DESTINATIONGOLF . TRAVEL
When I first heard Tom Doak was designing an Irish links I had goosebumps for a week . The revered architects of old ( Mackenzie , Old Tom , Colt , Ross ) have left us with many of the world ’ s best courses and there is little doubt how the work of Tom Doak will be regarded in years to come . Based on St Patrick ’ s alone it ’ s fair to say golfers will cross oceans to play one of his courses . That is the man ’ s ( and his team ’ s ) reputation . He has designed dozens of golf courses but you can ’ t tell me that a designer who creates a reversible golf course ( The Loop , at Forest Dunes Resort , Michigan ), among other modern masterpieces ( e . g . Ballyneal , Barnbougle and Bandon Dunes … and that ’ s only the Bs ), isn ’ t a designer to be sought out when the opportunity arises . In golf terms he may be the equivalent of Antoni Gaudí . And no , that ’ s not an over-the-top assessment . Come and play St Patrick ’ s Links and experience 18 holes laid out over one of golf ’ s most magical landscapes . It feels vast , open and yet enclosed , testing but never cruel , adventurous but sensible , creative but deliberate . Most of all , it feels subtle and effortless . It even feels obvious and that may well be the key to Doak ’ s philosophy of minimalism . Leave the canvas alone and only add the brush strokes that turn that canvas into art .
The St Patrick ’ s Links is surrounded by duneland , much of which is not part of the property . As such , the course appears almost lost within endless dunes and that only adds to the scale of the canvas .
The Golf Course
The Tom Doak course becomes the third 18-hole links at Rosapenna . The views of Errigal and Muckish , as well as the bay and beaches are enough to lure anyone , but with three quality courses , a stellar hotel and numerous other courses in the region this is a golfing mecca .
St Patrick ’ s is 18 holes and it is brimming with intrigue .
When I first heard Tom Doak was designing an Irish links I had goosebumps for a week . The revered architects of old ( Mackenzie , Old Tom , Colt , Ross ) have left us with many of the world ’ s best courses and there is little doubt how the work of Tom Doak will be regarded in years to come . Based on St Patrick ’ s alone it ’ s fair to say golfers will cross oceans to play one of his courses . That is the man ’ s ( and his team ’ s ) reputation . He has designed dozens of golf courses but you can ’ t tell me that a
The design of St Patrick ’ s started in 2018 , although Doak had ideas for these dunes long before that . Stretched over some 320 acres , the two original 18-hole courses had laid fallow for more than a decade . Designed by Eddie Hackett and Joanne O ’ Haire , the courses were due to be redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in late 2006 . The project barely got started before it ended and the courses closed . Over the following years the only activity was a lone man and his mower keeping the fairways cut to some degree . The Caseys , of Rosapenna fame , acquired the property from NAMA in 2012 , and so a new chapter began . Doak was able to use elements of the original Hackett / O ’ Haire courses and what the Jack Nicklaus team had left behind , but this is a new course , plain and simple . And it is a beauty . The official ‘ build ’ commenced in mid-2019 and two years later at the end of June , 2021 – it opened in a surprisingly sedate manner . What , you ask , makes this links so special ?
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