There are two typical golf itineraries for American golfers heading across the pond to Ireland. They either deplane in Shannon and head south, or land in Dublin and head north. To date, neither has disappointed, but you'd think there has to be more.
There is and golfers from all over the world would be cheating themselves if they didn’t work what is called "The Emerald Triangle." We started our exploration of this route from the eastern point of the triangle at Rathsallagh about an hour south of Dublin (In Ireland an hour’s travel could be as little as 15 miles due to traffic and/or road conditions. Distance is irrelevant.).
Rathsallagh would make a rascal feel like a countrified gentleman. It is a manor in the rolling hills of eastern Ireland. It has spacious rooms and views that make the bustle of Dublin seem a lifetime away. The centerpiece of Rathsallagh is a spread out parkland style golf course designed by Christy O'Connor, Jr. who has transformed himself from being a top echelon player on the European Tour and a multi-tournament Champions Tour winner into a world-class golf course architect. At Rathsallagh, O'Connor took advantage of every nook and cranny nature left on the hillsides and threw in a challenge or two of his own.
Rathsallagh is just a short drive from the K Club, the site of the 2006 Ryder Cup. It would be an ideal spot to stay for Americans traveling to watch the matches, but as you might imagine, rooms are at a premium.
Our group headed to the northwestern point of the Emerald Triangle, but decided to break up the three hour cross country drive with a round at Mullingar GC. Mullingar is one of the oldest clubs in Ireland. Like most Irish clubs, you can tell the age of the club by the level of the charm of the members. As rings tell the age of trees, the warmth of Mullingar told us we were in a very special place.
The golf course is parkland and showed a curious design strategy of the era. Today, you can pretty much figure out where the green is going to be before you step in the fairway. A hundred years ago, it wasn't always possible to move dirt to put the green in a logical spot. As a result, green sites are often in natural, rather than logical settings. This only adds to the challenge and the enjoyment. No place turns this into an advantage more than Mullingar.
The second point of the Emerald Triangle is the Sandhouse Hotel in Rossnowlagh in beautiful Co. Donegal. The Sandhouse Hotel sits over a beach where the Irish National Surfing Championship is held. Let's just say, the culture shock of having a pint in a surfer's pub is unrivaled.
The only country you could find to rival the golf in the area is Ireland. Donegal Golf Club in Murvagh is a par 73 links layout designed by legendary Irish golf course architect Eddie Hackett. He used the natural dunes, the rugged terrain and the omnipresent wind to concoct a 7,428-yard monster that can make grown men cry.
In very close proximity to Murvagh is Enniscrone, another Hackett design that is a mere 6,883 yards and a par of 73 (Hackett had a thing for including five par 5s). Enniscrone may not be as long as some courses, but there is every shot value ever conceived in play many, many times on this course. There can be no doubt that Hackett emptied his bag of tricks when he designed this course. It is truly a tremendous golf experience that should never be missed.
One of the advantages of the Sandhouse Hotel is it's proximity to the city of Donegal. It should be termed "the home of the ultimate pub crawl." The music, the craic (pronounced crack, Gaelic for fun) and the Guinness flow as one in Donegal.
The southwestern point of the triangle is Glenlo Abbey, an elegant old style hotel just outside Galway that was once an actual abbey. Not only is the Galway area rife with quality golf courses, you can get in an "emergency nine" when you return to the hotel on their full size nine-holer that goes around the property.
It would be well worth the drive to head south to Doonbeg and play the Greg Norman-designed links course. There have been few courses built in Ireland that have garnered the controversy Doonbeg has had. Regardless, you will have never played a golf hole like the 111-yard par 3 14th. You hit across what seems to be a bottomless chasm to a shelf on the side of a dune that serves as a green. Depending on the wind direction and severity your club selection can range from 3-iron to sand wedge.
Word of a tremendous renovation to one of the old reliable links in the southwest had spread to us and we ended the journey with a side trip to Waterville. In his first work in Europe, Tom Fazio transformed one of the best links courses in Ireland to one of the greatest in the world.
Visually, Waterville will remain one of the most beautiful courses in the world. Fazio has added the element of intimidation while keeping the course eminently playable. He also removed two mundane holes on the front nine and replaced them with what are now two of the best. Look for Waterville to be regarded in the same breath as the greatest links courses in Scotland and Ireland.
The Emerald Triangle has added a new choice for golfers heading to Ireland. There are now legitimate reasons to blaze new trails, see new sites, play new courses and as always in Ireland—make new friends.
