Castlerock

[Bill_McBride]

Does anyone know who designed this underrated Northern Ireland gem?   I really loved the 7th and 8th greens (I think that's correct) that were benched into the high dune as you climbed higher and higher toward the good long par 3 ninth.   The Leg O' Mutton par 3 was a good one too, sandwiched into a tight triangle formed by a creek left and OB fence hard right.   Some of the holes were quite pedestrian, but there is an unusual Spion Kop mound - so named on the card - that you play over on a lengthy par 4 rather than onto as at Crail. 

[David_Tepper]

"Does anyone know who designed this underrated Northern Ireland gem?"

Bill M. -

My 1994 edition of The Sunday Telegraph Golf Course Guide To Britain & Ireland, by Donald Steel, names Ben Sayers as the course designer.
 
I played Castlerock in 1994 as part of the Bushmills Causeway Coast tournament. I recall it being a very good course.

DT  

[Bill_McBride]

"Does anyone know who designed this underrated Northern Ireland gem?"

Bill M. -

My 1994 edition of The Sunday Telegraph Golf Course Guide To Britain & Ireland, by Donald Steel, names Ben Sayers as the course designer.
 
I played Castlerock in 1994 as part of the Bushmills Causeway Coast tournament. I recall it being a very good course.

DT  

Of the North Berwick Sayers?

[Tommy Williamsen]

Neither Castlerock nor Ballycastle get any press. I don't think Ballycastle was mentioned in the new Confidential Guide.  They aren't world beaters but both were fun to play and worth the time.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I was at Castlerock last month. Ben Sayers with a few moderations by Colt and more recently David Jones I believe. Personally I think there are some holes that can stand with the best, namely 7, 10 and 17. But the detail on the course e.g. The bunkering, some of the greens shaping and path placements let it down a little. And when you mix that in with a few holes on the flat, inland part of the links, the whole course isn't quite out of the top drawer.

Hugely enjoyable and lots of variety but The Bann 9 had some of the best land. For a bit of fun, I did an imaginary routing for a new 18 using the Bann land and as many of the main 18 as possible, relocating the nine holes to the inland side.

Still, definitely a very worthy course and shouldn't be missed if touring the area. The best holes are really great.

[Thomas Dai]

Did you play the 9-hole Bann course as well Ally? - bit nice IMO. Here's some photos - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,56960.0.html

Castlerocks main 18-hole Mussenden course seems to be somewhat of a poor relation along that stretch of the N Ireland coast. The course visting folk miss out, perhaps that's why there don't seem to be any easily searchable Castlerock-Mussenden photos on GCA.

Interestingly the new Confidential Guide scores Castlerock-Mussenden 4-54 in comparison to the just over the river Portstewarts-Stand course at 6676 although a few locals told me they thought the Mussenden was the locally preferred course in overall terms although not as specatatular, especially visually, as the Strand.

atb

[Ally Mcintosh]

I did play the Bann, Thomas... A load of fun though quite tight & short; understandable given the land formations...

Here are a few photos of holes I like:

The superlative long par-4 seventh:



I don't have a photo of the 8th which Bill mentions. This is a cracking dogleg to the right and then up the hill but I was a little disappointed by the rudimentary green. A little shaping expertise here could blend in in to the landscape much better with a great run-off to the left.

Here's another example: The long par-3 ninth has almost everything going for it apart from a ridiculous hard path placement across its front:



The 10th is an extremely elegant elevated par-4 dogging to the left over a ridge. Could have easily been displaced from the Dunluce just 15 minutes away. here is the tee shot:



And the downhill approach that has great humps and bumps to run in... The tee-shot on the par-5 11th is another cracker and can be seen behind. The hole peters out a little after that though:



The downhill par-5 at seventeen is another favourite with an open your arms tee-shot with a great vista, followed by a tricky approach in to a beautifully sited green, as below:



Finally, this picture gives you an idea of what the land nearest the sea that houses the Bann 9 is like. From behind the 2nd green:



Definitely a worthy stop on anyone's agenda.

[Bill_McBride]

Melvyn Morrow has sent me an email with a clipping on the 1900 formation of the club.   I'm mostly on an iPad these days so have no clue about posting photos, so if anybody can post this i'll email on to you.   Apparently the course was initially surveyed and laid out by a Mr. Bailie, with Ben Sayers arriving in 1908.  

Thanks for the photos, Ally, that run of 7-10 is the best.  I also liked the par 3 16th, uphill to a tabletop.  

[Jamie Pyper]

I've played Castlerock a few dozen times over twenty years and concur it is the poor cousin when compared to other north coast gems like Portstewart and Portrush, I also believe it has huge potential. I've always felt the classic link holes like 7or 8 are off set by the contrived ones like 1, or 2. A few years ago the crazed arm chair architect in me completed a new routing utilizing the existing amazing dunes of the short 9 hole Bann course that would move Castlerock up to the Premier League. The new proposed course utilized holes through the best dunes on the property, expanded the existing hole adjacent the the mouth of the river and finished with two new holes playing west along the beach and on the present practice grounds. The bland back and forth holes of 12-13 and 15 were removed from the championship course and were reworked par 3 course. Lots of untapped potential with the Castlerock property IMO.
 

[Paul_Turner]

I thought it was a pretty good course, good variety and not too enclosed by dunes as some in Ireland.   I recall the 6th green being neat with the stream.

[Thomas Dai]

Great photos Ally. Some very appealing holes. Many thanks for sharing.

Be nice to see a few more photos should anyone have any they could share with us.

Where would folk herein place Castlerock in the echelon on Donegal/Ulster courses? On a level with say Portsalon/Narin & Portnoo/Ballyliffin Old or a bit above or a bit below them?

Here's a Bing satmap of the courses location - http://binged.it/1tR29dE

There is also a Portstewart vrs Castlerock thread a while back - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35705.0.html - which attempted to compare the two courses, or say which was better.

atb

[Mark Smolens]

Neither Castlerock nor Ballycastle get any press. I don't think Ballycastle was mentioned in the new Confidential Guide.  They aren't world beaters but both were fun to play and worth the time.

First trip atp (across the pond  ) in '90 we played Ballycastle in a driving rain storm after a ferry ride into Belfast from Scotland. One of our most fun rounds of a nine day trip. 300ish par 4 uphill into the fan was driver 3 wood, and a long par 4 was drive and pitch. Rock formations just off the coast were visible, and then disappeared in the fog.