Countdown to opening day, Sat 26 June 2021 - St. Patrick's Links (Rosapenna)

[Peter Pallotta]

And the inestimable Jeff Warne, definitive source for all things GB&I, Sirius Radio host, Long Island based Director of Golf, well travelled expert golfer and respected gca aficionado, wrote the following half way through that welcomed analysis:

"I need some further reflection, but despite the green to tee walks this might be my favourite Doak course".

Wow.
High. Praise. Indeed.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Well in fairness Peter:


It’s Tom’s “one true links”.


Links is inarguably the greatest form of the game, he had a perfect site but most importantly of all, he and the team didn’t put a foot wrong.


Doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that it could be Jeff’s favourite Doak course. (It’s even in his beloved Donegal!).

[Adam Lawrence]

Well in fairness Peter:

It’s Tom’s “one true links”.

Barnbougle looked a pretty true links to me when I was there. I haven't see Tara Iti but perhaps the same applies. Others may be debatable but I'm not sure those two are.

[Tom_Doak]

It’s Tom’s “one true links”.

Everybody’s got their own definition, but it would be pretty strict to say I hadn’t built a true links before now.  The head of the Ladies’ Golf Union called Pacific Dunes “the finest links course I have ever seen” and she was from the homeland!


The only way you’d rule out Barnbougle is to insist that fescue was covering the dunes all along.  By that definition, I have only seen two links sites in my life - the other was Castlegregory.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Yeah, I was deliberately being a little bit glib - suggesting GB&I is the only “true” home of links land.


But surely you have seen more than a couple of links that originated purely as fescue? Or do you mean that strictly as well, in that there was no marram cover nearer the shoreline?… Even so, any machair landscape (Mulranny?) is primarily fescue at birth.

[Tom_Doak]

But surely you have seen more than a couple of links that originated purely as fescue? Or do you mean that strictly as well, in that there was no marram cover nearer the shoreline?… Even so, any machair landscape (Mulranny?) is primarily fescue at birth.

I'm sure nearly all the ancient links were grazed fescue to start.  I was saying I have only ever seen two raw links sites* where you could "mow out" a golf course instead of stripping vegetation.  Most of the site near Castlegregory was that . . . and they wouldn't even let us do that!


* St Andrews Beach, The National, and Cape Kidnappers were all grazed land that could just be mowed out, too, but either they weren't fescue or someone would call them not links.  I played an exhibition with Mike Clayton on the unbuilt course at St Andrews Beach 18 years ago.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Adam's review of St. Patrick's Links:
https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/digital/magazine/issue66/54/

[Tom_Doak]

Donal:


Yes, yet another over-the-top review.  But, Adam’s comparison with Barnbougle is very much to the point; of my other high-ranked designs, Barnbougle and St Patrick’s are the least re-shaped.


One point missing in all these reviews (written by Europeans who have met Clyde and/or Angela) is that Eric Iverson was the lead associate and deserves more than co-credit — especially under the circumstances of COVID.  With all due respect to Angela and Clyde’s creative contributions, there is no way I would have made the call not to go back for the bunkering work last year, if I didn’t trust Eric to edit as necessary  I have worked w Eric for 30+ years, and we had walked the site together to do the routing, so I knew he knew what I would want there.

[Tony_Muldoon]

All great to hear.   I've long moaned about the fact that in the last 50 years Ireland has had the most new Links courses constructed without any of them being a really interesting, let alone a great, course.  The exciting thing is with Tom Doak an interest, it may just get even better over time.


The changes at Narin and Portnoo are also most intriguing.

Can't wait to get back to Donegal.

[Niall C]

All great to hear.   I've long moaned about the fact that in the last 50 years Ireland has had the most new Links courses constructed without any of them being a really interesting, let alone a great, course.

Tony

Why is that do you think ? I imagine it can't be that the sites weren't good enough although I suspect a couple of them must have been a challenge given the severity of the dunes, and not sure lack of budget is the answer since a lot of the great links were originally "laid out" and then tweaked piecemeal at little cost.

Is it maybe they haven't had that constant revision that pretty well all the great links from late 19th and early 20th century have had, or is that original designs weren't that inspiring in the first place ?

Niall

[Peter Pallotta]

Whenever I see photos of the course I think of today's golfers travelling to Ireland by plane from New York or Tokyo, following in the footsteps of Bernard Darwin taking the train up from London to play the Scottish links courses.

[Tom_Doak]

Whenever I see photos of the course I think of today's golfers travelling to Ireland by plane from New York or Tokyo, following in the footsteps of Bernard Darwin taking the train up from London to play the Scottish links courses.

I have never seen anyone from Japan at Rosapenna or, for that matter, on any Irish course.


However, there are lots of Swedes and Germans who go to Donegal because it's less expensive than the SW of Ireland, where prices are geared toward Americans.  Hopefully, St. Patrick's will be upsetting that balance of power, at least a little bit.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I think it will upset the balance a little bit Tom because adding one world class course in Donegal to a bunch of almost world class courses is enough to attract a whole new demographic.


But the main problem still remains that Shannon is a gateway to the South West whereas there isn’t a North West equivalent airport for Americans.


Then again, there doesn’t seem to be a problem for many travellers in spending significant time behind a steering wheel.

