Enniscrone Golf Club

We arrived at Enniscrone on the last of five brilliant days of golf in Ireland, for the final round of the Experience Ireland Golf & Travel competition. Our early hope for glory had faded due to our stamina rather than any flaw in the magnificent Enniscrone Dunes course.  It was clear from the start that these links are rightly celebrated and deserve their critical acclaim. After a warm West of Ireland welcome in a smart clubhouse, where we enjoyed a post-game meal, we headed to the practice putting green.  We should have stayed longer. The surfaces were the fastest of the week, and their treacherous borrows and undulations gave us headaches for the next four hours. Enniscrone's quirks begin at the first hole, with a drive to a wide-open fairway before a sharp turn right toward a green surrounded by dunes. The hits keep coming with the beautiful par-three third, carved amidst the dunes.  My approach was good enough to secure my first par of the day. The 12th, 13th and 14th are the course's best combination, in my opinion. The 12th requires a substantial carry from the tee into a fairway that disappears over a brow. Shots leaking right will fall into a deep, grassy chasm.  Memories of Lahinch were rekindled on the 13th, when a member of the Enniscrone team stood atop a dune.  After ensuring the group ahead was clear, she encouraged us to blast our tee shots on the short, blind, downhill par-four.  A precise shot took the bank and rolled to within 80 yards of the green, which slopes from back to front. More power is required on the 14th, a cracking par-five that demands a drive over rough and between dunes.  The undulating fairway then falls and rises to a green tucked away on the right, where overambitious shots can fall into the thick surrounding rough. Mrs W and I had been in a decent position on the first day of the competition, but this was not our day.  Our woes were summed up on the 18th. My drive was a perfect stripe from the elevated tee, and I smashed my second toward the green, only for it to find an impossible lie in a pot bunker.  I managed to heave the ball out, only for it to squirt into the adjacent one. Mrs. W suffered similarly, and we finished meekly. Nevertheless, Enniscrone had more than lived up to its billing. This is a truly cracking club and course.

Great scenery and nice routing...out on the flat, into the dunes..then out of the dunes onto the flat and back into the high dunes and out along the sea to come back to the clubhouse. Good variety of holes with some very tough par 3's. The par 5 14th hole is an absolute natural gem, and 15 and 16 are also excellent holes that fit perfectly in the landscape. One thing to note is that it's a hard course, and there are penal holes where its easy to lose balls or hit them into high grass that causes plenty of ball hunting. For that reason, it's not a place for fast play if it is busy. Our round was on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and it was over 5 1/2 hours. I don't expect that is the norm, but if you are on a tight schedule, take note in your agenda that it won't be a 3 hour walk

Jouer dans les dunes est une expérience! Il ne faut pas être stresser pour driver en aveugle!

Il y a quelques trous qui sont réellement spectaculaires et le vent ajoute des difficultés. Il faut savoir maîtriser les trajectoires pour atteindre le green, savoir jouer la sécurité et ne pas tenter des coups difficiles.

C'est un très beau parcours, il faut le jouer!

Le restaurant est excellent et l accueil est très chaleureux.

Jouer dans les dunes est un challenge. Certains trous sont spectaculaires, il faut un bon drive pour atteindre le fairway. C est un bon test pour jouer avec le vent. Les trous longeant la plage sont très beaux. Les Par 3 ne sont pas simples.

Le restaurant du club house est excellent. L accueil est tres convivial et familial.

Enniscrone is a mix of low laying holes, which are excellent in themselves, if somewhat overshadowed by the holes through huge Dunescapes which are truly spectacular and "up there" with the very best. It was my personal favourite of an 8 course NW Ireland trip. The opening hole is a real "wow" introduction to what follows. It was also the best conditioned course of our trip. Can't recommend it highly enough. If you're planning to head to that part of Ireland it should be on your "must play" list...