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Golf Travel to the British Isles
Around the British Isles in 18 holes
BY: ANDREW MARSHALL
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What are the best golf holes you've played? Every golfer has their favorites - ones that stay etched firmly in the memory long after playing them. With this concept in mind, golf travel journalist Andrew Marshall takes you on a tour of his favorite 18 holes from around the British Isles – on a composite course made up of four par-3's, ten par-4's and four par-5's...
It’s a claim that’s often made – Portstewart's Strand course (venue for the 2017 Irish Open) has arguably the best opening hole in Irish golf. Played from an elevated tee with topography that bucks and plunges like a raging river, you will really need to focus on your drive to avoid being distracted by the stunning coastal views, on this classic 427 yards par-4 called Tubber Patrick. It's a memorable start to a wonderful links dominated by huge dunes peppered with plenty of testing holes.
HOLE 2: Ireland, Portsalon, Par-4, 396 metres.
Nestled under the Knockalla Mountain on the picturesque Fanad Peninsula and stretching along Ballymastocker Beach, this engagingly old-fashioned Irish links bristles with local character and charm. Offering a fantastic vista, the blockbuster par-4 2nd known as Strand, is played from a high tee to a fairway running diagonally along a sea inlet, then across a river to a wellbunkered green. If you find the fairway, you have a choice – be a hero and go for the green, or lay up short of the river, the choice is yours on what is widely regarded as one of Ireland's finest holes.
HOLE 3: Wales, Aberdovey, Par-3, 167 yards.
Legendary golf architects, Herbert Fowler, James Braid and Harry Colt have all played a part in shaping this old fashioned out-and-back links dating from 1892, nestled beautifully between the beach on one side, and rolling hills and the railway on the other. The blind par-3 3rd named Cader featuring a punchbowl green is arguably Aberdovey's most famous hole. Club selection is crucial here as being short leaves a blind chip shot, or going long leaves a difficult up and down.
Dramatically positioned on cliff tops at the foot of the Porthdinllaen headland jutting out from the Llŷn Peninsula into the Irish Sea, this spectacular layout is a unique 27-hole course with sea views from every hole, consisting of the 18-hole, par-71 Old Course and the 9-hole par-71, New Course. The Old Course’s par-4 4th hole with its green nestling between rocky outcrops is the start of a great run of holes along the peninsula, which will live long in the memory regardless of your score or the weather.
As Royal Portrush first comes into view round a curve in the County Antrim Coast Road, it provides a magical sight, with its green fairways hiding among shaggy-topped dunes and the great headland of Inishowen contrasting vividly with the low line of the Skerries and the sea beyond. Established in May 1888, Royal Portrush’s World Top 20 Dunluce course is a great test for any golfer. It hosted the British Open in 1951, and then for the second time in 2019, when Irishman Shane Lowry lifted the famous Claret Jug. There are plenty of great holes at Royal Portrush and it’s truly difficult to choose just one. On the front nine, the 5th called White Rocks with its cliff-side green and magnificent coastal views is a worthy contender.
HOLE 6: England, St. Enodoc, Par-4, 378 yards.
Many keen golfers will have heard of Cornwall’s St. Enodoc, but not all will have made the pilgrimage to this wonderful James Braid designed links dating from 1890. The 6th hole really sticks in the mind – a 378-yarder that kinks left at driving distance then climbs up to the green. If your tee shot is too short and right, it will leave you with a blind shot over the cavernous ‘Himalaya’ bunker rising 80 feet above the fairway, to a green which lies 100 yards beyond.
Crafted out of tumbling dunes by Pat Ruddy, The European Club features 18-holes (plus 2 bonus par-3s) of exciting links golf with dramatic views of the Irish Sea. This is seaside golf at its very best, with fast-running fairways, greens that invite the pitch-and-run approach, pot bunkers with sleepered faces, and the taste of salt in the sea air. Look out for the long, testing 7th, flanked by reeds and imposing dunes, and voted one of the world’s greatest 100 golf holes.
HOLE 8: England, Formby, Par-5, 483 yards.
Situated several miles north of Liverpool on England’s Golf Coast, Formby is a true championship course unlike any other, founded in 1884. After the first five heathland-style holes running beside the railway, the course really changes complexion as the holes begin weaving through sand dunes and mature pinewoods, providing a secluded and tranquil golfing experience. A memorable example is the par-5 8th played to a tabletop fairway with sharp ledges on either side. Longer hitters will be able to reach the first fairway lower down to go for the double tier green in two.
Set on elevated coastal ground overlooking the Firth of Forth and carved out of 300 acres of pine forest, this distinctive and aesthetic Tom Doak design is routed through an open dunes landscape, punctuated by windswept trees, drystone walls, linksy rough and fast undulating greens. The course starts benignly enough, but from the 7th onwards, it builds more character and opens up towards the coast. One of the standout holes is the 9th - a photogenic par-3 featuring ancient rock walls and twisted pines.
