Parkland Advice- Ireland

[belmullet]

Hi,

I will be taking my annual pilgrimage next July to play for a week at Carne Golf Links in Belmullet, County Mayo. I usually take a second week to play other links courses in different areas of Ireland. This trip, however, we are going to spend the second week in a self-catering rental house near Kells, Ireland (west of Dublin) and we have decided to try out some of Ireland's best parkland tracts. I will list some of the ones we are thinking about and would love some feedback from people who have some experience with parkland golf in Ireland.

 

Here is a list of possibles:

 

Headfort New

Concrawood

Tullamore

Carlow

Carton House

Druid's Glen

Killeen Castle

Palmerstown Stud

 

By the way, can't resist throwing in one area links course- likely County Louth.

 

Let me know what you think.

[puttnforthe8]

Carton is a definite
Mt Joliet
Druids Glen and Heath
Adare Manor
Knightscourt
Esker Hills

[sabram]

I'm playing Carne and 16 other Irish links next June. I think there are about 50 links I'd want to play before spending more than a couple of days playing Parkland courses there.

[puttnforthe8]

[quote name='sabram' timestamp='1449955841' post='12712328']
I'm playing Carne and 16 other Irish links next June. I think there are about 50 links I'd want to play before spending more than a couple of days playing Parkland courses there.
[/quote]

Quality input! Normally you have good input/insight, but this is uncalled for. BTW, I lived in Ireland for many years and have played pretty much everything multiple times and feel Adare, Carton House Monty or O'Meara can compete with any of those 50 links courses you so outline.

[sabram]

[quote name='puttnforthe8' timestamp='1450140321' post='12721124']

Quality input! Normally you have good input/insight, but this is uncalled for. BTW, I lived in Ireland for many years and have played pretty much everything multiple times and feel Adare, Carton House Monty or O'Meara can compete with any of those 50 links courses you so outline.
[/quote]

I don't understand why having an opinion that there are many more world class links in Ireland than Parkland courses is "uncalled for". That's my opinion and I stand by it. As I stated, there aren't more than a few Parkland courses I'd rather play in Ireland than 50 links. How many Irish Parkland courses, including the few you mentioned do you prefer to these links. I think you're in a small minority if you prefer Parkland courses to these, but I don't begrudge you your opinion. Why am I not entitled to mine? I didn't criticize the courses that you suggested. I merely stated the fact that there is a long list of links I'd play before playing more than a handful of parkland courses in Ireland. Here are just a few off the top of my head. I can't think of more than 3 or 4 Parkland courses that I'd put on the bottom half of this list.

Royal County Down
Royal Portrush - Dunluce and Valley
Ballybunion
Lahinch
Portmarnock
Portmarnock links
Waterville
European Club
County Louth
County Sligo
Conty Donegal
Ballyliffin - Galshedy & Old
The Island
Carne 27 holes
Enniscrone 27 holes
Rosapenna - Sandy Hills & Old
Narin & Portnoo
Cruit Island
Portsalon
Portstewart

[puttnforthe8]

[quote name='sabram' timestamp='1450155186' post='12722002']
[quote name='puttnforthe8' timestamp='1450140321' post='12721124']
Quality input! Normally you have good input/insight, but this is uncalled for. BTW, I lived in Ireland for many years and have played pretty much everything multiple times and feel Adare, Carton House Monty or O'Meara can compete with any of those 50 links courses you so outline.
[/quote]

I don't understand why having an opinion that there are many more world class links in Ireland than Parkland courses is "uncalled for". That's my opinion and I stand by it. As I stated, there aren't more than a few Parkland courses I'd rather play in Ireland than 50 links. How many Irish Parkland courses, including the few you mentioned do you prefer to these links. I think you're in a small minority if you prefer Parkland courses to these, but I don't begrudge you your opinion. Why am I not entitled to mine? I didn't criticize the courses that you suggested. I merely stated the fact that there is a long list of links I'd play before playing more than a handful of parkland courses in Ireland. Here are just a few off the top of my head. I can't think of more than 3 or 4 Parkland courses that I'd put on the bottom half of this list.

