DESTINATION GOLF 2022 2026
Rosapenna, Sandy Hills
Rosapenna( St Patrick’ s)
Opened in July 2021, St Patrick’ s Links bristles with confidence as it sweeps over and through a cavorting, wild-at-heart terrain. Tucked up close to Sheephaven Bay and the full beauty of Donegal’ s ocean and mountain landscapes this links feels incredibly modern and yet perfectly natural. Designed by the renowned Tom Doak, it certainly tests your golfing ability on every level, especially around green sites full of imagination and intrigue. Only your best short game will do. Holes start in deep dunes before Donegal’ s full beauty is revealed on the par five 4th. Thereafter, the routing moves you like an ocean swell, leading you from one brilliant hole to another. Utterly hypnotic.
Rosapenna( Sandy Hills Links)
Rosapenna’ s Sandy Hills links was designed by Pat Ruddy and opened in 2003. Given this stormy sea of dunes crashing over high ground, Ruddy must have been in his element as he carved fairways through the natural, rolling contours. Elevated tees promise delicious tee shots onto tossing fairways before rising to beautifully positioned greens. At times it feels as if you only come up for air between holes, to be met by the stunning vistas over Sheephaven Bay. The links has been made much more playable in recent years( wider fairways, more forgiving rough) and, with St Patrick’ s now open, this is a remarkable 54-hole golf resort.
Ballyliffin( Glashedy)
The Pat Ruddy-designed Glashedy links opened to great acclaim in 1995, bringing a whole new golfing allure to Donegal’ s Inishowen peninsula. These are the most northern golf courses on the island, a landscape of raw beauty, rock, sand and the clean coarse smell of ocean. Many believe it is heaven. What is most remarkable is how different the course is compared to the Old links, which shares the same piece of land. The difference lies in the terrain, with the Glashedy hogging the biggest dunes. Fairways slide so smoothly between them. It creates such an elegant rhythm that you could almost forget how testing this course can be … but only briefly. The many subtle doglegs require pinpoint accuracy off the tee.
Ballyliffin( Old)
The story of Ballyliffin reads almost like a fairytale. Established in 1973, on the remote Donegal peninsula of Inishowen, the course struggled in the early years. Then Nick Faldo arrived in 1993 and declared it“ the most natural links I have ever played.” He even tries to buy the place. He fails but his visit reinvigorates the club … and Ballyliffin has never looked back, adding the exceptional Glashedy course in 1995, and a new clubhouse in 1999. Ironically, Faldo did some upgrade work in the early 2000s, introducing revetted bunkers and new tees. The heart of the Old course remains, however, with a classic links design sweeping over low, bumpy and unpredictable fairways which almost float towards natural green sites.
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