I would be interested in the perceived flaws the poster finds in the identified courses. I can anticipate based upon past critiques. Trallee gets whacked for a supposedly mediocre front 9. The Cashen is often said to be too unforgiving and narrow. Old Head gets it for being shoe horned into the site. I agree with some of those slights, but not all of them. What are others perceptions of the flaws in these links or hybrid courses?
I like all of these courses. I have played only one links in Ireland I didn't care for, Doonbeg, and even that one has a number of holes I think are very good. It has a couple however, that I don't think were at all well thought out. The flat 12th, the par 4 with the bunker in the middle of the green is just a lousy golf hole. 14 plays directly into the prevailing wind and even though it is short, its green is too narrow for the shot required given the wind that is omnipresent. One more from that course, I think its the 3rd hole, a par 5 of about 575 yards, the landing area for the drive is partially blind and Norman saw fit to put an enormous bunker in the middle of it. That would be ok if the fairway there was wide enough to present options to more average players, but it isn't and unless you can hit it 300+ over the bunker you are better off laying off driver and staying well short. It's just really crummy design, having the safe play take driver right out of your hands on a par 5 of that length.
Ok, so I've added a links course where the architect didn't get nearly what he could have out of the site. I'd like to see Trump bring in an architect to fix some of those flaws, and I do think the bad holes can be repaired and made much more enticing. One more thing to add, I'm well aware of the restrictions that were put on Norman due to dune preservation and the snail protection issue. With the possible exception of 14 green, I don't believe the site restrictions impacted the mediocre holes I have identified.