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— Golfing Gems on the Emerald Isle —

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A Poster Child for Golf's Golden Age.

Narin & Portnoo Golf Club
Narin, Portnoo, County Donegal, Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)74 954 5107
Fax: +353 (0)74 954 5994
Email: narinportnoo@eircom.net
Web Site: www.narinportnoogolfclub.ie/index.html

          If you are looking for a golf course like the TPC Scottsdale, home of the bombastic, new age FBR Open, read no further. Northwestern Ireland’s Narin & Portnoo Golf Club is so unabashedly old school, so delightfully natural, so unapologetically noncommercial, so sincerely welcoming and friendly it could easily qualify as poster child for golf’s golden age. Sure there are other true links courses in obscure corners of the British Isles that time has passed by, but most of these are just waiting to be discovered, developed, and made over into cash cow golf resorts. Bless Narin & Portnoo. The course has soul.

NARIN & PORTNOO GOLF CLUB PHOTOS

Overview of the Narin & Portnoo Golf Club,
with Clooney Lake to the right, the GWEEBARRA
Bay ahead, and the Atlantic Ocean to the left.
The course plays counter-clockwise, out-and-
back. You can see the dunes affect the back
nine more than the front nine, but open water
and wind ARE POTENTIAL TROUBLE on MOST holeS.

THE COURSE AND SOME NOTABLE HOLES:
          Narin and Portnoo Golf Club occupies a sand spit peninsula in southwest Donegal. The peninsula extends from Narin north into Gwee-barra Bay, a lobe of the eastern Atlantic. The first two holes approach Clooney Lake, one of many small lakes set among the tidal bogs, hills and dunes of this corner of County Donegal. The current 18-hole, par-73 course started out in 1930 as a 9-holer, and expanded to 18 holes when adjacent dunesland was rented and turned into a second nine in 1965. In recent years the club has purchased all the rented land and hired architect Eddie Connaughton to tweak the course to its present condition.

The 530-yard par-5 10th hole is the number 2
rated hole on the Narin & Portnoo links. The
 reasons are obvious: a long hole with tight
 fairways, vicious rough, undulating green,
with no escape from the wind off the
Atlantic Ocean.

It's difficult to find a flat lie around
the 4th green. The 445-yard, par-4 is
the top-rated hole on the front nine. despite not having a maze of dunes or
the threat of open water as hazards.

          There is widespread variety among the mix of holes at Narin & Portnoo, keeping things interesting and adding to the challenge of the course. The shorter front nine (one par 5, two par-3s) begins innocently enough with a short, straight, 310-yard par-4 (index=11) that is as far from the prevailing winds and water as possible at Narin & Portnoo. After the first hole, the course proceeds to hug the right perimeter boundary of the course, with prevailing winds threatening to push shots out-of-bounds on holes 2 through 8. Drives on holes 8 and 9 must fly directly toward greens backed up against the sea. The drive

at the 388-yard, par-4 9th is doubly daunting: it must first cross over the approach to the 8^th green on its into-the-wind flight straight for the green tucked into the far

corner of the peninsula.
          The longer back nine (3,496 yards, with four par-5s, and two par-3s) dares golfers to drive out over the beach or across rugged rough to play against the prevailing winds affecting holes 10, 11, 15, and 16. The back nine has a paper clip’s internal loop of holes 12 though 14 where the fairways are protected somewhat from the wind, but here the tight, bumpy fairways and frightful rough ensure that the course’s challenge is not diminished. Narin & Portnoo ends the way it began, with a friendly (index=14) 383-yard par-4, largely sheltered from the wind as it makes its way
back to the clubhouse and a friendly pint.

Pebble Beach comes to mind at the 9th hole. The
399-yard par-4 plays into prevailing winds to
the green tucked in a very exposed corner of
the peninsula. With wind and ocean in your
eyes it's easy to be short here, and big
trouble to be long, right, or left.

          The 18^th hole offers a chance for redemption at the end of a challenging round, and redemption, of course, brings golfers back for another round. With the promise of
redemption at the 18^th hole and potential resurrection at the 19^th hole, Narin & Portnoo Golf Club offers all the redeeming features of classic links golf in one unassuming, cordial, delightfully natural package. Expect all on-course curses and shouts of glee to be muffled here by the roar of the wind and sea, a soft blanket of mist, and the friendly welcome of gentlemen sportsmen. Anyway, such a grand natural church is no place for curses and shouts of glee.

THE REGION: Ireland’s most dramatic scenery is found along the ragged edges of the island, and, arguably, is never finer than along the complicated coast of Donegal. This northwestern corner of Ireland records the assault of the Atlantic Ocean on mountainous headlands and peninsulas: the first land encountered since Iceland. Such
are the stormy clashes in this corner that almost all sizeable, permanent habitations are found inland, protected among the folds

Narin and Portnoo villages with
their broad, white sand beach.

of the mountains. The villages of Glenties and Ardara are the closest non-seasonal communities to Narin & Portnoo Golf Club, at six miles distance each. Two coastal

Kilclooney Dolmen, one of
many prehistoric monuments
and architectural sites in
the Narin and Portnoo
region of County Donegal.

resort villages, Portnoo and Rosbeg, are closer, but thrive only during the few months when sunnier, warmer weather hints at Irish summer.
          This part of Ireland has many things in common with Highland Scotland, including great natural beauty, and a vital traditional of woolen clothing production. Ardara, especially, is known for its hand-woven tweeds. Where civilization is most tenuous, traditional arts and crafts become the heart of the economy. Expect to find artists and craftsmen showing and selling in villages throughout the region. Expect an extraordinary amount of traditional Irish music in the pubs, and excellent, fresh seafood in the local restaurants. You will hear Irish spoken throughout the area, a region of Ireland where ancient history, archeological ruins, and Celtic traditions and lore are concentrated.

Coming to Ireland to play golf? Why not let HOME AT FIRST make your advance tee-times at Narin & Portnoo Golf Club and many other Ireland golf courses as part of your pre-reserved Ireland independent fly/drive golf vacation. There's no extra charge for this service. Click the link for more information about HOME AT FIRST's travel program to: NORTHWESTERN IRELAND.

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Want to learn about other courses throughout the British Isles
including some of the greatest tests of golf in the world? See our
SCOTLAND, IRELAND, ENGLAND, and WALES
Course Guides for more information.
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