- Sep 1, 2004
- 6,542
- 4,976
JUst came back from a golfing weekend at a place called Portsalon in Donegal. What a course!! It was a founding member of the Golfing Union of Ireland and dates back to 1891. A traditional links style course measuring a testing 6,600 off the back tees. I have to say that some of the holes were breathtaking, including the 2nd, a stunning 460 yard par 4 dogleg requiring a carry over a beach and then a second shot to carry over a wide river!!! Even the green was a Biatch!! Some of the holes reminded me of the front nine of Carnoustie, wish I had brought the camera!
The course has seen some recent changes and with the help of Pat Ruddy, there are now some very fine holes indeed.
And the bizzare thing is that the green fees were only about €25, probably due to the fact that it is a bit remote. Unfortunately they had just hollowtined and sanded the greens but even then they gave us a 20% discount, not many clubs would have offered that.
Mind you there were 40 of us, the majority of whom were more concerned at the breadth of drink being offered at the bar!!! So I'm sure they made that money back and a lot more at the 19th hole!!
Anyway, if any of you are heading in the direction of Donegal, don't miss out on this gem. A Golfing correspondent was once asked about his favorite course in Great Britain and Ireland. He said that although he had covered all the top courses he would quite happily spend the rest of his golfing days at Portsalon. It was eveything he could ask of a course.
I certainly will look forward to going back there some day!
The course has seen some recent changes and with the help of Pat Ruddy, there are now some very fine holes indeed.
And the bizzare thing is that the green fees were only about €25, probably due to the fact that it is a bit remote. Unfortunately they had just hollowtined and sanded the greens but even then they gave us a 20% discount, not many clubs would have offered that.
Mind you there were 40 of us, the majority of whom were more concerned at the breadth of drink being offered at the bar!!! So I'm sure they made that money back and a lot more at the 19th hole!!
Anyway, if any of you are heading in the direction of Donegal, don't miss out on this gem. A Golfing correspondent was once asked about his favorite course in Great Britain and Ireland. He said that although he had covered all the top courses he would quite happily spend the rest of his golfing days at Portsalon. It was eveything he could ask of a course.
I certainly will look forward to going back there some day!