Located in the heart of the Fermanagh Lakelands, Lough Erne's Faldo course (designed by six-time major champion Sir Nick Faldo) meanders through pine forest before making its way to the Lough Erne side, and features wetland areas, elevated tees, deep bunkers and sloping greens. One of the most memorable holes is the 10th, constructed on a man-made peninsula jutted into the scenic waters of Lough Erne. Big hitters will be tempted to go for it, but for many, a combination of a hybrid or mid-iron off the tee followed by a wedge of some description will be the sensible strategy.
HOLE 11: England, Hillside, Par-5, 509 yards.
Hillside lies a stone's throw from Royal Birkdale, amid a stretch of sandhills on the outskirts of Southport and has many of the attributes of its illustrious neighbor. The gentler, varied front half, contrasts with a more explosive back nine featuring a series of holes that linger in the mind long after playing. A great example is the par-5 11th which requires a precise drive up the left, with anything to the right likely to fall into a well-placed fairway bunker. With its elevated tee that provides stunning views over nearby Royal Birkdale and the surrounding area, this classic hole is ranked in the the World's Top 100.
This classic clifftop gem hugs a rugged headland on the County Down coastline, offering sea views from every hole. The signature par-3 12th (set across from Coney Island made famous by Van Morrison), is particularly exciting, and often draws comparisons with the famous 17th hole at Pebble Beach. The view from the elevated tee, with a backdrop of the Irish Sea and the majesty of the brooding Mourne Mountains is worth the green fee alone.
With its variety of holes and obstacles, historic North Berwick (established in 1832) requires a full repertoire of shot-making to negotiate hidden greens, burns, deep bunkers and all manner of humps and hollows. A hole that sums up the quirkiness of this playful links is the 13th, called Pit, which requires an imaginative approach to a narrow sunken green, protected by a sand dune on the left, mounds on the back right, and most dramatically – by an ancient three-foot-high stone wall that runs completely across the front and sides. Great fun.
As you turn off the A90 north of Aberdeen and continue down the milelong driveway to the clubhouse, glimpses of shaggy topped dunes provide a tantalizing appetizer for the main course. One of the course highlights is after you leave the 13th green, then pass through a little gap in the dunes to emerge on the 14th’s elevated tee - and the unforgettable sight of a rumpled fairway twisting its way through towering dunes alongside the wild North Sea. The drive on this amphitheater of a hole where you feel totally enclosed is a knee knocker, but find the fairway, and the hole seems to open up in front of you. A great two-shot hole.
As you play this super seaside course established in 1894, there are splendid views of the 13th-century Harlech Castle and a backdrop of the Snowdon Mountains beyond. Royal St. David’s is memorable for its series of long demanding par-4’s (seven are over 400 yards) and its loop of five finishing holes through the dunes, particularly the bunker free 15th, that requires two precise shots to reach the green. From an elevated tee, a bold drive across dunes to a diagonally running fairway, leaves a partially blind approach shot to a hidden, slightly raised green nestling between dunes. A bogey here will be a decent result for many players.
Twelve of Enniscrone’s holes wind and twist their way through a maze of the tallest and shaggiest dunes on the County Sligo coast, where a sense of isolation and tranquility surrounds you, with only wild Atlantic views and the uplifting sounds of skylarks for company. The Dunes at Enniscrone isn’t your average layout – it’s a serious golfing adventure on a breathtaking course. Curving between the dunes and the ocean, the 16th hole sums up what the course is all about. Keeping the ball on the fairway is key, and the second shot should favor the right hand side for the best approach to an elevated green which is wide but very shallow.
Draped across Ogden Valley near Haworth in West Yorkshire’s Bronte country, this little-known moorland layout’s first dozen holes present a steady climb up the valley, with the 13th through to the 16th sitting on a plateau with marvelous views. After the 16th there is nowhere to go but down, and the par3 17th, aptly named Bagott’s Leap is Halifax’s most famous hole. Played from an elevated tee on the hillside, across heather and a brook to a green sitting 62 ft below, club selection is of paramount importance to negotiate the 176 yards.
HOLE 18: Scotland, Carnoustie, Par-4, 444 yards.
There’s nothing to match the experience of playing one of the most famous holes in world golf, and Carnoustie’s challenging closing par-4 will play as a par-5 for the majority of golfers, even from the front markers. Faced with a tee shot most likely into the wind, you must negotiate the notorious Barry Burn that winds across the fairway like an agitated snake. The score is irrelevant here, as you feel the weight of history and the stories of past British Open champions, like Jean Van de Velde, Padraig Harrington and Francesco Molinari, while walking towards the green and clubhouse.
