Portmarnock Golf Club

Portmarnock Golf Club 

9th Green at Portmarnock Golf Club

Portmarnock Golf Club is one of the traditional Irish golf links courses located in Dublin, Ireland. Portmarnock is a unique Irish Links Course that is privately owned by the club members. Portmarnock has hosted many if not all of the top golf events an Irish course can host. I understand the Ryder Cup is possibly the only major tournament that Portmarnock is missing is its repertoire of European Tour, R&A and International amateur events.

Also, next year Portmarnock will host the R&As Amateur Championship. Did you know that the Amateur Championship was played outside of GB on two occasions? 69 years ago at Portmarnock and next year 2019 at Portmarnock Golf Club. Please click on this link to view the list of honours at Portmarnock Golf Club.

In short, there are 27 holes at Portmarnock. The Red and Blue nine holes form the traditional links course, whereas the Yellow nine is a newer part of the course added in recent years. The Blue measures 3656 from the back tees and the Red measures 3810 making the championship course 7,466. Which is a big long beast of a course to play?

The club had upgraded course bunkers and taken out bushes, added more mounding/dunes along the 11th hole and yes indeed the course is a tougher challenge.

Scorecard and course rating for Portmarnock Golf Club

Dooley Noted on Course Tips

Off the Tee: 

• Keeping the ball in the fairway is a must to give yourself a chance at hitting the green in regulation. Be careful of the fairway bunkers as the ball can run, run and run!  

The Fairways:

• I find the turf is firm and bouncy, therefore from the airway I would suggest hitting the puttsball low and bouncing the ball onto the green. Notably, play 10 yards short of the flag, thus letting the ball bounce and roll once it hits the green.

The Rough: 

• More times than not, may I suggest to you that when the ball is lying in the rough. Typically,  use a lofted clubs to hit the ball back into play, of course, this depends on the lie and how thick the rough is around the ball. 
• Think flyer lie in the rough and if you can play for the green, I would recommend playing for the front of the green allowing for a big bounce and roll. 

The Greens: 

• There are not too many undulating greens at Portmarnock. But, yes the green speed is tricky, and I would advise to watch out for the slight uphill or downhill putts.  Also, using the Texas wedge shot from off the greens is always a safe play. 

Suggestions on what golf links shots to prepare for upcoming golf vacations to Ireland, Scotland or England

Practice pitch and run shots, using a rescue around the green for chip and run shots. Learn how to play the punch shot or hit the ball lower and I will make a video in the coming week on how I coach golfers to lower their ball flight and playing wind shots.

Practice distance controling your 20 and 40 foot putts. Mainly, I am pointing towards improving feel and touch around the greens. Finally, the biggest point is to enjoy golf and have fun!

Please feel free to contact me with you questions or you commnets at info@conciegegolfireland.com or at www.conciergegolfireland.com | John Dooley Golf Travel Expert.