Strandhill,Eire

 www.strandhillgolfclub.com

White tees par 70 SSS 70
Red tees par 72 SSS 72

A chilly morning!

From the moment of arrival at the clubhouse Strandhill golf course is spread out in front of the observer and it is clear that this is a proper links course.  Views of the sea, dunes and typical crumpled fairways stretch across the landscape.

The view towards Knocknarea from the 5th tee

Strandhill lies on a promontory which juts out into Ballisodare Bay on the west coast of Eire just north of the town of Sligo.  It has two aspects overlooking the sea at Cullinmore bay and Strandhill Beach.  It is overlooked by Knocknarea, a large limestone hill topped by a cairn which is thought to date from 3000BC and is reputed to contain the grave of the mythical Queen Maeve.  A huge sand dune dominates the view to the west. Strandhill was opened in 1931 as a 9 hole course designed and laid out by the members using a horse and plough and the natural contours of the linksland.  It was redesigned in 1939 by John McAlister, still as a 9 hole course.  It wasn't until 1973 that the course was extended to 18 holes and it was subsequently redesigned, again with the input of some members.

The 7th hole from the green. 
The tee is half way up the dune in the distance

The first hole lies on the side of a hill making it difficult to hold the fairway from a drive and the sloping green from the second shot.  The next three holes. a par 3 and two short but testing par 4s, run alongside the beautiful Cullinmore Strand,  The fifth is a par 5 whose fairway is the epitome of a links course with wonderful humps and bumps leading to a sunken green.  The 6th hole crosses over to Strandhill beach which lies along the left of the par 4 7th with its tee set into the large dune giving a panoramic view of the famous surfers' beach.  After four less dramatic holes the course then turns into the dunes and some fun and quirky holes.  At the 13th local knowledge must be useful to aid in deciding how much of the dune to cut off with the drive and how to negotiate the very narrow entrance to the green.  The 14th is a lovely par 3 which requires a very accurate shot to the green and the uphill doglegging 15th with its fairway at right angles to the drive and plateau green will test the best.  Some relief is offered by the gently curving downhill 16th and the par 3 17th until the sting in the tail - the difficult uphill, right doglegging 18th with thick rough and dunes on the left, out of bounds on the right and a tricky sloping elevated green.

The narrow entrance to the 13th

Worth playing?  Definitely - a lovely course overshadowed by its bigger near neighbours.