Royal County Down
Royal Portrush - Dunluce and Valley
Ballybunion
Lahinch
Portmarnock
Portmarnock links
Waterville
European Club
County Louth
County Sligo
Conty Donegal
Ballyliffin - Galshedy & Old
The Island
Carne 27 holes
Enniscrone 27 holes
Rosapenna - Sandy Hills & Old
Narin & Portnoo
Cruit Island
Portsalon
Portstewart
[/quote]

It's fantastic to have an opinion and as I stated I normally appreciate yours, but think you are off on this one(plus the OP asked specifically for parkland)...so your "opinion" added zero to the post.

In addition, You said 50! your list there is 20 and there would only be a few more to add. There are not 50...sorry, but you are wrong to say there are 50 better. Your comment reads more of a back handed way to discredit many of the great parkland courses.

BTW there is a whole lot more than a "handful".

[duffer987]

OP as you know you're in a bit of a no man's land in Kells
County Louth is the obvious go to track from there and you've got Seapoint next door as well.

But to your question, how about Lough Erne Resort? Easy drive from Kells and a highly thought of course according to Golfweek: [url="http://golfweek.com/news/2015/jul/08/golf-courses-best-great-britain-ireland-modern-15/"]http://golfweek.com/...land-modern-15/[/url]
It actually looks pretty cool with a number of holes hugging the lough
Already mentioned, Carton is the other good combination of easy drive/good golf.

Achill is a fantastic place for a holiday. Sounds like you've got a excellent plan for a late Spring/early Summer battery recharge. Have fun.

[puttnforthe8]

[quote name='duffer987' timestamp='1450161381' post='12722206']
OP as you know you're in a bit of a no man's land in Kells
County Louth is the obvious go to track from there and you've got Seapoint next door as well.

But to your question, how about Lough Erne Resort? Easy drive from Kells and a highly thought of course according to Golfweek: [url="http://golfweek.com/news/2015/jul/08/golf-courses-best-great-britain-ireland-modern-15/"]http://golfweek.com/...land-modern-15/[/url]
It actually looks pretty cool with a number of holes hugging the lough
Already mentioned, Carton is the other good combination of easy drive/good golf.

Achill is a fantastic place for a holiday. Sounds like you've got a excellent plan for a late Spring/early Summer battery recharge. Have fun.
[/quote]

Lough Erne is brilliant!! I stayed there for 4 days and never got tired of the course.

[mpm1960]

[quote name='belmullet' timestamp='1449848737' post='12707348']
Hi,
I will be taking my annual pilgrimage next July to play for a week at Carne Golf Links in Belmullet, County Mayo. I usually take a second week to play other links courses in different areas of Ireland. This trip, however, we are going to spend the second week in a self-catering rental house near Kells, Ireland (west of Dublin) and we have decided to try out some of Ireland's best parkland tracts. I will list some of the ones we are thinking about and would love some feedback from people who have some experience with parkland golf in Ireland.

Here is a list of possibles:

Headfort New
Concrawood
Tullamore
Carlow
Carton House
Druid's Glen
Killeen Castle
Palmerstown Stud

By the way, can't resist throwing in one area links course- likely County Louth.

Let me know what you think.
[/quote]

To the OP,

I've only played links courses in northwest Ireland, but I have the book "Hooked: An Amateur's Guide to the Golf Courses of Ireland" by Kevin Markham. After reading the messages in this thread, I was curious about how the courses you mentioned had been rated in the book. Here are numbered ratings for each course you listed (for what it's worth):

Headfort New - 92 out of a possible 100 (Top Ten Parkland)
Concrawood - 94 out of a possible 100 (Top Ten Parkland)
Tullamore - 83 out of a possible 100
Carlow - 89 out of a possible 100 (Top Ten Parkland)
Carton House - Two are listed, 88 for Montgomerie and 81 for O'Meara
Druid's Glen - 92 out of a possible 100 (Top Ten Parkland)
Killeen Castle - 90 out of a possible 100
Palmerstown Stud - 86 out of a possible 100

