Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 Courses

The Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 annual rankings are out... let the arguments, debates and fisticuffs begin. You can look at rankings in one of two ways: ignore them as playful nonsense; or take them with a pinch of salt and go play the courses that catch your eye. They're there as a guide. As always, I have my quibbles - some big, some small - but when you have so many people involved in the ranking process it's impossible to get a consensus that everybody is happy with.

Needs no introduction - the view of the 9th hole (post blind drive) at Royal County Down

For example, if you took 100 people and asked them to rank 100 courses, 50 of them could come back and say Royal County Down (RCD) is number 1; the other 50 might put RCD at number 100. The median puts RCD at number 50... and not one person out of that 100 is happy.

I shall not make any comments this year... other than to say Esker Hills is the highest New Entry at 82, and, as always, a few of my favourites are not on the list (Coollattin, The Curragh, Macreddin, Rathcore - all listed under 'Worthy Mentions' at the end of Golf Digest's list - and Portarlington and Scrabo).

Rathcore's impressive par three 16th

The rankings are based on seven criteria:

Shot making/variety 20 pointsDesign variety 10 points

Memorability 10 points

Wow factor 10 points

Condition 10 points

Playability 10 points

Degree of difficulty/fairness 10 points

So here it is and please feel free to leave your comments below:

1. Royal County Down (=)

2. Portmarnock (=)

3. Royal Portrush (=)

4. Waterville (=)

5. Lahinch (Up 1)

6. Ballybunion (Old) (down 1)

7. The European Club (up 1)

8. Tralee (Down 1)

9. County Louth (Baltray) (=)

10. Adare (=)

11. County Sligo (Rosses Point) (=)

12. Ballyliffin, Glashedy (Up 1)

13. Enniscrone (Up 1)

14. The Island (Down 2)

15. Portstewart, Strand (Up 2)

16. Mount Juliet (Down 1)

17. Killeen Castle (up 1)

18. Donegal (down 2)

19. The K-Club, Palmer (up 1)

20. Belmullet, Carne (Up 1)

Mount Juliet's superb 4th hole - a lethal par four (Down 1)

21. Ballyliffin, Old Links (Up 1)

22. The Old Head of Kinsale (Up 2)

23. Portmarnock Links (Up 8)

24. Royal Dublin (Down 5)

25. Portsalon (Up 2)

26. Doonbeg (Down 3)

27. Carlow (Up 2)

28. Rosapenna, Sandy Hills (Down 3) (Dropped 7 places in last 2 years)

29. Lough Erne (Up 3)

30. Carton House, Montgomerie (Down 2)

31. Cork (Down 1)

32. Dooks (Up 1)

33. Killarney, Killeen (Down 7) (Dropped 10 places in last 2 years)

34. Rosapenna, Old Tom Morris (=)

35. Castlerock (=)

36. Headfort, New (=)

37. Fota Island, Deerpark (Up 3)

38. Narin And Portnoo (Up 5) (Up 13 places in last 2 years)

39. Druids Glen (Down 2)

40. Concra Wood (Down 2)

The 3rd hole at Portsalon (Up 2)

41. Slieve Russell (Up 4)

42. The K-Club, Smurfit Course (Down 1)

43. Seapoint (Down 1)

44. Connemara (Up 4) (Up 12 places in last 2 years)

45. Luttrellstown Castle (Down 6)

46. Carton House, O’Meara (Up 3)

47. Tramore (=)

48. Heritage (Down 4)

49. Dun Laoghaire (Up 6)  

50. Palmerstown House Estate (Down 4)

51. Belvoir Park (=)

52. Malone (=)

53. Powerscourt, West Course (Down 3) (Dropped 15 places in last 2 years)

54. Portumna (Down 1)

55. Portrush, Valley (Up 3)

56. Glasson (Up 6)

57. Bunclody (Up 2)

58. Hermitage (Down 1)

59. Castletroy (Up 4) (Up 26 places in last 2 years)

60. Farnham Estate (Down 6) (Dropped 12 places in last 2 years)

The 9th Hole at Dun Laoghaire (Up 6)

