Blessed with some of the finest dunes in the country, Enniscrone is a visual feast with fresh delights waiting at each and every one of its many twists and turns
Enniscrone Golf Club Dunes Course Review
Top 100 Ranking 2021/22 – 95
Previous Rankings
2019/20 – 93
2017/18 – 94 New Entry
Summer Green Fees
Round – €135 -€145
Visitors: welcome at all times subject to availability
Medal Tee: Par 73 – 6,563 Yards
Changes since previous ranking
Each winter, the club undertakes projects to enhance the course by improving the course routing in terms of playability, inclusivity, and enjoyment. This time, the following was achieved; enlargement of the existing Dunes Red/Green tees on the 2nd and 5th, and drainage of the 1st fairway. The enlargement of the 2nd tee to the left along with an additional option 50m forward on the left at a higher elevation. This gives approximately the same yardage to the green and improves the line of sight down the fairway. A new option at the back of the 5th tee at a higher elevation was completed. Drainage of the 1st fairway and buggy exit was completed.
Looking back to the tee from behind the par-4 13th (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)
Enniscrone Golf Club Dunes Course Review
Eddie Hackett is renowned for some of the most exciting and attractive courses in Ireland, and the fabulous Dunes Course at Enniscrone is a terrific example. Here, he took a more modest 9-holer and expanded it into an exciting voyage of discovery through the sand.
The site is blessed with some of the most spectacular dunes in the country, and they are used to maximum and very dramatic effect. This is especially true as some years ago Donald Steel added a further nine at the same time as making greater use of the dunes for the original 18.
The par-4 fifteenth borders the beach
Unusually for a links, it is almost infinitely varied. There are five long holes that work their way through the sandhills or along the shore. It is also extremely photogenic with views that will stay forever in the memory. In fact, it is the rugged beauty of the course and its surroundings that is the perhaps its greatest attraction. No matter how well or badly you play, just the walk through towering dunes surrounded by estuary and sea will always lift the mood.
The Course
Following a deceptive opening drive into an area that makes the first at St Andrews look narrow, the course heads into, along, out of, and back through the dunes. Such is its strength in depth that it would be hard to pick stand-out holes, but the 9th along the estuary and the back-to-back short par 4s at 12 and 13 are all lovely.
Looking back down the terrific par-5 sixteenth
The 15th is so tough that being stroke index one simply doesn’t do it justice. The view back down the 16th from beyond the green is simply sublime. This is a superb course that it would be very difficult not to enjoy.
Assessor Feedback
An inspirational visual feast. This is for the purist and illustrates the main difference between Irish and British links in that my experience is that the latter courses tend to be flatter than their Irish cousins.
GM Verdict
Blessed with some of the finest dunes in the country, Enniscrone is a visual feast with fresh delights waiting at each and every one of its many twists and turns
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