Enniscrone (Dunes) - Sligo - Ireland

An absolute hidden gem. My father and I did a Northwest/Northern Ireland Trip last year and I'm glad we played this wonderful course. The last 5-6 holes are absolutely magical. Great condition, a great partner and wonderful sand dunes. This course is one of the best values of any that I've played in Ireland. I'd strongly recommend this non tourist destination (Northwest Ireland) and this great course.

Played here last week on a trip that included Royal County Down and Portrush among others. You might think it wouldn't even come close. Boy would you be wrong! I truly loved this course. Such amazing massive dunes! The greens were some of the most severly undulating greens I've played outside the Old course and National Golf Links. There are a few hole in the middle of the round that come out of the dunes but before you know it you're back in them, for a fantastically fun set of holes. 11 through 18 are so great. Blind shots, big dune, rolling greens. What more could you ask for! Play here at such a rate and you are in golfing nirvana! Joey

My mistake, the two holes I mentioned that stood out for me were 13 and 14 not 12 and 13.

A rollercoaster of a course! The course starts out with a par four along flat, open ground. The hole then doglegs right and turns uphill into the dunes. For the next few holes you travel between the huge dunes. during the middle part of the round your palying on flat open ground again wondering what happened. But then your taken back through the dunes for a tumbling finish along the ocean and the mountanous dunes. two holes really stood out for me, the 12th who's tee box is on top of the dunes with the ocean at your back and a narrowing fairway below. you just hit and trust the architect that he knew what he was doing when he designed the hole. at the bottom of the fairway it doglegs right at the last instant. If your tee shot is straight you have only a little wedge into the green. A fun hole that you'll remember. The very next hole also is a standout. It's a 542yd par 5 that is all uphill winding to the right and then left before turning right again. It took a solid tee shot, two good 3 woods and a chip to reach the green. You don't even see theflag stick for the first 490yds or so. It was agood course simply because it didn't overwhelm you with so much topography that it all melds into one giant smorgasborg of hills and dales. I would play this course over and over again.

Having enjoyed Rosses Point the day before, we thought it couldn't get any better. Enniscrone is longer and tougher. The back 9 is incredible. You get lost in the most incredible steep dunes. This is an absolute top notch Links. Having played all the biggies in England and Scotland, Enniscrone is as good as the best. Wow.

A great golf course. From the very first hole you can see that this is quality, when I played the greens had just been dressed but even still the ran very true after the severe winter. The first was a sharp dog-leg that runs parallel by the clubhouse before literally turning at 90 degrees to a green nestled in amongst the dunes. The second a shortish par 5 runs deeper into the rugged dunescape with the fairway set in amongst towering giants. The views from the greens are amazing with the ocean stretching out before you to the horizon. The course continues weaving through the dunes until the 7th where it plays down onto the flat links land with the 8th having a steeply elevated green. The best holes for me though are the holes that run along side the ocean for example the 16th a sweeping par 5 that nestles close to the dunes with a heavily contoured green waiting.This course has few bunkers but it really need none with the fairways running in valleys between dunes. This is a memorable course some may say that holes such as the short par 4 13 and 14 are a bit silly but they sit so naturally in the landscape. The land that Enniscrone is built on was made for a golf course. RC

Played the course with my father in the Spring of 2009. We loved the course and the layout. The enjoyment starts with the very first drive on a hole that plays up a hill and doglegs slightly to the right (with OB all along the right side). This course has some excellent sand dunes and one of the best par 5's that I've played in Ireland (I believe that it is the Par 5 2nd on the front). An uphill Drive thru a chute in the Dunes sets up a 3 wood downhill to the green (that sits in a bowl with the Ocean just behind the green). The last 3 holes are fantastic finishing holes - A par 4 that has the ocean to the left, a downhill par 3 that plays to a very narrow green, and a beastly 18th with OB left and very long. Excellent course with excellent people running it.

