Ireland Golf Course Reviews
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links ReviewDownings, Ireland
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Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Overview: Most links golf occupies the land that sits between the ocean/sea and the windswept sand dunes that tend to build up several hundred yards from the waters edge. This golf course, designed by Pat Ruddy, and aptly named, spends most of it's routing going through, over and around the dunes themselves. This makes for a much more hilly than usual links course, and one where shots that go awry can find themselves on some precarious slopes, making for a lot of adrenaline-filled moments. The views trade off between those of the ocean and the countryside. The most memorable golf holes are reviewed below:
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 1: The golf course opener is a par five, slightly uphill but relatively wide. It represents one of the best birdie opportunities on the golf course, with the hole only tightening up at the green, with a large mound sitting just left of the putting surface. However, the player can run up a long shot with relative ease to go for birdie or better.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 1: The golf course opener is a par five, slightly uphill but relatively wide. It represents one of the best birdie opportunities on the golf course, with the hole only tightening up at the green, with a large mound sitting just left of the putting surface. However, the player can run up a long shot with relative ease to go for birdie or better.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 2: After the relatively docile opener, the second golf hole is anything but. The tee shot is very tight between sand dunes and the hole is long. The approach, at best, will still leave a mid iron down to a green with a strong hollow in front of the shallow green that will want to push shots coming up short to the right and into the nasty bunker sitting over to that side of the green. For those that miss the fairway, it's likely bogey or worse.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 3: The first par three has ocean views and is a classic par three from tee box, over a valley, to the flattened green complex on the other side. More about early round nerves than real difficulty, the green is not very deep but is plenty wide and leaves a little room for error, especially to the left side.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 4: This is a fun but treacherous par four sitting atop the dune ridge that hovers above the back nine of the Old Tom Morris Links next door. There are plenty of ocean views as well. The dogleg right needs a well-executed tee shot to find the fairway, as misses either way are very bad. The approach then plays uphill to a green with a couple of bunkers short and right of the putting surface.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 5: The fifth golf hole feels and looks eerily similar to the previous hole, with the main difference being that the bunkers sit left of green as opposed to the right side.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 6: This difficult par four plays up through a "gate" between the dunes and then the fairway (blind from the tee) falls away towards the green. The views are awesome and the "infinity" green has a hollow in front, making it more difficult to just shots that are run up to the green. Going long is not good.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 7: The first hole to play over on the "back side" of the dunes, this par three is downhill with the front half of the green blind. The green is deep and there is room short, but there are pesky dunes just left of the green that can send shots bouncing in many different directions.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 8: This par five has a great look as it weaves its way between the long grasses of the rumpled links-land. The golf hole has plenty of bunkers but is not long as long as the wind isn't hurting too much. The toughest shot is the approach as the green sits on a bit of a rise. The player can't miss right for fear of going into the long grasses, but missing 1 foot left is missing 20 yards left, so planning is required.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 10: This par four is not long, but is tight. It plays downhill off the tee and then back uphill to the circular green cut below the dunes. There is a really deep bunker short and right to avoid.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 14: This par four is a short one. In the right wind, a golfer could attempt to drive the green, but the penalty for missing that is severe. Otherwise, the hole serpentines its way through the dunes and the question is about how much of the corner to cut off. The green is small, with a pesky bunker short and left of it. Going long is also a very bad proposition as it falls off into oblivion.
Rosapenna Sandy Hills Links Hole 16: The last hole set squarely in the dunes, this one is definitely set up between two big ones. There is a huge bunker to avoid short of the green, which is deep but, missing this green anywhere except maybe slightly to the right will leave a really difficult chance for par.
