Doonbeg - A New Beginning

Tee shot off the 1st at Doonbeg

“Are you OK? Have you fallen into a bunker?”

It was a Direct Message I received on Twitter, around 1pm last Thursday. It took a moment to understand the reason for the question but it dawned on me soon enough. I was playing Trump Doonbeg and I’d decided to photograph every hole on my

The One Best Golf Tip I Ever Had... Today's Golfer

The best golf tip I ever received was from my grandfather... "you don't hit anything with your backswing, so why rush it."

In this month's Today's Golfer, 46 Pros and coaches provide the best tips they've ever received. Rory, Tiger, Phil... they're all in here. But my personal favourite comes from Vijay Singh, because it takes my grandfather's advice one step further:

"... start your downswing at the same speed you started your backswing."

Think about it and it makes perfect sense. You're establishing a tempo, a rhythm that allows all the moving parts to work together fluidly.

There are plenty of others that make a lot of sense, too, but my other personal favourites come from Padraig Harrington (and no, it's not technical, as you might expect), Sam Snead and Greg Norman.

And speaking of Norman, there's a long and very frank interview with the Great White Shark. The man always has something interesting to say.

Pick up your copy of Today's Golfer - and if you have any tips you want to add, leave a Comment below!

Is Doonbeg Coming Up Trumps?

View from the 9th green back to The Lodge.

There is only one thing that interests me in the whole media mêlée surrounding Donald Trump’s purchase of Doonbeg…

Is it good for Irish golf?

It’s good for Trump, no question. An estimated €15 million purchase must be the bargain of the year compared with the €110 million he spent constructing just the Scottish course in Aberdeen.

Everyone is falling over themselves to say how wonderful it is to have Trump saving Doonbeg, saving/creating jobs, investing millions, creating a world class resort, instigating world peace and saving mankind. Trump is saying pretty much the same thing: he’s not shy… or modest. But then you don’t get to be as powerful and rich as him without stepping on toes and charging around like a bull in a china shop.

Doonbeg Doom and Gloom... or is it?

Killeen Castle 1st tee

Doonbeg has gone into receivership. It's a shock to the system for golf in Ireland and it continues the high profile casualty list of recent years... one that includes Killeen Castle, Lough Erne and Fota Island*. Fota Island has bounced back dramatically, having been sold by NAMA to the Chinese Kang family in 2013, but various companies involved with Doonbeg, Killeen Castle and Lough Erne are in either receivership or administration...

... But the fateful words 'receivership' and 'administration' are not death knells. Far from it.

Modern Links Masterpieces on the Emerald Isle

From Guest Blogger, Rory, a review of five of Ireland's most modern links.

The 8th at Ballyliffin. Photo by Aidan Bradley
www.golfcoursephotography.com

As we all know golf is an ancient game, rooted in tradition and history, played on courses that have remained largely unchanged over the centuries. While the age old courses are a great reminder of where the game came from, like all things, golf must move forward. Over the last couple of decades we have seen the arrival of some world class, modern golf courses.