[Tom_Doak]

But the main problem still remains that Shannon is a gateway to the South West whereas there isn’t a North West equivalent airport for Americans.

Then again, there doesn’t seem to be a problem for many travellers in spending significant time behind a steering wheel.

Yes, it's still very sensitive to suggest people fly into Belfast instead, and hit Royal Portrush on the way to Co. Donegal.  But I suspect that will become a common itinerary in the years ahead.

[jeffwarne]

But the main problem still remains that Shannon is a gateway to the South West whereas there isn’t a North West equivalent airport for Americans.

Then again, there doesn’t seem to be a problem for many travellers in spending significant time behind a steering wheel.

Yes, it's still very sensitive to suggest people fly into Belfast instead, and hit Royal Portrush on the way to Co. Donegal.  But I suspect that will become a common itinerary in the years ahead.

There currently are no direct flights to Belfast, which is the real problem.
That may be good news for Bellmullet , Enniscrone and Sligo as a Shannon flight would take one along that route, making it not so great for say Northwest GC or Portsalon GC if the trip gets that spread out as Matt Ginella's recent trip did. He drove by a lot of great stuff, as so many do.
Dublin is about 3 hours from most courses in Donegal, but I'd still prefer that to the lost clubs risk of connecting, though most recently my clubs were lost on a direct flight right here in the US.
Flying in and out of Dublin brings those courses, as well as Northern Ireland into play, which again may hurt the less famous courses in Donegal on ahit and run itinerary.

[Dan_Callahan]

When I first visited Donegal, after hearing so many people describe it as remote and difficult to get to, I was shocked at how insanely exaggerated that is. From Dublin to Dunfanaghy, it’s about a 3.5 hour drive! I do day trips up to Maine and NY for golf that take longer than that! Selfishly, though, I hope conventional wisdom remains that Donegal is Irish Siberia and the masses stay away.

[jeffwarne]

When I first visited Donegal, after hearing so many people describe it as remote and difficult to get to, I was shocked at how insanely exaggerated that is. From Dublin to Dunfanaghy, it’s about a 3.5 hour drive! I do day trips up to Maine and NY for golf that take longer than that! Selfishly, though, I hope conventional wisdom remains that Donegal is Irish Siberia and the masses stay away.

I just did it in 3:10 in a 9 person people carrier! and I'm not a fast driver.
It often takes me that long EACH WAY to commute to an event in Westchesterfrom eastern LI.
The roads are quite good from Dunfanaghy -Dublin.
I'm afraid the masses are coming, which is why I slipped in a trip this fall.

[Dan_Callahan]

I'm afraid the masses are coming, which is why I slipped in a trip this fall.

I hope not. I’ll be there for three weeks in July and am planning on golfing my face off.

[Garland Bayley]

When I first visited Donegal, after hearing so many people describe it as remote and difficult to get to, I was shocked at how insanely exaggerated that is. From Dublin to Dunfanaghy, it’s about a 3.5 hour drive! I do day trips up to Maine and NY for golf that take longer than that! Selfishly, though, I hope conventional wisdom remains that Donegal is Irish Siberia and the masses stay away.

I just did it in 3:10 in a 9 person people carrier! and I'm not a fast driver.
It often takes me that long EACH WAY to commute to an event in Westchesterfrom eastern LI.
The roads are quite good from Dunfanaghy -Dublin.
I'm afraid the masses are coming, which is why I slipped in a trip this fall.

Everything in Ireland is just a stone's throw away. After all, Portland to Bandon is generally reported as a 5 hour drive, and you don't even leave the state.

[Adam Lawrence]

Flying into Derry puts you within an hour and a quarter of Rosapenna. Unfortunately Derry currently has service only from Glasgow, Liverpool and Stansted, of which, I guess, only the first is really of any use to travelling American golfers.


The tiny Donegal airport, an hour’s drive away, has service from Dublin under an Irish government grant scheme to protect remote communities. But the car rental service at the airport is very limited, and there is a new airline on the route as the previous operator just went bust.

[Jeff Schley]

I have never seen anyone from Japan at Rosapenna or, for that matter, on any Irish course.

Yes, I don't recall any Asian golfers in my several Ireland trips, I have noticed that typically the Korean or Japanese golfers go to Scotland and Fife mostly.

[Tom_Doak]

I have never seen anyone from Japan at Rosapenna or, for that matter, on any Irish course.

Yes, I don't recall any Asian golfers in my several Ireland trips, I have noticed that typically the Korean or Japanese golfers go to Scotland and Fife mostly.

They are all ancient cultures, so the long history of golf in Scotland appeals to them.  But for most, links golf does not appeal to them, so they never do the second trip to Ireland as Americans do.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Matt Ginella's Journey to Ireland Part 2 (Golf in N and NW Ireland) has some wonderful glimses of St. Patrick's while playing with Frank Casey Jnr.

The whole video is worth watching, featuring Carne, Narin & Portnoo, Cruit, Rosapenna, Castlerock and Portrush.

The St. Patrick's segment starts at 15:12 minutes

https://firepitcollective.com/ireland-journey-part-2/


I saw that the course is closed for 2021 and will open again in April 2022.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I see St. Patricks entered the GOLF rankings at 55….

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Ally,


Is that a world ranking?