[Paul_Turner]

Does anyone have a photo of this Colt green?  For posterity...it's being replaced by Pat Ruddy at the moment.

I have lots of pics of the course but not this hole

Thanks

[Tommy Williamsen]

Pat grew up on this course and has great love for it and this job.

[Bill_McBride]

Any idea why?

I really need to expand my resume to Ireland proper, it's been a major oversight. 

[Tony_Muldoon]

Any idea why?

I really need to expand my resume to Ireland proper, it's been a major oversight.  

Bill there is a good chance BUDA 2015 will be Carne/Enniscrone in September 2016 (tbc).

From Enniscrone it's less than an hour to Strandhill and Rosses Point.  From there you have a choice

head South aiming for Lahinch, Doonbeg, hop on a ferry then  Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, Waterville and fly out of Shannon.

or head North picking from Donegal, Narin & Portnoo, Cruit Island, North West, Dunfanghy, Portsalon, Rosapenna (x2), Ballyliffin (x2), hop on a ferry then Castlerock, Portstewart, Portrush(x2) and fly out of Belfast.

Other itineraries are possible. see
http://www.golfadventureguides.com/IrelandGolfSat/  

I hope that Buda can be arranged over a weekend and then plan to spend the next week travelling and playing.




Pat Ruddy is a master of keeping journalists well fed with stories.
http://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2014/12/1/rosses-point-renovation-yields-buried-treasure  


Here's the Club's  'justification' for the changes.
http://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2014/10/14/county-sligo-keen-to-bring-irish-open-to-renovated-rosses-point




NOTE EDIT ABOVE: Ally has captured the pre edit version below. The Irish Buda is of course a proposition for 2016.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Any idea why?

I really need to expand my resume to Ireland proper, it's been a major oversight. 

Bill there is a good chance BUDA 2015 will be Carne/Enniscrone in September 2015 (tbc).

From Enniscrone it's less than an hour to Strandhill and Rosses Point.  From there you have a choice

head South aiming for Lahinch, Doonbeg, hop on a ferry then  Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, Waterville and fly out of Shannon.

or head North picking from Donegal, Narin & Portnoo, Cruit Island, North West, Dunfanghy, Portsalon, Rosapenna (x2), Ballyliffin (x2), hop on a ferry then Castlerock, Portstewart, Portrush(x2) and fly out of Belfast.

Other itineraries are possible. see
http://www.golfadventureguides.com/IrelandGolfSat/ 

I hope that Buda can be arranged over a weekend and then plan to spend the next week travelling and playing.




Pat Ruddy is a master of keeping journalists well fed with stories.
http://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2014/12/1/rosses-point-renovation-yields-buried-treasure 


Here's the Club's  'justification' for the changes.
http://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2014/10/14/county-sligo-keen-to-bring-irish-open-to-renovated-rosses-point

If BUDA 2016 is agreed to be at Mulranny / Carne / Enniscrone, then we'll make sure it is over a weekend Tony, most likely the first weekend in September.

I'd highly recommend a Rosses Point / Strandhill stop either side of that weekend

[Paul_Turner]

Pat grew up on this course and has great love for it and this job.

Tommy

Is he doing the work for free?  If he loved the course so much he would leave well enough alone (and the ideas came from him, not the club)

Ruddy's self promotion of his changes are nonsense:

“move County Sligo back to the very pinnacle of world golf,”

All from a few back tees , a new green and some tacked on green extensions from an architect that hasn't built a course as good as Sligo?


The reasons for doing the work??? The decline in green fees is due to a fall in magazine rankings?  A spurious correlation if ever there was one.

"Members heard that the work was proposed against a background of declining green fees; falling rankings for the club nationally and internationally; and a loss of profile.

In the past 12 years membership has dropped; revenue from green fees has nearly halved and the club is perceived to rank no longer inside the top 10 in Ireland and the top 100 in Great Britain and Ireland"

So if the club doesn't recover its revenues after Ruddy's work, does he return his fee to the benefactor?

