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It was top of Greg Norman’s list of favourite courses in the last issue of Golf Vacations. Veronica Matheson visits Doonbeg in Ireland to discover why it continues to win awards.
He saw the ocean, the beach and the unpredictable wind racing across the towering sand dunes as irresistible challenges.
Greg Norman made more than 20 visits to Doonbeg on the south west coast of County Clare to ensure the Irish course would live up to its potential.
The two-time British Open champion went on to design the 18-hole links course that stretches along 2.4 kilometres of the crescent-shaped Doughmore Bay and which is often listed among the top 10 in the world.
“I thought I was the luckiest designer in the world. If I spend the rest of my life building courses, I don’t think I’ll find a comparable site anywhere. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth,” Norman said.
The Shark clearly turned the challenges of topography and climate into a winning mix at the course, which opened in July 2002. Sports Illustrated described it as “Greg Norman’s Mona Lisa”, while US Golf Digest named it “Best New International Course”.
Today, Doonbeg continues to impress the experts. The highly respected International Association of Golf Tour Operators named it 2010 European Golf Resort of the Year. Resorts in 49 countries were nominated for the prestigious award with previous winners including Turnberry in Scotland, Druid’s Glen in Ireland, and Praia D’El Rey and San Lorenzo in Portugal.
So what is it that makes Doonbeg so special? The par-72, 6,234-metre championship course features a loop of nine holes out and nine back, with the ever-changing Irish weather ensuring the coastal layout plays differently almost every day.
There are exhilarating views of the Atlantic Ocean from 16 of the holes while the sound of pounding surf can be heard from the other two.
Amid soaring sand dunes that often reach 30 metres high, Norman employed a ‘least disturbance’ policy by following a path laid out by nature. He discovered the best natural holes, rather than creating artificial ones, with 14 of the greens and 12 of the fairways hand mown. And untamed native grasses, sometimes waist high, were left to grow wild in the rough.
Just over an hour's drive from Limerick on Ireland's south west coast, Doonbeg is where nostalgic officers of the Scottish Black Watch Regiment (missing their own home turf) wanted to establish a golf course in the early 1890s, before settling on nearby Lahinch, which was closer to a railway station.
Doonbeg would remain cattle country until 1999 when American firm Kiawah Development Partners teamed up with Norman to build the course.
Their first visit to Doonbeg was hardly a source for inspiration as the dunes were being lashed by horizontal rain and the wind was roaring off the ocean, yet they knew they had found something special.
Golfers have a head start in Ireland where the soft rain keeps the greens velvety all year round. And with more than 400 courses across the Emerald Isle, players are never more than a chip and a putt away from a game of golf.
While Doonbeg is probably more isolated than most – some players arrive by helicopter – it has the added attraction of being located between legendary links courses at Ballybunion (County Kerry) and Lahinch, both of which are ranked in Ireland’s top 10.
Doonbeg golf professional John Dooley says, “The secret of playing this course is not to be overawed by the towering dunes or attempt to fight the ocean breeze.”
There are wide fairways and generous landing areas but when the wind howls, players need every bit of room. Wonderful compensations emerge throughout the course, from the exhilarating downhill drive off the first tee (regarded as one of the world’s most scenic openers), to the massive 18th green sandwiched between the sea and the sumptuous accommodation at The Lodge.
Everywhere you look there’s a special hole or a lasting memory but the signature hole is the 101-metre 14th, a dazzling par-three with the Atlantic as a distractingly beautiful backdrop.
The elevated tee on the 370-metre, par-four 15th is the highest playable point on Doonbeg, with its perfect view of curving Doughmore Bay and the wide fairway far below.
As is customary on true links courses, the bunkers are particularly challenging. Some are at least three metres deep and sod-lined, leaving no option but to play out backwards.
As Norman was plotting the course through the dunes two environmental challenges emerged. A population of microscopic indigenous snails were found in one area, while in another they discovered protected ‘grey’ dunes. Both obstacles involved re-routing the layout.
Two years after the course opened, Doonbeg completed construction of The Lodge, the handsome stone building that The Irish Times pronounced “the most luxurious hotel in Ireland”.
The Lodge has a relaxed country house atmosphere and offers a healthy slice of Irish hospitality. The mansion is in the late Elizabethan style with chunky grey stone and jutting gables and dormers, mullioned bay windows and sturdy stack chimneys.
There are luxurious suites across three floors, an impressive wooden staircase, beamed ceilings, large fireplaces, oak flooring, flagstones and antique furniture throughout. Self catering is available in the Links Cottages.
Within The Lodge is The Long Room, a formal dining area offering an innovative selection of international dishes. Executive head chef Wade Murphy proffers a range of light, modern dishes inspired by the ocean – dishes accompanied by fresh, locally sourced vegetables – followed by chilled sorbets, champagne suspensions and hot puddings.
If it’s pampering you’re after, the state-of-the-art White Horse Spa offers regenerative treatments using local natural salts, seaweeds and algae while herbal extracts recall the ancient wisdom of ritual healing. Guests can enjoy body scrubs, Thai and Swedish Massages, Basalt Stone Massages, Sea Spirulina and Mud Body Wraps, Aromatherapy and Reflexology.
Located at the edge of The Burren (a remarkable region of limestone rock), Doonbeg advises guests to “hire the smallest car you can that is still capable of accommodating your suitcases and golf clubs. The roads are narrow but quite safe, although rock walls are closer than they appear in the mirrors.”
The resort also advises “Every village has at least one pub (Doonbeg has a population of 152 and boasts seven) where locals will happily bend your ear with lively craic”.
at a glance
Getting there: Etihad Airways fly from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Abu Dhabi with connections on to Dublin.
etihad.com.au
From Dublin, catch an internal flight to Shannon Airport, 64 kilometres
from Doonbeg. Alternatively, Doonbeg is a four-hour drive from Dublin.
Green fees: From US$100 to US$220 in
high season.
Caddies: Available and advisable because of the intricacies of the course. The rate is Ä40 (approximately US$53) plus tip.
Stay & Play: Two nights in The Lodge with breakfast and a choice of either a round of golf or a treatment in the White Horses Spa. Rates per person from US$400 (May to Sep); US$310 (Oct to Dec).
Must see: The cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle and The Burren, three of Ireland’s top 10 attractions. All are within an hour’s drive of Doonbeg.
For more information on Doonbeg: doonbeggolfclub.com. Discover Ireland has updates and travel news on Ireland:
61-2/9964-6900; discoverireland.com.au
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