Ireland now has a big 6.

I was torn between 5.5 and 6 for this one, but went 6 as I think that it is already top 50 in the world and as it matures will only get better. If you are one of the the people looking for tight fairways, the standard bunkering and a "Championship Test" or a place where the pros play, then this might not be for you. If you appreciate a great strategic design, quality green sites, a lovely routing and/or variety in golf holes then this is for you. The owners, the Caseys, were looking for the latter and Doak gave them what they were looking for.

This course took the best land out of a 36 hole complex. So there is massive scale and a decent walk. Why build two mediocre 18 hole courses when you can build one great one? Due to this fact, there are plenty of people who find this to be a long walk-that is all relative. I went around twice with lunch between rounds and it was less than 6.5 hours total time. Although not the shortest walk, it is still quite walkable/enjoyable.

The routing is wonderful. It is not the standard out and back-not that there is anything wrong with that. It has two loops of 9 and they are constantly changing where you are going-only two holes, 4 and 5 play in the same direction back to back. You will also find yourself playing in valleys between dunes, up on the dunes, rising up to the dunes and going down from them. Colt would be proud.

The par 4 holes vary in length with holes a 1/2 shot on both sides of 4. They have great green locations-some in dells, between dunes, on top of a dune, etc. There are two drivable par 4s (the 8th and 18th), but you need to be accurate or your dreams of a 2 could turn into saving a 4 or worse quickly. There is also a 500+ yard downhill par 4 (16th) and everything in-between. What they all share is width and angles. This course is on a massive scale (think it's the most of any Doak course and definitely out of the ones that I have played). However, being the strategic golf designer that he is, you need to be on the correct side of the fairway for approaches. One example is the all world dog leg 14th. Play away from the dog leg and bunkers and you have a longer approach over a green tilted away from you that you might not be able to see. Challenge the bunkers and your ball will settle of the left side of the fairway that opens up a view of the green and keeps the trouble on the approach out of your line. Every par 4 has this type of strategy. The good news about the fairway width is that you can unleash the driver and not worry about spending part of your day looking for balls.