By the way, I played Carne Links last summer and thought it was outstanding ... if you go to the 5:45 mark of my trip video, you can see the photos and videos I took during my round last July. Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZkFwDUUIHg&feature=youtu.be

Mike
MPM1960

[TheDailyDuffer]

[quote name='mpm1960' timestamp='1450586142' post='12742212']
[quote name='belmullet' timestamp='1449848737' post='12707348']
Hi,
I will be taking my annual pilgrimage next July to play for a week at Carne Golf Links in Belmullet, County Mayo. I usually take a second week to play other links courses in different areas of Ireland. This trip, however, we are going to spend the second week in a self-catering rental house near Kells, Ireland (west of Dublin) and we have decided to try out some of Ireland's best parkland tracts. I will list some of the ones we are thinking about and would love some feedback from people who have some experience with parkland golf in Ireland.

Here is a list of possibles:

Headfort New
Concrawood
Tullamore
Carlow
Carton House
Druid's Glen
Killeen Castle
Palmerstown Stud

By the way, can't resist throwing in one area links course- likely County Louth.

Let me know what you think.
[/quote]

To the OP,

I've only played links courses in northwest Ireland, but I have the book "Hooked: An Amateur's Guide to the Golf Courses of Ireland" by Kevin Markham. After reading the messages in this thread, I was curious about how the courses you mentioned had been rated in the book. Here are numbered ratings for each course you listed (for what it's worth):

Headfort New - 92 out of a possible 100 (Top Ten Parkland)
Concrawood - 94 out of a possible 100 (Top Ten Parkland)
Tullamore - 83 out of a possible 100
Carlow - 89 out of a possible 100 (Top Ten Parkland)
Carton House - Two are listed, 88 for Montgomerie and 81 for O'Meara
Druid's Glen - 92 out of a possible 100 (Top Ten Parkland)
Killeen Castle - 90 out of a possible 100
Palmerstown Stud - 86 out of a possible 100

By the way, I played Carne Links last summer and thought it was outstanding ... if you go to the 5:45 mark of my trip video, you can see the photos and videos I took during my round last July. Here's the link:

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZkFwDUUIHg&feature=youtu.be"]https://www.youtube....eature=youtu.be[/url]

Mike
MPM1960
[/quote]

Hey Mike, would you mind sharing a little more on how this rating system works? Are the links courses rated out of a possible 100 on the same scale or do parkland courses have their own scale? For example, if Headfort New got a 100 would it simply be the best course imaginable, or is the possible 100 based on the best Parkland Course in ireland? If both types of courses are rated by the same system I'd question its accuracy. If County Down is even a perfect 100, that still only leaves a 6 point (out of 100) differential between RCD and Concrawood.

[duffer987]

Each course was ranked out of 100 and there were eight categories:
Course Design (CD) -- 20 points;
Appeal (A) -- 10 points;
Greens/Fairways (G/F) -- 10 points;
Bunkers/Water (B/F) -- 10 points;
Location (L) -- 10 points;
Facilities (F) -- 10 points;
Value for Money (V) -- 10 points;
Golf Experience (G Ex) -- 20 points.

For example, Dooks in County Kerry gets a total rating of 94, made up under the aforementioned headings in this way: CD -- 18; A -- 10; G/F -- 10; B/W -- 10; L -- 10; F -- 8; V -- 10; G Ex -- 19.

From here: http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/markhams-6800mile-odyssey-unearths-some-hidden-gems-26535640.html

[TheDailyDuffer]

[quote name='duffer987' timestamp='1450804481' post='12751926']
Each course was ranked out of 100 and there were eight categories:
Course Design (CD) -- 20 points;
Appeal (A) -- 10 points;
Greens/Fairways (G/F) -- 10 points;
Bunkers/Water (B/F) -- 10 points;
Location (L) -- 10 points;
Facilities (F) -- 10 points;
Value for Money (V) -- 10 points;
Golf Experience (G Ex) -- 20 points.

For example, Dooks in County Kerry gets a total rating of 94, made up under the aforementioned headings in this way: CD -- 18; A -- 10; G/F -- 10; B/W -- 10; L -- 10; F -- 8; V -- 10; G Ex -- 19.

