Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 15
I
n one of the most remote corners of
County Mayo, outside of a small, quiet
town called Belmullet, may be one
of Ireland's most exciting links courses
that you've never heard of: Cúrsa Gailf an
Chairn, or the Carne Golf Links.
Tom Coyne, author of A Course Called Ireland,
wrote that Carne is the fi rst course he
would walk back to play again. Jim Finegan,
another author and links connoisseur, calls
Carne " the single most remote great course
in the entire British Isles. "
Belmullet is a four-hour drive from Shannon
and sits on a crook of land poking into
the Atlantic about as far north and west as
one can go before hitting Coney Island. The
road to Belmullet descends through land as
rugged, wild and stark as Alaska. It was from
our trusty driver and travelling companion,
Roy Capon of RC Escapes, that the band of
11 Minnesota Golf Association golfers traveling
through Ireland's Northwest counties
learned that Belmullet is " the back of beyond. "
Belmullet
was just one of fi ve courses included
in the eight-day trip hosted by Betsy
Aldrich and Tom Kozlak of Remarkable
Travel's Golf Group (MGA's travel partner).
The mixed group ranged in age from 45 to
77 and in handicap indexes from 1.4 to 23.1.
Their opinions on Carne, however, didn't
vary as much.
" The thrill of Carne was that every hole
was memorable, " says Aldrich, 45, of St. Louis
Park and the owner of the 1.4 index.
From the fi rst hole to the last, Carne was
a lesson in links golf: How far will the approach
shot run out at the par-4, 343-yard
fi rst hole? Will the ridge on the third green
(a 376-yard par 4) kill the ball's momentum?
What club to hit to the elevated green at the
7th (a 162-yard par 3)? Why does the 9th feel
like it plays 60 yards longer? Because it is 327
yards and plays straight up, into the wind.
Mary Mount, 64 and a 23.1 index from
Minnetonka,
remembered Carne for
its
succession of dips and gullies, as well as the
" crazy windy " conditions. For Jim Ruhl, 67
and a 19.3 index from St. Paul, Carne was a
little gem embodying all of the qualities of a
classic links course. " I'll probably never play
another course like it, " he says.
In hindsight, every hole at Carne was a
test, but the last two were like fi nal exams
week. Seventeen, " An Muirineach, " is a threeshot
par 4 (339-399 yards) that plays all uphill.
The green is deep but narrow, severely
canted and guarded by a deep gully on the
right. The strokesaver calls it " probably Eddie
Hackett's greatest challenge. "
www.mngolf.org
Fall 2012 MINNESOTA GOLFER
13
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012
Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - Cover1
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - Cover2
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 3
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 4
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 5
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 6
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 7
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 8
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 9
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 11
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 12
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 13
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 14
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - Cover3
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - Cover4
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