Old school is new at Greg Norman's Doonbeg Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland
COUNTY CLARE, Ireland -- One of the newest links to come to southwest Ireland is Doonbeg Golf Club, home to a spectacular on-site lodge as well as an 18-hole links designed by two-time Open Championship winner Greg Norman.
Though a new links that debuted in 2002, the golf course philosophy was decidedly old school. Practically no fairway was shaped at all, so the result is a lot of natural tumble to the firm land. The course does have some modern design aspects, like five par 5s and five par 3s, as well as a bunker that sits in the middle of the green on the 12th hole (which wasn't always the case, the green was just lengthened on the front end shortly after the course opened). The par-3 14th hole is just a chip shot at 110 yards but plays to a tiny green that sits beside a dune on the left and the beach on the right.
The Doonbeg lodge opened up in 2006 and offers multi-room accommodations for larger golf groups right off the 18th green. Though a luxurious property, it has the atmosphere of a large Irish guest house. In 2009, Stewart Cink stayed here the week before his Open Championship victory and used Doonbeg as a jumping point to visit nearby Lahinch as well as the links of County Kerry south of the Shannon Estuary like Ballybunion.
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Photo Gallery: Old school is new at Greg Norman's Doonbeg Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland
One of the newest links to come to southwest Ireland is Doonbeg Golf Club, home to a spectacular on-site lodge as well as an 18-hole links designed by two-time [...]
The Old Course at Lahinch: Irish links golf at its best
