Let your trip to Ireland be a mix of reality and fantasy. Sure, play the course where the Ryder Cup will be fought. But start your journey at the course where it should be played, 75 miles north of the K Club at the finest links Ireland has to offer.
Royal County Down
Newcastle, Northern Ireland
Championship Course: 7,181 yards, par 71
Greens fees: $190-$240
0114428-43723314, royalcountydown.org
If Ryder Cup venues were decided less on economics and more on merits, we'd all be getting a lot more familiar with Royal County Down this summer.
Sitting at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, a 30-minute drive south of Belfast in Northern Ireland, County Down is the highest-ranked Irish track on GOLF MAGAZINE's Top 100 Courses in the World at No. 9.
The routing switches direction so frequently that the entire course seems to swirl in the breeze, and at every turn you're presented with a battery of shot options. There is only one constant: miss the fairway and par flutters away on that ever-present wind.
The ninth is usually cited as County Down's signature hole, which is like picking a beautiful woman from Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue — on what grounds do you rule out the others? No. 16, a 337-yard par 4, is often mocked as a misfit, but with the distractions of the tee shot (the driving line is Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland's highest peak), some perilous bunkering and a tricky green, it is representative of County Down's charms and challenges. Visitors welcome every day except Wednesday and Saturday.
Portmarnock Golf Club
Portmarnock, County Dublin
7,321 yards, par 72
Greens fee: $195-$225
0113531-8462634, portmarnockgolfclub.ie
Curving along a stretch of coastline on the Howth peninsula just 12 miles from downtown Dublin, Portmarnock has played host to a dozen Irish Opens and is No. 43 on our list of the Top 100 Courses in the World. If Dublin's traffic wasn't so bad you could make it from the airport tarmac to the first tee in 15 minutes. There are three nines — Yellow, Red and Blue, with the latter two combined to make up the Championship course. The bite is in the pot bunkers that swallow inaccurate approach shots and the wind that whips off the Irish Sea. Arnold Palmer says that No. 15, a 174-yarder along the sea, is his favorite par 3. The only surprise is that Arnie could pick just one great hole here.
County Louth Golf Club
Drogheda, County Louth
6,936 yards, par 72
Greens fee: $135-$160
011353-419881530, countylouthgolfclub.com
County Louth- — also known as Baltray — is Ireland's most underappreciated links, though it received some overdue attention in 2004 when it hosted the Irish Open. Less wildly contoured than most Irish links, it is still an understatedly brutal test. There are three par 5s in the opening six holes, a stretch where the variety of shots required is matched only by the punishment inflicted when you fail to execute. Locals will tell you Baltray has the best bunkering on the island. You can only hope that you are able to take their word for it.