From here: [url="http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/markhams-6800mile-odyssey-unearths-some-hidden-gems-26535640.html"]http://www.independe...s-26535640.html[/url]
[/quote]

Thanks for tracking that down.

Unfortunately there is no real good way to turn rankings or ratings into a numbers game. In reality the formula is just plain stupid. Now you can have a course like Royal County Down (one of the very best in the world) receive a perfect ranking (i don't actually know if it did or not) and only be 6 points out of 100 better than Concrawood. I think what the guy did was pretty cool, but the system he uses to rate courses is just plain stupid.

[duffer987]

[quote name='TheDailyDuffer' timestamp='1450818017' post='12752836']
[quote name='duffer987' timestamp='1450804481' post='12751926']
Each course was ranked out of 100 and there were eight categories:
Course Design (CD) -- 20 points;
Appeal (A) -- 10 points;
Greens/Fairways (G/F) -- 10 points;
Bunkers/Water (B/F) -- 10 points;
Location (L) -- 10 points;
Facilities (F) -- 10 points;
Value for Money (V) -- 10 points;
Golf Experience (G Ex) -- 20 points.

For example, Dooks in County Kerry gets a total rating of 94, made up under the aforementioned headings in this way: CD -- 18; A -- 10; G/F -- 10; B/W -- 10; L -- 10; F -- 8; V -- 10; G Ex -- 19.

From here: [url="http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/markhams-6800mile-odyssey-unearths-some-hidden-gems-26535640.html"]http://www.independe...s-26535640.html[/url]
[/quote]

Thanks for tracking that down.

Unfortunately there is no real good way to turn rankings or ratings into a numbers game. In reality the formula is just plain stupid. Now you can have a course like Royal County Down (one of the very best in the world) receive a perfect ranking (i don't actually know if it did or not) and only be 6 points out of 100 better than Concrawood. I think what the guy did was pretty cool, but the system he uses to rate courses is just plain stupid.
[/quote]

Agreed. Seems a good fella to play a round with.
Also agree that golf courses, albums, cars, etc... all have objective numbers attached to them which cannot be argued, but any 'best of...' ranking of the subjective things that applyl 'value' isn't worth anymore than the paper/webpage it's written on and/or the will of people to argue (I mean that in the present evidence and discuss reasons way, not the shouty way) the merits of those rankings.

I tried to find some of his ratings for the big names but couldn't. Concrawood looks pretty cool, but yes no way would Ballybunion (assuming a perfect score) be only 3% more awesome. 1/2 tempted to buy the book though just to say well done to the guy for going through all that.

[ThreeWhack]

I have some photos of when I visited Dublin for golf earlier this summer, we played: Druids Glen, Carton House, The K Club, Portmarnock and The Island.

If you want to see some more let me know and I'll put the rest up!

P.S. I work for Europe's largest golf tour operator so if you need any help organizing this feel free to drop me a message [attachment=3076006:DSC_1223.JPG][attachment=3076004:DSC_0954.JPG][attachment=3076002:DSC_0926.JPG]

[duffer987]

Always prefer a bump to a new thread, especially as this one has some good info already about inland courses :)

 

We're going to have a 'travel day' in our trip this May with no round booked, that we will simply play by ear/weather. If there is no rain over a course somewhere between Kerry and Antrim we'll stop and play, otherwise we'll take the day off and slip into our drinking trousers earlier than normal.

 

Because we're gluttons (well I am) for driving just about anywhere for a round, our range is huge, but I was thinking the drive up would be the best chance to hit an inland course to change things up. Concra Wood and Lough Erne are our 1/1a choices at the moment, but I wanted to ask those who have played the inland tracks, is there anything that actually comes close to approximating a heathland course?

 

From my reading, Monty's course and the Curragh are the only two that allude to it and I know there just isn't the soil base for it, that Greater London, Leeds, and other parts of the UK have.

TBH, we'll probably just end up at Bettystown or Seapoint (Baltray will likely be closed already for the East of Ireland), but it doesn't hurt to get some more food for thought.

Thanks :)