Ireland v Scotland ?

[Kevin Pallier]

They will lose a whole day getting to Ireland.  Save that for next trip and head for East Lothian and Fife!

Hi Matt

I'm will Bill on the answer to your question. One cant go past where it all began...

[Matt_Ward]

Curious to those who wish to weigh in -- ten rounds between Dornoch and County Down how does the split go ?

Ten rounds between the likes of TOC and either Ballybunion / Old or Lahinch ?

[Mark Pearce]

Am I alone in finding this "10 rounds between course X and course Y, how do you split them?" type of comparison even less helpful than Golf Digest rankings?  For a start, if I'm in Fife for 5 days and even if I could, I'm not going to play 10 rounds at TOC.  Hell, I'm not even going to play 5 there.  5 days golf in Fife and Northern Ireland?  Great, but I'm not going to limit myself to only 2 courses.  And there are reasons for playing a course over another which go beyond GCA.  Some of it is about your own game, some of it about mood.  The more I read ways of trying to distinguish between fine courses numeically, the more absurd and unhelpful it becomes. I can live with the Richelin scale because it acknowledges that it's hardf to go beyond categories.  This need to compare, divide and produce absolutes is as irrelevant to golf courses as it is to fine wine.

Let's just say that any day when I'm going to play RCD or TOC is a very fine day indeed.

[ed_getka]

Mark,
   I find those splits of courses interesting. It has nothing to do with playing 10 rounds of golf, it is just a weighting system that defines preferences. Ash Towe and I played that game last week as we drove around the plains from course to course. I find it most useful with someone who has similar tastes in courses.

[Jack_Marr]

I'm not sure which country has the better golf. But I doubt there's a huge amount in it, and whichever country you go to, you'll be sure to enjoy yourself. Those who say they prefer Ireland are obviously correct and those who say they prefer Scotland are also correct.

I don't have experience playing golf in Scotland - been to St Andrews. I love the look of the manicured Scottish courses, with the well-defined bunkers, burns etc. I see them as being a bit like Portmarnock, generalising things.  

Again, I could be wrong, but Irish golf seems to be something different. It seems to be a bit more wild - not always as subtile as Scottish links golf. Maybe a bit more of a rush. But you'd have to like that kind of thing to appreciate it. I'm very happy to have Enniscrone as a second tier course. I'd play there ahead of just about anywhere. Brilliant golf, in my opinion. Fun, challenging, relaxed... Irish golf seems to be more wild rides up, over and between the dunes. I love that. Don't know the architectural merit.  

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that one cannot be said to be definitively better than the other, as they seem to be different. They have different personalities. And even if it was the case that Ireland comes second to Scotland (or even behind England) in terms of this kind of golf, sure I'd be happy enough with that. You can't go wrong either way.

John