round 1 - carton house o'meara
classic parkland
round one was the o’meara course at carton house; the older of the two courses which opened in 2002. the course has a huge variety of trees so is a classic parkland track. carton’s “amen corner” from 14 to 16 are the best holes with a tough par 5 sandwiched between two great par 3s. it’s a nice course but not particularly special but there are opportunities to score well.
neil and nic took the match, although had to withstand a mini fightback after being 4-up with 5 to play. in the end they prevailed with a 2&1 victory.
match score: neil & nic 22¼-18¼ phil & al
(match score includes two additional rounds at gatton manor and richings park)
round 2 - portmarnock links
fantastic natural dunes
portmarnock links was designed with bernhard langer and opened in 1996. the course borders its illustrious neighbour, portmarnock golf club. it is a very natural and understated course using typical links land. the course is very interesting and challenging for a “new” links. there are elevated tees and greens, doglegs, and plenty of well-placed bunkers. the opening seven holes are slightly more inland and the course really takes off from the 8th.
the game was all square at the turn but phil and al took charge on the back nine and ended with a convincing 5&3 win.
match score: neil & nic 22¼-19¼ phil & al
round 3 - royal dublin
views towards dublin
our afternoon round was at the royal dublin golf club founded in 1885 but moved to the current site at bull island in 1889. the layout is a classic “scottish” out and back links, with deep bunkers and outstanding greens. the course is flat but gets tricky when the wind blows so accurate straight hitting is required.
nic hits some special form with a gross 12 over par (including six pars and two birdies) with a stableford of 43 points and a contribution of 44% to take an easy victory. it was an interesting course but not massively memorable.
match score: neil & nic 23¼-19¼ phil & al
round 4 - druids glen
water on the 8th
druids glen was the venue for round four. the creation of pat ruddy and tom craddock has been christened the augusta of europe. It offers a lush golfing oasis, complete with majestic tree-lined fairways, great water features and wonderful colours at the right time of year, especially the 8th and 12th which are stunning par 3s.
this is not an easy course so scoring was tough. phil had a good front nine but some dovetailing from neil and nic kept him in check. then neil hit some form playing seven holes in level par to take the match 3&2.
match score: neil & nic 24¼-19¼ phil & al
round 5 - luttrellstown
stunning backdrop
our final round of 2016 was at luttrellstown castle resort, a wonderful estate on the outskirts of dublin. the course is open with few bunkers and little rough, but the river liffey comes into play on many holes.
the match was close, neil and nic led for most of the round but phil and al fought back and took the match to the 18th tee 1-down.
the last is a long par 5 with the third shot over water. neil and nic dumped their approaches in the drink as al holed for birdie to retain the KOP and half the match.
luttrellstown was a real surprise and we liked it very much with plenty of variety in a great setting.
match score: neil & nic 24¾-19¾ phil & al