Ireland Golf Course Reviews
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links ReviewDownings, Ireland
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Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Overview: The highly touted "new kid" at Rosapenna is this Tom Doak design. It has a sprawling layout that sits on fairly undulating land between large dunes and the Sheephaven Bay. It doesn't actually venture into the dunes too often and there are many more views of the ocean than shots near it, making it a fairly unusual feeling links golf course (compared to the more traditional flatter routings or those that play near hordes of dunescapes near the beach. Although plenty long, it's also relatively benign for a Doak design with wide fairways to accommodate the winds. See the best golf holes described below:
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Golf Hole 1: This dogleg left opener has a pretty tight tee shot between the dunes and a very well framed green complex for the second. The fairway has humps and hollows given the player a very stern introduction to the rigors of links golf amongst the sand dunes.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Golf Hole 1: This dogleg left opener has a pretty tight tee shot between the dunes and a very well framed green complex for the second. The fairway has humps and hollows given the player a very stern introduction to the rigors of links golf amongst the sand dunes.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 2: This par four sends the golfer as close to the massive dunes on the north side of the golf course as they will get. The drive needs to fit in between the dunes on both sides. Favoring the left side is better, with distance, as the second shot is strongly uphill to the green complex.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 4: The tee box on this par five sits on top of a dune ridge and has spectacular views of the bay and beyond. The golf hole is fairly straight but the counters of the fairway make it play like a minor dogleg left. The second shot pinches in a bit but overall it's a relatively straight forward par five.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 6: This par five plays in the opposite direction from the 4th and is a bit of an oddball as it has a hazard area at the end of the fairway, that is very much in play when the wind is from behind the golfer. Therefore, it may require a layup off the tee. Played conservatively, that'll set up a short iron for the approach to the green, which is an odd one, raised above the surrounding area and falling off on all sides. The player wanting to hit the green in two will be very much at the mercy of the bounces they get along they way.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 7: Turning away from the ocean, this par four has an elevated tee box and the golfer needs to fit their drive in between the dunes left and the bunkers to the right. The green has a pesky pot bunker lurking near it that is not large but will grab shots all the same.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 8: Playing right back along the 7th, this short par four can be driven in the right conditions, but it's very tight off the tee and has a lot of bunkers and long grasses to the right, near the green complex. There is also plenty of trouble left and a small and undulating green to contend with.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 9: The finishing golf hole on the front nine is a long test of golf. In addition to the length, Doak put a very deep and nasty hollow to the right of the putting surface that isn't fully visible from the fairway, so golfers beware. It'll take two solid strikes to walk away with a par or better on this par four.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 10: The 10th is a hard golf hole to get a good picture of that shows what it is all about. So, this picture is taken from about 50 yards left of the tee boxes. The golf hole is a par four dogleg right of sorts, but not really. It plays uphill and the hill to the right pinches in and has sand features. The green is tucked in a hollow along the right edge of all the trouble, so flirting with it is not advised. The green is deep and sloping.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 13: This short-ish par four plays uphill to the green. The fairway is wide for the player that is ok hitting a short to mid iron, but the aggressive play flirts with the bunkers to give a flip wedge in. The green is quite deep and well guarded with drop off's left and long that are disasterous.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 14: The signature golf hole is a fun dogleg right that plays along Tramore Beach. If the golfer can cover the bunker at the dogleg, that is the best line and will leave a short iron at most to the green. Laying up is also fine but the green complex is cleverly sandwiched between dunes and the beach, making for a very memorable walk along the bay, all while allowing for a chance at birdie if played well.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 16: This par far is absurdly long from the tips and plays, generally, downwind. It takes a pretty good poke to reach the massive bunker complex to the right, but in the strong winds it can be done. The green is fairly open to a run up shot, but, again, it's a long par four.
Rosapenna St. Patrick's Links Hole 18: Given Tom Doak has designed many well respected golf courses, I can only surmise that he created this final golf hole to create an opportunity for drama. It is, without doubt, the most relaxing tee shot on the golf course, and I would argue the easiest hole to play conservatively and walk away with par. However, in the right conditions, the green could be driven by really big hitters, but that does bring into play some dunes and cavernous bunkers that might otherwise not bother the player coming in with a wedge. So, golfers who need a par on 18 to hit their self-created goal, rejoice, this should be in the bag!
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