Renovation work to the front
nine at The Island Golf Club
amplifies the Dublin links’
reputation as a world class links.
Take a bow, Martin Ebert.
The name Mackenzie & Ebert has become
synonymous with links golf course restorations,
renovations and reimaginings, although they do
design new courses, too. Turnberry, Royal Portrush,
Royal St. George’s, Royal Liverpool, Royal Lytham and
St Anne’s have all benefitted greatly from their advice
and their work. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg
as the golf course architects have worked in countries
such as Peru, Chile, Sri Lanka, Japan, Norway, the US
and Canada. In Canada, Hamilton Golf & Country
Club was the site of Rory McIlroy’s Canadian Open
victory in 2019. Later that year, work began on the
renovation. It’s finger-on-the-pulse stuff.
In one week’s time, another of the company’s major
links projects will open for play to visitors. The Island
Golf Club, outside Donabate, Co. Dublin, has been in
existence since 1890. It is the course renowned for
its members having to take a boat across the estuary
from the village of Malahide to reach the course in
the old days. It is also renowned for two other things:
the opening stretch of eight consecutive par fours;
and the quality of its back nine.
To make such a comment is to suggest that the front
nine is not as good.
“When I looked at the course initially, I was told how
good the back nine is” Martin Ebert tells me. “So
there I am, walking around the front nine thinking
how good it was and wondering, if that’s the case,
just how good is the back nine going to be? When
I got through to the end of 7 and then on to 8 and
9, that front loop just petered out. Although the
8th is an old historic hole, it had a blind tee shot, a
blind second from a heavily divoted fairway and an
artificial pathway immediately by the green. And then
Volume 5 • Issue 52
57