Narin & Portnoo GC closed!

[Jeff Schley]

So they have to close essentially coz their lacking money. And then they reopen. And then Gil Hanse is hired to presumably upgrade things. Where’s the money coming from?
Atb

They are owned by some rich American, No?
Wasn't the closure more about access to some land?

It could be a formerly rich American unless he dials in the business plan that turns a profit.

[Garland Bayley]

So they have to close essentially coz their lacking money. And then they reopen. And then Gil Hanse is hired to presumably upgrade things. Where’s the money coming from?
Atb

They are owned by some rich American, No?
Wasn't the closure more about access to some land?

It could be a formerly rich American unless he dials in the business plan that turns a profit.

I believe an Irishman bought it from an American hedge fund who had bought the debt.(heve been follwing the news but may have missed a more recent development)...

Correction: Irishman

[Ally Mcintosh]

That’s an interesting appointment.


Maybe I’ll get to see at N&P before Coul whether one of the modern minimalists can come in to a real links site and produce a subtle, scaled back course that seems 100 years old.


Or whether it will end up looking stylistically similar to other works by the same architect.


I think these sites could be the biggest tests yet for both Hanse and C&C, despite them being on paper the easiest and most natural to build upon.

[Duncan Cheslett]

On Instagram yesterday, Gil Hanse posted that he is preparing a master plan for Narin & Portnoo.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg6Uj8QlSEh/?taken-by=gil_hanse

The impression I get from Mr Hanse's post is that this is no restoration or renovation and that a new course is planned on the land formerly occupied by Narin and Portnoo.


Nothing new here, of course. Much of MacKenzie's early work  in the UK involved building a new course on the body of an old one.


With virgin links land virtually unobtainable for new golf development, is this going to be a growing phenominum? 


Old members' club in financial difficulties bought up on the cheap for the existing links course, which is then completely remodeled and "upgraded" into a destination course for wealthy tourists?

[Sean_A]

These developments were always on the cards.   Count me as one who thinks the course will be better


Ciao

[Tony_Muldoon]

Aiming to grab a share of this market?


https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/115000-ensures-lahinch-celebrations-go-with-a-swing-36760694.html




Not going to happen for a single course (Irish) miles from the others.

[Thomas Dai]

Plenty of caravans for visitors to stay in at N&P! No doubt lovely and warm inside and all with high spec showers for visitors from other parts of the world used to high standards to enjoy (sic)!
Lahinch...Irish course greenfees do seem to have jumped up a price point recently.
atb

[jeffwarne]

   Count me as one who thinks the course will be better


Ciao

I hope you are right. I will say even in the 90's the members always spoke of expansion into the dunes.
I happen to enjoy a few holes on less severe land and always felt the original had a superb blend of subtle,spectacular, simple and quirky.
Obviously the more spectacular, the more tourists $$ a place can attract.
Sadly not much $$ in subtle.
There is potential to really have a cool mix of what's there and what could be (I never did love the new holes-or at least the sequence)


I hope for the members sake's you are right.

[Niall C]

That’s an interesting appointment.


Maybe I’ll get to see at N&P before Coul whether one of the modern minimalists can come in to a real links site and produce a subtle, scaled back course that seems 100 years old.


Or whether it will end up looking stylistically similar to other works by the same architect.


I think these sites could be the biggest tests yet for both Hanse and C&C, despite them being on paper the easiest and most natural to build upon.

Ally

If they were intending to produce a "subtle, scaled back course that seems 100 years old" then that probably would be a big test for them but I'm doubtful whether that is what they have been hired for. To my eye the Embo layout looks like a large scale course designed to get the tourists round without any mishaps rather than a more traditional looking links from back in the day.

That approach has worked at Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart so it's hardly a risk going down that route I'd have thought. And never having played a C&C, is that how they generally play ?

Niall

[Ally Mcintosh]

That’s an interesting appointment.


Maybe I’ll get to see at N&P before Coul whether one of the modern minimalists can come in to a real links site and produce a subtle, scaled back course that seems 100 years old.


Or whether it will end up looking stylistically similar to other works by the same architect.


I think these sites could be the biggest tests yet for both Hanse and C&C, despite them being on paper the easiest and most natural to build upon.

Ally

If they were intending to produce a "subtle, scaled back course that seems 100 years old" then that probably would be a big test for them but I'm doubtful whether that is what they have been hired for. To my eye the Embo layout looks like a large scale course designed to get the tourists round without any mishaps rather than a more traditional looking links from back in the day.

That approach has worked at Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart so it's hardly a risk going down that route I'd have thought. And never having played a C&C, is that how they generally play ?

Niall

Oh I agree Niall. Those modern links courses are great adverts and very skilfully created. But they had to be created. And neither N&P nor Coul do.


If you ask me, the ideal solution on links land is to have an incredibly low budget.


That way you have to act like Eddie Hackett in laying out the course and in the construction methodologies... but then bring the skill in the detail that he didn’t.

[David_Tepper]

Ally -

Out of curiosity, how many C&C and Hanse courses have you played or seen in person?

DT

[Ally Mcintosh]

Just one C&C, David... a number of Gil’s courses.


All excellent / great. The teams are clearly so skilled they can create features for fun... lots and lots of them.

