The Grateful Eight... Golf Open Weeks Ireland 2016: Batch 2

The green on Castlemartyr's par three 12th.

So who got out there over the last two days and got baked? I was at Rathsallagh to take photographs and I left the club at 9.30am as a man walked down the 1st hole, an umbrella over his head. It was 25 degrees.

The weather over the next couple of weeks looks to be interchangeable but that shouldn’t stop you from getting out and

Knight in Shining Armour... and a great day of golf at Strandhill

The par three 6th at Mulranny
(green to tee and ocean beyond)

A doff of the cap, a nod of the head, a smile and a thank you... whatever way you want to play it, a big congratulations to Strandhill Golf Club. Next Sunday (March 30th) the club is hosting an Open Fourball Rumble with all proceeds going to Mulranny Golf Club.

If you don't already know, Mulranny was battered by the February storms. Set on the picturesque Clew Bay, the Atlantic whipped thousands of rocks onto the golf course, covering fairways and ripping away the sea defences. 

Irish Golf Membership Fees - Eleven Diamonds in the Rough

Connemara Links 16th Hole

At the start of every year many golfers have to sit back and count the cost of Christmas... before considering - or should that be dreading - the cost of the annual sub for the golf club. Around Dublin and the bigger cities, golf clubs have the advantage and can charge subs that hover around the €2,000 mark. Some, of course, are far more expensive... but that's the price of exclusivity and reputation.

And then there are the country courses.

Ireland's Top Ten Hidden Golf Courses - No. 2 (Links)

Approach to the 5th green, a saucer shaped affair.

For the number two links in this Top Ten of Ireland's Fairways Less Travelled we're staying in the North West. This stretch of coastline promises the best value for money when it come to links golf and I would argue that point for days with anyone who disagrees. 

Strandhill is the Number 2 Links. Win a fourball for the course at the end of this blog.