Doonbeg Golf Resort

Along the way, an endangered microscopic snail was discovered in the dunes - a find that would saddle the course with additional restrictions and require scrapping the original design several times over. Rather than retooling the layout to one that would flow naturally yet still within the environmental constraints, Norman traded the spectacular dunes still at his disposal for a routing that was, at best, disjointed.

The outcome was a course with tees shots hit over greens, and three green to tee walks across another fairway. The praise for the drama found at Doonbeg was often negated by the criticism of its awkward routing. A view that competing architect, Tom Doak, captured in the newest edition of The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses...

“In the end, it’s a beautiful place and full of thrills, but like the rest of Norman’s career, a bit haunted by the thought of what might have been.”

Enter new ownership and the architect Martin Hawtree, who was responsible for a fabulous facelift at nearby Lahinch several years ago. In his improvements to Doonbeg, “The Open Doctor” left no stone unturned and no hole untouched.

In some cases like the 1st hole, the green was re-contoured rather than moved with run offs to chipping areas instead of Norman’s deep rough. In others, the green was moved into a dune setting and/or closer to the next tee. Other changes are more subtle like pinching the drive on the 8th with the extension of two dunes in the right side of the landing area. The old signature 14th hole, a popular photo spot for those visiting on Southwest Ireland golf trips, was also replaced after being lost to the sea during recent storms.

The net result is that Hawtree, working with the same environmental restrictions, has created a course which fits the setting much better than Norman’s and flows quite naturally from one hole to the next. It is only fitting then that Doonbeg has a new name, as with that fresh identity comes the opportunity to finally live up to its long held potential.