Going for Golf

County Sligo (Rosses Point)

Despite its brilliance, Enniscrone may not be the best links golf County Sligo has to offer – for the County Sligo Golf Club (or Rosses Point if you prefer) is a real feather in the cap of Ireland’s spectacular west coast. Sligo is another of Ireland’s golfing gems – and it’s steeped in history. George Combe, a founding member and the first honorary secretary of the Golfing Union of Ireland, and the proposer of golf’s first handicap system, laid out the club’s initial nine-hole design, opened in 1894. The Combe Cup was first competed for by club members in 1896 and is one of the oldest competitions still in existence today – quite a remarkable feat in a sport that dates back many hundreds of years.

Nowadays the club is almost unrecognisable from its humble beginnings more than 100 years ago but, just like in the past, it remains one of the best places to play golf in Ireland.

The 18-hole Championship course, designed by Harry Colt in 1927, is a stern challenge after the original course was deemed not difficult enough for championship play. The new design has certainly put that right and is famed for its devilish contoured greens and deep, high-ridged bunkers, both typical of Colt’s design style. The 17th green is widely renowned as one of the most demanding in golf, meaning an accurate approach is a pre-requisite.

Like any good golf course, the Championship Course has been tinkered with frequently to maintain its challenge to the modern golfer. It has played host to a number of Ireland’s most prestigious events and has been home to the West of Ireland Open amateur championships since 1923, such is the course’s consistently exceptional quality. In recent years the club has continued to develop and is now the proud owner of a modern and impressive clubhouse, which includes two lovely bars and an inviting restaurant. In 1999 the Bomore Course was opened. A sophisticated nine-hole course, the Bomore is perfect for juniors and those learning the game, cementing Sligo’s position as a real highlight of Ireland’s fine west coast.

There is little doubt, even to the proudest of Scots, that Ireland really does live up to its glowing reputation for amazing links golf. Golfers can sample just about any type of links club, from the quaint and friendly to the luxurious and extravagant – and Lough Erne provides the perfect launch pad.