Portmarnock Golf Club

Portmarnock Golf Club, founded in 1894, occupies a narrow tongue of low duneland on the coast of north County Dublin, about 10 miles from the city centre. It calls itself Ireland’s premier links, and the course is regularly placed at or near the top of national rankings, including Golf Digest’s.

There are 27 holes in total. The Championship links follows a winding route through classic linksland that is fully exposed to the weather, and it is widely seen as one of the fairest tests in links golf: nothing is hidden, but the wind and the layout keep asking questions from the first tee to the last. Tom Watson summed it up as an honest but searching examination of shot-making.

The red-roofed clubhouse is a local landmark visible from Howth, Baldoyle and Portmarnock village. It has four places to eat: the Bradshaw Bar on the first floor, the intimate Pickeman Room above the 1st tee and Baldoyle Bay, the President’s Room for up to 100 diners, and the President’s Bar. Visitors can dine before or after their round in the President’s Room, and a halfway house beside the 9th green serves hot and cold snacks and drinks.

Practice facilities are of championship standard: a large practice ground with a full grass tee, three covered bays and six target greens, two short-game areas, putting greens, and a TrackMan swing studio. Head professional Francis Howley, a former European Tour player, leads the coaching team, and the pro shop offers custom club fitting and rental sets.

Golf at Portmarnock began in 1894, when William Pickeman laid out the first nine holes, adding the second nine over 1895 and 1896 with help from Old Mungo Park. The first clubhouse was a small thatched cottage near today’s 1st green; a timber clubhouse followed on the current site in 1896, burned down on 30 December 1905 and was rebuilt within a year. The interior was last remodelled in 2003.

Few clubs in Ireland can match its tournament record. Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead won the Canada Cup here in 1960, a US Walker Cup side including Phil Mickelson and David Duval won in 1991, and the European Tour’s Irish Open has been staged at Portmarnock 19 times. Harry Bradshaw, one of the country’s great golfers, was its professional for more than 30 years.