[Thomas Dai]

There are some CS-RP photos by me and others on this thread - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,56266.0.html

Curious course though (see comments on thread), so I was quite surprised to see Tom and Co give it such high marks in the Confidential Guide in comparison to say Enniscrone and Carne.

Hope to see the various changes in 2015.

Incidentally, there is a wonderful 3-course, 3-day, 3-person team amateur open competition played each year at County Sligo-Carne-Enniscrone called the Atlantic Links Challenge. Very well organised and splendid craic to play in and not expensive either. Only thing is it's in early July so doesn't fit in with the mentioned Buda timing otherwise it would probably be a nice add-on.

atb

[Paul_Turner]

Thanks  Thomas...I still can't find a close up photo of the 3rd green.

It was good to see the Confidential Guide authors give Sligo good marks.  It doesn't have many of the humpy/bumpy greens or fairways of some other links but it very exposed and plays well even in strong winds whereas some of the newer courses in the big dunes just knacker you out.     Tom's original comparison with Gullane#1 is a good one I think.

[Mark_F]

"Members heard that the work was proposed against a background of declining green fees; falling rankings for the club nationally and internationally; and a loss of profile.

In the past 12 years membership has dropped; revenue from green fees has nearly halved and the club is perceived to rank no longer inside the top 10 in Ireland and the top 100 in Great Britain and Ireland"

I don't see anything wrong with this way of thinking at all, Paul.  It would be interesting to know if they have figures on how many visiting golfers return to play the course. 

It's worth a visit the first time you are around that area, but there's no particular reason to go back.  I realise the routing is unlikely to change, but those last five or six holes straight into the wind just leave you with memories of a hard slog home, , and when you combine that with the generally underwhelming nature of many of the holes that precede them, it's pretty difficult to justify a return visit.

[Paul_Turner]

Well many notable critics disagree with your take Mark.  If you favour links with wild greens and bumpy fairways then it may not be your cup of tea and lots of out and back links have the same slog.

There are lots of potential reasons as to why the green fees and memberships have declined (Irish crash etc),  there's more competition for green fees and membership in Ireland now but the changes are unlikely to make much difference.

[Sean_A]

Its always somewhat surprising to me when people suggest Sligo isn't up to much.  I have long held the belief that it is architecturally the most sophisticated design of co Sligo or co Donegal.  I prefer others mainly because of cost...(Sligo charges a bundle in a competitive neighbourhood), but I couldn't say any of the Sligo or Donegal stars match Co Sligo.  This is one of the problems of fly by nighters.  They look for huge dunes and well, thats about it.  Its a pity.   

Ciao

[mike_malone]

I find the creeks to be a unique feature versus other Irish courses. Only Royal Dublin had any that were fun among the Irish courses I have played.

[Sean_A]

I find the creeks to be a unique feature versus other Irish courses. Only Royal Dublin had any that were fun among the Irish courses I have played.

Mayday

I agree, the use of water at Sligo is superb and often completely overlooked.

Ciao

[Paul_Turner]

One of the greens on holes in the 14-17 stretch is planned to be replaced too: in phase 2 next year.   I can't imagine anyone messing with the great 14th and the 17th green can't really be moved, so I suspect 15 green will be moved left towards the stream or perhaps the 16th green pushed further on.  Caving into pressure for longer length for the pros as usual.

Yes the stream is a fine unusual hazard.  I love the "grip" down the right side of the 8th fairway too.

[Ally Mcintosh]

One of the greens on holes in the 14-17 stretch is planned to be replaced too: in phase 2 next year.   I can't imagine anyone messing with the great 14th and the 17th green can't really be moved, so I suspect 15 green will be moved left towards the stream or perhaps the 16th green pushed further on.  Caving into pressure for longer length for the pros as usual.

Yes the stream is a fine unusual hazard.  I love the "grip" down the right side of the 8th fairway too.

The plan is to move 14 green, Paul.

[Paul_Turner]

Move the green on the best hole on the links?  That's nuts.

Isn't the green perfectly placed relative to the diagonal stream?  For the long run up shot into the prevailing wind?

Where is the new green going to go?  Farther right into the dunes?

I hope Pat Ruddy and club rethink this.

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