The Complete Guide to St. Patrick’s Links & the Rosapenna Resort Your Guide to the Jewel of Northwest Ireland Golf Trips By the highlights alone, the Rosapenna Resort should be a magnet for American golfers. Founded in 1893 and located along the stunning shores of Sheephaven Bay, Rosapenna is the oldest golf resort in…
Rosapenna Resort
Course Guide
- Club Founded: 1893
- Home to St. Patrick's Links, Old Tom Morris Links, & Sandy Hills Links
- Designers: Old Tom Morris, Pat Ruddy, Tom Doak
- GOLF World Top 100: #49 (St. Patrick's Links)
- GOLF U.K. & Ireland Top 100: #88 (Sandy Hills Links)
- Pro Tip: Visit the Harbour Bar in Downings for a post-round pint.
Nearby Courses
Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort
By the highlights alone, the Rosapenna Resort should be a magnet for American golfers. Founded in 1893 and located along the stunning shores of Sheephaven Bay, Rosapenna is the oldest golf resort in the world. The resort features comfortable seaside accommodations, locally inspired cuisine, and is home to 3 great links courses. One of those courses was designed by none other than Old Tom Morris.
For most American golf travelers, however, Rosapenna is far from an automatic choice for their golf trip to Ireland. Its remote location and the lack of “bucket list” courses nearby has kept the resort under the radar for many golfers. But thanks to its newest links course, more golfers than ever are discovering what we’ve known for decades… Rosapenna is a truly inspired place to play the game.
St. Patrick's Links
St. Patrick’s Links debuted at Rosapenna in 2021 to near universal praise. The shower of early accolades includes a place on the GOLF Top 100 courses in the world list.
The course sits on land that was once part of a 36-hole complex. The project had big dreams, but ultimately failed during the real estate collapse of 2008. Rosapenna owners John and Frank Casey purchased the land and partnered with architect Tom Doak to draw up a plan that made the most of the dramatic 300+ acre site. Rather than recreate a pair of golf courses that were “just OK,” Doak cherry picked the best terrain available to craft a spectacular 18-hole layout.
The scale of St. Patrick’s Links is hard to capture in photographs, let alone with words. Everything, from the fairways and greens to the bunkers and dunes, is bigger and bolder than any description can do justice. The same is true of the spellbinding views found at numerous points throughout the course.
From both a visual and playability standpoint, St. Patrick’s Links gives the golfer plenty of variety. Some holes are routed through the enormous dunes and feel rather secluded. Others meander up and over the terrain, showcasing the grand scale and setting of the course.
Most players will appreciate the abundantly wide fairways, but that forgiveness shouldn’t be mistaken for an invitation to blast away with abandon off the tee. The rough is heavy, plentiful, and quite effective at swallowing wildly errant drives. As for the greens, they seem tame when accounting for Tom Doak’s reputation for wild and undulating putting surfaces.
In addition to the incredible terrain and setting, St. Patrick’s Links had another important thing going for it when the project began: Existing permission from the government. Environmental restrictions in Ireland and the rest of Europe make new links golf courses all but impossible to get off the ground. But redesigning an existing course is a different story. As a result, St. Patrick’s Link’s may be the last links golf course ever built in Ireland.
If that’s the case, links golf in Ireland is certainly going out on a high note.
Old Tom Morris Links
The Old Tom Morris Links is a classic test of links golf with an architectural pedigree that’s second to none.
Golf here dates from 1891 when the local Earl enticed Old Tom Morris to come over from St. Andrews to lay out a nine hole parkland course near his manor house. When Morris saw the hundreds of acres of rambling sand dunes along nearby Sheephaven Bay, the Earl accepted Morris’s advice to locate the golf course there. The site was so good for golf that 15 of the original 18 greens were completely natural.
Harry Vardon, James Braid, and Harry Colt made additional improvements in the early 20th century as the golf ball and equipment improved but they left the greens untouched. While some of the original holes still exist, the original course as a whole does not. In the early 2000s, architect Pat Ruddy built nine new holes through the interesting terrain adjacent to the Sandy Hills Links. Tom Doak made further alterations to the new nine, which was seamlessly incorporated into Old Tom’s routing.
Sandy Hills Links
Let us say this about Pat Ruddy. He builds beautiful golf courses which are sometimes difficult to enjoy because they are, well… Difficult. Sandy Hills is no exception.
It is an absolute delight to the eye of the dedicated golfer. The holes weave over, around and through the massive sand dunes along Sheephaven Bay. Like Royal County Down, the landing areas may be somewhat broader than they appear from the mostly elevated tees, but the penalty for missing them is often quite severe. Errant shots meet a grassy doom with regularity thanks to the thick marram rough.
On a brighter note, if there are two better starting holes in links golf, we have not played them. At 450 yards from the tips, the par-4 2nd hole will require your very best to find the green in regulation. The 6th may not be the best hole, but with the green set against the backdrop of the bay it is easily the most scenic on the course. When you play Sandy Hills, bring your camera, your courage, your steadiest swing, and a larder of golf balls.
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