[Mark Pearce]

If they build some sort of expensive CCFAD at N&P, building over what's already there, then golf will die just a little bit more.  However good what they build is.

[Duncan Cheslett]

If they build some sort of expensive CCFAD at N&P, building over what's already there, then golf will die just a little bit more.  However good what they build is.

I'm sure that I agree with you Mark, but what's a CCFAD?

[D_Malley]

"If they were intending to produce a "subtle, scaled back course that seems 100 years old" then that probably would be a big test for them but I'm doubtful whether that is what they have been hired for."
[/size][/color]
[/size]Wouldn't they only need to restore the golf course back to the way it was to accomplish this???[/color]

[Marty Bonnar]

If they build some sort of expensive CCFAD at N&P, building over what's already there, then golf will die just a little bit more.  However good what they build is.

I'm sure that I agree with you Mark, but what's a CCFAD?

Country Club For A Day.
Do try to keep up, man!
 
F.

[Ally Mcintosh]

"If they were intending to produce a "subtle, scaled back course that seems 100 years old" then that probably would be a big test for them but I'm doubtful whether that is what they have been hired for."

Wouldn't they only need to restore the golf course back to the way it was to accomplish this???

Indeed they would... That’s the test

[Frank M]

This news makes me a lot less likely to ever visit Narin & Portnoo again.

[jeffwarne]

This news makes me a lot less likely to ever visit Narin & Portnoo again.


The reason I loved going there was for the all around relative solitude and easy(er) on the pocketbook round of Links golf in a beautiful setting away from the commotion of tourists.


I’m not willing to conside paying the premium they will inevitably charge for having a Gil course and I’ve respectfully grown tired of heading deep off the beaten path to pay exponentially more for my golf.


I’ll now just end up working my way right past up to other courses in the North.

While I do agree with this, I do not begrudge anyone doing what they believe best for their club or in this case-their investment.
I'm confident I'm not the target of any business plan.and like you will simply concentrate up north, where there's plenty of affordable low key golf.


This could actually be good news for Rosapenna, though it probably just makes Carne, Sligo,Strandhill, Donegal GC and Enniscorone area more attractive-especially with the loss of New York area nonstops to Belfast.


Narin and Portnoo and Cruit 9 sure make for a hell of a low key-heavy highlight day though

[Thomas Dai]

Be interesting to see if they do completely reconfigure the course how it routes.
Would seem like unless they use the pretty extensive area inhabited by caravans, most likely privately owned but perhaps on rented land, in the dunes around the entrance and clubhouse there wouldn’t seem to be much space available within the current course boundaries. But I guess that’s why their hiring GH & Co!
Be a real shame if some current holes disappear - 1, 5-11, 15, 17 etc in particular are all very fine if not better.
Atb

[jeffwarne]

Just visited Narin and Portnoo
course in good nick and no changes
Work scheduled to start in October


Of the five courses played




1. Portsalon--only day of rain but was miles in the lead-did see some of the Arble/Davis issues more clearly
2.Northwest - just a study in old school subtlety, heavily undulated yet "terrain neutral", really compact and fun. recent warm weather had rough down from last visit
3.Strandhill-first time ever-very impressed. Only my love of the two above keeps it from being ranked higher on the trip
4. Cruit-Still my favorite place to take people for the first time
5. Narin and Portnoo has slipped due to quality of the above and the slogginess of rounting from 12-15.
Just too many par 5's in a row in a tight area of the property.


Had food poisoning for 2-3 of the 4 days which cost us our round at Dunfanaghy (a course I really like due to its walkability, highlight holes and low key profile)

[Sean_A]

3.Strandhill-first time ever-very impressed. Only my love of the two baove keeps it frombeing ranjed higher on te trip

Is this your attempt at Afrikaans?

As it is expensive anyway, let us hope N&P gets the facelift the site deserves. 

I used to be very high on Strandhill, but the greenfee has nearly doubled in the past few years. 

Ciao 

[Robin_Hiseman]

Ha ha! Very good Sean.


I'm guessing that 'poinonng' is a variant of biltong. The Afrikaans love that stuff!

[Ally Mcintosh]

I used to be very high on Strandhill, but the greenfee has nearly doubled in the past few years. 

Ciao

Sean, I had to go and check what you meant. Because up until a few weeks ago, the absolute top dollar rack rate was €40 and Strandhill was the best value course in Ireland.


Seems like they’ve upped the top rate to 75 yoyo’s... I knew there was outside advice to do something like that but there were a number in the club who were vehemently against that sort of a move.

[Sean_A]

I used to be very high on Strandhill, but the greenfee has nearly doubled in the past few years. 

Ciao

Sean, I had to go and check what you meant. Because up until a few weeks ago, the absolute top dollar rack rate was €40 and Strandhill was the best value course in Ireland.

Seems like they’ve upped the top rate to 75 yoyo’s... I knew there was outside advice to do something like that but there were a number in the club who were vehemently against that sort of a move.

Ally

To be fair, the green fee hadn't changed much at all in years.  When I played there in 2008 the fee was 40 Euro for the day!  I thought it was a steal.  At £65, it is simply too much.  Of course, with a very weak Pound, golf in Ireland is now extremely expensive again. 

Its the way of golf...more money.

Ciao