5 Reasons to Visit Northwest Ireland Besides Golf Discover the Good Life in Northwest Ireland For decades, Northwest Ireland has been the odd region out for when it comes to golf trips across the pond. The remote location and a lack of “bucket list” golf courses has caused most visiting golfers to pass over…
Enniscrone Golf Club
Course Guide
- Club Founded: 1918
- Par 71
- 6563 Yards
- Designers: Eddie Hackett, Donald Steel
- GOLF UK & Ireland Top 100: #54
- Pro Tip: Buckle up and enjoy this roller coaster ride.
Nearby Courses
Course Description
If the poetry of Robert Frost was applied to golf travel in Ireland, the Northwest would certainly be the road less traveled. It lacks the Royal pedigree of the Northeast, the prestige of the Southwest, and the metropolitan offerings of the links near Dublin. For the enlightened few who take that proverbial fork in the woods, however, the journey leads to a collection of links whose only true flaw is that of geography. Perhaps the finest among these is the Enniscrone Golf Club.
A century ago, a number of golfers gathered to form a proper club in this sleepy corner of County Sligo. It wasn’t until 1931, however, that a rudimentary 9-hole course gave the Enniscrone Golf Club its first official home. The club’s very survival was often in doubt during those early years, with the effects of a global depression, war, and emigration from the area taking a heavy toll. Thankfully, the tide eventually turned in Enniscrone’s favor, and in 1970 the great Irish course architect, Eddie Hackett, was commissioned to extend the course to a full 18-holes.
Enniscrone Golf Club – Daunting Dunes and Delightful Golf
While Enniscrone may trace its roots to humble beginnings, the setting for its course is anything but humble. In a land where links golf is synonymous with towering sandhills, the dunescape at Enniscrone is perhaps the most dramatic of any course in Ireland. The Hackett redesign brought the course into the dunes for the first time, but it was the addition of 6 new holes by Donald Steel in the early 2000s that delivered the roller coaster we enjoy today.
The outward nine has its fair share of highlights - notably the few early holes that run amongst the dunes - however, it’s the closing stretch which defines the day at Enniscrone. The thrills begin at the 12th hole, where the golfer is lured into giving the drivable par-4 a run to a green sheltered by one of the tallest sandhills in the country. From there the holes twist and turn their way over the dunes and along the sea, reminding us every step of the way that this is golf the way it was meant to be played.
Therein lies the essence of Enniscrone and golf in Northwest Ireland as a whole. It’s raw, rugged, remote, and rewarding. For those willing to venture off the well-worn path, this is one journey that will make all the difference.
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