61. Arklow (Up 4)

62. Mount Wolseley (Up 2) (Up 14 places in last 2 years)

63. Royal Belfast (Up 8)

64. Westport (Down 8) (Dropped 19 places in last 2 years)

65. Dromoland Castle (Up 4)

66. Clandeboye Dufferin (=)

67. Druids Heath (Up 3)

68. Powerscourt, East Course (Up 7)

69. Rathsallagh (Down 2)

70. Tullamore (Down 9) (Dropped 17 places in last 2 years)

71. Dundalk (Down 11) (Dropped 21 places in last 2 years)

72. Castlemartyr (Up 4)

73. Shannon (=)

74. Strandhill (Up 4) (Up 9 places in last 2 years)

75. Ardglass (Down 4)

76. Rosslare (Up 5) (Up 22 places in last 2 years)

77. Laytown and Bettystown (=)

78. Grange (Down 4)

79. Ballybunion, Cashen (Up 2) (Up 14 places in last 2 years)

80. Ballinrobe (Up 10)

Ballybunion Cashen's drop-dead gorgeous par three 16th (up 2)

81. Dingle, Ceann Sibeal (Up 17)

82. Esker Hills (New Entry)

83. Castle (Down 4)

84. St. Annes (Down 2)

85. Mullingar (Down 5)

86. Galgorm Castle (Up 2)

87. Galway Bay (Up 9)

88. Galway (Down 1)

89. Balbriggan (Up 3)

90. Courtown (Down 1)

91. Tulfarris (Up 3)

92. Knightsbrook (Down 7) (Dropped 13 places in last 2 years)

93. Bantry Bay (Down 7) (Dropped 23 places in last 2 years)

94. Kirkistown Castle (Down 1)

95. Killarney, (Mahony’s Point) (New Entry)

96. St. Margaret’s (New Entry)

97. Kilkenny (Down 14) (Dropped 31 places in last 2 years)

98. Skellig Bay (Down 14)

99. Athlone (New Entry)

100. Woodenbridge (=)

The sweet par three 8th at Woodenbridge

Out of the Top 100 this year are: New Forest, Moyvalley, Castleknock and Killarney Lackabane (due to closure).

As I said above, any thought you have on the Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 2013, let's be having them.

Portsalon Just Treats Deal

Just Treats have been getting some more good golf deals out there, encouraging golfers to head a bit further than they might otherwise venture. And that's a good thing. There are too many great Irish courses that golfers have never heard of, so companies like Just Treats - and others - do Irish golf an important service by promoting not only green fee value but also the courses themselves.

I had never heard much about Portsalon Golf Club before my visit, but I am passionate about it now. I pitch the 2nd hole as the best 2nd hole in Ireland, but, in truth, it could easily be the best hole on the island. Danger, beauty, challenge, inspiration - they're all there in abundance. The holes that follow it, along the water, are almost as incredible. And then there are the dead sailors buried beneath the fairways. It all adds up to a thrilling links adventure in the depths of beautiful Donegal. 

[Photo: the mighty 2nd hole]

The Just Treats offer is a discount of up to 34% off two green fees - which would leave you paying €59 for a two-ball. Not bad at all when you consider the quality of the golf course - currently being 'tweaked' by Paul McGinley.

Other courses in the area:
Rosapenna (Sandy Hills and Old Tom Morris courses)
Dunfanaghy (links)
Letterkenny (parkland)
North West (links)
Ballyliffin (links)
Foyle (parkland)

FYI - on the Portsalon website they're promoting the following:
Three Day Pass to Rosapenna, Letterkenny & Portsalon only €90.

The Dead of Portsalon Golf Club

[Photo: Portsalon's 6th hole alongside the beach]

At the end of a hard round, striding over dunes and lapping up exceptional views, you don't really want to be told that there are dead bodies lying underneath your feet on the 18th fairway.

