Ireland
Doonbeg Golf Club ReviewDoonbeg, Ireland
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Doonbeg Golf Club Overview:
Located along the Atlantic coast of Ireland, this golf course is part of the Trump International list. The golf course itself was originally designed by Greg Norman and then updated a bit when the change of ownership happened. It is situated on classic links land with rather large, grass covered, dunes to negotiate along the way. About a third of the golf holes are along the water and another third definitely play in the dunes, with the last third being more flat affairs away from the water. There are also rooms and a resort on site, all consistent with the Trump brand. The best golf holes are reviewed below:
Located along the Atlantic coast of Ireland, this golf course is part of the Trump International list. The golf course itself was originally designed by Greg Norman and then updated a bit when the change of ownership happened. It is situated on classic links land with rather large, grass covered, dunes to negotiate along the way. About a third of the golf holes are along the water and another third definitely play in the dunes, with the last third being more flat affairs away from the water. There are also rooms and a resort on site, all consistent with the Trump brand. The best golf holes are reviewed below:
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 1: The first hole is a straight par five with a slightly elevate tee box allowing the golfer to see the ocean to the left and the entire hole. The fairway is generous but for a pot bunker and stays with the same theme until the green, which is fronted by several bunkers and sits beneath a towering dune, which gives a cool introduction to the golf course.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 2: This par four is also pretty straight but has a tight fairway with going left not an option. The player can miss right into the rough but needs to avoid the trio of bunkers to that side as well. That side also provides a little tougher approach to the green that has humps and hollows guarding it on both sides.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 3: The next hole is a shorter par four, but strongly doglegs left around a dune. The longest hitters can go for it but there is enough long grasses in play that the risk might outweigh the reward. A good drive down the middle can leave a short iron to the uphill green that does have bunkers to the right. Going a little long (but not over the green) is the safer play here even though it might leave a tough putt on the undulating green.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 4: This par five is a bit odd as it is uphill of the tee and plays semi-blind. The "best" shot goes over the blind part of the fairway, but then has to get lucky to avoid the bunker and long-grassed depression, so until a golfer really knows the course, this is better played off to the left. From there, the second shot has to clear the depression cutting across the fairway and avoid the series of bunkers down the left. However, hugging them provides a much better angle to the green, where going right will putt the golfer in one of two pot bunkers or with a nasty shot around them.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 5: This par four is not long but it is uphill all the way and features a tight and unforgiving drive where missing on either side will involve a search in the dunes or long grasses. The uphill approach is then to a green literally sandwiched between the dunes.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 6: The most photogenic hole on the course is undoubtedly this short par four. The player gets a real treat of a view from the tee but has to find the ribbon of fairway between the beach on the left and the large dune to the right. Fortunately, the hole is very short so the player can even hit iron off the tee. The green is elevated above the fairway with fronting bunkers, but missing left and long may yield a lost ball as well.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 7: This par three is one of the more classic and picturesque par threes in Ireland. Set between massive dunes left and smaller ones to the right, the downhill shot has to avoid four bunkers to find the putting surface, but shaping a shot or running one up both might work.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 9: This par three closes the front nine very near the ocean at the far end of the property. The green is slightly elevated and the tee shot requires precision to avoid three pot bunkers that will make par an unlikely proposition.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 10: If there is a hole that feels very different from the rest of the course, this one is at the top of the list. Playing away from the ocean and with no dunes nearby, this par five has a wide open tee shot but the hole gets tougher on the second and third with a burn-like ditch that crosses the fairway and then goes along the left side of the hole to the green. The player can go way right on the second but that leaves an approach towards the hazard on the approach.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 11: A little, classic par three, this one features a green elevated with two deep bunkers and a slope protecting it's front and long grasses over the back. Any shot 1 foot short is 15 to 40 yards short so gauging the wind and club selection is vital.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 12: This par four is just long and hard. The fairway is pretty tight, although there is slightly more room left than it appears from the tee. The green has bunkers left and right but on most days it'll require a long iron to get there so anything on the surface is a victory.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 13: The 13th is a funky hole. The drive is really tight, but the hole is fairly short, so a big bomb can make going for the green in two a reality. The green complex, however, on this late breaking dogleg right is set up about 40 feet higher than the fairway below it, separated by a ridge in which bunkers (four of them) are cut). Thus, a player wanting to hit the green in two has to cover those bunkers and the elevation as well as the distance. For those laying up, the third will be up that hill to the green, which is cut between the dunes with bunkers on either side.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 14: This downhill par three is your vintage "give me the ocean view" one-shotter. The green is fairly accessible but the hole is long. The player needs to really focus on wind direction and strength to find the putting surface.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 15: This par four has cool views and a really great green complex set in the dunes, complete with a tiered green making putting tough.
Doonbeg Golf Club Hole 18: The last hole of the day is not for the nervous golfer as it requires a long straight drive over the corner of the beach with not an overwhelming amount of bailout room to the left. The green is set fairly far from the beach as to not create too much heartache on the approach, but it has a nasty front slope short and left with pot bunkers but into it
