The Links Thread

I've had a great run of links course the last few weeks.

Royal Dublin.
St Andrews (New, Old, Jubilee)
Royal County Down.

I played fairly good golf the last while - but yesterday my ass was handed to me on a plate - Without losing a ball I shot a 90. Was a miserable day golf wise) - taking 4 shots from under 100 yards on about 4 occasions. The bunkers were soft and when you went in, was a full ball plug and in RCD that is death.

Anyway - nothing like that place to put you back in your place.

The winter rate is still active , but it is still £100 - but it quickly rises from April on. The setting is truly outstanding. I've been up 3 times over the last 7 years and the clouds falling from Slieve Donard into the sea is a sight to see. It literally is like a moving painting of a backdrop and in the winter it is yours for the day. You can see why they travel the world to play it.

RCD has a fairly bad reputation as being unfriendly, a bit up-itself and unwelcoming. But to be honest, I couldn't complain , everyone from the pro , to the clubhouse staff, starter , to the restaurant staff, couldn't do enough for you. At the end of the day , it is ranked in the top 10 in the world and I'd imagine it would be fairly similar in the US , except more fake. Their is an honesty to their identity at least. We are a Royal course, we are deep in the history of the game, we have British heritage.

So lets get on with it - we are here for the golf. We are the same in that regard, we are from the same Golf Union.

The photos on the wall are outstanding - the history, all the names in the game have payed it (I mean all). Tiger, Jack, Arnold, Faldo, McIlroy.

That feeling on the first tee of a big course is something else. You remember looking at the photos as a kid , dreaming of playing these course all over the world and then it is your time on that first tee.

So lets get on with it - we are here for the golf.

The run from 1 to 12 has got to be one of the best runs of golf out there. Just a joy of links golf. Everything in there. The big dunes and hidden danger, the run offs , the best bunkers in the world , the blind drives , the raised tee boxes, the sea view. Just outstanding.

I was blessed with the weather and slieve Donard always threatened a bit of rain , but the sun came out at times , an honest wind kept it in true links conditions.

The bunkers there are completely unique - genius, natural and cruel. The idea of growing heather or just letting them be natural parts of the course is stunning. Impossibly difficult - but such an identity to the course. There are 100s of them. side hils , down hills, hidden , back the front , large, pot, deep, shallow and whilst painful. It Was a delight to see them all in play, versus our recent winter St Andrews trip.

Now to the truth about winter rates. The course is fully in play. But you are so forward it makes the holes comically different. You are basically at the women's tee box and some of these kill the holes. Not to mention place you in the wrong place for the stone markers and the true experience of the course. Then the normal walkways are roped off , entry to the greens are roped off. It didn't ruin the experience. But it made for a long walk, visual impact on your greenside shots and very disappointing tee boxes. It certainly didn't help scoring

What great golf holes. They are simply impossible to describe. You't try think of other courses like it. But it is a very unusual course. I started to hit the ball reasonble ok on the back nine - and the course becomes easier. Yes the quality of the course drops of as you approach the end and 17 and 18 are not up to the high standards. But the standards on the front nine are impossible high to maintain.

I had a fairly poor sleep the night before. Just off the 18th in 2 I ended up with a 6, that seemed to sum up my day. I left the course disappointed, exhilarated , exhausted, contemplative , angry, wanting revenge.

Great links course can sometimes take years to master. They find you out and tell you the truth about your game.

I hit the spa in the Slieve Donard hotel, battered and torn and realized I had to dream it all up again. I can't let that be my last outing in RCD. Great courses make you want to get your own back on them.

I looked out at the sea and the coastline of County Down , what a stunning and complex place. I'll be back, to try unravel it all a bit more again.

Id say it's rare enough anyone here plays Carne .
Particularly over winter / spring.

Carne is not known for being in great condition.

You could ask Kevin Markham . Pm or contact by other means.

londonred wrote: »

Played Corballis yesterday the greens were recently holed and covered in coarse sand thought it was a bit unusual for this time of the year must be some reason for it , on the plus side the recent rain has helped the fairways which got bashed in the drought last year.

How much is Corballis these days lads. In not entirely sure I was ever happy direction the place went.

Fine handing the operation over . But where does the control of the green fee come into it.

dar_cool wrote: »

Parred 15 and birdied 16. Hit good drive on 16 and then hybrid to front of the green. They were probably playing at their easiest with breeze helping. Really messed up the traffic light hole though which was frustrating!!!

Still my favourite course in the country.

So at last I have started the final run of my Irish Golf Links . I do plan on playing them all and Donegal was a serious blip in my list (zero played). I hope to knock 2 more off the Donegal list this year and then I'm onto my final run in Kerry. I should have only 15 to go by summer end (North and South), that includes ones that are questionable as links.