When Donegal's Murvagh course revamped its 1st green a few years back, the skeleton of a woman was discovered in the ground. It was too old to be of interest to the Gardai, and too young to attract the archaeologists, so it was removed and disposed of. A bit of a damp squib really.

What is going on at Portsalon is an entirely different matter. Here we're talking about the remains of 250 sailors, or some of them at least.

[Photo: Portsalon's par four 2nd, over the beach/Ballymastocker Strand]

200 years ago, on December 4th 1811, the HMS Saldanha sank in a violent storm near Ballymastocker Strand in Donegal. More than 250 lives were lost and it was one of the greatest sea tragedies on those shores. It is thought the ship was trying to return to harbour in Lough Swilly, on the Inishowen peninsula, when she struck rocks near Fanad Head.

She finally ran aground but was so battered by the sea that all lives were lost... bar the captain and his parrot who both survived briefly: the captain, William Pakenham, died on the shore after being given a drink of poitin. The parrot died, a few days later in a local garden. The account says that upon finding a strange bird in his garden the farmer shot it. The parrot was reported to be wearing a collar inscribed with the words ‘Captain Pakenham of His Majesty’s Ship Saldanha’. It was the last member of the Saldanha to perish.

The captain received his own burial plot in Rathmullen Priory burial ground, but many of the sailors were placed in a mass grave, thought to be under Portsalon's 18th fairway, with a massive stone used to cover the bodies. Just how many remains to be seen.

There is no record of the parrot's burial - perhaps it was buried with the captain, or perhaps it became an exotic dinner.

[Photo: Views of Portsalon's beach, aka Ballymastocker Strand]

Fanad Head lighthouse was built in response to the disaster and its beacon first lit up Lough Swilly's dark waters on St. Patrick's Day, 1816, five years after the tragedy.

Portsalon Golf Club have been very accommodating: they welcomed a 200th anniversary commemoration ceremony on the 18th fairway and the club has also allowed historians to walk the course, using scanners to locate the bodies.

Over the years bones have been found and, not surprisingly for a county which resorts to poitin in difficult situations, there have been numerous tales of ghostly sailors walking the roads or trying to enjoy a free round on the links.

Donegal County Council plans to erect granite memorials at Portsalon beach and on the golf course... as if a links course didn't have enough hazards already.

One final thought: Captain William Pakenham came from famous Irish stock, but it was his brother-in-law who will be remembered most: he was Sir Arthur Wellesley, who became the Duke of Wellington, victor of one of the greatest battles in history in 1815: Waterloo.

When you play Portsalon Golf Club, you will have your own battles, but spare a thought for all those sailors as you head up the last. And raise a glass of poitin from the warmth of the clubhouse bar.

Other photos of Portsalon Golf Club

Portsalon's Changes Part II

Here are three photos showing just one of the changes to Portsalon Golf Club. These are all of the par three 15th:

[Photo: view of the original hole from the tee, where the mound blocks a full view of the green, and hides the bunker on the right]

[Photo: still the original hole but now showing the old bunkers - there's also one barely visible at the back of the green]

[Photo: the NEW hole, from the tee. With the mound gone, there's far more to see, including the new bunkers]

Portsalon gets the McGinley Touch

[Photo: the magical par four 2nd, and one of the toughest holes in the country]

It all started so innocently… one of Portsalon’s former Captains is married to Paul McGinley’s sister… so Paul received an invitation to play at one of Donegal’s finest links courses.

After the round he was asked for his opinions on the course, so he made a few comments... and Portsalon set about implementing them. After a small portion of work was completed, Paul was invited to give some feedback. And once he had expressed his approval, he was formally invited to work on the revamping of Portsalon Golf Club. For those who don’t know, McGinley was the man behind Macreddin Golf Club in Co. Wicklow.

