Ireland's Northwest: A sleeping golf giant awakens

text size

Nobody is likely to argue the fact that the southwest of Ireland contains more than its fair share of great golf courses. The combination of excellent golf and superb scenery has for many years, proved too much for the average first time visitor to resist. But as Ireland's golf tourism has boomed, the numbers of visiting golfers increased and green fees, together with hotel prices have escalated, so the more seasoned visitor has begun looking to other parts of the Emerald Isle for his or her, Irish golf experience.

Ballyliffin - 36 holes of affordable, prime Irish links pleasure.

Connemara - A links course to test the best.

Enniscrone offers rugged beauty and a test to match.

Rosapenna's Old Tom Morris Course - 7th Hole.

Rosapenna's Sandy Hills - recently promoted to the Top 100 Courses in Britain and Ireland rankings.

Donegal's Murvagh Links - alone with nature on the 8th green.

Carne Links Course is the pride and joy of County Mayo.

BOOK YOUR TRIP

For a other ideas on golf trips to Scotland, Ireland, British Open, Spain & Portugal, click here or call Golf International at 800.328.9898.

Just look a little further north and a veritable Nirvana of wonderful golf lies waiting to be discovered.

Arriving at Shannon Airport, drive north rather than west and a world of courses, every bit the equal of Waterville, Lahinch, Ballybunion and those other household names awaits. Ballyliffin, Rosses Point, Enniscrone, Westport, Rosapenna, Connemara, Donegal and a dozen others, have been here for ever, patiently waiting for their time to come - now they are waking up.

In a world of over-commercialization, these are the courses capable of providing the truly genuine Irish experience we have heard so much about -- they are unspoiled, uncrowded and filled with that unique Irish character we all hope to find.

They will have more local Irish playing them than they will overseas visitors and this will be a chance for you to meet and get to know the locals learning the real meaning of Irish hospitality.

With scenery every bit the equal of the southwest, this is a part of Ireland less frequented by visitors and biting at the bit to prove that it doesn't have to take second place to any other region in the country. The northwest is awakening and as one of the best values for money in the entire country, who can resist?

Start at the very north in County Donegal, with one of the best -- Ballyliffin. For your troubles of driving up here, the reward is not one but two "out of this world" courses -- the venerable Old Course, ranked among the top 50 in the British Isles and the Glashedy Course. The Glashedy maybe officially named the second Ballyliffin layout, but its every bit as good as its older brother and a finer pair of links courses exists no place else.

Working your way south, don't miss Rosapenna, an 1893 vintage links layout from the great Old Tom Morris, with subsequent modifications by both Harry Vardon and James Braid. Then, before World War II, Rosapenna fell out of favor with the vacationing British and this marvelous links was for a time, forgotten.

Luckily, fashion comes and goes and today, after a change in ownership, Rosapenna has not only been restored to its original glory, but Ireland's contemporary master of course design, Tom Ruddy, was brought in to build a further 18 holes on a massive expanse of adjoining dune land. Opened in 1993, Rosapenna's Sandy Hills layout was immediately acknowledged as a very special links with a bright future, something confirmed just this year when it suddenly appeared on the prestigious listing of the Top 100 Courses in Britain and Ireland and on the Emerald Isle, among the best dozen. Rosapenna remains an unfamiliar name for the moment, but with two top-drawer links layouts to brag about, that is quickly changing.

Yet another outstanding links in the area is located at Murvagh, 6 miles outside of Donegal city. Measuring 7,100 yards, Murvagh is one of the longest course in all Ireland, presenting a stern test for the serious golfer that measures up to rivals anywhere else in the country. But be forewarned, this is not a course for the faint-hearted. The par-4's are monstrous and guaranteed to put the fear of God into even the most macho among us -- just avoid the back tees and you may get away with a semi-respectable round. If nothing else, at least you will have memories of battling one of Ireland's least forgiving golf tests.

Rosses Point, also known as County Sligo, is probably the best-known course of the northwest and with good reason - it's rated among the top ten courses in Ireland (there are many who believe it belongs in the top 5) and occupies a particularly spectacular location. With the dramatic backdrop of Benbulben Mountain and a sweeping expanse of crashing Atlantic Ocean to the fore, this is one of the most idyllic links locations in Irish golf and the quality and challenge of the course lives up to the promise admirably.

Stop by at nearby Carne Golf Links near Belmullet, to discover another wonderful Irish links layout and one of the last to be designed by the great Eddie Hackett. Carved through sand dunes towering more than 70 feet into the sky, Carne is nothing less than inspirational and a very special, thoroughly natural experience from start to finish. Ranked among Ireland's top 10, Carne is a hilly, thriller of a joyride, jam-packed with variety and almost as a bonus, a never ending array of stunning views along County Mayo's dramatic coastline.

But this is only a small sampling of the wealth of superb golf that exists in Ireland's northwest. There are far more great courses that await -- Enniscrone, Westport, Connemara, Galway and a couple of dozen more, all with names so distinctly Irish and a welcome for the visitor that is nothing less.

This corner of the Emerald Isle may have escaped the fame and fortune it so justly deserves in the past, but that situation is changing as more visitors come to the realization that this may be the way golf was in the rest of Ireland, 50 years ago. Savor the experience before the crowds start moving in and this slice of the Ireland and golf of yesteryear is gone forever. For more ideas and suggestions on playing the last of Ireland's truly hidden golf gems, click here.

©2008 David Brice / Golf International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Golf International -- Providers of quality golf travel arrangements since 1988.