The Full Irish: Ballyliffin (Glashedy)
We head West to a course I know very little about.
As we head towards some courses that are on most folks list - Rosapenna, County Sligo, Enniscrone - we first are stopping at Ballyliffin to play the Glashedy course. This is not a course that many Americans have likely heard about, though it’s hosted the Irish Open.
Founded: 1995
Designer: Pat Ruddy
Ratings:
Top100GolfCourses: 63rd (Britain & Ireland), 13 (Ireland)
The Irish Golfer: 18 (Ireland)
Golf.com: Not Rated
First off, Golf.com needs to get its act together. But we weren’t drawn here just by the ratings (though that helps). It’s that I read the description that stated the Glashedy links were the “Ballybunion of the North” and also - and this almost felt like it was targeted right at me - the “Royal Dornoch of Ireland.” Before this trip, Royal Dornoch has been solidly my favorite course I’ve ever played. If something on this trip knocks it off the top slot, that will be amazing. But to even be part of a discussion of those two courses suggested it was VERY much worth checking out.
The reason for these comparisons are because the course is flanked by large natural dunes, and that’s going to be a trend for the next few courses. The sheer drama of playing between, around and atop these dunes can’t really translate, certainly not to any course we play in the states.
A lot of my photos from the round fail to show the size and scale of the course, but man … it was a big boy course (with a slope/rating that doesn’t remotely reflect this). We also had a full hole of 40mph gusts with sleet and rain that was so ridiculous we had to laugh our way through it. This was also Dean’s first course with us, and that’s the expression of a guy who is happy to be starting a Irish adventure.
On a short par-5, three of us found the greenside bunker in two, while only David found (sort of) the green on this short-par 3.
On the downside, the pace-of-play was pretty atrocious, and I kept feeling like we were the problem since we’d been looking for balls in the rough constantly - but we were also waiting on almost every hole for the group ahead of us (who had a caddie, who should have been encouraging them to move their asses), and the round took almost 4:45, a pace that might not be insane in the states but was by far the longest round we’ve played here.
We then drove to Letterkenny, making it two consecutive nights in cities with Netflix shows named after them. (Before anyone comments, I know the Letterkenny show is about a town in Canada. Just let me be hilarious on my own.)
We had dinner at a place called The Yellow Pepper which was easily the best meal any of us have had yet in Ireland. Unreal seafood, much of which was sourced from Donegal Bay just a few steps away. We were excited to find the craic at a local bar, and The Wolfe Tone is one with a long history from The Troubles, etc. It turns out it’s as such kind of a relic and a spot that younger folks don’t go to. They do go to other bars, one of which we found and were not overly impressed with. That said, we turned in early yet again (we have to leave our hotel at 7:00AM tomorrow) so perhaps we’re not getting the full experience due to our particularly wacky itinerary. Somehow, some way, we will find the craic.
But, likely before that, we’ll find more golf.