I can’t believe that it has taken me 3 months to write this review. It would be natural in the passing of time that my feelings for this course could have diminished. But even after playing quality layouts like the Machrie and Machrihanish Dunes in the intervening period, my affection for this track has not been diluted one iota. Enniscrone will go down as one of the highlights of what has been, for me, a fantastic golfing year. Our day at Enniscrone was memorable for numerous reasons. The main reason is obviously the fantastic course the second, the club’s ebullient manager, Mr Pat Sweeney who, made sure that 2 very weary travellers were fed, watered and buggied up for their round. Pat very kindly joined us for the 18 holes which was a delight. Pat is excellent company on the golf course and I am convinced that he could sell sand to the Arabs if he had to, that was not required here as the course sells itself. The tone is set from the off with an opening 'L' shaped hole which sees you playing through a funnelled fairway to a slightly uphill green. This theme is continued at the 2nd but this time journey's end is a putting surface beside the sea. Marvellous! The 3rd is the first of Enniscrone's four, mid-length par 3's (3 and 11 being the best) which this reviewer found a refreshing throwback. Thankfully not every course feels that it has to Tiger up their par 3's. to make them challenging. The front 9 finishes with a simple but stunning par 4 which overlooks Bartragh Island . If anything, the back 9 eclipses the outward half with holes 11-16 inclusive simply outstanding. Weaving in and out of dunes, going up hill and down dale, and every, and I mean every, shot in your golfing armoury utilised. Now, I don’t like to disagree with the experts but after playing both courses in the same day I would humbly suggest that Enniscrone is a better overall course than Carne (Backspin Magazine and Ireland's Golf Digest agree with me). Carne does have the finest inward half I have ever played but, as an eighteen, I think that Enniscrone shades it, though not by much. Our time in Ireland had come to an end. The newly crowned King of Donegal and Mayo failed to add Sligo to his collection. That big bottle of Brasso will still come in handy some day. This was not a time for being downcast as two life affirming days had just been completed and filed away in the treasured memories section of the brain. If I may offer one bit of advice it is that if you ever get the chance to play golf in Ireland grab it with both hands. I have played 15 of our top 20 courses in Scotland and both Enniscrone and Carne are of equal if not better quality than many of the courses in Scotland’s top ten. It has taken me till middle age to get to Ireland. I urge you not to wait as long as I did. You will not be disappointed and, if you are in Enniscrone ask for Pat Sweeney. I am sure that he will be all too happy and willing to see you and if you are lucky, join you for a game. MPPJ

I visited Carne and Enniscrone this week to complete my personal play list of Irish Top 20 links courses on this website. Having played the former in the morning and been really impressed, I journeyed from Co. Mayo to Co. Sligo in the afternoon thinking the course at Enniscrone would do well to come anywhere near the same standard. Well, was I in for a surprise as it far surpassed my expectations!

The recently revamped 1st and 18th holes bookend a fabulous set of fairways made up of an amalgam of original (some very original) Eddie Hackett designs and half a dozen new holes from architects Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert, with the less interesting holes from the old layout forming part of the relief nine. Holes 7 to 9 on flatter land towards Scurmore Beach are an ideal trio to take a breather between the testing holes that are routed through the tall dunes. Whilst I loved the six modern holes (2-4 and 14-16) that have been carved out of the massive sand hills, it was the two back-to-back, old-fashioned short par fours at 12 and 13 that really took my fancy here - the first doglegging left to a green carved into the dunes, the second veering and dipping down to a punchbowl green on the right from a wonderfully high tee position – Hackett at his very best.

Enniscrone is a serious golf track that will test any golfer and its sensibly priced green fees should attract many who are keen to play high end golf for a reasonably modest outlay. If you’re visiting for the first time, you’d do well to ask for manager Pat Sweeney to give you a brief outline of the recent course changes and pass on any tips on how to shave a few shots of your score (like how to play the aforementioned 13th) - tell him the two Scotsmen who birdied his stroke index 2 5th hole sent you! Jim McCann

Wonderful course, the new holes are spectacular whether amongst the mountainous dunes or the shoreline. Played it just before the Irish close amateur championship and it goes without saying the conditioning was awesome. The greens and aprons were lighting fast. True Irish hospitality throughout at a 3rd of the price of some of the bigger named courses. Make this part of Ireland a must visit and play along with Carne and Rosses Point, you won’t be disappointed.