Well first off, Donegal is just a stunning place , the coast line , the wildness of the place and at times the people

Whilst Donegal access has improved over the years - along with Carne , there remains a real inaccessible aspect of playing Links in Donegal. You need to probably take a few days out - head up and play as many as possible on each run.

To start - you have to give it to the people in Donegal , very sound, GUI rate, an Open that week and never felt they were chasing you for anything. They are great fun , a bit mad and don't seem to mind the Dubs

I've spent years looking at photos of golf courses in Donegal , they seem to have merged into a single golf course in my mind. I know very little about what one is which and which one is what.

The locations of the courses are just stunning and that feeling that you have a small piece of Ireland and the world for a day comes true when you are in Murvagh.

The drive into the course is very unusual for a lnks as you are effectively in woodland , this woodland comes into play slightly on the course and is an interesting aspect. The course starts off a bit tame and straightforward , but gets into a fantastic run of holes from 5 to 8 , where the course uses the dunes to great effect.

Now for the bad news , and this is probably a first I can recall at a top links. Last summer as we know, we basically had a drought. So many courses suffered badly and ( I assume) Murvagh was one. The greens are vey poor there at present. Basically very uneven growth resulting in very inconsistent ball behaviour. We tried to not let this take from our enjoyment - but Links golf is so much about the greens.

Murvagh falls into the category of a flat rolling links. In my mind I had always considered the west coast the links of the big and dramatic changes in height. I have a personal preference for these. The more I play courses of this style , the more I realise how fairer they are and you basically play the hole as you see it. There are large dunes in part of the course , but they always seem to be too far away, on the edges and out of reach.

Murvagh is a fantastic location, a very playable course, a fast round , a place you feel you could score, a place you feel you could be a member. But is it a the top top tier. I feel it isn't.

It ranks very highly in the Irish listings. I was never a man who got into the finer aspects of hole design - it is more feel and look and after I play a hole . I know it was a great hole.

So I've started Donegal. I know there is so much more to come and I think I will probably be back to Murvagh again. As accessibility goes , it is as easy as it comes in this stunning , wild and mysterious county.

Till then, it is back to the pictures in magazines, brochures and childhood dreams.

Thanks lads - some good options there.

Glad I didn't pick today - would be horrendous out there.

Like the sound of Portmarnock Links off the back , if it would be a tough day out.

Arklow next friday sounds good.

Was looking at the start of this thread from 6 years ago and the value that was out there was unreal to unrealistic. Sadly it seems it is getting harder and harder to find value for the big courses. Only chance is an invite, or if you are in the area a particular week of an open or take time off work for the various challenges.

Last few years I was saving money - so haven't been doing road trips to knock off the Links list. I've effectively done the east coast. Parts of North , Donegal and Kerry remain. I'm tipping away at them, and hope to push it a bit more in next year or two. Thanks to Boards golf society and a few family holidays , I have hit Donegal and Kerry at last , and I'm in a mind to go up there for 4/5 days and just get as many done as possible at some point.

Anyway - to get myself moving again. I looked up an Open on a Links, and to my pleasant surprise Seapoint had one. Any course I ever go to in Louth , you can't beat the friendliness of the people and staff there. Sorted me out at short notice and 32 euro - great stuff.

I had actaully played Seapoint a long long time ago. A time I wouldn't have dreamt of playing as many course as I have played in the interim period. When you have played most of the big championship links - you are looking at these course in a different light. In fact, in Seapoint you are actaully looking at Baltray in great fondness in the same winter light.

But........I just love links golf. Courses considered below the top tier , I still love. Arklow, Corballis, Laytown, Rosslare, Sutton. I can't put my finger on it. It is just the sea, the sound, the wildness, the isolation, the ground, the irregularity of it all. Even if not considered great, I enjoy the day.

Sorry , back to the golf and course. I no longer look at these things as if they are some sort of astral projection. It was too cold to be outer body :D

I do recall any talk of Seapoint is often about , how the front 9 is not Links like at all. There is no doubt , the look of the holes, the feel, the actual sod. Is more damp and dark and there are holes that wouldn't be out of place in Carton House. But I liked many of them. Then the back nine is a fantastic run of holes, with different shapes , sizes and a fantastic final coastal run. The final coastal run is as good as any on the east.

It was a tough, cold, winter day and it needed good golf to get anywhere near 36 pts. I had 33 myself (off 6 now). But on a different day you feel the course would be a course you could clock up a serious score. But the day in it , we had a 3 club wind and snow for 2 holes - always a strange sight on a course.

So - a great day on a different course. I enjoyed the challenge. I realized how much I missed my trips to new links courses. The roads you drive down with no other reason but to find a course in the middle of nowhere.

I'm trying to get back playing a decent level of golf - but God this game is tough.

So back on the road, back battling this game and trying to find the perfect course and round. Or perhaps, it is already there and already done.

What a game.
What a country we have for golf.