[Portsalon's beach - part of it]

Now, let me point out, Portsalon has a huge amount going for it already. Its location is breathtaking (the beach, the bay, Knockalla Mountain), the shape of the land and dunes is magical and the quality of some holes is exceptional – the par four 2nd is indisputably one of the best in the country (even Paul McGinley said so)… so the question is, what was McGinley going to do to make the course better still?

Johnny Shields is Portsalon’s Head Greenkeeper:

“We started in October 2010, and it’s the start of a five year plan. Over the last year we’ve been upgrading and introducing new bunkers to nine holes, and we’ll be doing the same next year with the other nine. In all we’ll have about 50. Paul’s idea was to make the course more player-friendly and to make traps and hazards more visible.”

Johnny explained that McGinley wanted to introduce traditional revetted links style bunkers, with steep faces. To make the course more player-friendly, you only need look at the Index 1 par four 6th, where the fairway has been widened to make the hole more accessible, and the green has been extended into the hollow on the left thereby making it less punishing. On the brilliant 2nd, the club closed the three bunkers that ran along the right hand side of the green, which were impossible to see from the fairway, and replaced them with one revetted stlye bunker at the front right.

"The reason for this was that Paul thought the hole was tough enough for the average golfer without them hitting good shots and getting penalised when they got up to the green, only to find there ball in a greenside bunker.

[Photo: new bunkers at the par three 15th]

"On the par three 15th," Johnny continues, "we closed the bunker at the back of the green, made two bunkers out of the original one on the right, and replaced the bunker on the left. To make these visible from the tee we lowered the mound that was halfway from tee to green, to give full visibility of the putting surface and its bunkers." (See photo)

As the course is reshaped, the length will stay approximately the same. Some holes will be lengthened and some shortened, while there will also be some green extensions. The current gravel paths will be turfed over to give it a more natural look and feel.

A five year plan may seem like a long time, but the work is taking place during the autumn and winter months so that the course stays open for play as much as possible. It also spreads the costs of the work.

And bear in mind that the work is all being carried out by the in-house greenkeeping team… which numbers just four.

“When we finish a job,” says Johnny, “we photograph the work and email it to Paul for his approval. So far he’s been happy.”

Let’s hope it stays that way and Portsalon gets the recognition it deserves.

Ireland's Best 18 Holes: Hole 2

Hole 2 Portsalon Par 4 361 metres. ‘Strand’

Portsalon is one of those ever-changing links that always keeps you guessing. It’s easy to be distracted by the magnificent views of Knockalla Mountain and Lough Swilly, but nothing quite prepares you for the spectacle that arrives as you walk away from the 1st green. The famous Portsalon beach stretches out below you, the views are superb and you’re faced with a hole that is one of the very best – if not the best – in Ireland. It is also Index 3, which demands two immense shots over the beach itself, on the drive, and across the river on the approach. It’s a dogleg that’s all on show below you, so bite off as much as you dare on your drive. It’s a brave shot into the green, just over the river, which is far wider that you’d believe from the tee box.

[Photo: the par five at Tralee. Aim well left]

Tralee and Cairndhu are two of several spectacular alternatives. Tralee’s is the more famous, a par five dogleg wrapping around low cliffs and the beach, heading out onto the headland. As one of the most scenic locations for an Irish golf course, many of Tralee’s holes are outstanding, and this is just one of them. (Apologies for the photograph, which doesn’t do the hole justice at all – checkout the second image at http://traleegolfclub.com/index.php/course/library/).

[Photo: the par three at Cairndhu]

Cairndhu has a peach of a 2nd hole. It’s a par three that comes at the end of one of the steepest opening holes in Ireland. You’re high on a rocky headland and the hole stretches 150 yards from one side to the other. The views, once again, are spectacular – taking in Ailsa Craig and Scotland on a clear day.

One hole I didn’t mention in the book is the 2nd at Old Head of Kinsale. After a straightforward ‘inland’ hole, you arrive at the tee to discover what all the fuss is about. The cliffs, the ocean and a dogleg that dances along the cliffs’ edge.

[Photo: Old Head and the lighthouse]