St Anne's - Dublin - Ireland

This is a name that won't be on many golfers "must play" list when ticking off the region's best links courses but for all those visiting Bull Island to play Royal Dublin it would be a shame to miss St Anne's. The course does not quite match up to the quality of its famous neighbour but the green fee is considerably less and there are at least a handful of excellent holes that many big name courses would be proud of. The terrain is pretty flat, a few mounds being the exception to the rule, but the greens are nicely contoured and well bunkered throughout. The 5th, an excellent par-4, narrowing as it goes and the 6th, a strong par-3 situated close to the water are memorable, as is the 7th, an absolute brute of a par-4 measuring 467 yards from the yellow tee. Although the back nine contains a few holes that run back and forth in a parallel fashion they are not without interest as they lead us to the strongest part of the course. The challenging 15th offers a difficult approach to a well guarded, angled green but a birdie maybe possible to balance the card on the short par-4 16th, although a tricky sloping green must be negotiated first. Unfortunately, I had to walk the final two as the pace of play was slow and there was a flight home to catch but they are both great looking holes, particularly the 17th which sits majestically amongst a ring of dunes and could well be the best of the lot. Brian W

Played this course many times and over the numerous years I played it has been improved each time. Good links but a bit tight as many holes are nearby and parallel to each other. When the wind was high in serious competition we just played down the other fairway particularly when it is side on. It is littered with shallow drains many of which are dry and could be filled in, as some have been over the years. A lot of nasty gorse has been cut out allowing the player to hit on in comfort. There are some wonderful holes with some great par trees but regretfully the vista of the final exceptional hole is blocked by a plane tree. Fond memories of winning the father & son there. Definitely in top ten in Dublin and a bit higher than the Ireland ranking.

Let us be fair: you do not play St Anne's to see golf architecture at its finest, or most original. All holes are oriented in the same direction going back and forth over the same flat bit of land on Bull Island.On the other hand, compared to Royal Dublin - it is inevitable, it is next door with a greenfee that is a multiple of St Anne's fee - it is great value for money and might not be as crowded, which are two excellent reasons to play here. St Anne's is straighforward, honest links golf, maybe just "interesting" rather than "worth a journey" in the old Michelin Red Guide langauge....

Stayed in Dublin and wanted to play a links within a short drive at a reasonable cost. St. Anne's Golf Club fitted the bill as it was less than 5 miles from the hotel and it is on Bull Island Natural Reserve. A sandy reserve it is and it has a nice beach for the residents to enjoy. St. Anne's shares the island with the Royal Dublin Golf Club, founded in 1885 and Ireland's second oldest club. The island is surrounded by the Irish Sea and Dublin Harbor. The island was designated a National Nature Reserve in 1988 and a peaceful setting it is.

While not as old or with as much history as Royal Dublin, St. Anne's was founded in 1921 as a nine hole links. In 1970-1971, renowned Irish links architect, Eddie Hackett, did a nine hole extension on 70 acres. Dubliner Hackett worked at Royal Dublin as a teenager. Hackett is noted for laying out a course on the land as he has found it. St. Anne's is certainly no exception. The links is relatively flat with many well placed fairway and greenside bunkers. While Hackett’s designs generally show his appreciation for classic Scottish links, St. Anne's has no forced carry or blind shots. The generally flat terrain makes it easy to see the shots that need to be hit. The links measures just over 6,700 yards from the blue tees to about 6,200 yards from the yellow.

My son and myself played St. Anne's on Monday July 25th at 4:00 PM. Playing behind us was a girls team playing a practice round for an upcoming competition. We had groups ahead of us and the pace of play was excellent. The greens were relatively fast and firm and in excellent condition. The fairways were firm, and seashells were mixed in with the sand on some of the fairways. Had to make sure struck the iron shots from the fairway pure as the fairways were cut low. I thought the course was in excellent condition and was a pleasure to play.

Ate lunch in the clubhouse before the round and the views of Dublin Bay, Howth Head, and the Liffey Estuary were exceptional. The modern clubhouse was opened in 2003 and it's design fits in well with the Bull Island Natural Reserve wildlife sanctuary.

St. Anne's reminds me of playing East Potomac Park Golf Club in Washington, DC. It is also on an island between Washington DC and Virginia. Both courses are hard and firm and the courses are both very close to their respective city centers. East Potomac might have the sights of the monuments around the DC area, but St. Anne's has views of Howth Head to the north across the Liffey estuary and the city of Dublin to Bray Head and the Wicklow mountains to the south.

Would highly recommend this links to anyone that wants to pay a reasonable fee, be close to the Dublin city center, play at a links that will test your shot-making skills, in a peaceful setting, and that has a clubhouse with excellent views of the surrounding area. Jim Brady