'm visiting on a day devoted to the Hackett routing and they're still going to let me play the WAD.  Here's a question (given a limited amount of time): would you recommend 27 holes at Carne or Carne WAD/Enniscrone?

The gaffer at Carne (Gerry I think from memory) was upset that my round was spoiled by the storm so he bought me a bowl of chowder.! Definitely go back.

[swo83]

How does portstewart stack up?  

[hammergolf]

2 hours ago, Chanceman said:

The gaffer at Carne (Gerry I think from memory) was upset that my round was spoiled by the storm so he bought me a bowl of chowder.! Definitely go back.

Gerry and Fiona are the best. They legitimately care about every guests experience.

[hammergolf]

2 hours ago, swo83 said:

How does portstewart stack up?  

I preferred Portstewart to Portrush. I would put Portstewart right up there with Enniscrone, Tralee, Ballybunion, and Lahinch.

[El Gringo]

6 hours ago, swo83 said:

How does portstewart stack up?  

Portstewart falls short of Portrush with less interesting greens and a less polished design. The land at Portstewart means there are some less than graceful moments. This shouldn't be surprising when you consider Colt designed most of Portrush and a local designed about half of Portstewart. But Portstewart is good and worth seeing. However, I would rather play the second course at Portrush, Valley Links, before going back to Portstewart. 

Edited November 4, 2022 by El Gringo
Not complete

[fullstop]

On 10/25/2022 at 1:45 PM, ajgoodal.704 said:

I had considered adding Donegal and Narin & Portnoo to our trip to Northern Ireland in 2024.  I had nixed it and added the Island and Baltray.  Any words of wisdom?  Portrush is my Dad's #1 bucket list course, so we are going to make that the next group trip.  

Forget Baltray & The Island and go with Donegal and N&P instead. I’m biased as they were 2 of my favourites growing up and still a member in one of them, but they’re better courses (IMO) and much more value for your money. 

[hammergolf]

On 12/24/2022 at 5:54 PM, fullstop said:

Forget Baltray & The Island and go with Donegal and N&P instead. I’m biased as they were 2 of my favourites growing up and still a member in one of them, but they’re better courses (IMO) and much more value for your money. 

I didn’t play Baltray in October, but I did play The Island. It’s not in the same class as Donegal or N&P. Donegal doesn’t have the jaw dropping views of the coast or the towering dunes, but it’s a great test of true links. Narin & Portnoo was really good. It was one of my favs from the trip. It far exceeded expectations. While The Island was a fun course and layout and really good, I would play Donegal and N&P every time instead. 

[hammergolf]

On 10/25/2022 at 7:45 AM, ajgoodal.704 said:

I had considered adding Donegal and Narin & Portnoo to our trip to Northern Ireland in 2024.  I had nixed it and added the Island and Baltray.  Any words of wisdom?  Portrush is my Dad's #1 bucket list course, so we are going to make that the next group trip.  

I never answered you. I would drop Baltray and The Island and substitute N&P and either Donegal or Rosses Point. 

[El Gringo]

On 10/25/2022 at 1:45 PM, ajgoodal.704 said:

I had considered adding Donegal and Narin & Portnoo to our trip to Northern Ireland in 2024.  I had nixed it and added the Island and Baltray.  Any words of wisdom?  Portrush is my Dad's #1 bucket list course, so we are going to make that the next group trip.  

I think the Baltray/Island pairing is comfortably better than N&P/Donegal mainly because Donegal is the least interesting course of the lot by some distance. However, they are all good and Island is great. My advice is twofold and based logistics /practical reality. First, The Island pairing is quite easy to do on a trip because of its proximity to Dublin...so they can be picked up whenever. Second, if you aren't likely to head to Donegal again anytime soon it makes sense to play the courses while you are there. 

[sabram]

I also would place Baltray and the Island above N&P and Donegal. I do like N&P but haven't played it since the Reno. However, my view is the exact opposite of Hammer's regarding Donegal vs The Island. IMO,  I'd much rather play the Island again rather than Donegal. 

If you want to stay west to play more rather than heading toward Dublin, consider adding  Rosses Point and Rosapenna.

[hammergolf]

3 hours ago, sabram said:

I also would place Baltray and the Island above N&P and Donegal. I do like N&P but haven't played it since the Reno. However, my view is the exact opposite of Hammer's regarding Donegal vs The Island. IMO,  I'd much rather play the Island again rather than Donegal. 

If you want to stay west to play more rather than heading toward Dublin, consider adding  Rosses Point and Rosapenna.

N&P post redesign isn’t even close to what it was. It’s head and shoulders above The Island. I haven’t played Baltray so can’t speak to that. I really enjoyed the challenge that Donegal presents off the tee, and there a few really good holes (5,8,12, &14) at Donegal. It has really good bunkering protecting fairways like most Scottish courses. But, to each his own. I enjoyed The Island, but preferred Donegal. I highly recommend you playing N&P if you get back over there. Hanse did a great job, and in fact they are doing some more reno in a couple holes this winter. The only negative I can give on N&P is that there are two very short par3 holes on the back. I don’t mind one, but two is being a little too cute I think.

[ajgoodal.704]

Still a little ways off from booking anything, but I think I've settled on flying in and out of Dublin with a diverse itinerary.  Lough Erne Faldo (jetlag round), Donegal, St. Patrick's, Sandy Hills, Old Tom or Portsalon (Optional PM Round), Castlerock, Royal Portrush Dunluce, Ardglass, Concra Wood and The Island.  

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

Still a little ways off from booking anything, but I think I've settled on flying in and out of Dublin with a diverse itinerary.  Lough Erne Faldo (jetlag round), Donegal, St. Patrick's, Sandy Hills, Old Tom or Portsalon (Optional PM Round), Castlerock, Royal Portrush Dunluce, Ardglass, Concra Wood and The Island.  

You’re missing out on N&P, but is a great itinerary.

[ajgoodal.704]

19 hours ago, hammergolf said:

You’re missing out on N&P, but is a great itinerary.

The other option I've thought of is to do some extra driving just so we could get to Carne since we were monsooned out last year.  That would look like flying into Dublin and playing a round on the way to Ballina.  Heritage looks really nice and could slot in there.  From there Carne, Donegal, St. Patricks, Royal Portrush, Castlerock, Concra Wood and finish near Dublin at The Island.  

[hammergolf]

3 minutes ago, ajgoodal.704 said:

The other option I've thought of is to do some extra driving just so we could get to Carne since we were monsooned out last year.  That would look like flying into Dublin and playing a round on the way to Ballina.  Heritage looks really nice and could slot in there.  From there Carne, Donegal, St. Patricks, Royal Portrush, Castlerock, Concra Wood and finish near Dublin at The Island.  

Carne is my new favorite golf course on the planet. It’s a haul to get there, but so worth it. Going forward, Carne and Enniscrone will be on every itinerary when I go to Ireland. Have you looked at Athlone Golf Club? Really nice parkland course on Lough Ree. Not to mention, for €30 it’s a hell of a bargin and  It’s on the way to Ballina and would cut the drive in half. 
 

https://www.athlonegolfclub.ie/