Irish Open

[docrugby1]

Luke Donald will tee off at 7:15AM Central at Doonbeg- a nice golf resort on the Clare coast about 30 minutes south of Lahinch. The resort is a Trump property with a luxurious hotel and cottages. The golf course is a good Irish links with high dunes going out and a great seaside #18. Combining Lahinch with Doonbeg is how I usually start my Ireland golf trips

 

[docrugby1]

Like Donald made the cut at the Irish Open after shooting a 67 yesterday. The 3rd round is on CNBC . Currently, President Trump's helicopter entourage is arriving. Local favorite , Shane Lowery, is 4 strokes ahead

 

[docrugby1]

Shane Lowry won the Irish Open at Doonbeg by an unbelievable 11 strokes(-23) Luke finished -2 tied for 36th out of 70

 

[JoeWildcat]

If someone won that dominantly in another sport they would have to take a drug test. Lowry was just incredible.

 

[LathamLad]

For that matter, last week on this side of Atlantic waters NU's own Daniel Svard played in the PGA Tour Americas tourney in Victoria, B C.

He scuffled some during the first three rounds, but yesterday was a different story. He must've missed a couple of putts, because the best he could muster was a 10 UNDER par closing round! Not a bad day's work.

I don't know how to type the Swedish vowel that's in the middle of Daniel's last name. (It's the "a" with two little dots over it.) I'm also unsure how to pronounce it. Something tells me I'd better learn soon, and so may a good many sportswriters and commentators.

 

[docrugby1]

If someone won that dominantly in another sport they would have to take a drug test. Lowry was just incredible.

Doonbeg is not an easy course. An errant shot landing in the marram grass can easily lead to a double or triple bogey.
Doonbeg must have redesigned #18 in the last year,as the original ran along the ocean on the right and ended below the hotel. #18 required a walk across the 1st fairway. The first tee was directly in front of the hotel but it now appears the 18th green is where the old 1st tees were located , which means the 1st tee is now adjacent to the ocean, creating a dogleg left par 5.
I would recommend flying to Shannon, play Lahinch, stay at nearby Doonbeg, play Doonbeg, take the Tarbert Ferry to Ballybunion , play there and then decide whether to play southwestern courses(Tralee, Dooks, Dingle, Waterville, Killarney) or head north to Donegal. All trips must end in Dublin on Fleet St(Templebar District)

 

[Smolmania]

Sorry, Doc, but there's plenty of great links golf available in both Ireland and Scotland in order to avoid adding a single penny/pence(?) into the pockets of one Donald J. Trump (the fact that the LIV apologist Norman was the original designer of Doonbeg is even another reason not to play there). Turnberry was fabulous in '91 when I was in Scotland, but again there's plenty of courses to take its place.

How far is Rosapenna, and Doak's new St. Patrick's Links, from Lahinch? Is that considered to be in Donegal? Played Rosses Point in '84 when over for a frat brother's wedding. . . that would be worth a return trip.

 

[docrugby1]

Avoiding Doonbeg because of politics is a golfing mistake. It is a great hotel and course. Rosapenna is about a 4 hour drive from Lahinch. Rosapenna is a great golf destination-3 courses, spacious rooms, fine dining but lacks the "pub atmosphere" available at other towns.
Rosses Point(County Sligo) is well regarded but relatively uninteresting compared to Irish courses with massive dune structure but Sligo is a very nice small city with a riverwalk.
Carne(2 hours) and Enniscrone(1 hour) are more interesting courses than Sligo.
Rosapenna, Portsalon and Ballyliffin used to be relatively unknown but they now realize that Americans willl pay to play their relatively isolated courses in Donegal as part of a trip to adjacent Northern Ireland.
If your trips are dictated by politics, stay in Ballina, close to Carne (1 hour) and Enniscrone(15 minutes) as it is the ancestral home of President Biden. Dining at The Belleek Castle is a treat with a pre dinner drink from a bar made from the salvaged stern of a Spanish galleon( Spanish Armada disaster 1588) and topped off by the flaming "Drunken Bullock" served on a sword