Going for Golf

County Louth

County Louth Club and Seapoint are outside the county of Dublin, but don’t let that put you off. Both are located close to each other a mere 30 minutes up the M1 from Dublin Airport.

Known to many by its alternative name of Baltray, the County Louth course is just four miles from the town of Drogheda and next to the famous River Boyne, the site of a famous battle in 1690 between William of Orange and King James. You might feel an echo of that epic struggle as you seek to master this challenging course, but the experience should be slightly less bloody and altogether more enjoyable.

A pure links course flanked by the river and the Irish Sea, it has been hailed as a hidden gem by Golf Digest and is ranked in the top six Irish courses and among the top 25 in the British Isles. This status is reflected in the events it has hosted, most recently the 3 Irish Open in 2009.

The course – described by Frank Penninck in 1962 as “natural unspoilt seaside territory with towering sand hills…” – was designed in 1938 by Tom Simpson and is laid out in two loops. It speaks highly for Simpson’s design that he saw need to introduce only 50 bunkers in the course’s defences – the remainder was afforded by the natural terrain.

A par 72 with four par-threes and four par-fives, there is a grand sweep to much of the course. Sand traps and bunkers abound, so much so that the bunker on the ninth hole – placed right in front of the green – is known locally as ‘Jaws’. It’s certainly a tricky proposition on the 409-yard hole – drop in and you could be there a while. Elsewhere, the eighth and 14th holes have seashore all the way along, and some of the fairways and greens have challenging humps.

The addition of some new tees in the 21st century has taken the course to more than 7,000 yards to ensure it is not outgrown by technological advances in the modern game.