
From an Irish perspective there are a
couple of interesting things to note: 21 courses from this island make the cut.
The rankings are as follows:
2 Royal County Down – no change
11 Royal Portrush – up 1
15 Waterville – down 4
16 Ballybunion – down 3
20 The European – down 3
25 Portmarnock – up 4
26 Lahinch – down 3
32 Trump International (Doonbeg) – down 10
39 Old Head – down 6
45 Rosapenna – down 3
53 Tralee – down 2
59 Co Louth – down 3
73 Ballyliffin (Glashedy) – up 1
75 The Island – up 4
76 Druid’s Glen – down 5
78 Lough Erne – down 15
82 Mount Juliet – up 1
84 K Club (Palmer) – down 19
93 County Sligo – New Entry
98 Portmarnock Links – down 8
98 Carne – down 3
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Approach to The Island's 5th hole. |
However, there are some significant falls: Waterville has fallen from 11 to 15… although the pain will be lessened by their award from the World GolfAwards last week, as the best course in Ireland; Trump’s new course, aka Doonbeg, has fallen 10 places; Old Head by 6; Druid’s Glen by 5; Lough Erne by a massive 15; and Portmarnock Links by 9 places.
But the K Club has been completely thumped,
dropping 19 places to 84. Overall, it’s a tough return for Ireland’s top
courses.
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Views back down the 13th at Royal County Down |
A further 15 courses make the second 100,
although I remain somewhat bemused as to why Enniscrone, Portstewart (Strand)
and Adare don’t make the top 100. I would swap those with three top 100 Irish
courses in a heartbeat.
Green Fees
The other interesting thing to note is that
if you take the top 30 courses, the average green fee is Sterling £166 per
round. Three of these – all British and ranked 18, 19 and 28 – are the only
courses with a green fee below £100. Even so, the five Irish courses south of
the border fare very well. In fact, apart from Old Head and the K Club – two
courses renowned for their high green fees – the green fees in Ireland are
better value than their GB counterparts… completely at odds with the oft
perceived view (in GB) that Irish green fees are higher.
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Mount Juliet's charming par three 14th |
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