The Links Thread

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.