Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 16

Enniscrone Golf Links
Eighteen ( " Log á Fola, " or The Bloody
Hollow) is a true three-shotter (390-495
yards, par 5) that passes through two large
dunes, dips down into a deep depression in
the fairway and back up to a blind green set
deceptively farther back that it appears.
Fortunately for our group, we toured
Carne twice as part of our six total rounds
of golf.
Sligo Golf Club
County Sligo Golf Club (also known as
Rosses Point) is home to one of Ireland's
major amateur tournaments-
the West of Ireland, won by the
likes of Paddy Harrington and
Rory McIlroy. The views from
Sligo's third tee are stunning:
the Atlantic Ocean, Sligo Bay,
the Knocknara and Benbulben
mountains and Drumcliffe
Bay.
Sligo's fourth, a tough,
164-yard par 3 with a plateau
green, reminds us that a great
one-shotter
doesn't require
sand hazards; the hole is called
" Gan Gaineamh, " which means
without sand. Sligo seems like
three different courses, starting at the 5th
hole, " The Jump, " whose elevated tee leads
steeply down from the high ground near
the clubhouse to the links land below,
where holes 5-8 and 13-16 run to and fro.
Nos. 9-12 feel more exposed, as links holes
should.
The penultimate hole saves the best
for second-to-last. It's a 455-yard dogleg
par 4 transected by a rough, broken bit of
fairway that rises toward an amphitheater
green perched well above our heads. Called
" The Gallery, " the 17th is one of Ireland's
best, according to our caddie, Neill.
Descending the third fairway, a 528-yard
par 5, thick clouds and steady rain closed
in. Our foursome finally sampled the famous
" Irish weather " when the wind and
rain became forces to reckon with.
" I've learned that once you're forced to
play in the rain and you're equipped to
handle the weather in Ireland or Scotland,
you just deal with it and go out and play, "
says Aldrich.
Enniscrone Golf Links
Next on our golf itinerary was another Eddie
Hackett design, Enniscrone Golf Links,
located due north of Ballina. Hackett added
new holes in 1970 that incorporated the
nearby looming dunes, but it was Donald
Steel who added nine new holes in 1999
that include a stretch of five holes (nos. 1317)
that snake around the towering dunes
along the beach.
" Enniscrone was more like what I expected
a links course to be, with all of the
grass and fescue and the large dunes hiding
many of the greens, " Mount recalls.
As we played our tee shots at the 17th, a
mid-length par 3 (139-149 yards), a pretty
blonde in a wet suit threaded her way
through the dunes between the course and
the adjacent trailer park. Just beyond the
dunes lay the town of Inniscrone, and from
the beach crowded with weekenders came
the thumping rhythms of rock music.
The seafood chowder, chili mayo " wedges "
(potatoes) and cold pint in the clubhouse
afterward fortified us for the trip
14
MINNESOTA GOLFER Fall 2012
Lahinch is
home to the
South of Ireland
Amateur Open.
back to Ballina. Passing through Lissycasey
in the gathering dusk, a crush of Gaelic
football fans streamed onto the road and
parted ways as our coach motored on.
Dinner was just a short walk across the
River Moy to the Market Kitchen. It was
raining as we hurried past the dark Abbey
that dominates the skyline. From a second-floor
window of a flat along the river's
edge came a shouted proposition, or invitation-it
was difficult to know which. We
retreated to a crowded pub, the Auld Shebeen,
and a late-night drinking contest.
Three local lads quickly dispatched their
full pints of Guiness before our boys could
wipe the froth from their glasses. The first
round ended in a tie, and fittingly, another
round of Guiness was poured and drained
to determine the champ.
www.mngolf.org
Carne
Sligo
Lahinch
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012

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