Portmarnock Golf Club Red and Blue Course Review

Nov 28, 2018

Set on a peninsula of land to the north of Dublin, the beautiful ground at Portmarnock was always destined for golf

Portmarnock Golf Club Red and Blue Course Review

Green Fee Range: €145-€250

Medal Tee: Par 71 – 5,992 Metres

Visitor Times: Times available, contact club

Website: www.portmarnockgolfclub.ie

Portmarnock Golf Club Red and Blue Course Review

Portmarnock may not be blessed with the towering dune systems of many an Irish links, both old and new, but this highly regarded course, set on a peninsula just ten miles from Dublin city centre, has long been ranked as one of the country’s very finest tests.

It’s been holding professional events from its earliest days, with Harry Vardon claiming the first title contested here in 1899 just five years after the club was established.

It hosted the very first Irish Open back in 1927 and has since staged a further 18, along with the 1966 Canada Cup, the forerunner to the World Cup of Golf.

The links is surrounded by water on three sides with views out to Ireland’s Eye, Lambay Island and the Dublin coastline, and in recent years significant improvements have been carried out, several of which have been engineered to really optimise those views.

Portmarnock Golf Club Red and Blue Course Review

For example, mounding to the right of the 1st has been removed and the fairway realigned to open up the views of the estuary, while the buckthorn flanking the glorious par-3 15th has been removed to give this fabulous hole the sea views it so richly deserves.

Elsewhere, blind or semi-blind tee shots on the 6th and 11th have been eliminated, while non-native grasses and shrubs have been removed throughout to improve both playability and the quality of the grasses and playing surfaces.

The links has long been a favourite of many, and the club’s ongoing commitment to improvement will only serve to further enhance its reputation.

In the last couple of years and also in preparation for the 2019 Amateur Championship, it has benefited from upgrades to some of the championship tees and bunkers, as well as areas of new mounding and a new irrigation system.

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