A virtually blind tee shot (just a sliver of fairway in the distance), with the feel of an unachievable carry, and no clue as to where the fairway subsequently roamed, all three of us unaccountably found a safe fairway landing. And the fourteenth hole that played like a hallway, squeezing you along a path between competing dunes, was one of my favorite holes in Ireland so far, and not just because local gentlemen referred to it as a part of the female anatomy (it wasn't a name they used on the scorecard)."Īctually, the scorecard called it "The Valley" and even though I "blanked" on the hole (earned no points), I thought it was fabulous. Set on the side of a hill with fairways that felt like class-five rapids, the views of the sea and the Sligo mountainscapes were lovely. Strandhill where the course was a bit rough but absolutely entertaining. Beautiful grooming, high dunes, undulating greens, mountains on two sides and the ocean on the other, I was hoping to get a shot at it.Ĭoyne liked it as well. It's right close to the beach we had such a nice stroll a week ago and I had walked across the carpark to look over the stonewall to the course and was smitten. But, ever since our visit to Sligo I've been very interested in playing at the Strandhill links. Carne ranked highest on his list and I remember with great fondness playing the course two years ago. His book relating his experiences is a great read, full of insight and observation on the people he met, the pubs he visited, the landscapes he experienced and, of course, the courses he played. Tom Coyne, the author of A Course Called Ireland ranked Carne as "the first course I'd walk back to if I had the chance." Coyne walked the entire coastline of Ireland in 2007 (the year of our first visit) and played every golf course he encountered. And I'm never disappointed to tee it up at Westport. I've had great experiences at Ballinrobe, a lovely parkland course not far from Westport. Padraic and Marion gave me free choice among a number of high quality courses to play on Monday - Belmullet (Carne), Ballinrobe, Westport, or Strandhill.
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