It gets a wee bit windy all right, and chilly too. Thank god for the Guinness (which is always on tap): a couple of quick draughts, check; favourite beanie, check; cardigan, check; second cardigan, check; alpine windcheater zipped up, check. Head to the pro shop, grab the clubs and wheel them out to the first tee, looking like the abominable snowman much to the bemusement of these lovely ladies enjoying a spot of September sunshine. But they are too polite to snicker, the Irish are, even throwing in a good-natured ?hello!? without the hint of a mock. They have seen this before: a tropical fruit, who?s seen all these beautiful pictures of the County Sligo links?the tide rolling in on the Atlantic just off the 15th tee?in a brochure halfway across the world, and who flies across to the other side and lands up, in all earnestness, bang on time for afternoon tee.
There?s no shortage of golf nuts in Ireland?that hallowed land, where strips of green between the land and the sea gave rise to the game of ?gowf?, as we know it. But those who land up in the counties of Donegal and Dunfanaghy on the north-west of that country, are usually inveterate swingers: they have already played the grails in Ireland (and northern Ireland for the politically correct)?Ballyliffin, Portrush, Royal County Down, Ardglass, Lytham and the like?and want to see what they have possibly missed out on. A ruddy lot, it turns out.
The only reason this golfer has endeavoured this far north in Ireland in October is because, well, he?s cheap. Green fees off-season are half and there are great deals to be made on hotels. When you?re doling out euros, a little translates into a lot. And it?s entirely possible, as it turned out on this occasion, to have a bright sunny spell before the dark clouds finally get their act together. And the showers, while frequent, are short. All in all, a capital situation.
Still, to remind yourself why you?re here, start with doing some justice to the hype. Start with the County Sligo Golf Club.
For sheer views of the coast, north-west Ireland?s famed beaches and an authentic championship layout, the County Sligo GC is one of the finest golfing experiences in Ireland. The course has a fantastic location?framed between the Atlantic and the Benbulben Mountain on the Rosses Point peninsula?and pedigree. Over 100 years old, the 18-hole championship layout got its present shape by Harry Colt in the 1920s. In 1999, another nine, called the ?Bomore?, was added.
Some of the holes are, for lack of a better word, spectacular, of which the short par four 2nd hole is one of the finest. Measuring just over 278 m, the hole bares its teeth by playing severely uphill, and distracting the golfer with panoramic views from the green. The incoming sea breeze is a constant factor on the back nine.
On the road linking counties Sligo and Donegal, about 11 km from the latter, Donegal GC lazily sprawls over the links land of the Murvagh peninsula. The relatively new course (established 1959) is one of the longest in the country, which is precisely why?unless you?re scratch?it?s pointless trying to challenge this layout from the championship tees. Let the round be more about the outstanding views of the beach and ocean across the sixth and sixth fairways; the rolling undulations of classic links golf with nary a tree in sight. Practise the bump-and-run and get a feel for the brutal gorse. Eddie Hackett designed Donegal GC as a ?true test of golf? and it can be a dragon-slayer. Don?t bother trying to power your way around this course lest you risk fouling the evening.
Much further afield lies the biggest surprise of all, the Narin & Portnoo GC. You?re likely to question the prudence of driving the winding route to Portnoo to play a course which, in all likelihood, you?ve not heard much about. Those doubts will start fading, as you confront your wedge approach into the eight green, surrounded by the Gweebarra bay on both sides. And completely disappear, as you look over the sweeping arc of the 11th and 15th fairways hemmed by what seem like unending beaches and long swathes of the open ocean.
This is an old-fashioned course? natural and tremendously scenic? meandering over dunes with a range of teeing-off areas?some overlooking peninsula greens with gorse blowing tee to green, some with generous fairways, but against the Atlantic breeze. A real find, this one.
Amidst all the legendary links courses, sits a classic parkland layout, which can hold its own against the best in Europe. Castle Dargan Golf Resort is home to the Premier Parkland Golf Course in the north-west of Ireland and opened for play a bit over five years back. Designed by 2011 British Open Champion and Irish veteran Darren Clarke, the course has met with widespread critical praise. The 170-acre estate has all the ingredients of a very special golfing sanctuary. The course meanders through fresh water brooks and rolling terrain, embracing the old stone walls and ancient ruins, which define this romantic landscape. The course?s natural feel reflects Clarke?s passion for traditional design, while its strategic layout reveals his love for shot-making.
On the whole, Castle Dargan is a tough layout, even if it doesn?t seem that way at first. The greens are multi-tiered and befuddling. Irrespective of the direction they seem to slope, the ball almost always breaks away from the high points around the course. Makes sense to factor in at least two putts on every hole.
Make sure you save Castle Dargan for the very last. After three-four rounds on windswept links courses and merciless gorse, you may just yearn for a tree-lined fairway?a slightly more modern set-up, like the ones you?re accustomed to playing in around the world. Sure, links golf may be as pure as the game can get, but at the danger of sounding sacrilegious, let?s just say, secretly, once you?ve been mauled by a few of those, Castle Dargan might provide just the succour that your parkland-starved soul might need. If for nothing else, then just to regain some confidence and faith that you can, in fact, play this game.
A golfer, Meraj Shah also writes about the game