Portmarnock Golf Course (Championship 18)

[Stuart]

Played at Portmarnock this morning. Par 72 with 3 par 3s, 3 par 5s and 12 par fours.

Storm Callum is about to hit tonight and in advance of it, things were fairly 'breezy' today according to the pro shop. Consistent winds of 50kms with gusts of up to 80kms made for some fairly interesting golf.

The first few holes were long par fours (all around 400 yards), and played straight into the teeth of the wind. Driver then three wood on each hole, and I ended up at 5 over after three and wasn't too unhappy. Average driver distance was 185 metres ...

I wasn't particularly impressed with the first three holes, but after that, the course improved dramatically. The holes wound around in varying directions, and the wind was a constant factor even for short putts. Greatly enjoyed it up until the 14th, when it started raining. I got saturated, freezing cold, and the final few holes were a struggle just to stay upright. Can't really blame the course for that though.

Course was in pretty good condition, and the layout (other than the first three) was great. It tested pretty much every club in the bag, and using a yardage book was pretty much useless. I hit wedge 144 metres onto the middle of a par 3 (strongly downwind), and also hit 5 drives (and hit them fairly well) that didn't make it past 200 metres. However, another 3 drives downwind went over 270 metres, with one topping out at 285m

Lowlight of the day was a double bogey on the 16th (550 yard par 5), where I pretty much just dribbled the ball along the ground from tee to green. Highlight of the day was a miraculous birdie on the 17th where I hit two of the best shots of my life back into the wind on a 450 yard par 4 (driver and 3 wood) and then drained a big left-to right breaking 30 footer. Finished with an 89, which, in light of the atrocious weather, was pretty astonishing.

Got some pretty poor photos and will load up below (hopefully).

[Stuart]

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[Jazz18]

Wow, looks amazing. 89 on a 9 hole putt putt course sounds like a miraculous score, let alone a proper 18 hole links course! Bet you enjoyed the 19th! Nice one!

[WBennett]

Thanks for the photos, looks great fun!

[AndyP]

Great!

It looks very open and exposed to the ocean.

[Stuart]

It was a shame (from a photo perspective) that the rain really hit just as we got to the coastline holes. Very enjoyable day though, all things considered.

If anyone else plays it, I highly recommend a caddy. While the layout is fairly self-explanatory (i.e. it is clear where the hole goes, and where the next tee box is), the caddy was able to advise us very clearly of where not to go (which we both totally ignored through lack of skill) and where to aim. This was particularly important on a few tee shots, where the fairway slopes were not obvious. One hole saw both of us hit seemingly good drives right down the middle (but left of the line suggested by the caddy), and both ended up well into the left rough. It also applied to a few approach shots, where he told us where not to go, and when I immediately went exactly there, it was impossible to get up and down. And, when your caddy says "Ohhh, that's going to be a tough shot from there", they are not kidding.

Heather also doesn't look like much, but it is a bitch to play out of. Or to find a ball in, if you don't have 1000s of spectators nearby to spot it for you.

[oldmannoodles]

A ripping course that will one day host The Open. I thought 1 and 2 were great holes but I didn't play them in a gale. Sensational routing.