Best 18 at Carne

Carne now has 3 nines and the new Kilmore 9 is regarded as the best of them. I am very excited to be playing there in May and trying to decide which is the best 18 hole combination. I would like to play 27 but I have to get back to Westport so only 18 is possible. Anyone with some advice?

Have you watched the No Laying Up episode at Carne? It sounds like the club is really excited about combining the Hackett Back 9 and the Kilmore 9. I believe its going to be called the Wild Atlantic Dunes course. We are going to Carne next year and will either play 27 one day or do two days playing the Hackett 18 and the Wild Atlantic 18.

Correct. I wrote to Carne and they suggested I play the old Eddie Hackett back nine with the new Kilmore nine which they have dubbed the Wild Atlantic Dunes. And yes I watched that video in some degree of awe. Cant wait.

Are you playing any other courses on your trip?

Portmarnock, Lahinch, and Strandhill are my other stops. My non-golfing wife tells me they will be expensive days.

Nice. I played Lahinch back in September and it was awesome. My Dad, brother, uncle and I are going next June. We settled on Westport, Carne, Enniscrone, Lough Erne, County Sligo, Strandhill, Donegal and Lahinch.

That's an awesome rota but really in Ireland almost any combination is good!

Looks like Sligo is a good base for your trip or are you on the move?

Westport, Belmullet or Ballina for the first 2 nights. Sligo for 4 nights and Lahinch for the last night.

Very similar. We are having 2 days at Lahinch, drive to Westport for 2 days and then 2 days at Sligo before heading back to Dublin Town. I was in that NW region in 2018 and just loved the whole shebang. I'll post some pix when i get back.

The Burren, Connemara, Mayo are all incredible. I could spend all summer in that region and be perfectly fine. Look forward to seeing your pix.

Not looking good for our trip to Ireland in May, so might have to be 2021 like you, aj.

My brother and I were talking about that last night. Had we gone this June like originally planned we might be having to cancel. We are still on for the beginning of next June. Walking those links is going to feel even better after this mess.

The Kilmore 9 was closed when I visited Carne, but they did let me walk it so I have photos of all 27 holes. Here are links if you'd like to see:

Carne original 18https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/albums/72157670016036580 Carne - Kilmore 9

Kilmore #9

Thanks Sab, some brilliant green complexes to judge from those superb photos. Were they taken during that long hot summer a couple of years ago? The fairways look very brown.

It was early June 2016, after a cold winter and spring so they hadn't greened up yet. They didn't open up the new nine that year until summer when there was more demand.